146. Friday after Third Sunday in Lent.
Lord, let it become clear to us how much thou didst suffer, and for what reason. Amen.
John 19, 1. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
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Four soldiers bound Jesus to a stake, and scourged his back with whips of leather having barbs of iron fastened to the thongs. “I gave my back to the smiters.” (Isaiah 50, 6). “Lashes are for the back of the fool. How comes it, then, that they are laid on thy back, thou eternal Wisdom? The disobedient servant shall be beaten with many stripes. How, then, hast thou, the righteous servant of God, deserved them? Thou art wounded for my transgressions, and bruised for my iniquities; thou wast scourged for me, that I might not be scourged in the wrath to come.” — When God disciplines us severely, let us pause and look with care at the scourging of his only begotten Son. Jesus, who has taken upon himself our load of guilt, is the object of God’s wrath. The stripes which he receives are dealt him in wrath; he is punished for sin. The fire of God’s righteous anger is in every stroke of the lash and in every wound, and burns into his soul. But as he has suffered the punishment, it follows that when his believers are now scourged, it is not by way of punishment. It is not the sword of judgment, but the rod of the merciful heavenly Father, that smites you, dear Christian. Yet you are to have this honor, that your suffering is of the kind which Christ suffered; and the discipline which you undergo has this blessing, that it gives you a part in his glory. Our God scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. — In the stripes which Jesus receives at the hands of unrighteous men you may see what you have merited; in this manner you should of right have been lashed by the scorpions of hell for your evil lusts. If you acknowledge this, and understand the significance of the scourging administered to the Lord, the holy Lamb of God will heal the wounds which Satan may have given your conscience, give you strength to suffer patiently when the world does you injustice, deliver you from the power of the sinful lusts which still stir in your flesh, and clothe you in his holiness. When by faith we are united with Christ his pure life is ours, and his holy suffering is ours; not only to forgive our sins but also to make our hearts pure, and our lives holy. Our lusts are punished in Christ, and mortified in him; and thus we are now able to present our bodies as instruments of righteousness. — Never forget the scourging of Christ, ye his disciples!
Lord Jesus, we heartily beseech thee, clothe us in the strength of thy victory, and take us into the fellowship of thy suffering. Give us thy holiness and thy patience in our life full of affliction and distress, when we are to be scourged by Satan and the world; and grant us at last to become partakers of thy glory. Amen.
In suffering, be thy love my peace;
In weakness, be thy love my power;
And when the storms of life shall cease,
Jesus, in that dark final hour
Of death, be thou my guide and friend,
That I may love thee without end.