Calvary Examined — The Scarlet/Purple Robe

 

Mar 15:17  And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him.

 

Mat 27:28  And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,

 

 

 

Right off as you may notice from the two verses above, Matthew mentions that the robe was Scarlet while the other writers say that the Robe was Purple. Bible Historians and studiers such as Barnes and James M. Freeman to just mention two, state that due to the variation in dying colours and garments that the terms were often used interchangeably.

 

But the reason for this article is, what’s the point of the robe anyhow? The ultimate reason was due to an opportunity that the people had to mock Christ.

Mar 15:18  And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Mar 15:19  And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.
Mar 15:20  And when they had mocked him,…

 

THE ROBE

 

The soldier’s most likely used what was near by for the robe. They were more interested in mocking Him, then getting an actual robe applicable for what they were attempting to make our Saviour look like. There were a number of soldier’s near by, so one of their cloaks were most likely taken and thrown over Jesus.  As mentioned earlier the robe most likely had a scarlet colour too it, the reason for it being called so by Matthew.

Perhaps just the side note is the thought of the pain involved, of putting on and removing garments that have been sitting for a short time on open wounds. The pain that would be involved, as they settled into the tears and then were torn back off.

GOVERNOR’S HEADQUARTERS

It’s worth mentioning in passing where this mockery took place. In the Governor’s Headquarters, a plus where the innocent should be able to expect justice, yet none was shown to Christ by the people.

MOCKERY

The people of the day missed the important message of Christ, as many people do today, that He had come to be the Saviour, yet they clued in not even realizing that He is King, and as in the book of Revelations and chapter 19, verse 16, He is called the King of kings. In Matthew 27:27 it says that the whole Battalion were standing before Christ mocking Him. If we could only see the image now, probably around 400 – 600 people, bowing the knee in mockery as they threw the old robe over the Saviour.

THE ROBE AND OUR SINS

Isa 1:18  “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Some have made the comparison of the colouration of the robe to colour used to explain our sins. It is thought of that the Robe not only was born by Christ as He willingly allowed the mockery, but is a small picture of our sins. How at Calvary as the robe was draped over Christ, our sins were laid on Him as well.

Let us not forget the pain and suffering that Christ went through and bore for us, who have trusted Him for salvation.

 

1Pe 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Calvary Examined — The Scourge

 

his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind–  Isaiah 52:14

 

Mar 15:15  So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

 

 

 

 

How serious was scourging? In the time of Christ especially when dealt out by Roman authorities, scourging/whipping someone was a very serious and painful event. It was so serious that Roman citizens were not allowed to be scourged (Acts 22:25). The Romans also had no legal obligation to stop whipping someone, so many died from just the beating alone that was given to them.

There were three levels of beating as one site puts it. There was the fustigatio, flagellotio and the verberatio. The last was the worse and was given to people who were facing crucifixion. In the case of Christ it was so bad that He was left unrecognizable.

THE WHIP

The most common thought on what the whip looked like, would have been around two or three leather thongs/ropes tied to a handle. Within the leather would have been most likely iron or possible zinc tied. We’re not sure what all was on the whip used on Christ, but it was also common to have fragments of bone in it and on the end a hook. So when the whip came down upon the back of Christ, it would dig in and tear as it came down from the shoulder to the waist.

THE BACK

The amount of striking Christ would have received, would have seriously damaged the appearance of His back, as scripture declares. We often think lightly on the pain Christ suffered as the back was torn. We may find ourselves attempting to relate the pain to something we have experienced, like possibly a bad cut or tear, but the pain was so much worse.

Within the back are a large number of muscles, each playing a very vital role in the function of the rest of the human body; you have the:

Intertransversarii Muscle — This muscle affects the movement of the individual vertebrae, and helps the movement of the spine as a whole.

Trapezius Muscle — This muscle helps the movement of the shoulders and neck. Damaging this muscle can affect the movement of both and also plays a small part in a person’s breathing ability.

 

This doesn’t take into fact just the sheer amount of muscle that is in the back. A torn muscle, is very painful, leading to some people not even capable to walk. This was seen with Christ as He started to carry His cross and needed assistance (Mark 15:21).

