Readers may find this article on crucifixion disturbing. It is not meant to be pleasant. But it will help us know what our Lord passed through for our sake.
Whenever the story of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is relived, like other Christians I feel sorrowful. But it has never occurred to me to look at what Jesus experienced from a medical point of view.
Dr. C. Truman Davis was one who was inspired by this thought. He looked at documented papers on death by crucifixion, and from there inferred from it what Jesus must have experienced. There is also Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who did a lot of historical and experimental research on this subject. It was Barbet that said from his experience the image on the Shroud of Turin was anatomically correct and consistent with crucifixion, and was authentic. There is also Mayo Clinic's contribution published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1989.
Not long ago, an Israeli Professor, Benjamin Brenner challenged the known belief that Jesus died of hemorrhage. He thinks Jesus might have died from a blood clot or pulmonary embolism brought about by his immobilization, multiple trauma and dehydration. He supported his argument by saying thrombophilia, a rare disease where blood has an increased tendency to clot, is common to people from Galilee where Jesus was from.
Crucifixion probably started first with the Persians (modern day Iran). Then, the victim was suspended so that their feet won't touch holy ground. The Phoenicians, acquired it and spread it to other cultures including the Greeks. Alexander the Great (a Greek) was the one who introduced the practice to Carthage, where the Romans picked it up. The Romans started using it around the time that Jesus was born.
The Romans were the ones who perfected crucifixion as a form of punishment "designed to maximize pain and suffering. It wasnt about killing somebody — it was about killing somebody in a really horrible way. Someone who was crucified suffered the maximum amount of pain. Crucifixion was usually reserved for slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and vile criminals." Crucifixion was also the most shameful form of execution. The victim was usually stark naked. The cloth used around the waist of Jesus was for decency.
A crucified victim would live for a period ranging from just a few hours to a few days. If no one came for the body, it would be left on the cross to be consumed by animals.
The upright portion of the cross is called the stipes, while the cross-arm is called the patibulum.
We are made to believe Jesus carried the entire cross to the crucifixion ground, but the upright post was normally fixed on permanent basis to the ground, while the victim was made to carry the patibulum which weighed between 50 to 70kg to the place of crucifixion. Indeed, that was how Jesus carried it. The cross is now a symbol.
History and research have shown that the nails passed between the small bones of the wrists (radial and ulna), and not via the palms. When nails are passed through the palms they will strip out between the fingers if they were to carry the weight of the body.
Perhaps Jesus' words to Thomas “See my hands,” may have brought about the misconception. But anatomists take the wrist as part of the hand.
It was at Gethsemane that Jesus started experiencing the physical suffering. It was said that He sweated blood. It is worthy of note that it was only Luke the physician that documented it. He put it this way, “And being in agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of
blood, trickling down upon the ground.”
Many people believe this could never happen. Though it is very rare, Hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is in medical literature. Great emotional stress, the type Jesus suffered, can cause tiny capillaries in the sweat glands to break, and mix blood with sweat. This phenomenon could well cause profound weakness and possibly lead to shock.
It followed that Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiphus, the High Priest. This was where he was first physically traumatized. Jesus was struck across the face when he remained silent after Caiphus questioned him. After that the palace guards blind-folded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify who struck Him. They spat upon Him, and delt blows on His face.
Early the following morning, a bruised, battered, dehydrated, and exhausted Jesus is taken across the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, to meet Pontius Pilate. Then the mob started crying that Jesus be crucified, and Barabbas the murderer be released. A lot of scholars believe that Pilate originally ordered Jesus scourged as his ultimate punishment, the crucifixion being only in response to the cry of the Jews.
Scourging involves stripping the prisoner of his clothes and his hands tied above his head on a post. The Jewish law said no more than forty lashes. But I am not sure if the Romans followed this.
A flagrum (or flagellum) is used. This is a short whip that has several heavy, leather thongs and two small balls of lead attached towards the ends of each.
The whip had iron balls tied a few inches from the end of each leather thong on the whip. Occasionally, sharp sheep bones are tied near the ends.
The whip is brought down with a great force by a soldier repeatedly across the back, shoulders and legs. The thongs cut through the skin. Then, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, then blood oozes out from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and later tearing arteries after muscles are reached. Arterial bleeding is torrential. At the end the skin of the back hangs as unrecognizable mass of lacerated, bleeding tissue. When it is seen by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is close to death, the beating is stopped.
