Pilate,
aware of the obstinate hostility of the Jews against Jesus of Nazareth, and
unwilling to condemn Him to death, of which he knew Him to be innocent, thought
that a severe scourging of Jesus might placate the fury of the ungrateful
people and soothe the envy of the priests and the scribes.
Pilate,
order Jesus to be severely scourged, though he had himself declared Him free
from guilt (John 19, 1). Thereupon Jesus our Saviour was brought to the place
of punishment, which was a courtyard or enclosure attached to the house and set
apart for the torture of criminals in order to force them to confess their
crimes. It was enclosed by a low, open building, surrounded by columns, some of
which supported the roof, while others were lower and stood free. To one of
these columns, which was of marble, they bound Jesus very securely; for they
still thought Him a magician and feared his escape.
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| They stripe him of his garment |
They
first took off the white garment. In loosening the ropes and chains, which He
had borne since his capture in the garden, they cruelly widened the wounds
which his bonds had made in his arms and wrists. Having freed his hands, they
commanded Him with infamous blasphemies to despoil Himself of the seamless
tunic which He wore. This was the identical garment with which his most blessed
Mother had clothed Him in Egypt when He first began to walk. Our Lord at
present had no other garment, since they had taken from Him his mantle, or
cloak, when they seized Him in the garden. The Son of the eternal Father obeyed
the executioners and began to unclothe Himself, ready to bear the shame of the
exposure of his most sacred and modest body before such a multitude of people.
But his tormentors, impatient at the delay which modesty required, tore away
the tunic with violence in order to hasten his undressing and, as is said, flay
the sheep with the wool. With the exception of a strip of cloth for a cincture,
which He wore beneath the tunic and with which his Mother likewise had clothed
Him in Egypt, the Lord stood now naked. These garments had grown with his
sacred body, nor had He ever taken them off. The same is to be said of his
shoes, which his Mother had placed on his feet. However, He had many times
walked barefooted during his preaching.
The
executioners attempted to subject his body to this shame of total nakedness,
seeking to despoil Him of the cincture, which covered his loins; but in that
they failed; because, on touching it, their arms became paralyzed and stiff. All
the six of his tormentors separately made the attempt with the same result.
