The Death of Christ

The Physical Crucifixion of Jesus:

NOTE: The section that follows is taken from an account of Christ's death from scourging and crucifixion written by a physician. It is based on the gospel accounts, and historical and medical knowledge.

Because it is our intent to communicate as much important information about the Christian faith as we can in a survey format we are addressing Christ's physical death.

Christ's voluntary death for our sins in this very cruel way is central to our understanding of His love for us. However this passage describes a terrifying event in detail, so it may not be comfortable to read. It is definitely not suitable for children, and some other people, so use your judgment. A line marks the end of the passage describing the crucifixion.

Crucifixion is the torture and execution of a person by fixation to a cross. This was a relatively common form of execution for criminals in the time of Christ. The cross has been described in three forms. It may be the upright portion only. This part is the stipes. In addition, a crossarm called the patibulum may be fixed either to the top of the stipes to form a "T" or lower down to form what we typically call the "Latin cross". Most historical evidence suggests that it was the "T" shaped cross used to crucify Christ.

The physical passion of Christ began at Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Here Christ prayed in anguish, His sweat became as drops of blood (Luke 22:44). This is a very rare, but documented process called Hematidrosis or bloody sweat. It is caused by great emotional stress breaking the tiny capillaries in the sweat glands. This causes blood to mix with the normal sweat. This process alone can cause weakness and a state of shock.

When Jesus was arrested He was taken to jail (Luke 22:63). When He was in prison the guards beat Him and insulted Him. It is doubtful if He was able to sleep at all during the night before His death. Very early in the morning He was taken before the council of elders.

Because the Jews were under the rule of Rome they did not have the authority to execute a prisoner for any reason. Therefore they took Jesus to Pilate, who was the leading civil authority of the area. When they arrived at Pilate's court, Pilate could find nothing in Jesus' record that would warrant death. Learning that He was originally from Galilee, he sent Him to Herod, the ruler of Galilee, who happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. There is no indication that Jesus was mistreated while before Herod. Herod, finding nothing deserving death either, sent Him back to Pilate.

When Jesus arrived back at Pilate's court Pilate stated that he still found no reason to kill Jesus. The Jewish leaders however pressured Pilate and threatened to send a delegation to Rome. Pilate caved in and had Jesus scourged or flogged. This scourging was done with a whip made of strips of leather. Each strip had two balls of lead at the end. Jesus' clothes were removed and His hands would have been tied to a pole above His head. As He was whipped the balls of lead would at first bruise and then sink into His back as the tissues broke down under the repeated beating. Blood would flow first from the broken skin and then from the muscles and veins as they were cut to ribbons. Jewish law limited the number of scourges to 40, and the Pharisees limited it to 39 in case they miscounted.

After being flogged they put a fancy robe on His bloody back and a crown of thorns on His head. The crown was pushed down on His head as Jesus was struck on the face and head (John 19:3, Mark 15:17). This would have caused more bleeding as the scalp is one of the most vascular areas of the human body. By the time the robe was taken off of Him, the robe would have become stuck to His back by clotting blood, so removing it caused further bleeding and terrible pain.

In deference to Jewish custom Jesus' clothes were returned to Him. The patibulum of the cross is tied across His shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion, begins the 650 Yard journey to Golgotha. The rough beam digs into the lacerated shoulders of Christ. The weakened and bleeding Christ is unable to carry the beam, so a visitor from Cyrene who happens to be looking on is forced to carry it the rest of the way. Note that normally at this point, as is the case of the two thieves, the condemned man would not have been harmed, while Jesus is in a state of shock and exhaustion from multiple traumas to His head, face, back, and legs.

When they arrive at the scene of the execution Jesus is again stripped of His clothing except for a loincloth allowed Jews. Jesus is offered wine mixed with Myrrh, a mild analgesic, which He refuses. Jesus is thrown to the ground on top of the patibulum and a large square nail is driven though the small depression in the front of each wrist. The nail is not driven through the palm as is popularly believed because the nail would rip out before supporting the body's weight. The patibulum and Jesus are then lifted to the top of the stipes. A sign reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" is nailed in place.

