So, in accord with their demands​—and wishing to satisfy the crowd more than to do what he knows is right—​Pilate releases Barabbas to them. He takes Jesus and has him stripped and then scourged. This was no ordinary whipping. The Journal of the American Medical Association describes the Roman practice of scourging:

“The usual instrument was a short whip (flagrum or flagellum) with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals. . . . As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim’s back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh.”

Though bruised and battered, here stands the most outstanding figure of all history, truly the greatest man who ever lived! Yes, Jesus shows a quiet dignity and calm that bespeak a greatness that even Pilate must acknowledge, for his words are apparently a mingling of both respect and pity. John 18:39–19:5; Matthew 27:15-17, 20-30; Mark 15:6-19; Luke 23:18-25.