2
Ne 7:6 I gave my back to the smiter¡¦I hid not my
face from shame and spitting.
This
obviously has reference to the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus of
Nazareth was scourged according to the Roman practice of scourging (Matt
27:26):
¡°Flogging
was a legal preliminary to every Roman execution, and only women and Roman
senators or soldiers (except in cases of desertion) were exempt. The usual
instrument was a short whip¡¦with several single or braided leather thongs of
variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were
tied at intervals¡¦For scourging, the man was stripped of his clothing, and his
hands were tied to an upright post. The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged
either by two soldiers (lictors) or by one who alternated positions. The
severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of lictors and was
intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death. After
the scourging; the soldiers often taunted their victim.¡± (¡°On the Physical
Death of Jesus Christ,¡± Journal of the American Medical Association,
Mar. 1986, vol. 255, no. 11, p. 1457)
The
phrase, ¡®I hid not my face from shame and spitting¡¯,
is fulfilled twice. When Jesus was before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, he was
spat upon. This happened again at the hands of the Roman soldiers:
¡®Then did they (the
members of the Sanhedrin) spit in his face, and
buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
Saying, Prophecy unto
us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?¡¯
(Matt 26:67-68)
¡®And when they (the
Roman soldiers) had platted a crown of thorns, they
put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the
knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
And they spit upon him,
and took the reed, and smote him on the head.¡¯ (Matt
27:29-30)