Medical Account of the Crucifixion
Below is a paraphrase of an article by C. Truman Davis published in 1965 titled The Passion of Jesus Christ: A Medical Point of View to give a more detailed view of Jesus’ suffering for us.
Introduction
In this essay, we are going to examine the intense physical suffering that Jesus Christ endured. We will follow him from his desperate prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, through his trial and scourging, to his agony along the Via Dolorosa and last dying hours on the cross.
This essay is a paraphrase of a paper published in 1965 by Dr. C. Truman Davis, which details what is involved in crucifixion ---- the torture and execution of someone by fixation to a cross. The Persians were the first to execute people this way. Alexander the Great imported the practice to Egypt and Carthage. Later, the Romans learned it from the Carthaginians.
In Jesus’ day, the Romans would pound an upright post in the ground at the execution site, and force a condemned man to carry the cross-arm from a nearby prison to the site. The cross-arm weighed about 110 pounds.
Gethsemane
Jesus’ suffering begins in Gethsemane, when his sweat turns to blood. It is interesting to note that Luke, a doctor, is the only one of the four gospel authors who mentions this. In Luke 22:44, Luke writes: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (NIV)
Although quite rare, this medical condition can occur when someone is under great emotional stress. Tiny veins in the sweat glands break, mixing sweat with blood. This alone could have severely weakened Jesus and caused his body to go into shock.
Jesus is then arrested in the middle of the night. He is brought before a religious ruling council and Caiaphas, its high priest. Here, the first physical trauma is inflicted. A soldier strikes Jesus across the face for not answering the priest’s questions. Palace guards blindfold Jesus, spit on him and punch him in the face. They do this over and over again. They taunt Jesus, challenging him to identify ---- through the blindfold ---- each soldier who hits him.
Before Pilate
Early in the morning, Jesus, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from lack of sleep, is moved. He is taken across town to see the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Pilate tries to pass responsibility off to King Herod, who sends Jesus back.
Reacting to the vicious cries of the mob, Pilate sets Barabbas ---- a murderer ---- free. He condemns Jesus to scourging and crucifixion. Many scholars believe Pilate initially ordered scourging only as full punishment, and added the death sentence later after the crowd suggested he was failing to defend Caesar against this pretender who claimed to be King of the Jews.
The Scourging
Preparations for the scourging, or whipping, are carried out. The prisoner is stripped and his hands are tied to a post above his head. A soldier in the Roman army steps forward. He is carrying a short whip of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached to the ends.
The commander slams the heavy whip down with full force, repeatedly, across Jesus’ shoulders, back and legs. At first, the thongs cut through the outer skin. As the blows continue, they cut deeper and tear the underlying tissues. The blows trigger an oozing of blood from the tiny veins of the skin initially, then major spurting from vessels in the underlying muscles. The balls of lead produce large, deep bruises, which are broken open by the blows that follow.
Eventually, the skin of Jesus’ back is hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. While the Jewish law barred more than 40 lashes, it is doubtful Roman soldiers followed this rule with Jesus. Instead, the centurion ---- a commander of 100 soldiers ---- lets the beating go on until he sees the prisoner is near death. The half-fainting Jesus is untied. He slumps to the hard, stone pavement, wet with his own blood.
Then another round of mocking begins. The soldiers see a big joke in this Jew claiming to be a king, and they decide to poke fun at him. They throw a robe across his shoulders and place a stick in his hand for a scepter. They need a crown to make their travesty complete. So they braid together a bundle of flexible branches covered with long thorns, wrap it around Jesus’ head and press it into his scalp. There is massive bleeding.
After mocking Jesus and punching him in the face, the soldiers grab the stick in his hand and hit him over the head with it, driving the crown of thorns deeper into his scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and rip the robe off his back. But, already, the robe had adhered to Jesus’ body because of the drying blood. Jesus throbs with searing pain when it is removed, almost as if he were being whipped all over again. The robe had partially clotted the fresh wounds on his back and shoulders. As the wounds are torn open, once again they begin to bleed.
Now the soldiers shift gears. It is time to get ready for the crucifixion. They hoist a 110-pound cross-arm onto Jesus’ torn and bleeding shoulders, and make him walk. The historical procession featuring a sinless man, two thieves and a host of brutal soldiers begins its slow journey along the Via Dolorosa. Jesus tries to walk straight up. But the weight of the heavy wooden cross, combined with the shock brought on by enormous blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls.
The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of Jesus’ shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance. Anxious to get on with the day’s events, the centurion pulls a big, muscular man out of the crowd, Simon of Cyrene, and makes him carry the cross the rest of the way. Jesus walks behind him, still bleeding profusely and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. Finally, the execution detail completes the 650-yard journey and arrives at Golgotha, the execution site.
The Crucifixion
The crucifixion begins. Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, something to take a little of the pain away. He refuses to drink. After Simon drops the cross-arm on the ground, Jesus is thrown backward with his shoulders against the wood. A soldier finds the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, the soldier moves to the other side and drives a nail through Jesus’ other wrist. The soldier does not pull the arms tight. He leaves room for movement. The cross-arm then is lifted and set into place at the top of the post. A sign is posted that reads, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot. With both feet extended, toes pointing down, a nail is driven through the arch of each. As with the arms, the soldier leaves the knees moderately flexed. The victim is now crucified.
As Jesus slowly sags down, increasing pressure is being placed on the pierced wrists. Excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails are pressing sensitive nerves. As Jesus pushes himself up to avoid this wrenching torment, he puts his full weight on the nail through his feet. Again, there is searing agony. The nerves between the little bones of the feet are tearing.
At this point, something else happens: Jesus’ arms tire, sending great waves of cramps over his muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. Eventually, the muscles in his chest become so paralyzed he can no longer push himself up. As a result, air can be drawn into the lungs but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise himself just to get one short breath. It is perhaps during these periods that Jesus uttered the seven short sentences the gospel authors record:
The first, looking down at the soldiers gambling for his clothes: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
The second, to the repentant thief: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
The third statement was spoken while he looked down at the terrified, grief-stricken apostle John: “Here is your mother.” Then Jesus told his mother, Mary: “Here is your son.” (John 19:26-27)
His fourth cry is out of Psalm 22 (verse one): “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus endures hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps. Skin continues to tear from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins. A crushing pain develops deep in his chest.
That part of the crucifixion is foretold in the 22nd Psalm (verse 14): “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.”
It is almost over. The fluid loss has reached a critical level. A compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick blood into tissues. Tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to draw in tiny gulps of air.
Jesus utters his fifth cry: “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28)
A sponge soaked in sour wine is lifted to Jesus’ lips. He does not drink. His body is near death when he says, in possibly no more than a tortured whisper: “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
His mission is now complete. Finally, Jesus can let his body die. With one last surge of strength, he once again presses torn feet against the nail, straightens his legs, takes a slightly deeper breath, and cries: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
Conclusion
Through the cross, we see a glimpse of the epitome of evil that man can exhibit toward man ---- and toward God. This is not a pretty sight and it is likely to leave us depressed. How grateful we should be that we have a sequel: A glimpse of the infinite mercy of God ---- the miracle of atonement and the expectation of the resurrection morning!