Key Thought

Pilate believed Jesus was innocent, but had him flogged! It was a political move for Pilate. It was torture for Jesus. Having your back beaten and chunks of skin ripped out with each splat of the lash was horrific punishment. Pilate thought it would appease the blood-lust of the mob. It did not. Instead, flogging Jesus only set the stage for worse tortures that would be inflicted upon him. So often, we read about people who have been touched by a disaster or a catastrophe. Because we don't know these people, the reality of their suffering doesn't really register. However, Jesus knows their suffering and their pain! They are not just another faceless name on another casualty list to Jesus -- they are very real, individual people whom Jesus knows about! And when we are that faceless unknown sufferer to thousands of others, we can be assured that our hardships and anguish matter to the one whom Pilate had flogged!

Today's Prayer

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Holy God, thank you that you know me. Thank you that you care personally for me and my pain, suffering, struggles, temptations, tragedies, hurts, illnesses, anxieties, wounds, and weariness. In a world where I often feel like a number, I thank you that I am always intimately and personally loved by you. I offer you my thanks in the name of the one who loved each person he met with a personal touch, Jesus. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

Then Pilate ordered that Jesus be taken away and be whipped. The soldiers used some thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown of thorns on Jesus' head. Then the soldiers put a purple robe around Jesus. The soldiers came to Jesus many times and said, "Hello, O king of the Jews!" They hit Jesus in the face. Again Pilate came out and said to the Jewish leaders, "Look! I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want you to know that I find nothing I can charge against him." Then Jesus came out. He was wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to the Jews, "Here is the man!" When the leading priests and the Jewish guards saw Jesus they yelled, "Kill him on a cross! Kill him on a cross!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and nail him to a cross yourselves. I find nothing I can charge against him." The Jewish leaders answered, "We have a law that says he must die, because he said that he is the Son of God." When Pilate heard this, he was more afraid. Pilate went back inside the palace. He asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus did not answer him. Pilate said, "You refuse to speak to me? Remember, I have the power to make you free. I also have the power to kill you on a cross." Jesus answered, "The only power you have over me is the power given to you by God. So the man who gave me to you is guilty of a greater sin." After this, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the Jewish leaders yelled, "Any person who makes himself a king is against Caesar. So if you let this man (Jesus) go free, that means you are not Caesar's friend." Pilate heard what these Jews said. So he brought Jesus out to the place called "The Stone Pavement." (In the Jewish language the name is "Gabbatha.") Pilate sat down on the judge's seat there. It was now almost noon on Preparation day of Passover week. Pilate said to the Jews, "Here is your king!" They yelled, "Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a cross!" Pilate asked them, "Do you want me to kill your king on across?" The leading priests answered, "The only king we have is Caesar !"

— John 19:1-15 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.