Matthew 27:26

Then released he unto them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to be crucified.

Scourging was a part of execution by the cross. It came in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah (Isaiah 53:5), but it may be supposed that Pilate did not know that every stripe laid upon our Lord by the scourge was a fulfillment of the word of God. The connection between chastisement and crucifixion is not often stressed, but there still exist inhumane examples of chastisement as a prelude to execution in unchristian nations. Dr. George S. Benson, long-time president of Harding College, related how he witnessed an execution in China, where he served as a missionary. A young man was caught stealing and condemned to be beheaded. He pleaded that he did not want to die, but the cruel authority said, "Just wait, you will want to die in a few minutes!" Then they stripped him, lashed him to a tree, and beat the very flesh off his bones, knocking out his eyes and his teeth; and then, to the question, "Do you now want to die?" the unfortunate meekly nodded assent, and a moment later his head rolled in the dust. The Roman chastisement, though not as brutal as that described by Dr. Benson, was nevertheless something terrible, and it was not an unusual thing for men to die under the scourge, hence the limitation to "forty stripes, save one" as frequently mentioned in the New Testament.