{"id":897,"date":"2026-04-01T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?p=897"},"modified":"2026-03-25T12:50:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:50:29","slug":"the-scourge-and-the-sword","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?p=897","title":{"rendered":"The Scourge and the Sword"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">April 1, 2026 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"358\" src=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/300px-Flagrum-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1069\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/300px-Flagrum-3.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/300px-Flagrum-3-251x300.jpg 251w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The blood is dripping. Redemptive raindrops. A crimson storm. Dusty soils splotchy and darker, patches of grace here and there. Ribbons of flesh hang. Wheezing moans resound on bitter winds. Those who hear will be haunted on a thousand nights by the ghastly figure of this beaten man. It is ugly. Who can bear it? It is nauseating. Who can leave the scene and have an appetite? Yet, in contrast, it is morbidly beautiful, contradictorily amazing. For in the shredded muscle and flesh one finds a miracle; in the torn and ripped, gashed and gaping, one finds something greater than medicine; a Divine prescription for the diseased and gruesomely sick. \u201cBy his stripes ye were healed.\u201d I Peter 2:24<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Slap. The scourge has found its aim. Slap. Guttural moans escape\nthe Healer\u2019s lips. Slap. Gasps and sickened oohs and aahs fill the air. Slap.\nThe ragged cords like razor sharp teeth of leviathan dig in, catch and tear.\nSlap. Blood spatters the ground, the guards, and the splintery column to which\nhe is bound. Slap. And the flesh tearing bite takes another hunk of his mortal\nbody, while something otherworldly is being sewn into the fabric of eternity.\nIf this man had been a criminal even then it might seem too gratuitous, this\nmacabre form of punishment, torturous and borderline sadistic. Maybe a mass\nmurderer deserved this, but not a Messiah. Maybe a pirate captured from high\nseas of plundering and thievery might deserve this, but not a Giver of love. <em>But\nhe wasn\u2019t going through this because he deserved it; he was going through this\nbecause he desired it<\/em>. Listen now&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_4806\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-897-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3\">https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?powerpress_pinw=897-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?feed=podcast&amp;mt=2&amp;ls=1\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_itunes\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on Apple Podcasts\" rel=\"nofollow\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?feed=podcast\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><!--powerpress_player-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>April 1, 2026 The blood is dripping. Redemptive raindrops. A crimson storm. Dusty soils splotchy and darker, patches of grace here and there. Ribbons of flesh hang. Wheezing moans resound on bitter winds. Those who hear will be haunted on a thousand nights by the ghastly figure of this beaten man. It is ugly. Who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_4808\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-897-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3\">https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?powerpress_pinw=897-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"From-the-Scourge-to-the-Sword.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?feed=podcast&amp;mt=2&amp;ls=1\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_itunes\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on Apple Podcasts\" rel=\"nofollow\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?feed=podcast\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><!--powerpress_player-->","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[151,150,148,147,149],"class_list":["post-897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-jesus-message-podcasts","tag-hope-rises","tag-love-bleeds","tag-sacrifice","tag-scourge","tag-the-greatest-love-story"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Scourge and the Sword - The Jesus Message<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thejesusmessage.org\/?p=897\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Scourge and the Sword - The Jesus Message\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"April 1, 2026 The blood is dripping. Redemptive raindrops. A crimson storm. Dusty soils splotchy and darker, patches of grace here and there. Ribbons of flesh hang. Wheezing moans resound on bitter winds. Those who hear will be haunted on a thousand nights by the ghastly figure of this beaten man. It is ugly. 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