THE REAL CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST MEDICALLY EXPLAINED

WARNING – VERY GRAPHIC!) THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST DEFINED MEDICALLY – Please Read and Then Be Sure and Watch the SHORT Video! If you refer to yourself on any level as a “Christian” (which I understand is used loosely today, sadly), you definitely need to read this!

“Bouts of vomiting, tremors, seizures, and fainting fits would occur at varying intervals and sometimes appear during these maneuvers [the scourging]. There would be agonizing shrieks by the victim after each lash, usually begging and pleading for mercy. The scourging propelled Jesus into an early stage of shock. Over the next few hours, there would be a slow accumulation of fluid developing around the lungs, adding to His breathing difficulties. There would also be lacerations of the liver and perhaps the spleen.”

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Medical Description of the Flogging and Crucifixion of Jesus
The following is excerpted from The Expositors Bible Commentary (Volume 8, pages 775-780, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1984.)

(Commenting on Mark 15:15) The Romans first stripped the victim and tied his hands to a post above his head. The whip (flagellum) was made of several pieces of leather with pieces of bone and lead embedded near the ends. Two men, one on each side of the victim, usually did the flogging. The Jews mercifully limited flogging to a maximum of forty stripes; the Romans had no such limitation. The following is a medical doctor’s description of the physical effects of flogging.

The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs. At first the heavy thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper in the subcutaneous tissues, producing first and oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles… Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. (C. Truman Davis, “The Crucifixion of Jesus. The Passion of Christ from a Medical Point of View,” Arizona Medicine 22, no. 3 [March 1965]: 185)

It is not surprising that victims of Roman floggings seldom survived.

(Commenting on Mark 15:17-18) The crown was made of some kind of prickly plant such as abounds in Palestine. This they pressed into his scalp. Again there must have been copious bleeding because the scalp is one of the most vascular areas of the body.

(Commenting on Mark 15:19) The mocking was followed by further physical violence. The blows hitting his head from the staff drove the thorns more deeply into Jesus’ scalp and caused even more profuse bleeding. They also kept spitting on him…

(Commenting on Mark 15:20) At last tiring of their sadism, the soldiers tore the robe from Jesus’ back. The fabric had probably stuck to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds. Thus when it was callously ripped off him, it caused excruciating pain, just as when a bandage is carelessly removed. Jesus’ own clothes were now put back on him.

(Commenting on Mark 15:21) Men condemned to die by crucifixion were customarily required to carry the heavy wooden crosspiece (patibulum) on which they were to be nailed, to the place of execution. Jesus started out carrying his cross (John 19:17), but it proved to be too much for him. The patibulum usually weighed thirty or forty pounds and was usually strapped across the shoulders. One can hardly imagine the pain caused by the rough heavy beam pressing into the lacerated skin and muscles of Jesus’ shoulders. The scourging of blood so weakened him that he could not go on carrying the heavy crossbeam.

(Commenting on Mark 15:24) Mark simply says, “And they crucified him.” What incredible restraint! Especially when one considers that crucifixion was, as Cicero said, “the cruelest and most hideous punishment possible” (In Verrem 5.54.165). What took place physically is described by Davis (“Crucifixion of Jesus,” pp. 186-187).

Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The cross is then lifted into place.

The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in brain the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet.

At this point, another phenomenon occurs. As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. . . . Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. Jesus fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.

Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.

It is now almost over the loss of tissue fluids reached a critical level the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The body of Jesus is now in extremis, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues. His mission of atonement has been completed. Finally he can allow His body to die.

All this, the Bible records with the simple words, “And they crucified him” (Mark 15:24).

ANOTHER MEDICAL ACCOUNT STATES THE FOLLOWING-

As moderners, we’re detached from genuinely understanding the words “Jesus died on a cross.” First-century hearers of this account would clearly understand the horrific implications – provoked with feelings of revulsion, distaste, and even vicarious humiliation.

My goal is to help bridge the 2000-year gap by offering a detailed perspective of the physical reality of Jesus’ death by crucifixion.

The content below is an accurate, historical, and medical examination of Jesus’ death, confirmed by today’s most credible historians and physicians in this area of study.

Jesus’ Endures a Panic Attack, Leads to Sweating Blood
Jesus’ anguish started in the Garden of Gethsemane in the early morning of his arrest. The Bible records that Jesus essentially had a panic attack that night, highlighting the fact that Jesus was in great distress even to the point of death, while also sweating drops of blood (Matt 26:38, Luke 22:44).

Jesus was suffering from a medical condition called hematohidrosis.

Medical summary of hematohidrosis:
The subject undergoes such intense stress levels, resulting in blood vessels that rupture into the sweat glands, causing a hemorrhage into the ducts of the sweat glands and the subsequent extrusion out onto the skin. Thus, the subject sweats blood.

