The verb derō literally means to skin or flay (as in removing skin from an animal) and by extension to beat or flog someone — to strike hard, inflicting pain. In the New Testament it describes the physical punishment inflicted on the apostles by Jewish authorities (Acts 5:40; 16:37), the beating Jesus predicts for his disciples (Luke 12:47–48), and the suffering of prophets (Luke 20:10–11).
The repeated derō in Acts describes the price the apostles paid for preaching the gospel. Notably, after being beaten in Acts 5:40–41, the apostles left the Sanhedrin 'rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.' This is a direct fulfillment of Jesus' beatitude: 'Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me' (Matthew 5:11). The willingness to be beaten for the gospel — to bear in one's body the marks of Christ (Galatians 6:17) — is a sign of authentic apostolic ministry.