The left foot is pressed backwards over the right foot and with the toes facing downward a nail is driven through the arch of each. The legs are left moderately flexed. The victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down more weight is put on the nails in His wrist causing pain as the median nerves are compressed. This causes pain to shoot through the arms. Because the weight is supported by the extended arms the muscles begin to cramp and the pectoral and intercostals muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs but cannot be expelled
causing carbon dioxide to build up in the body. Making a spasmodic effort He is able to raise Himself up by pushing down with His feet and exhaling. It is during these times that He utters the seven short sentences that are recorded.

After hours of limitless pain and intermittent partial asphyxiation another agony begins. The pericardium begins to fill with serum and starts to compress the heart. It is now almost over, the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level, the compressed heart is struggling to pump thick sluggish blood, and His lungs are making frantic efforts to gasp for air. A sponge soaked with cheap wine is lifted to His lips but He does not take any.

Jesus makes one last effort and lifts Himself on His torn feet and utters His last cry: "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." He can now allow His tortured body to die.

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 was by crurefracture, the breaking of the legs. The victim could then no longer push himself upwards to breath and rapid suffocation then occurred. The legs of the thieves were broken but when they got to Jesus this was not necessary.

To be doubly sure of His death a legionnaire drove his lance upward between the ribs through the pericardium and into the heart (John 19:34). Blood and water flowed from the wound. We then have postmortem evidence that Christ died not from the usual death by crucifixion, that of suffocation, but by heart failure due to shock and a constriction of the heart from fluid in the pericardium.
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Why did we look at this depressing and cruel event? We do it for two reasons. Because some would have us believe that Christ didn't really die, or that He wasn't truly a man. Secondly it shows us how much He loved us and points us toward the expectation of Easter morning.

Christ the Perfect Sacrifice:

In the Old Testament sacrificial systems the people of God were told to offer only the best for sacrifices to God (Lev. 1:10, 22:17-33). God in his law requires all sacrifices be perfect and without blemish. This means that to be a fit sacrifice Christ had to be without sin. Jesus was this perfect "Lamb of God" (John 1:29)

Christ's death on the cross-had both a practical side, the fulfillment of the law as well as a symbolic side. First Christ's death on the cross shows all of us how much He loves us. Read John 15:13 and Romans 5:8. It is a hard physical fact that Christ went voluntarily to the cross to die. This historical fact demonstrates for all time that He chose love for us over comfort. As we study the mechanics of our salvation we should always turn back to the fact that God loves us. All of the doctrine regarding our relationship with God and each other must ultimately be founded on the love God has shown for us.

Second, by Christ humbling Himself by dying on the cross, He showed God's view of sin. Christ became as sin to pay the penalty for us. Even though Christ remained sinless and is God's Son, as He took our sin upon Himself, God's righteous response to sin was the same. Sin produces death. God the Father made Jesus the object of His judgement when Jesus became the sacrifice for our sin.

Third, by raising Himself from the grave, Jesus demonstrated both that He is God and also that there is victory over death. The resurrection Christ seen by thousands (even five hundred at one time) gives us confidence that He was who He said He was.

Fourth, it also showed His continued love for the disciples and for us. Look at how He forgave Peter in John 21. How often we suffer from righteous indignation when we make some small sacrifice that is not recognized. Here Jesus, newly risen from the grave went to find His errant disciples and forgives them.

The sacrifice of Christ's blood for our protection and life are most easily understood in the light of the Passover observance. If you will remember God provided for His chosen people who were obedient to be saved from the angel of death. By sacrificing a perfect lamb and sprinkling its blood on their doorpost the firstborn would be saved (Ex 12). Jesus, First born of God, became the lamb for all of us and shed His blood to purchase our eternal life.

There are a couple of terms used to describe the mechanism that provides for our salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ. Redemption, justification, substitution, and propitiation are some of the terms we use to understand the work of Christ. Let’s define them as a gateway to understanding them.

