The Crucifixion of Jesus!
Dr. Richard J. Krejcir

The Passion of Jesus
 
Jesus�?Crucifixion From A "Medical" Point of View     
 

Warning! This article is not for the faint of heart, it is graphic!     

 

 

Matthew 26:17-27:61, Mark 14:12-15:47, Luke 22:7-23:56, John 13:1-19:42

 

           With the popular move “The Passion�?coming out many people are wondering what really happened to Jesus in those last 12 hours. Perhaps you are wondering too? We are going to take a real hard look at the Crucifixion of Jesus from a Medical Point of View.

            When I was in college, more than a few years ago, I was a pre-med student studying biochemistry. This was around 1982 when I was also a fairly new youth pastor and about to give one of my first sermons. Being also a Christian in a secular university, I was inundated with callous remarks and pondering questions about my faith. I sought for a different direction in the typical Lent teaching (I was in an high Liturgical Episcopal church at this time), aspiring to teach my youth what had happened to Jesus, physically, while He was on the cross. And, because I was studying anatomy and physiology, I was also curious about what had happened to Jesus. 

After doing a lot of research, I found little or no information on this subject. So, I decided to “kill two (or three) birds with one stone,�?so to speak. I wrote a paper for a physiology class, prepared a few Sunday school lessons for Lent, and prepared a great sermon, or so I thought. I interviewed several physiologists (people who have a Ph. D., do medical research, and/or teach in a medical school about how the body works. They are far more educated in biomechanics than most medical doctors are).  I also sought advice from many anatomy books and took a step-by-step approach on what happened, following the account in the book of Luke.
 
After several weeks of high-speed and intense research, the paper was an A, the sermon went off as my first bomb (Too gory for the old folks; I was not asked to preach until several months later), and the youth really got into it. 
 
I was amazed and fixated on one thing that kept going through my mind as I researched, wrote, and taught on this subject. Jesus did this for me! He hung on that cross, and went through all this heinous, physical agony of the worst and most intense pain ever devised as torture that a human could conceive and be subjected to. He did this all for me; He took my place; He endured, as an innocent Person, what I deserved as a sinner. He accomplished, by Grace, what I should have born myself. And even now, mere words cannot convey my thoughts, my wonder at this fact. So, I recently rehashed my old paper, and added a lot of new insights that have come onto the scene since. I even discovered a major medical paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious medical publications in existence. “Where were these when I needed them?�?I thought.

 

I grew up in a church where I saw the crucified Lord hanging on a cross every week. We reenacted His death and suffering in our Liturgy every Sunday. The events leading up to the cross were played out every Lent, year after year. Most of us just said the words without any thought, almost a form of rhetoric, without any deep meaning. Even though those words were infused with beautiful poetic words fully explaining why, and what our Lord did, I only knew that He was crucified, but not what that entailed. In my research, I realized that I took what Jesus did for granted. I never really thought it through what He went through, what He did for me, either as a med student, or as a Christian. I did not realize what that cross really meant. It was a device meant for punishment and pain, used for redemption and salvation. 

 
The people in Jesus�?time fully knew what that meant; there was no reason for further explanation by Scripture. But, for us today, removed by nearly two millennia, perhaps a deeper look on what happened is needed. You may wonder, “Why this subject? Is this necessary?�?as those church ladies did two decades ago, and threw quite a “hissy-fit�?with me. Maybe I was a little too bold with them, as passion and excitement from my youth got away from me. But, I believe they were offended because they did not want to know, lest it would force them to examine themselves and their spiritual condition. We may understand the theological ramifications, but as humans in physical bodies ourselves, we can even further identify with our Lord and gain a deeper appreciation for what He did for us by knowing what He went through in our place.
           

First of all, when we look upon the cross as a symbol of our faith and the crucifixion it represents, we have to realize it is an icon for what was, at one time, the most brutal torture ever conceived. It was a symbol of absolute terror. The Romans, who acquired the practice from the Arabians, Carthaginians, and Persians, would set these crosses up within the city limits of pre-conquered areas and randomly crucify some of their inhabitants, just to keep the rest in line. This caused the rest of the people to be fearful, thus easily conquerable. The Romans, under Alexander the Great, perceived this as a good idea, adopted and even improved on it. Subsequently, they instituted the same practice and used it as the primary penalty for non-Roman people accused of a crime. It was most effective!

 

What the Crucifixion looked like        

 

The picture of the Good Friday scene shows Jesus hanging on a cross between two other men who were criminals. This cross that most people have in their minds is the Roman type that hangs in most churches today. But, this is not the only type of cross. There were many types and shapes for the cross. Here are a few with their Latin titles: cross beam cross (patibulums), pikes (stipes), T’s (Tau), X-shaped (decussata), tree (lnfelix lignum), and the Roman cross (sublimis and topiin) that we use today as our symbol for faith. Most scholars say the cross we have today is a fairly accurate description of the one used for Jesus; however, others maintain it was a “T�?type. 
 