A significant number of cases related to this condition were associated with a severe anxiety reaction triggered by fear. It’s essential to understand the exhaustion that ensues with this type of response and to keep in mind that this was before Jesus was dragged around Jerusalem, flogged, and crucified.

Jesus Endures a Roman Scourging

Scourging was the usual procedure prior to the crucifixion. This type of punishment at the time was the most brutal and inhumane punishment executed by Roman Soldiers. The victim was usually tied to a column and then whipped with an instrument called a “scourge.”

The scourge typically had three leather straps, and at the end were small balls of metal, iron, or bone that would tenderize the victim’s flesh as he or she was beaten. The end of the whip contained hooks that sank into the skin, ripping flesh off the victim. It wasn’t unusual to see ribs coming out of the individual.

Medical summary of a Roman scourging:

The severe blows to the chest and ribs resulted in the bones being broken, bruised, and even ripped out during this process, which would, in turn, cause excruciating pain every time the victim attempted to take a breath. This is called splinting.

The victim would writhe and twist in agony, falling to his knees, only to be jerked back on his feet time and time again until he could no longer stand up. This process had no dignity, as insults and scornful words were hurled at the victim for further humiliation.

Dr. Frederick Zugibe frames it this way:

“Bouts of vomiting, tremors, seizures, and fainting fits would occur at varying intervals and sometimes appear during these maneuvers [the scourging]. There would be agonizing shrieks by the victim after each lash, usually begging and pleading for mercy. The scourging propelled Jesus into an early stage of shock. Over the next few hours, there would be a slow accumulation of fluid developing around the lungs, adding to His breathing difficulties. There would also be lacerations of the liver and perhaps the spleen.”

Jesus Endures a Crown of Thorns

After his beating, Jesus was given a purple cloak, a fake staff, and a crown of thorns to inflict further pain and humiliation. The soldiers filed past Jesus, kneeling before him, spitting on him, and taking away his staff, they struck his crown and face with it.

Medical summary of the crown of the thorns:

The blows from the staff would have irritated the nerves bringing about pains that would be similar to an electric shock. Again, Dr. Frederick relates, “Exacerbations and remissions of throbbing bolts of pain would have occurred all the way to Calvary and during the crucifixion, activated by the movements of walking, falling, and twisting; from the pressure of the thorns against the cross; and from the many shoves and blows by the soldiers.”

At this time, there would be a significant build-up in the lungs (pleural effusion), making Jesus progressively weaker, light-headed, ashen to color, short of breath, and unsteady on his feet. The increased blood loss is cycling him toward hypovolemic shock.

Jesus Endures the Travel to His Place of Death

The trip from Antonia to Golgotha is about a half a mile. The road was unpaved, bumpy, and studded. Since Jesus was going outside the city, this was an uphill climb. The weather would have been hot and dry, causing further irritation to Jesus’ lacerations and open wounds.

Extreme pains would have radiated across his face and scalp every time he tripped and fell from exhaustion, compounded further in his muscles and joints from having to get back up again and again.

His cloak would have been virtually glued to his body by the clotted blood in the open wounds caused by the scourging, and it’s no doubt that it was yanked off, sending jolts of pain throughout his entire body.

All of this, and Jesus still had to face the most horrific of all- the crucifixion.

Jesus Endures a Roman Crucifixion

At the place of his death, three Roman Soldiers forced Jesus to lie down while securing him to the crossbar of the cross. One soldier laid across his chest, holding him in place, while two others would stretch out his arms to secure his hands to the crossbar. The nails (about 5 inches long, square) would have been nailed through the palm of the hand, just below the bulge at the base of the thumb (not the wrist).

The two soldiers on the side then would lift the victim, while the third soldier would grab him by the waist or legs, elevating him to his feet. They would then secure him to the vertical piece of the cross that was already in the ground. They would bend his knees until his feet were flush again the cross, and then both of his feet (separately, with two nails) were nailed to the upright.

The cross would have been at eye level so that mockers could hurl insults at the victim, and to further the humiliation. The Romans would crucify their victims completely naked. It was done on a hill to be visible to the majority of the city, as a deterrent.

Medical summary of the entire event:

The panic attack in the garden caused loss of circulating fluid volume, provoking significant exhaustion and fatigue. The scourging caused severe trauma to the nerves, muscles, and skin, as well as rib fractures and bruises. It would have caused splinting and even lung failure. Subsequent to the blood loss and shortness of breath, the heart sac would have been inflamed, making each breath feel like stabbing pains.

Bouts of vomiting, tremors, and fainting fits would have occurred frequently during this whole process. Jesus would have experienced shivering, severe sweating, frequent seizures, and craving for water. A decrease in his high blood pressure would have caused light-headedness, and his heart rate up to 200 beats per minute to account for further blood loss.

Cause of Death:

Jesus endured so much pain that his body finally gave out due to traumatic and hypovolemic shock. The hemorrhaging and pain overwhelmed his body to the point of death.

“And they crucified Him.” -Mark 15:24

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