This material is based on an article by Dr. C. Truman Davis and first published by the Christian Broadcasting Network. This appears to be a very factual look at how Jesus Christ really died.
Some time ago after reading Jim Bishop’s The Day Christ Died, I realized that for years I’d taken the Crucifixion more or less for granted — I’d grown callous to its horror by a too easy familiarity with the grim details and a too distant relationship with Jesus. Now, at Easter, it occurred to me that even with a significant background in medical death investigation, I didn’t know anything about the actual anatomical cause of Jesus Christ’s death.
The Gospel writers don’t help us much on this point because crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetime that they apparently considered a detailed description unnecessary. So we have only the concise words of the Evangelists: “Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified — and they crucified Him.”
I have no competence to discuss the infinite psychic and spiritual suffering of the Incarnate God atoning for the sins of fallen man. I honestly don’t understand that. But I was curious about investigating the physiological and anatomical aspects of the Lord’s passion in detail.
What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture?
This led first to a study of the practice of crucifixion itself; that is, torture and execution by fixation to a cross. I’m indebted to many who’ve studied this subject in the past — especially Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who’s done exhaustive historical and experimental research and written extensively on the subject.
Apparently, the first known practice of crucifixion was by the Persians. Alexander and his generals brought it back to the Mediterranean world — to Egypt and to Carthage. The Romans learned the practice from the Carthaginians and (as with almost everything the Romans did) rapidly developed a very high degree of efficiency and skill at it. A number of Roman authors (Livy, Cicer, Tacitus) comment on crucifixion. Several innovations, modifications, and variations are described in the ancient literature.
For instance, the upright portion of the cross (or stipes) could have the cross-arm (or patibulum) attached two or three feet below its top in what we commonly think of as the Latin cross. The most common form used in Jesus’s day, however, was the Tau cross, shaped like our T.
In this cross, the patibulum was placed in a notch at the top of the stipes. There is archeological evidence that it was on this type of cross that Jesus was crucified. Without any historical or biblical proof, Medieval and Renaissance painters have given us our picture of Christ carrying the entire cross. But the upright post, or stipes, was generally fixed permanently in the ground at the site of execution and the condemned man was forced to carry the patibulum, weighing about 110 pounds, from the prison to the place of execution.
Many of the painters and most of the sculptors of crucifixion also show the nails through the palms. Historical Roman accounts and experimental work have established that the nails were driven between the small bones of the wrists (radial and ulna) and not through the palms. Nails driven through the palms will strip out between the fingers when made to support the weight of the human body. The misconception may have come about through a misunderstanding of Jesus’ words to Thomas, “Observe my hands.” Anatomists, both modern and ancient, have always considered the wrist as part of the hand.
A titulus, or small sign, stating the victim’s crime was usually placed on a staff, carried at the front of the procession from the prison and later nailed to the cross so that it extended above the head. This sign with its staff nailed to the top of the cross would have given it somewhat the characteristic form of the Latin cross.
But the physical passion of Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of this initial suffering, the one of greatest physiological interest is the bloody sweat. It is interesting that St. Luke, the physician, is the only one to mention this. He says, “And being in agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.” Every ruse (trick) imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away this description, apparently under the mistaken impression that this just doesn’t happen. A great deal of effort could have been saved had the doubters consulted medical literature.
Though very rare, the phenomenon of Hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress of the kind Jesus suffered, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process might well have produced marked weakness and possible shock.
After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiphus, the High Priest. It’s here the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiphus. The palace guards then blindfolded him and mockingly taunted him to identify them. As each passed by, they spat upon Jesus and struck him in the face.
In the early morning — battered, bruised, dehydrated and exhausted from a sleepless night — Jesus was taken across the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Pilate passed responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate.
It was then, in response to the cries of the mob, that Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.
There is much disagreement among authorities about the unusual scourging as a prelude to crucifixion. Most Roman writers from this period do not associate the two. Many scholars believe that Pilate originally ordered Jesus scourged as his full punishment and that the death sentence by crucifixion came only in response to the taunt by the mob that the Procurator was not properly defending Caesar against this pretender who allegedly claimed to be the King of the Jews.
Preparations for the scourging were carried out when Jesus was stripped of his clothing and his hands tied to a post above his head. It’s doubtful the Romans would have made any attempt to follow the Jewish law in this matter but the Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more than forty lashes. The Roman legionnaire stepped forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs.
At first, the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continued, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin then finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead produced large, deep bruises which were broken open by subsequent blows. Finally, the skin of Jesus’s back would be hanging in long ribbons and the entire area an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue.
When it was determined by the centurion in charge that Jesus was near death, the beating finally stopped. The half-fainting Jesus was untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with his own blood.