The type is irrelevant to its function, and what it did to our Lord. We do know that Jesus did not carry the entire cross. It was too big and heavy. The post, called the stipes, was already fixed permanently in the ground and would have been used for previous executions. When we read that Jesus carried the cross, it refers to the crossbeam called the patibulum, which weighed over one hundred pounds. Image how much a full cross would have weighed! Thus, when our Lord was forced to carry the cross, He actually carried the crossbeam. 
 
Another image we have, in many paintings and frescos, shows the nails driven through the palms of His hands. Historical Roman records (and they kept very good records) tell us that the nails were driven between the radial and ulna bones in the forearms, between the elbow and the wrist. The thought that the nails were in His hands comes form the passage Luke 24:40, "he showed them his hands and feet." The Jews and Romans considered the wrist to be part of the hand; there was no separate word for it. If the nails were impaled in the hands, the person would fall off the cross; there would be nothing strong enough, such as bones and ligaments, to hold up the weight.  
 
On top of the cross was a small sign, called a titulus, depicting the name of the person and his alleged crime. This came from the prison where he had been imprisoned, and was carried on a staff in front of the procession. This procession had the floggers, soldiers, executioner, city officials, and the victim/criminal, carrying the crossbeam. Beside the road, watching, would have been the family, friends, and all the towns people, either enjoying or being terrified by the show. This sign was later nailed to the top of cross above the victim’s head so it was in plain sight. The Romans were very good at promoting this and using it as a deterrent to future crimes and insurrections. 
 
After the procession, the victim was nailed to the crossbeam. His arms may have been tied down, also. Then the person, attached to the crossbeam, was lifted, and the crossbeam was placed in the notched cutout toward the top of the pike part of the cross, and then tied in. Now we have our quintessential Easter scene, the end of the Passion of our Lord, and the beginning of His saving grace in us.

 

The Events Of Suffering, Leading Up To the Words, “It is finished.�?

 

The Passion, the phrase/word expressing the events leading up to the crucifixion, starts in the garden of Gethsemane. Luke, a physician, writes in the gospel of Luke more detail about Christ’s physical experience than do the other three Gospel writers. The first account we have of Christ’s sufferings is the sweat (Mark 14:32; Luke 22:39-45; John 18:1). Luke describes this as, “His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down.�?This phenomenon is called “Hematidrosis,�?or commonly referred to as “bloody sweat.�?It is a real, medical ailment, and is well documented. It is interesting that many liberal scholars, who have no medical knowledge or research skills, say this event could not have happened! Anyway, it does happen, although it is rare. When someone is under great emotional stress, the minuscule capillaries that are in and around the sweat glands (some as small as the width of the blood cells) will break, and some blood mixes in with the sweat. The result is, sweating blood! Our Lord was suffering in agony, not trying to escape His call and plan, but asking if there were an alternative way, as well. He was going to face the ultimate terror. He would experience not only the pain, but also the rejection of the Father, and His divine anger for sin (Psalm 75:8; Isa. 51:17; 22; Jer. 25:15-16; Ezek. 23:33; Rom. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:21). He knew the pain He, being fully man, was going to experience and endure. Being fully God, He could have escaped it. So resulted the traumatic struggle. He chose to go to the cross in our behalf, and be obedient to the plan for our redemption--in the only way it could have been done.

            This “blood sweat�?of stress and intense prayer happened during the middle of the night. While His disciples did not have the courtesy to wait up with Him, a mental trauma of anguish and betrayal occurred (Matt. 26:36-45). The Roman soldiers and government officials came, by means of Judas�?lead, to arrest our Lord by the hour of darkness (Luke 22:52; Eph. 6:12; Col. 1:13).  Further betrayal. Jesus was then brought before the Jewish rulers, the Sanhedrin, at the home of the High Priest, Caiphus. He was subjected to more physical trauma--this time by the hands of others--people whom He created and loved! When Jesus remained silent at the questioning of Caiphus, a soldier brutally struck Him across the face. Then our Lord was subjected to more humiliation. He, being God incarnate, was mocked by the extraordinarily inferior palace guards, who blindfolded Him, contemptuously teasing and making sport of Him. Then, all took turns hitting and spitting upon Him. This continued from the late hours of the night to the early hours of the morning.
 
Then, Jesus was taken to His first Jewish Trial across the “Praetorium,�?the Fortress Antonia, where Pontius Pilate resided. Undoubtedly, Jesus was very dehydrated, exhausted, and bruised from His battering and the lack of sleep. He was also suffering because of the betrayal of His trusted disciples, who acted in harshness, and then ran from Him (Luke 2251- 71). Then, He was taken to the Roman trials. Now we have a passing game, between the local government and religious leaders to the Procurator of Judea, Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea, as well as from Pilate to Herod. It was a back-and-forth game among people who refused to take responsibility. Both Pilate and Herod faced insurmountable pressure from the Romans to keep the insurrections and the religious fundamentalism down, lest they be removed from office, or even lose their life. They knew of Jesus�?popularity and did not want to incite the religious leaders or the people, so they passed Him off to one other, hopeful that someone else would take the possible fall. Jesus was finally returned to Pilate, who was forced to execute Him. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, and publicly offered His release, but the religious officials and Romans in the audience were inciting the mob to cry for the release of Barabbas instead. So, Pilate washed his hands of the matter, still refusing to take responsibility, and condemned our Lord to scourging followed by crucifixion. Jesus suffered further humiliation and one of the worst stresses a person can go through--political bickering! Here, Jesus is suffering from all possible forms of sufferings from all three categories--that of emotional, physical, and spiritual, and all that each of these entails. He was just coming from a suffering, currently experiencing a suffering, and going into more suffering! There was no suffering that our Lord was not experiencing at this time-- and all at the same time!  
 
