PUNISHxAIEXT
PURIFICATION
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ledge. Human analogies can merely give us vague hints, every analogy being to some degree im- perfect, and therefore to the same degree mislead- ing. Instead of seeking to dogmatize on what does not at present fall within the sphere of our understanding, it Avould seem wise to contine our conclusions to two broad principles :
(i.) The punishment of the sinner is such as Love can inflict. If God is Love (1 Jn 4'^- ^'^), there can be no act of His which is not an expression of His nature. Sometimes Love reveals itself as tender- ness. Sometimes it I'eveals itself as wrath (cf. the striking sequence of verses in Mt 10-^- ^^ and 2V^- 1^) ; for if sin is more than a fiction, the measure of God's love for the sinner will determine the severity of His anger against his sin. Indeed, the surest proof of the punishment of sin is to be found in the love of God. It is only something less than love that would palliate evil in the life of the loved one. If, therefore, punishment is an ex- pression of Love, it will contain the elements of discipline and retribution in such proportion as Love demands. What that proportion is we can- not say : we must be content to leave ourselves in the hands of Perfect Love.
(ii. ) Hence, too, it follows that the duration of punishment will be such as Love requires. It seems reasonable to expect that as soon as a sinner becomes forgivable, the retributive asjject of punishment is at an end, and discipline alone remains ; and that when discipline has utterly failed to reclaim a man, it in its turn must give place to simple retribution. Of the precise point at which either crisis is reached we have no know- ledge. In one place our Lord appears to hint that it may be beyond the grave (Mt 12^-), but, as we have already seen. He gave no clear guidance in the matter. Again, w'e must be content to leave ourselves in the hands of Perfect Love. (On the nature and purpose of punishment, see Moberly's valuable chapter in Atonement and Personality, ch. i.)
2. Forms of human punishment. — (a) Among punishments mentioned as of general imposition are several which demand no detailed treatment. Such are decapitation (Mk 6-'', Mt 14^°), drowning (Mk Q*\ Mt 18«), incarceration (_Mk 6^^ Mt S^s IS^", Lk 23^"), and hanging (Mt 27^), inflicted, according to Jewish custom, only for idolatry or blasphemy, and then only after the victim had already been put to death in some other way (Edersheim, LT ii. 584). With these, too, may be classed the less familiar penalties of precipitation (attempted in the case of our Lord, Lk 4-") and of mutilation {SixoTOfieiv, Mt 24", Lk 12-'«). Storiing (Lk 20«, Jn 8', cf. Mt 21^4 II and Mt 23^5 y) ^y^g imposed for many offences, including the unchastity of a betrothed maiden, idolatry, and blasphemy. On one occasion the Jews sought to inflict it on our Lord Himself (Jn 1(F). See art. STONING. For excommunication, see art. s.v.
(h) The two prominent forms of human punish- ment inflicted upon Jesus were those of scourging and crucifixion. Scourging, used among the Jews as a penalty for debt (Mt 18^^) or for offences of a religious character (Mt 10^'' 23-^'*), was also the customary precursor to Roman crucifixion. The Roman scourge was of leather thongs, weighted with bone or some form of metal. The victim's suffer- ing was so intense that it frequently led to death l)efore the capital sentence proper could be carried into effect. According to His own prophecy (Mk 10-'\ Mt 20i«, Lk 183^'), our Lord was subjected to this cruel instrument of torture (Mk IS'*", Mt 27-", Jn Ifl^. It was inflicted by Pilate in the hope that it M-ould satisfy the passion of the Jews and render the crucifixion unnecessary (Lk 23^^ ; see Westcott on Jn 19M. For the details of our Lord's
crucifixion (Mk 15" [i, cf. Gal S'^-^^) and their signi- ficance the reader is referred to tlie special article under that heading. Christ foretold this form oJ death for other witnesses to truth (Mt 23^'*, and probably Jn 21^8) as well as for Himself (Mt 20'° 26-, Lk 24^ Jn 12='- «^). H. BissEKER.
PURIFICATION (1. Kadapiaixu^ : of washings be- fore and after meals, Jn 2" ; of baptism, a symbol of moral cleansing, 3'-° ; of the Levitical jturili ca- tion of women after childbii'th, Lk 2"^'^ ; of cleansing of lepers, Mk I'*'*, Lk 5". 2. /SaTrrtcr^tds : of cleansing of vessels, Mk 7^). — From the time of the Exile onwards, the interest of the Jew had largely centred around ritual observance, conditioned, to begin with, by the necessity of maintaining the separateness or the Remnant that remained. These observances, so far as they concerned purification, had two main sources of origin. Some must have dated from a prehistoric period when religion had but little to do with ethics, and concerned itself rather with maintaining the favour of a deity, thought of as arbitrary, by avoiding practices that might trench upon his holiness. Other observances, of later date, may have had their origin in sanitary requirements. The result, however, as is well known, was that Jewish life became completely fettered by these ordinances, written and oral. When Christ came proclaiming liberty to the captives. He could not avoid running counter in many respects to the regulations dealing with purification. See art. Purity. The various cere- monies of purification referred to in the Gospels are these :