"Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him." John 19:1

"I gave My back to the smiters". Isaiah 50:6

"..and with His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5




"We see the Savior of mankind scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, smitten, rejected by His own people, unjustly condemned by a judge who saw no fault in Him, and finally delivered up to a most painful death. Yet this was He who was the eternal Son of God, whom the Father's countless angels delighted to honor. This was He who came into the world to save sinners, and after living a blamesless life for thirty years, spent the last three years of His time on earth going about doing good, and preaching the Gospel. Surely the sun never shone on a more wondrous sight since the day of its creation!

Let us admire that love of Christ which St. Paul declares, "passeth knowledge," and let us see an endless depth of meaning in the expression. There is no earthly love with which it can be compared, and no standard by which to measure it. It is a love that stands alone. Never let us forget when we ponder this tale of suffering, that Jesus suffered for OUR sins, the Just for the unjust, that He was wounded for OUR transgressions and bruised for OUR iniquities, and that with His stripes we are healed." -JC Ryle

I pray my heart would be more and more aware of Christ's love for me, and for all His people: A love that is beyond comprehension, and yet a love our Savior desires we know. Amen.