The operation of the back is designed for flexibility and stability of the body, neck and head, so if sever damage is done to the back as it was done to Christ, it would seriously affect the ability to walk upright. The pictures we often see of Christ slumped over as He carries the cross is most likely correct. Not out of exhaustion but sheer excruciating pain.

KIDNEY

The kidney is beneath muscles situated near the bottom of the ribcage. If hit hard the kidney can be damaged, so with the extensive reach of the whip and the force of the blows, it is very safe to say that even the kidney would be damaged resulting in pain associated with that.

 

CONCLUSION

I feel as I think upon the torments that my Saviour went through there is not much more I can say on this topic. To realize the pain and suffering He bore for me, is enough to bring me to tears. How much I owe Him.

 

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

Calvary Examined — The Nails

To mark Good Friday I thought it would be nice to start a series examining Calvary. There are a number of topics that can and will be touched on. Many of them we overlook. We get so used to hearing about the nails that pierced Christ, or the Crown of Thorns, that we don’t really think of the pain that is the result of these tools used during a Crucifixion.

As this series starts, I pray that it will be useful to you, and help you realize even more, the pain and sorrow our Saviour bore for His own.

Psa 22:16  For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet–

Joh 19:37  And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Joh 20:25  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

 

 

SIZE OF THE NAIL            

ACTUAL ROMAN NAIL (picture taken from: www.glasgowsteehall.com)

           Roman nails used during the time of the crucifixion would have been around 10 inches long. The nails were not necessarily round as they are today, and larger. (picture taken from www.indyprops.com)

 

 

 

NAIL LOCATION

Where exactly, was the nail placed? Is there a difficulty with the fact that the Bible says “Hands” yet many people claim that it is not possible?  On the National Geographic Channel, they did a show called “Quest For Truth: The Crucifixion”; that claimed that indeed the nails could have been put through the palm of the hand, because it was common use to put a block under the feet of the crucified or even the fact that their feet were nailed that would help them to keep their weight up. This I do not believe to be the case due to two verses in the New Testament that reads:

Joh 19:32  So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him.
Joh 19:33  But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

 

The reason for breaking the legs of the victims were so that the the crucified would not be able to hold themselves up, and eventually suffocate themselves to death. If they were pierced through the palms of their hands, this would cause a problem, due to the fact that once the legs are broken all the weight would be in the nailed hands, which would result in ripping and the crucified falling off the cross.

During the time of Christ, the hand often took into account the wrist as well. You seem to see this indicated in Acts 12:7 where the chains fell of Peter’s hands, even though they would have been on his wrist. In Lee Strobel’s book “The Case For Christ”, he does a good job in defending this view as well, and is most likely the case, for if the legs were broken, the nails still would hold in leading to the suffocation.

A CLOSER LOOK — THE FEET

These pictures below have been taken from: http://naturesdesignsonline.com

The information given next is what has been provided on this picture. The nail is placed in the middle of the foot between the 2nd and 3rd toe. The nail would then pierce the:

Deep Peroneal Nerve — This nerve runs from the Knee to the middle of the big and second toe. If damaged it causes severe pain and possible movement disorder.

Medial Plantar Nerve — This is one of the two larger terminal branches of the tibial nerve. It supplies most of the foot from the sole, to the tip of the big toe.

Lateral Plantar Nerve — This too is a brance of the Tibial Nerve and supplies the 4th and 5th toe

 

A CLOSER LOOK — THE HANDS

When it comes to the hand the nail was most likely placed between the Carpals and Radius. Nerves etc that would have been severed are:

Median Nerve — This nerve runs down the arm. It is the only nerve that passes through the Carpal Tunnel, and if it becomes compressed that’s where you get the “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome” A severed Median Nerve can lead to a portion of the hand becoming paralyzed.

Flexor Pollicis Longus — This muscle lies in the forearm and hand and flexes the thumb.

The nail could also easily miss any major arteries and not fracture any bones.

Severing a nerve is extremely painful and for some morphine doesn’t help the pain today. The nerves that were severed in Christ, not only were extremely painful but also would have made parts of the hand and feet extremely hard to use.

Yet we as Christians tend to forget the sufferings our Saviour went through, and the unsaved don’t seem to care, yet Peter could sum it up very well:

 

1Pe 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.