How Badly Was Jesus Beaten?

You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call.Still ahead, Dave and Tom continue their weekly in-depth study of thee Doctrine of Salvation, please stay with us.

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here’s this week’s question:Dear Dave and TA, On one ofyour programs you stated that our Lord Jesus was not severally beaten as depicted in the movie.However, it is my understanding that the prophecy from Isaiah concerning Jesus was completely fulfilled.Does Isaiah not say that Jesus would be beaten so badly that He would no longer be recognized as a man?

Tom:

Dave, let me quote some verses from Isaiah.Isaiah:52:14As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
See All...:“As many were astonished at thee; his visage (assuming His face) was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men:”And Isaiah:50:6I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
See All... says, “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”So obviously, Jesus experienced physical attacks as well as the blasphemy, the mocking, and all the rest.

Dave:

Well Tom, and when we read the four gospels, they talk about the crucifixion, there is no indication that Jesus suffered more than anyone else physically, nor do we understand from the scriptures that the physical sufferings of Christ would pay the penalty for our sins.That’s what we did, that would add to our condemnation.

Tom:
But Dave, then how do we understand in Isaiah:52:14As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
See All..., which I just read, “His visage was so marred more than any man.”Doesn’t that indicate an extreme beating or some physical process?And then it goes on to say, “And His form more than the sons of men.”Isn’t this a special case?That’s what this person that wrote wants to know.

Dave:

Well, I guess it was the person that wrote, or you added it, “I gave my back to the smiter, my cheek to those who plucked off the hair.”Now, the cheeks having the hair pulled out, that’s the closestyou get to visage, but the back has nothing to do with visage.But the scriptures says that Yahweh, Jehovah laid on Him our sins.Now, “his visage marred more than any man”—well, that doesn’t necessarily mean physical beatings.You wouldn’t get that from the reading of the account of the crucifixion and the beatings, and so forth.They smote Him, it says, in His face.

Tom:

And that would be the details related to this prophecy, the New Testament accounts, Dave, that would be the detail, that’s what you’re saying, you’ll find those kinds of details in the New Testament accounts.

Dave:

Well, let’s talk about “His visage so marred more than any man.”Moral, spiritual agony can change your face, the look on it, and so forth, extreme agony.Jesus sweat, as it were, drops of blood in the garden.Why was that?Was He afraid to have nails driven in His hands and feet?No, thousands of people had endured that.What was He concerned about?He was going to be made sin for us, this is what the Bible says.He was going to suffer the moral and spiritual agony and remorse, the horror.He was going to suffer for Hitler’s sins, and in hell, Hitler right now is going back in his mind, I am sure, because he no longer canhide his conscience from God about thehorror of what he did.Now, I believe, it says He tasted death, Jesus tasted death for every man, and the Lake of Fire is called the second death.So Jesus must have tasted the Lake of Fire for all mankind.In other words He tasted the pain, the agony that the entire world, every person that ever lived or ever will live would suffer in the Lake of Fire forever!Now, if that wouldn’t mar your face, you don’t have to be hit in the face a few times, that’s nothing to what Jesus endured.And I believe that it would be the moral and spiritual agony, the horror.He was made sin for us!This was the very thing He hated.He was treated as though He were sin itself.The serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, that was the thing that bit them, that was a picture of Satan.So, Jesus was treated on the cross as though he were the very serpent who bit us.He’s treated as though He is the very sin of all of the sinners of the world.That is certainly going to mar someone’s visage far more than any physical suffering.

Tom:

And Dave, this writer, who sent this question, a great question, and he’s referring to the movie, and of course the movie is, The Passion of Christ, which Mel Gibson of Tri Dentine, very conservative Roman Catholic, wrote, directed and Mel wouldn’t understand what you just talked about, because I know, as really a Latin mass Catholic growing up, or just as a Catholic, we believe that it was your physical sufferings that expiated sin.And that was what the movie was about, that was the direction, the purpose that Mel had for writing it, to explain, really the passion of the Christ, the what we call the stations of the cross.

Dave:

Yeah, but Tom, as you know, but as Mel doesn’t know and the Catholic church does not acknowledge that—well, it’s Catholic, Tom, I don’t think you look forward to heaven because very few would expect to get to heaven with purgatory, and you were—

Tom:

Well, eventually we wanted to get to heaven but had to go through—

Dave:

But you had to go through purgatory, what is that?Physical sufferings for you.You would have to suffer for your own sins, Christ delivered you for eternity, but you’re going to have to suffer because of your temporal sins and fire and so forth.

Tom:

Dave, the claims were that those fires were even hotter than the flames of hell, I mean, that’s how physically oriented we were.

Dave:

So it was physical suffering that would get you to hell, your own and Christ’s, it’s not biblical.