The Roman soldiers saw a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They threw a robe across his shoulders and placed a stick in his hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete so flexible branches covered with long thorns (commonly used in bundles for firewood) were plaited into the shape of a crown and pressed into Jesus’s scalp. Again, there was copious bleeding — the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.
After mocking Jesus and striking him across the face, the soldiers took the stick from his hand and struck him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into his scalp. Finally, they tired of their sadistic sport and the robe was torn from his back. Already having adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, its removal would have caused excruciating pain just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage. It was almost as though Jesus were whipped again and the wounds once more began to bleed.
In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans returned his garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross was tied across Jesus’s shoulders and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion began a slow journey along the Via Dolorosa.
In spite of Jesus’s efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, would be too much. He stumbled and fell. The rough wood of the beam gouged into the lacerated skin and shoulder muscles. Jesus tried to rise but his human muscles were pushed beyond their endurance.
The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selected a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus followed, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock until the 650-yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha was finally completed. Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic mixture. He refused to drink. Simon was ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus was quickly thrown backward with his shoulders against the wood.
The legionnaire felt for the depression at the front of Jesus’s wrist. He drove a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moved to the other side and repeated the action, being careful not to pull his arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum was then lifted in place at the top of the stipes and the titulus reading “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” was nailed in place.
Jesus’s left foot was now pressed backward against his right foot and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail was driven through the arch of each, leaving his knees moderately flexed.
Jesus was now crucified.
As he slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating pain would have shot along Jesus’s fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain — the nails in the wrists putting pressure on the median nerves.
Jesus would have pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment and he’d have placed his full weight on the nail through his feet. Again, there would be searing agony of the nail tearing through his nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, as his arms fatigued, great waves of cramps would have swept over Jesus’s muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps would come the inability to push himself upward.
Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles would be paralyzed and Jesus’s intercostal muscles would be unable to act.
As air could be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled in this position, Jesus would have fought to raise himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide would build up in his lungs and in the blood stream — the cramps would partially subside. Spasmodically, Jesus would push himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.
Jesus would have experienced several hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain where tissue was torn from his lacerated back as he moved up and down against the rough timber.
Then another agony began — a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as Jesus’s pericardium slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart.
This is documented in the 22nd Psalm, 14th verse: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”
It was now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical level — Jesus’s compressed heart struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissue — his tortured lungs making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air — the markedly dehydrated tissues sending their flood of stimuli to his brain.
Jesus gasped “I thirst.”
Another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm refers to this. “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death.” A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine which is the staple drink of the Roman legionaries, was lifted to his lips but Jesus apparently didn’t take any liquid.
Jesus’s body was now in extremes — he would be able to feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues. This realization brought out his words, possibly little more than a tortured whisper. “It is finished.” Jesus’s mission of atonement was completed and, finally, he could allow his body to die. With one last surge of strength, Jesus would again press his torn feet against the nail, straighten his legs, take a deeper breath, and utter a last cry. “Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
In order that the Sabbath not be profaned, the Jews asked that the condemned men be dispatched and removed from the crosses. The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture — the breaking of the leg bones. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward — the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken but when the soldiers came to Jesus they saw this was unnecessary.
Apparently, to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance through the fifth interspace between Jesus’s ribs — upward through the pericardium and into the heart.
The 34th verse of the 19th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John reports, “And immediately there came out blood and water.” That is, there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart. This is solid postmortem evidence that Jesus died not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation. The actual anatomical cause of Jesus Christ’s death was heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.
This is our glimpse — including the medical evidence — of that epitome of evil that man has exhibited toward man and toward God.
I just find it really weird that CLIFF HILDA can’t read this without feeling so threatened he has to resort to not one, but three, posts full of name-calling, hollering liar liar, and also saying he’s a better detective than the author. The three posts together were some of the worst word-diarrhea I’ve seen in a long time. I always knew Jesus could inspire some strong emotions, but I never saw anyone react so fearfully as to have a screaming fit accompanied by an almost hysterical rant that evolution is true.
I for one believe the crucifixion happened just as the Bible described, and I would challenge Mr. Hilda, with his insistence on his open mind, to read “The Shortest Leap” by A.L. Van Den Herik. This book posits a certain “leap of faith” is necessary to believe in anything, whether it’s Jesus, Mohammed, or evolution, and ultimately we believe whatever requires the shortest leap. The evidence presented there is pretty powerful. There’s also J. Warner Wallace, a former atheist LA homicide cop who ridiculed Christianity for years until he looked into its claims. Now he’s written such books as “God’s Crime Scene,” “Forensic Faith,” and many other books defending the claims of Christianity. And finally, there’s James Tour, a chemist and nanotechnologist with over 700 research publications and over 130 patent families to his credit–and he has out-debated so many evolutionists they won’t try anymore.