Because it was unusual for criminals to be both scourged and crucified, some scholars attest that other events must also have taken place. Some scholars feel that Pilate was a victim of the political machine of his time. They think he had Jesus charged, even though he was "not guilty," then had Him illegally flogged by one or two soldiers in order to satisfy the chief priests. This flogging would have caused deep contusions. Some say this scourge was to be a full payment so He would not have to be killed. However, the mob incited a riot, so he had no choice but to have Jesus crucified. The Bible does not say this, nor do the Early Church Fathers, who point to Pilate in their writings and creeds as the one responsible. We can never forsake our actions by blaming others or the situation! But, remember; Jesus claimed, as did His followers, that He was King of the Jews (Luke 23:1-5). According to Roman law, and in defense of Caesar, the Procurator Pilate would have had to dish out all the punishment at his disposal, and in the slowest way, leading to death of the pretender who made such a claim. Pilate did just that. He was in a position to either let Jesus go or to follow the edict. 
 
Scourging was a long process of whipping, where the victim’s clothes were torn off (cloth was the most expensive possession in those times--equal to a car for us--showing an economic loss, too), then His hands were tied to a pike above His head (1 Peter 2:24). Most commentators insert that the Jews had a law prohibiting more than forty lashes. However, it was the Romans who inflicted the punishment and they had no regard for Jewish law; they did as they saw fit. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of our souls, was brutally whipped with a flagellum, a “cattail�?which was a short whip of several heavy tentacles where the ends were tied with small balls of lead, rocks or bone fragments. At first, the whipping action would pound the shoulders, back, and legs, as a butcher would tenderize a piece of meat. It produced deep, large, painful bruises, intense pain, and appreciable blood loss from another form of hematidrosis, and most probably would have left Jesus in a pre-shock state. As the whipping action continued, it would cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, thus producing a discharge of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin and then causing stripe-like lacerations, finally spurting arterial bleeding from larger vessels in the underlying muscles. This action literally tears the flesh off His back, exposing the muscles, and maybe a rib or two. The flesh from the back would hang in long ribbons and would look like a mass of torn, bleeding muscle. The person(s) doing this torture was a trained centurion, and when the victim was near death, the beating would be stopped. They were also careful not to puncture a lung, as that would have killed the victim and ended the intended, prolonged agony.

 

During this incredible agony, the pain would be overwhelming, causing Jesus to slip in and out of consciousness. After this whipping, they would untie Him, causing Him to slump to the ground, lying in Hs own blood. The soldiers, acting with a mindset of sadistic sport and contempt towards Jesus, propped Him up and placed a robe across His shoulders that was made of mohair, a very harsh, prickly fabric from camels, that would have adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, further tearing into the flesh as they put it on and took/tore it off, causing further bleeding and pain. This pain could have been the most excruciating of all! Imagine tearing off a piece of tape on a wound or scab—and multiply it hundreds of times! 
 
The soldiers then placed a scepter in His hands, hands that were aching from the leather straps holding him to the pike as they whipped Him, and then they pressed a crown of sharp thorns into His scalp. These thorns were nasty, and of no use commercially, except for firewood. The head is one of the most vascular areas of the body, and a single thorn--let alone several--would have caused a lot of copious bleeding. The solders continued to mock our Lord and hit Him across His face. They even took the scepter and used it as a hitting devise, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp, pressing into the skull, causing extreme bruising and swelling all over the face and head. By this time, Jesus would have been unrecognizable. 
 
The Roman soldiers placed Jesus�?torn clothes back on Him, picked up the crossbeam, and tied it to His arms, across His shoulders. He was in excruciating pain and perhaps still drifting in and out of consciousness, as He not only had received no sleep for over twenty-four hours, but also had been subject to constant torment and torture, along with mental and spiritual exhaustion. He was led into the procession carrying the heavy patibulum of the cross, perhaps alongside the two thieves. This is called “The Journey along the Via Dolorosa,�?meaning "The Way of Suffering." Jesus would have continued to bleed because of the pressure from the weight of the rough wood of the heavy crossbeam gouging into what remained of His skin, causing lacerations in the skin and muscles of the shoulders, and more copious blood loss. Thus, His muscles were pushed beyond their endurance into hypovolemic shock. He then stumbled and fell under this agony, in spite of His efforts to walk straight. The centurion, who was perhaps anxious to get on with the crucifixion, enlisted some help. As the Scriptures tell us, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him (Luke 23:26). Jesus was unable to carry the load. His body would at this time, if not before, have been going into a state of severe trauma and shock. Keep in mind--He was a “man’s man,�?very fit as a carpenter in a time of no power tools, and was always walking. He would have been in top-notch physical condition. He was no weakling, as some have suggested!