In the Second Sorrowful Mystery, we contemplate the scourging of Jesus tied to the pillar.
From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (50:6; 53:4-8)
I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. (…) Surely, he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice, he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.
Commentary by Melito of Sardis
The Son of God was killed by his executioners like a lamb; his death freed us from the worldly way of life. He marked our souls with his own Spirit and our bodies with his blood. Jesus took upon himself the sufferings of humanity, suffering in the body, subject to pain, and thus destroyed the passions of the flesh.
Meditation 1
If Pilate had directly condemned Jesus to death, He would not have been scourged. Scourging was the punishment meted out to those whose lives were spared. Pilate thought that after seeing Jesus badly scourged, the people would take pity on him and let Him go. However, that did not happen; the hatred of the scribes, the elders, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees against Jesus was so great that even after seeing Him scourged, they felt no compassion.
It is ironic that the Son of God was not condemned to death by the civil authority; Pilate, in fact, wished to release Him. It was the religious authorities who condemned the Son of God. Jesus died for our sins because it was our sins—the sins of all humanity, like those of Judas, Peter, Pilate, Herod, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the people in general—that killed Him. These sins are still committed today, and if Christ were to come into the world today, He would be killed by the same world that killed Him two thousand years ago.
Meditation 2
"Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." (John 18:37). We can answer Pilate by saying that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is a human nature that must be obeyed. Christ lived and preached about this nature; He came into the world to teach us how to live, to show us the way He himself walked.
He taught us the truth of life, and anyone who does not live according to this truth is scourged by life. God always forgives, man sometimes forgives, but nature never forgives. Many times, we sin against the nature of our planet and against our own human nature. Many of the evils that afflict us, such as diseases and disasters, are consequences of these sins. We are scourged by nature because we have broken its laws.
We are free to reject this way, truth, and life, which lead us to the Father, but there is no equally viable alternative to Jesus. Whoever is not with Him, Jesus said, scatters... There is no other model of humanity besides Christ.
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
in Your scourging, we contemplate the weight of our own faults
and the depth of Your love for us.
You were whipped, humiliated, and wounded
by those who did not understand You,
and yet You accepted the suffering without opening Your mouth,
like a lamb surrendering to be sacrificed.
We ask You, Lord, to help us recognize
the value of Your sacrifice and open our hearts to Your truth.
Just as You bore our sufferings,
may we also bear our crosses with patience and faith,
knowing that Your wounds have healed us.
Grant us the strength to follow Your example,
To bear the injustices and pains of life
with humility and trust in the Father’s will.
Free us from selfishness and fear that distance us from You
and teach us to see in our neighbor
the reflection of Your suffering and love.
Lord, heal the wounds
that sin has left in us and in the world.
May Your passion be our salvation
and may Your peace reign in our hearts.
Help us to live in harmony with Your creation,
respecting the laws of nature and always seeking the common good.
That, in the midst of life's tribulations,
may we find refuge in Your mercy
and strength in Your example of total self-giving.
Grant us the grace
to be witnesses to the truth You came to bring to the world,
walking always with You, who are the way, the truth, and the life. Amen.
Fr. Jorge Amaro IMC