WARNING: MATERIAL IN THIS ARTICLE MAY BE UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN.
PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Following the last supper, Jesus retired across the Kidron
Valley to the Garden of Gethsemene. As He entered the garden, He withdrew
from His disciples to pray. This was probably the most traumatic experience
Jesus faced during the next l2 to l8 hours. Who could possibly measure
the anguish that Jesus experienced as he submitted His will to that of
the Father--as He anticipated His separation from the Father when He would
bear the sin of the world?
This night--begun as a sleepless one--would be marked
by an extreme spiritual struggle: "And being in agony he prayed more earnestly:
and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the
ground," Luke says (22:44). This bloody sweat
is known medically as hematidrosis, and in the gospel narratives
is mentioned only by the physician Luke. We are indeed indebted to the
astute observation of this medical doctor. This phenomenon has been documented
on other rare occasions among persons undergoing extreme psychological
or physiological stress. It is caused by tiny capillaries under the
skin surface distending and ultimately going into arterial spasm with necroses,
and rupturing into the sweat glands. This results in a bloody secretion--blood
mixed with sweat--exuding through the pores of the skin. The loss of this
bloody, sweaty mixture would create profound dehydration and early stages
of shock.
Unless you reflect on this point, it is easy to overlook
the fact that an angel appeared to Jesus to strengthen Him. Certainly the
intercessory ministry of this angel empowered our Lord to sustain the brutal
trauma which was yet to occur.
After the battle with His will, Jesus looked across the
night sky toward Jerusalem and saw the torches illuminating the rolling
hillside. He could clearly identify the soldiers, high priests, some members
of the Sanhedrin, and his own disciple, Judas, leading the mob to arrest
Him. Preliminary collusion with Judas, and the cleverness of Caiaphas was
manifested in the nighttime arrest of Jesus. They evidently feared a rebellion
of the people if they attempted to take Jesus openly.
Not only had the conspirators judged the trial before
the arrest, they literally participated in the actual arrest of Jesus in
the Garden of Gethsemene, Jesus was then taken to the high priest’s house
at night and under clandestine circumstances---a gross violation of Jewish
jurisprudence. In addition, according to Mosaic law, no trial was to take
place on the eve of the Sabbath or holiday or on a holiday itself. All
four Gospels indicate that this was on the eve of the Sabbath, and more
than that, on the eve of the Passover.
The first trial occurred sometime after midnight and was
concluded before 3:00 a.m. The Gospels record that Jesus was led away with
His hands bound--the same hands that had healed the sick, opened the eyes
of the blind, and raised the dead. But this was only the beginning of the
indignities to which Jesus would be subjected. Before Annas, Jesus was
directly cross-examined in contradiction to the Jewish law. The Sanhedrin
and Council were not allowed to apply duress and pressure during a trial,
and frank confessions were not accepted by Jewish law. The law itself required
two witnesses to bring accusations, but Jesus was being directly intimidated
and cross-examined before Annas, In fact, one of the officers of the high
priest accompanying Jesus struck him with his hand because of the manner
of Jesus’ reply to Annas.
In Luke 22:63,64, we are told that the man holding Jesus
mocked Him, beat Him, blindfolded Him, and asked Him to prophesy. The same
Jesus who had performed so many miracles and who had been so willing to
gather these in His arms, now sustains the indignity of their mockery and
ridicule before being led away to Caiaphas and the full Sanhedrin.
During the course of this second trial, even the charges
against Jesus were changed because of the inability of the false witnesses
to agree in their testimony. In modern terminology, Jesus was tried for
an alleged plot to desecrate a national shrine (He had claimed to be able
to tear down the temple and rebuild it within three days). Caiaphas as
the high priest now took an active role in the interrogation of Jesus.
He commanded Jesus by the living God to speak. By Jewish tradition, this
was a compelling oath which a suspect could not refuse. When all else failed,
Caiaphas demanded a complete confession. Following the testimony, he rent
his clothing.This Middle East custom depicted great emotion and undoubtedly
prejudiced and influenced the other members of the Sanhedrin.