The soldiers mocked a fainting Jesus and made a crown of thorns for the head, the scalp being one of the most vascularized part of the body, further depleting his blood reserve.
He carried the heavy patibulum to the place of execution, along with two other condemned criminals.
Very weakened, Jesus fell three times, face down, under the weight of the patibulum. The centurion eager to get the crucifixion job done, pointed at Simon of Cyrene who was passing by to help carry the cross.
His clothing was adhered to the clots of blood and serum from the wounds. So, when the clothing was removed the skin came off with agonizing pain, like a callous removal of bandage on a wound. Jesus followed until they reached Golgotha.
They give Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, to serve as a mild analgesic. He declines to drink. They order Simon to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus made to lie on the wood. The soldier drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through Jesus' wrist and through the wood. And does same to the other wrist. The patibulum is then taken up in place at the top of the stipes and the titulus, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” is nailed in place.
They then press the left foot backward against the right foot, extending both feet, with toes down, a nail is driven through the arch, leaving the knees slightly flexed. Jesus is crucified.
He sags down slowly with more weight on the nails around the wrist. There is agonizing pain which radiates along the fingers, going further up the arms to explode in the brain. This is because the nails in the wrist are putting pressure on the median nerves.
To avoid this stretch that causes Him pains He pulls upward, but this places his whole weight on the nail through His feet.
The agony repeats itself. This time it is the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this stage, the arms are fatigued, causing great waves of cramps. With more cramps then follows the inability to push upward. Now hanging by His arms, this paralyzes the pectoral muscles, and the intercostal muscles too are unable to function. Air can be taken into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus struggles to raise Himself so as to get any air into the lungs. With time, carbon dioxide begins to build up in the lungs and in the blood and the cramps partially reduces. Carbondioxide triggers respiration. By spasms, He pushes Himself upward to exhale and bring in oxygen.
Then comes another agony. A crushing
pain comes in the chest as the pericardium gradually fills with
serum and starts to compress the heart. That was why it was said in Psalm 22:14 “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.”
Tissue fluids loss has reached a severe level; the heart that is compressed is struggling to pump thick, heavy sluggish blood, the suffering lungs are making a desperate effort to take in air. The severely dehydrated tissues send stimuli to the brain. Jesus manages “I thirst.” This brings in the words of the psalmist in 22:15 “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.”
They bring a hyssop soaked in posca, which is a cheap sour wine. He declines again. Remember that during the first Passover the Israelites used hyssop to mark blood of lambs on their doors.
Knowing He was dying, He took one last breath and said “It is finished.” His mission of atonement now completed. With a last surge of energy, He presses His lacerated feet against the nail, straightens His legs, and takes a much deeper breath, and utters His last cry, “Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
It was Sabbath. The Jews did not want it to be profaned, so they asked that the condemned men be removed from the crosses. The usual way of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the
breaking of the bones of the legs. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; so the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest and quick suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers got to Jesus they saw that this was not needed. Still, they wanted to be sure, they therefore drove a lance through the fifth intercostal space between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. And the Scriptures said “And immediately there came out blood and water.” That is, there was an escape of water fluid from the sac covering the heart, a sort of giving postmortem proof that "Jesus died not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure (a broken heart) due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the
pericardium."
As an individual you may be passing through difficult conditions, be it health, marital, family, economic or whatsoever problem that brings you suffering and agonizing pain. It is time to look unto Jesus who went through worse for no crime just to atone for our sins. Christ endured his ordeal and was victorious at last. You too will be victorious.
As a nation, Nigeria's problems seem to have worsened. No electricity, no fuel, no jobs, no security, dollar has skyrocketed against the naira with inflation on the rise; there is kidnapping, armed robbery, and political killings; there is despondency, a broke and broken nation. We have never had it this bad. There is a collective national pain that shoots all around, shaking faith in our existence, pain after pain. It is time for Nigeria to look unto Jesus who endured much pain and sorrow for the love of mankind. Jesus endured his ordeal and overcame. Nigeria too will overcome.