Propitiation comes from the word propitiate which means to gain or regain the favor or goodwill of: APPEASE, CONCILIATE The work of Christ is to satisfy God's righteous demands for punishment for the sinner. Christ's death atoned for our sins to pay this debt owed to God. Romans 3:25 and 1 John 2:2, 4:10 talks about this. The RSV Bible uses the word expiation and the NIV uses the word atonement or atoning sacrifice instead.

Justification is the act, process, or state of being justified by God. Through the ministry of Christ's death we are lifted from our natural state, to that of fellowship with God. We appear to be living in a justified manner, that is according to the righteous law of God.

Substitution, the substitution of one person or thing (as a mathematical quantity) for another. Here of course Jesus died in our place. He took the punishment we deserved. Because Jesus is God He had victory over death where we could not.

Redemption, the act, process, or an instance of redeeming. Redeem, to buy back, or to free from captivity by payment of a ransom. In this case the doctrine states that Jesus bought our freedom and life by using His death as the ransom.

The Resurrection:

Let’s study the resurrection of Christ from the grave. Without the resurrection we cannot have assurance of salvation. Two things are necessary if Jesus is to rise from the dead. The first is His death of course. Jesus Himself told us that He would die, but also that He would live again (Mat 16:21, 17:9, 17:22-23, Mark 9:10, Luke 9:22-27, John 2:18-22 and many other places).

Jesus was born, grew up, and in other ways lived a physically normal life. He did not exist as an image of a man but as a man in body. In the same way the man Jesus died a physical death, as we will. When Jesus was dead His body was taken to a grave carved out of stone. The grave was owned by Joseph of Arimathea (Matt 27:57-60). Before allowing Jesus' friends to have his body Pilate had asked for proof that Jesus was dead (Mark 15:44-44). Roman soldiers who were certainly very familiar with death provided this evidence. It is notable that though Jesus had many enemies, none called His death into question.

The body was prepared for burial with spices and washed. The body was then wrapped in cloth and placed in the tomb. A stone was rolled over the entrance so that no one could get in or out. Normally the body would have been embalmed at this time but the Sabbath had to be observed first.

How do we know that Jesus rose alive from the grave? Let's look at some of the evidence. The Jews remembered that Jesus had predicted His resurrection so they requested and received a Roman guard detail from Pilate (Matt 27:62-66). Later on the third day an earthquake caused the Roman seal to be broken and the stone to roll away, probably up out of a depression in which it was seated. The Roman guard then ran to the chief priests who had asked for them. They did this so that the chief priests could smooth things over with Pilate. The standard treatment of soldiers who failed in duty was death.

The disciples had dispersed after Jesus' death, they had forgotten in their grief and fear that He would return. Jesus appears to some and then all of them. See Luke 24:34, 36-43, Jn 20:19-24, 26-29, 21:1-23, Matt 28:16-20, Mark 16:14-20, and Acts 1:3-12. Another proof
of the active ministry of Christ after His death is how the disciples went from being a group of frightened depressed men, to an energetic and fearless team.

In all Jesus appeared to many people over a period of 40 days after He had risen from the dead (1 Cor 15:6). In Acts 2 Peter's first sermon is recorded. The central theme is that of the risen Christ. We are told that that the people were convicted in their hearts by what they had done, and that three thousand were baptized that day. If it were not commonly accepted that Jesus had indeed risen then surely some among them would have objected to Peter's speech. It is not reasonable that so many people who were personally knowledgeable of these events
would have accepted this if it were not so.

The proof of Christ's living power continues to this day. For nearly 2000 years Christ has been changing and renewing His believers. Many of us can testify to His power in our own lives. The fact is that most of us believe because of what He has done for us and in those who we know.

The institution of the Christian Church also shows His power. Even with all of its divisions and sometime apparent aimlessness, do you know of any other entity that has continued to function for 2000 years? Do you know of anything else that has affected human history to this extent?