How many times was Paul scourged, and what did he endure without medical care?
Paul was scourged five times. A man normally could not survive 39 lashes, so scourging was stopped short. Paul endured it without antibiotics or hospital care. He also suffered beatings with rods three times, stoning once, three shipwrecks, a night and a day in the deep, perils, weariness, hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness, and fastings.
Les explains that scourging was severe: a man usually could not take 39 lashes and would die, so the beating had to stop short. Yet Paul went through that five times without antibiotics or hospital care. He also was beaten with rods three times, which Les compares to the caning of a Hong Kong boy that caused worldwide outrage, and Paul was not guilty. He was stoned once, in Asia Minor, suffered shipwreck three times, was dumped in the ocean, and spent a night and a day in the deep. Beyond that, he faced perils of robbers, his own countrymen, the heathen, the wilderness, and the sea. Les notes Paul was human: he grew tired, hurt, and ached. He experienced hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness, and fastings. Paul repeats these things in chapter 12 so believers can rest on what he writes.
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
More Questions
How many times was Paul scourged with the 39 stripes?
Paul went through the 39-stripe scourging five times without antibiotics or hospital care, showing how greatly he suffered.