Ask the Pastor: Supper, Saints, and Scourging
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist
     Q: In what city did the last supper take place?
     A: The Last Supper was eaten by Jesus and the disciples in Jerusalem. After he entered the
city on what we now call Palm Sunday, he came in and out of town for the next few days until
gathering the disciples for this final meal before his crucifixion.
     Q: Someone told me that every day in the Christian calendar has a different saint. So
what is the saint for April 14? Is it the same saint for the same day every year?
     A: There is no unanimous Christian calendar. Many churches maintain extensive calendars
and hagiographies, or writings about the saints. Among those for April 14 is St. Thomais, died 486,
Egyptian martyr, and wife of a fisherman in Alexandria, Egypt, an ardent Christian murdered by her
father-in-law for refusing his illicit attentions. St. Tassach, d. 495, one of the first disciples of St.
Patrick, was a gifted artisan, creating for St. Patrick croziers, patens, and chalices. He was later
appointed the first bishop of Rahoip, Ireland, and gave Patrick the last rites. I found several others,
including St. Ardalion, d. 300, a martyr who professed Christ while performing on stage. Tradition
states that Ardalion was ridiculing a condemned Christian in a stage act. Before his astonished
audience he announced he was a Christian. Ardalion was arrested, condemned, and burned alive.
     We have more evidence and credible witnesses for some saints than for others. Most saints'
days are set for their "heavenly birthdays," the day on which they died and entered eternal rest. The
date won't change, but when they are celebrated in the churches, they are sometimes "bumped" by
certain seasons of the church year or by the celebration of a major feast, such as Easter. "Minor"
saints whose days fall on a Sunday are usually moved to the following week, since Sunday focuses on
Easter and is normally devoted to the regular lessons of the day.
     Q: We are researching slavery in Missouri. Many early laws would have 39 lashes as the
maximum penalty for an offense. I thought that Jesus received 39 lashes from Pontius Pilate,
but when I looked at the Gospels, there was only a general reference to Jesus being "scourged."
Is there a biblical basis for 39 lashes? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
     A: Deuteronomy 25:2--3 says, "If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause
him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense.
Forty stripes may be given him, but not more; lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes
than these, your brother be degraded in your sight." Paul wrote (2 Corinthians 11:24) "Five times I
have received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one." Thirty-nine may have been used for
Paul (as well as others) because those lashing did not want to accidentally exceed the mandated
maximum in their zeal to punish a wrongdoer (or a spreader of the Gospel).
     This was not a minor punishment. The Mishnah (a Jewish interpretation of the Scriptures)
stated that the person delivering forty or fewer lashes was not responsible for the death of the person
being beaten. The Romans had their own penal code and a non-Roman prisoner could face any
amount of whipping that the authorities desired. A Roman citizen was normally exempt from such
action. Paul and Silas' beating in Philippi scared the magistrates (Acts 16:37--39) because they could
face punishment themselves by allowing this to happen to Roman citizens.
     One final thing to note is God's reason in Deuteronomy for not exceeding forty lashes: It is so
your brother will not "be degraded in your sight." Even one guilty of a serious crime is still "your
brother" and while he faces severe punishment, he is never to be degraded by action or thought.
Once the lashing was done, the case was normally closed. Jewish courts often emphasized that this
was for the good of the convicted party by concluding the whipping with the words of Psalm 78:38,
"Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; he restrained his
anger often, and did not stir up all his wrath."
     To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send
email to askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
     Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."