You can be an atheist all day long if that blows your skirt up. Jesus never begged anyone to believe him; he didn’t make a fortune by passing the plate. In the end he died in ignominy, for the sins of the world. But that’s putting it too broadly–he would have died just as gladly, and suffered just as much as Gerry Rodgers said, even if the only people in the world were Gerry Rodgers, Cliff Hilda, and Mel Hughes. Anyone who really has an open mind can bank on that.
You may well be an experienced Homicide Detective, but I’m an experienced History Detective , as such I’m very good at approaching the ” crime scene” with an open mind and an eagle eye , but the problem is with many events in antiquity is that it’s so long ago it’s difficult to investigate and alleged accounts must be ”read between the lines” !
In regards to the beginning of Religions and Cults there are usually some bizarre events that ”spark off ” and ignite the faithful ; after all , all the prophets of old were charismatic and often psychopathic personalities filled with deluded self belief …Moses , Abraham , Jesus , Mohammed and Buddha were all that way , but the events and times were so long ago to be immune from serious investigation
However , there is , fortunately , a prime example of just how cults/religions begin much nearer to our own times that can be studied in some detail …..naturally , I’m talking about the cult of Mormonism and Latter Day Saints , circa 1830s ! Joseph Smith was the arch-typical cult leader ; charismatic , woefully self deluded but filled with psychopathic self belief, a la Jim Jones (Guyana 1978) ..he even managed to get himself martyred to boost his credibility ! But let’s face it , it’s difficult to argue against success !
Mohammed is another one ; well I mean , his so called revelations and ”Night journey to the stars ”on his horse, Barrak , are the stuff of legend !He must have been smoking some good hashish that night ! All that’s missing is the haunting sound of Sinatra’s ” Fly me to the Moon” to make the scene complete with Mohammed riding his horse in ever widening circles under a desert starry night !
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me know what Spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
And furthermore , the detailed accounts of the Crucifiction are mere Christian embellishments as the original accounts are very vague indeed ..to put it crudely ,it’s Christian propaganda , but it often is enough to seduce and fool the faithful who have an uninformed and anachronistic view of the past ; they tend to see the past through the eyes of modern man ; informed and rational ! However the folks from antiquity were anything but informed and rational , but were for the most part ignorant, superstitious peasants , somewhat similar to folks from some remote part of the Third World today …well I mean if some quasi medieval peasants from a remote valley in Afghanistan claimed to have witnessed a miracle , then who, WHO? in their right mind would believe them ?
Life came about through the timeless , indifferent process of Evolution; indeed I’m convinced that life is merely a series of random events , weird coincidences and near misses ..that’s how Evolution works and that’s often how History unfolds ! Turn back the hands of time and you’d never get the same process of biological Evolution , or of Human History unfolding the same way a second time !
And now getting back to the infamous Crucifiction ; that gentle soul ,Jesus, was only up on the cross for about six hours and was surely in no state to run a marathon , but appearing dead is not the same as actually being dead ; he was likely put into that tomb in a comatose state and left for dead on Friday evening , but by the following Sunday morning it’s not beyond the boundaries of possibility that he had managed to recover his senses and stagger out of that tomb, more dead than alive, covered in dried blood , looking like a burnt out Hippy ,to proclaim the immortal words ”Rejoice , I have arisen ! ”
I bet that poor Roman soldier on sentry duty got a nasty surprise ; I BET HE DID !…he was probably off down to Jerusalem at waaaarp speed leaving the Messiah dazed and confused and mumbling to himself ”But was it something I ate ” ?
Coincidently , he never ”hung around” for very long before ”Ascending to Heaven” now did he ? Well I’m not surprised as those Romans were a pragmatic bunch who’d of quickly figured out that the rabble rouser they had recently crucified was now waltzing around the Judean hills claiming to be none other than the ”Son of God ” ! Hmmmmmmmm They’d have sent out a patrol with dire orders to ”Get Jesus ! and this time make sure he’s dead or you’ll all be hanging up there next to him ” ! Ooooooooo sobering words indeed ?
The holy fool was probably intoxicated by his own survival and divinity , but in moments of sober reflection must have thought to himself ” If those Romans made a mistake , they DEFINATELY not make it twice ….I’M OFF ! ! …he didn’t ascend to Heaven , he ascended to Lebanon or Syria ; he got the hell out of Dodge while he still could , but who could blame him as hanging up on that cross all day would surely sober up even the most religiously intoxicated ?
Or he could have lived for a week before dying of blood poisoning before being quietly buried by his most loyal and deluded disciple ,who later told his credulous followers that the ”Messiah had indeed ascended to Heaven ” and the rest, as they say , is merely History ! The historical truth is a lot closer to Monty Python’s ”Life of Brian ” than the Bible , methinks !…but it’s all part of the absurdist element of existence !
