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The
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion
of Christ is recorded in all four gospels: Matthew 27:33-44; Mark
15:22-32; Luke 23:33-43; John 19:17-30.
Crucifixion is the process where a person is nailed or
bound to a cross or a stake. It was first used by the Persians and later
by the Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Romans as a form of capital
punishment. Alexander the Great introduced it to the Mediterranean area
and the Romans perfected it as a means of capital punishment.
Normally, there was a permanent stake in the ground.
The victim carried the crossbar on his back to the stake. The
crossbar usually
weighed between 50 and 75 lbs. Sometimes the person was nailed to the
crossbar, other times he was tied to it. The crossbar, and victim, were
then hoisted into place. One method was to hoist the crossbar into a notch
on top of the stake so the whole thing looked like a T. Another method was
to place the crossbeam a few feet below the top making a cross. Yet
another method was to nail or tie the person to a single stake in the
ground. Usually a small sign on a pole with the crime written on it was
carried ahead of the victim in front of the procession to the cross. It
was then nailed to the cross above the head of the victim.
When nails were used, they were driven through the
wrists between the radial and ulna bones and not through the palms since
the nail would have ripped through the palm because the palm could not
withstand all the weight of the body.
The Physical aspect of
suffering in the crucifixion
Jesus agony began in Gethsemane with the sweating of blood.
Hematidrosis is the name given to the rare occurrence of tiny blood
capillaries in the sweat glands that rupture causing an oozing of blood to
occur through the skin.
Next, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane at night. He was
brought before the Sanhedrin and there struck by a soldier when
Jesus questioned the High Priest.
-
"And when He had said
this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying, "Is
that the way You answer the high priest?" 23 Jesus answered him,
"If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly,
why do you strike Me?" (John 18:22-23).
Jesus was then blindfolded and struck in the face repeatedly.
Being blindfolded meant he couldn't "roll with the punches" and the
blows would have been that much more destructive. The Bible says
that He was beaten so badly He could hardly be recognized.
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"And some began to
spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists,
and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with
slaps in the face," (Mark 14:65).
-
". . . So His
appearance was marred more than any man, and His form more than the
sons of men," (Isaiah 53:14).
-
"I gave My back to
those who strike Me, and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I
did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting," (Isaiah
50:6).
Next, Jesus was stripped of His clothing and then scourged. In
scourging, a soldier used a whip called a flagrum consisting of leather
straps embedded with metal and glass fragments with small metal balls sewn
into the end of each thong. This whip was brought down with full force and
when struck against the back of Jesus, was pulled thus tearing the skin
off, exposing muscle, and maybe even exposing His very bones. Undoubtedly,
His back was reduced to an oozing mass of mutilated flesh. Scourging stops
when it is determined that the victim is near death or 39 lashes was
reached. 39 was the number of mercy according to Jewish law. By this time,
Jesus was in great pain, suffering severe blood loss, and was becoming
very weak and thirsty. Only after this was He taken to be crucified.
- "Then he released Barabbas for them;
but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified,"
(Matt. 27:26).
They then
stripped Him, put a scarlet robe on Him and placed a crown of thorns on
His head. The robe would stick to the congealing blood on His back and
when they ripped it from Him later, it would have been very painful and
would have helped to continue the bleeding even more. They put a crown of
thorns on His head. These thorns were shoved between His scalp and skull
as well as ripping and tearing at the skin. Severe bleeding would ensue
along with great pain.
- "And they spat on Him, and took the
reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31 And after they
had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him,
and led Him away to crucify Him,"
(Matt. 27:30).
"And after weaving a crown of
thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and
they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of
the Jews!" (Matt. 27:29).
Then Jesus was
mocked and beaten another time after the scourging. He would be
very weak by this time and probably could not bear the weight of the
cross. So, another person was drafted to carry the cross for Him.
- "And as they were coming out, they
found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to
bear His cross,"
(Matt.
27:32).
Jesus was lead
away to the cross and finally, He was nailed to a cross-beam.
Normally a person was laid down upon the cross beam and a nail driven into
one wrist. Then the other hand was pulled very tightly and another nail
driven into the other wrist. The nails were usually about 6-8 inches long.
Placing the nail in the wrist severs the median nerve resulting in a
burning pain as well as paralysis in the hand.
Once Jesus was lifted to the cross, His feet were
nailed to it. But, in order to do this, His knees were bent and the
feet brought up a bit to allow them to lie flat against the stake so they
could be nailed to it. Once suspended, the force of gravity brings the
weight of the body down and the shoulders and elbows dislocate by popping
out of joint, ripping ligaments.
Because of the outstretched position of the arms, the
chest cavity is in a perpetually expanded state and it is very difficult
to breathe. With the severe loss of blood from the scourging and
crucifixion, Jesus would have become dehydrated and His body would have
less blood to carry oxygen. Therefore, His heart would beat faster as it
attempted to compensate and His need for oxygen would increase greatly. In
order to breath, Jesus had to push up on the nails in His feet to allow
His chest enough flexibility to inhale. Pushing up on the nails is not
only excruciating, but this meant that He had to scrap His raw, beaten
back against the rough wooden stake. This whole process of breathing and
exhaling by pushing up on the nails only increases in intensity as time
passes. Soon, the body gets to the point of no return and the heart either
ruptures or the person dies from asphyxiation. But, before that happened,
the blood loss results in extreme thirst as the body craves water to
restore the lost blood. Jesus said, "I thirst" (John 19:28),
whereupon a soldier offered Him some sour wine (Luke 23:36), but Jesus
refused it -- because He would not seek to escape any of the ordeal.
In order to prolong the suffering, sometimes, the
Romans would place a very small seat nailed to the stake so that the
victim could partially sit on it. This would allow a small amount of rest
and would greatly increase the time it took to die, sometimes several
days. But in Jesus’ case, since He was so badly beaten before He got to
the cross, He died in a short amount of time. It was, therefore, not
necessary to break His legs to prevent Him from pushing up on the nails in
His feet so He could breath. Jesus died a horrible death.
As I read this
account, I am stricken by the greatness of His sacrifice and very thankful
that He loves us enough to die for us. He deserves all the glory.
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