Dr Cosmas Odoemena
Readers may find this article on crucifixion disturbing. It is not meant to be pleasant. But it will help us know what our Lord passed through for our sake.
Whenever the story of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is relived, like other Christians I feel sorrowful. But it has never occurred to me to look at what Jesus experienced from a medical point of view.
Dr. C. Truman Davis was one who was inspired by this thought. He looked at documented papers on death by crucifixion, and from there inferred from it what Jesus must have experienced. There is also Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who did a lot of historical and experimental research on this subject. It was Barbet that said from his experience the image on the Shroud of Turin was anatomically correct and consistent with crucifixion, and was authentic. There is also Mayo Clinic's contribution published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1989.
Not long ago, an Israeli Professor, Benjamin Brenner challenged the known belief that Jesus died of hemorrhage. He thinks Jesus might have died from a blood clot or pulmonary embolism brought about by his immobilization, multiple trauma and dehydration. He supported his argument by saying thrombophilia, a rare disease where blood has an increased tendency to clot, is common to people from Galilee where Jesus was from.
Crucifixion probably started first with the Persians (modern day Iran). Then, the victim was suspended so that their feet won't touch holy ground. The Phoenicians, acquired it and spread it to other cultures including the Greeks. Alexander the Great (a Greek) was the one who introduced the practice to Carthage, where the Romans picked it up. The Romans started using it around the time that Jesus was born.
The Romans were the ones who perfected crucifixion as a form of punishment "designed to maximize pain and suffering. It wasnt about killing somebody — it was about killing somebody in a really horrible way. Someone who was crucified suffered the maximum amount of pain. Crucifixion was usually reserved for slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and vile criminals." Crucifixion was also the most shameful form of execution. The victim was usually stark naked. The cloth used around the waist of Jesus was for decency.
A crucified victim would live for a period ranging from just a few hours to a few days. If no one came for the body, it would be left on the cross to be consumed by animals.
The upright portion of the cross is called the stipes, while the cross-arm is called the patibulum.
We are made to believe Jesus carried the entire cross to the crucifixion ground, but the upright post was normally fixed on permanent basis to the ground, while the victim was made to carry the patibulum which weighed between 50 to 70kg to the place of crucifixion. Indeed, that was how Jesus carried it. The cross is now a symbol.
History and research have shown that the nails passed between the small bones of the wrists (radial and ulna), and not via the palms. When nails are passed through the palms they will strip out between the fingers if they were to carry the weight of the body.
Perhaps Jesus' words to Thomas “See my hands,” may have brought about the misconception. But anatomists take the wrist as part of the hand.
It was at Gethsemane that Jesus started experiencing the physical suffering. It was said that He sweated blood. It is worthy of note that it was only Luke the physician that documented it. He put it this way, “And being in agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of
blood, trickling down upon the ground.”
Many people believe this could never happen. Though it is very rare, Hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is in medical literature. Great emotional stress, the type Jesus suffered, can cause tiny capillaries in the sweat glands to break, and mix blood with sweat. This phenomenon could well cause profound weakness and possibly lead to shock.
It followed that Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiphus, the High Priest. This was where he was first physically traumatized. Jesus was struck across the face when he remained silent after Caiphus questioned him. After that the palace guards blind-folded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify who struck Him. They spat upon Him, and delt blows on His face.
Early the following morning, a bruised, battered, dehydrated, and exhausted Jesus is taken across the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, to meet Pontius Pilate. Then the mob started crying that Jesus be crucified, and Barabbas the murderer be released. A lot of scholars believe that Pilate originally ordered Jesus scourged as his ultimate punishment, the crucifixion being only in response to the cry of the Jews.
Scourging involves stripping the prisoner of his clothes and his hands tied above his head on a post. The Jewish law said no more than forty lashes. But I am not sure if the Romans followed this.
A flagrum (or flagellum) is used. This is a short whip that has several heavy, leather thongs and two small balls of lead attached towards the ends of each.
The whip had iron balls tied a few inches from the end of each leather thong on the whip. Occasionally, sharp sheep bones are tied near the ends.
The whip is brought down with a great force by a soldier repeatedly across the back, shoulders and legs. The thongs cut through the skin. Then, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, then blood oozes out from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and later tearing arteries after muscles are reached. Arterial bleeding is torrential. At the end the skin of the back hangs as unrecognizable mass of lacerated, bleeding tissue. When it is seen by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is close to death, the beating is stopped.