Garry ….best keep an open mind on the Crucifixion ….if you read History , especially military History , you’ll realize just how resilient we humans can be to injuries ; after every battle in History there have been those who were badly wounded and left for dead on the battlefield , only to be miraculously ”resurrected ” within a few hours or days ..it happened quite a number of times during the Holocaust when Jewish victims were shot and tumbled into a mass grave , only to drag themselves away, more dead than alive , when the Germans left
There was even a case in 17th C England when a Highwayman was hung outside of York , but fortunately for him his neck wasn’t broken and was slowly strangling ; but appearing dead is not the same as actually being dead , now is it ? He was quickly buried in a shallow grave , however, a passerby noticed the soil on his grave moving and realized he was still alive and quickly dug him up ; and so he lived to tell the tale but , naturally, he was in no state to sing soprano after that experience !
There is a fine biography from WW 2 called ”Hanged at Auschwitz ” by a young Jewish boxer, Sam Kessel, who was incarcerated there before being hung for an escape attempt ….he was hanged but his neck wasn’t broken because the rope broke , but since he passed out with the pain they assumed he was dead and was taken to the crematorium ; fortunately for him a fellow boxer who worked there, recognised that he was still alive and gave him a new uniform and number ; and so he lived to write a fine memoir …the point I’m making is that the dead aren’t necessarily dead , even after an execution, and sometimes there are indeed” resurrections” !
PS/ Crucifixions usually lasted 2-3 days to ”make an example of the offender” , but the messiah was only hanging up there for 6-7 HOURS HMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm? ?
I remember this from last year, and it’s just as powerful the second read-through. I hate to think of anyone suffering to this extent, especially Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Easter, Garry. Send my best to Rita and Emily!
I thought it was fitting to re-pub this today, Sue. The crucifixion is such an integral part of Christian faith and I think it’s important for people to know just how overwhelmingly atrocious Jesus’s death really was. It puts into perspective when we whine about day to day difficulties. And our Easter best to you, Bob and your extended family! ~Garry
Garry,
This is a somber reminder of the agony, torture, and cost that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ paid for our sins.
And you’re right, no one has ever suffered like Jesus:
Isaiah 52:14 New International Version (NIV)
Verse 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him[a]—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
Interesting scripture quote – Thanks for sharing it, Wendy.
Wow, Garry —
That’s a stunning account. Realizing the pain and trauma Jesus endured leaves me speechless. If you know me, you’d know that means I’m devastated. Yet I’m grateful for the experience. Thank you.
Judy Potocki
I simply can’t imagine the horror Jesus endured – it’s beyond comprehension how cruel that was. Thanks for commenting, Judy. It’s a gruesome subject but a core element in Christian teaching.
I did not enjoy reading this, because I realize that my sins are partly responsible for Jesus being on that cross. And it also hurts to know that Christians who will not renounce their faith are still being crucified in the Middle East by the likes of ISIS. This is not just something way back in history. This torture of humans still occurs today to those whose only crimes are those of conscience.
I appreciate your comment. Barbara. There was nothing nice about putting forward what happened in Jesus Christ’s death. I’ve never truly understood the equating of Christ dying for our sins… I was not brought up as a baptised Christian. I think it’s applicable in putting forward awareness of the epitome of cruel, which is what crucifixion was / is. Being aware of horrors of the past may help to prevent those injustices in the present and future.
Garry, Mr Tubbs
Only you could pull this off. Awesome realistic explanation for what we have historically used faith to describe.
You have a knack for putting mysteries in my life into understandable writing. Not easy to do considering the fact that I am a newfoundland er
Phil
Hey PF, Thanks for the compliment 🙂 I still don’t know why it’s called ‘Good’ Friday??
Wow. Can’t say I enjoyed reading about our Lord’s torture, but at the same time I found the medical information fascinating. Probably one of the worst ways to die. You also gave me a great idea for my WIP. 🙂
On a nicer note, it’s said the Robin got its red breast because he flew to Jesus on the cross and pulled a thorn out of his forehead, thus dropping a spot of Christ’s blood on his feathered chest. From that day forward, because of his love for Jesus, the Robin would always have a red breast. My husband and I call them Jesus birds. Happy Easter, Garry!
And Happy Easter to you & your family, Sue.
While I was putting this piece together I was trying to imagine the pain that He must have endured but I could not get my head around that. I understand that the word ‘excruciating’ means ‘from crucifixion’. It is such a barbaric, monstrously-horrific act of cruelty to another human being – savagery at its worst. In research, I also learned that some Arabic countries still have crucifixion on their list of approved forms of capital punishment, Saudi Arabia being one.
And I did not know that story about Robins. Now I got the song ‘When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin along’ buzzing in my mind 🙂
Ha! Hate when I get a tune stuck.
This post has stayed with me, trying, like you say, to imagine the agony he felt. Really powerful, Garry.
I think one of the many messages that Jesus left for us is when we think we’ve got it bad and are suffering… just remember what He endured.