Behind | The Humiliation of Jesus

The Scourging of Jesus

The Death of Christ

Jesus on the Cross

The Resurrection of Jesus

Jesus’ crucifixion was a scene of humiliation. Dr. Brittany Wilson notes, 

In the Greco-Roman world, crucifixion was overwhelmingly depicted as a punishment fit for ‘non-men’: namely, rebellious “barbarians,” brigands, criminals, robbers, and slaves… “Real” men were not crucified, for crucifixion was reserved for non-citizens, those whose bodies were already open to violation because of their low status. 

The crucifixion was a violation of Jesus’ body and honor. In ancient Rome this method of execution at times involved victims being nailed in humiliating positions, or having nails driven through their genitals. Though Jesus was not treated in this way, He died in a similar manner, His body penetrated by nails and spread out in a spectacle of shame.

But Jesus’ shame in the Bible becomes His glory. He “scorned the shame” of the cross before sitting at the right hand of God (Heb 12:2). He “humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name” (Phil 2:8-9).

The crucifixion of Christ became a point of pride among His followers and changed the way Christians thought about strength and weakness. We can hear this in 2 Corinthians where Paul prays to be relieved of physical weakness but is told by God that His suffering is really an asset and advantage: 

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (ESV)

After His resurrection, the scars on Jesus’ hands and side were still present on His resurrected body, and His former humiliation became a symbol of His power and authority. The cross reminds us still today of the dramatic difference between Jesus’ kingdom values and those of this world. 

Source: Brittany E. Wilson, Unmanly Men: Refigurations of Masculinity in Luke-Acts, 2015, pp. 201-205.