The trial was so prejudiced, it was beyond any consideration
of mercy. Jesus then was taken before Pilate early in the morning. While
being very liberal concerning the trial by their own Jewish law, the accusers
now resume their legalistic stance by not entering the Roman courtyard
and thereby defiling themselves on the eve of the Passover. This indicates
their extreme concern over the minutia of the law versus the more important
weightier matters, just as Jesus had accused them.
As we see Jesus now, He’s exhausted from lack of sleep,
the two preceding interrogations, abuse, dehydration and ridicule. Yet
he stands before this Roman governor with supernatural power. His compassionate,
soul-searching countenance is bowed in humility. No reviling or bitterness
comes from His parched, swollen lips. Indeed, He makes no self-defense
at all.
Now Pilate, in an attempt to appease the mob, has Jesus
scourged. This was not ordinarily part of a crucifixion. And there was
a difference between Jewish and Roman law in regard to it. Under Jewish
law, scourging was limited to 40 lashes. The Jews were so intent that the
law be upheld, the beating often was stopped at 39 lashes to be sure that
a miscount had not taken place. Roman law knew no such limitations. The
prisoner was beaten to the verge of death as measured by a rapidly increasing,
thready pulse and/or a shallow, irregular respiratory rate.
Wooden-handled leather whips with three strands were most
frequently used. Each strand had a small piece of bone or metal attached
to the end which would chip and gouge out pieces of bone and tissue with
each lash as it was withdrawn sharply backwards to the readied position.
The prisoner was tied across an object that would support his weight after
he had lost consciousness. This position also provided easy access to areas
of the legs, arms, thighs, and upper chest. Such an atrocity stripped the
skin into long, ribbon-like segments, causing profuse arterial bleeding.
The crown of thorns, in the form of a circlet, now was
pressed deeply into His scalp by the soldiers. This resulted in additional
arterial bleeding which added to the extreme reduction and contraction
of His total vascular space, thereby deepening His state of shock.
A purple robe was then thrown across Jesus’ shoulders
and back. It perhaps acted as a temporary compressive dressing, helping
to congeal some of the blood pouring from the gaping lesions across His
thorax, abdomen and legs. The gospel narratives continue the description
of the atrocity, including the mockery by the soldiers, Jesus being spat
upon, beaten with reeds, ridiculed, and hailed as the "King of the Jews."
Isaiah 50:6, a Messianic passage, states, “I gave my back
to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid
my face from shame and spitting.” Anyone who has had any hair pulled from
his face or eyebrows knows the pain and resultant swelling.
Then Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns and
the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man,” John records
(l9:5). As Jesus stood before the howling mob, no doubt He experienced
the clammy, lifeless sensation of advanced shock. Medically, Jesus would
demonstrate cold, pale sweaty skin. The mucous membranes would be bluish
and cyanotic and His countenance would be haggard and drawn. His reflexes
would be be depressed, His pulse pounding, His respiration shallow and
barely perceptible. His physical strength would be at the point of prostration
at best.
Pilate now succumbs to the manipulation by Jewish leaders,
and Jesus is condemned to death by crucifixion. The purple robe is stripped
away and Jesus is given the cross to bear to the place of the skull, Golgotha.
The rough removal of His garments would be similar to the careless removal
of a surgical dressing, causing the wounds to bleed freely once more.
Atonement throughout the Old Testament, beginning in the
Garden of Eden where God made skins to cover Adam and Eve following their
sin, required the sacrifice of blood to provide the covering. Blood atonement
reoccurred as the theme through the temple worship. And now in Jesus we
have the profuse loss of blood as the atonement for our sins.
It is interesting that the gospel writers simply indicate
that Jesus was taken to the place of the skull and there crucified. We
are left with no further information other than that which can be deduced
from the writings of Roman and Jewish historians. This was such a common
practice that no elaboration was necessary.
This act, originally practiced by the Phoenicians, was
perfected and embellished by the Romans. It was known in the Palestinian
area from approximately 200 B.C. until 300 A.D. when it was abolished by
Constantine.
Many of the crosses of Jesus’ day were shaped like the
Greek letter Tau. The upright post, the stipes, was permanently fixed in
the ground at the execution site, and the transverse beam, carried by the
condemned, would be joined to the stipes by a mortise joint which locked
into a self-retaining position. This expedited the work of the executioner.