The soldiers mocked a fainting Jesus and made a crown of thorns for the head, the scalp being one of the most vascularized part of the body, further depleting his blood reserve.
He carried the heavy patibulum to the place of execution, along with two other condemned criminals.
Very weakened, Jesus fell three times, face down, under the weight of the patibulum. The centurion eager to get the crucifixion job done, pointed at Simon of Cyrene who was passing by to help carry the cross.
His clothing was adhered to the clots of blood and serum from the wounds. So, when the clothing was removed the skin came off with agonizing pain, like a callous removal of bandage on a wound. Jesus followed until they reached Golgotha.
They give Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, to serve as a mild analgesic. He declines to drink. They order Simon to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus made to lie on the wood. The soldier drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through Jesus' wrist and through the wood. And does same to the other wrist. The patibulum is then taken up in place at the top of the stipes and the titulus, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” is nailed in place.
They then press the left foot backward against the right foot, extending both feet, with toes down, a nail is driven through the arch, leaving the knees slightly flexed. Jesus is crucified.
He sags down slowly with more weight on the nails around the wrist. There is agonizing pain which radiates along the fingers, going further up the arms to explode in the brain. This is because the nails in the wrist are putting pressure on the median nerves.
To avoid this stretch that causes Him pains He pulls upward, but this places his whole weight on the nail through His feet.
The agony repeats itself. This time it is the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this stage, the arms are fatigued, causing great waves of cramps. With more cramps then follows the inability to push upward. Now hanging by His arms, this paralyzes the pectoral muscles, and the intercostal muscles too are unable to function. Air can be taken into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus struggles to raise Himself so as to get any air into the lungs. With time, carbon dioxide begins to build up in the lungs and in the blood and the cramps partially reduces. Carbondioxide triggers respiration. By spasms, He pushes Himself upward to exhale and bring in oxygen.
Then comes another agony. A crushing
pain comes in the chest as the pericardium gradually fills with
serum and starts to compress the heart. That was why it was said in Psalm 22:14 “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.”
Tissue fluids loss has reached a severe level; the heart that is compressed is struggling to pump thick, heavy sluggish blood, the suffering lungs are making a desperate effort to take in air. The severely dehydrated tissues send stimuli to the brain. Jesus manages “I thirst.” This brings in the words of the psalmist in 22:15 “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.”
They bring a hyssop soaked in posca, which is a cheap sour wine. He declines again. Remember that during the first Passover the Israelites used hyssop to mark blood of lambs on their doors.
Knowing He was dying, He took one last breath and said “It is finished.” His mission of atonement now completed. With a last surge of energy, He presses His lacerated feet against the nail, straightens His legs, and takes a much deeper breath, and utters His last cry, “Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
It was Sabbath. The Jews did not want it to be profaned, so they asked that the condemned men be removed from the crosses. The usual way of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the
breaking of the bones of the legs. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; so the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest and quick suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers got to Jesus they saw that this was not needed. Still, they wanted to be sure, they therefore drove a lance through the fifth intercostal space between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. And the Scriptures said “And immediately there came out blood and water.” That is, there was an escape of water fluid from the sac covering the heart, a sort of giving postmortem proof that "Jesus died not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure (a broken heart) due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the
pericardium."
As an individual you may be passing through difficult conditions, be it health, marital, family, economic or whatsoever problem that brings you suffering and agonizing pain. It is time to look unto Jesus who went through worse for no crime just to atone for our sins. Christ endured his ordeal and was victorious at last. You too will be victorious.
As a nation, Nigeria's problems seem to have worsened. No electricity, no fuel, no jobs, no security, dollar has skyrocketed against the naira with inflation on the rise; there is kidnapping, armed robbery, and political killings; there is despondency, a broke and broken nation. We have never had it this bad. There is a collective national pain that shoots all around, shaking faith in our existence, pain after pain. It is time for Nigeria to look unto Jesus who endured much pain and sorrow for the love of mankind. Jesus endured his ordeal and overcame. Nigeria too will overcome.
Dr Cosmas Odoemena
Awesome writeup
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