The transverse beam weighed as much as l00 pounds. So if Jesus carried
only that portion of the cross, or an entire cross, it is no wonder that
he fell.
As Jesus arrived at the execution site, the beam or cross
was thrown upon the ground and Jesus was roughly thrown backwards onto
it. His arms were extended to a pre-selected position. The executioners
would be careful not to draw his arms to a fully extended position, for
that would hasten His death.
Large triangular construction-grade nails then would be
used to secure Jesus to the cross. The Bible states that these were driven
through His hands. Many authorities believe that they were driven through
the lower portion of his forearm near the wrist. There they would compress
the median nerve trunks to the hand. These nerve trunks then would impinge
on the tendons of the palm causing the thumbs to bend toward the palm.
It is interesting to note the Latin word for hand,manus,
also is used by such early writers as Virgil and Josephus to designate
the part of the wrist which joins the hand. If, indeed, the nails were
driven through His hands, as the Bible says, it is not clear how this kept
Him suspended, for a nail through the center palm would tear through it.
Next, with the nails in place, Jesus would be literally
hoisted upright. His feet would be secured with a single nail--the left
foot extended slightly over the right with the knees flexed, and the nail
driven through the arches of the feet.
The Romans had perfected this brutal art to where the
length of time required for the condemned person to die could be computed
by how much flexion was left in the knees to expedite breathing. His position
on the cross forced a condemned person into a horribly cruel exercise.
In order to breathe and to relieve the pain in the arms as the body sagged
downward, he would have to push up on the nail in the feet forcing an up
and down slithering motion upon the cross until he expired.
Dangling by the arms in this position would result in
severe muscular pain in the upper extremities. It also would cause a progressive
pain from joint separation. Continual hanging by the arms would gradually
result in paralyzation of the intercostal muscles of the thoracic wall.
As a result, air could be drawn into the lungs easily but could not be
exhaled. As carbon dioxide accumulated, progressive degrees of asphyxiation
would occur. Accumulated carbon dioxide and lactic acid would create an
intense muscular hyperexcitability and violent tetanic muscle spasm throughout
the body.
As the suffering sensation became overwhelming, the condemned
man would be compelled to push up on the nail in his feet to gasp for breath.
It is undoubtedly in this position that Jesus uttered His famous seven
last words. It is indeed amazing, as Jesus’ physical body was ravaged by
shock, exhaustion, incredible thirst, central nervous system pain, stimulation
beyond our comprehension, and gradual asphyxiation, that no reviling or
words of condemnation were uttered by Him. Rather, He expressed concern
for those about Him.
As the crucifixion continued, the chest wall would further
elongate and become grossly distorted. The stomach area would sink. The
altered hemodynamics of the thoracic cavity would result in a progressive
effusion of fluid into the pericardial sack, creating a searing, sharp,
pleuritic type pain with each heartbeat and each attempted movement on
the cross.
These events are accurately depicted in Psalm 22, which
was written hundreds of years before crucifixion was ever practiced: "All
they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake
the head...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. My strength
is dried up like a potshard; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou
hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me; the
assemble of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
I may tell (count) all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part
my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture."
Jesus was placed upon the cross at about the sixth hour.
The crucifixion lasted at least through the ninth hour when the darkness
fell upon the land. Therefore, by inference, it was approximately six hours
before Jesus released his spirit.
Because it was the eve of the preparation for the Passover,
the Jews had asked that the bodies be removed from the crosses. So the
soldiers came to break the legs of the prisoners, to hasten their death.
But when they came to Jesus, they found that he already was dead, so as
John says (l9:33), “ they brake not his legs...for these things were done
that the Scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken”
(Psalm 34:20).
In death, Jesus was numbered with the transgressors, yet
provided a rich man’s burial. (This, too, was prophesied in the Old Testament:
Isaiah 53:9). So Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, whose lives had been
touched by Jesus, tenderly provided for the funeral arrangements in a near-by
tomb.
The garden tomb area of the old city has a beautiful representative
tomb carved out of solid rock which fits the Protestant tradition. One
of the most moving experiences during a trip to the Holy Land occurs as
you walk into the empty inner chamber. There the guide points out that
other believers would say that the burial occurred in the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher, or over here, or over there. But the exact place is not
really important, he says. Whatever tomb contained the body of our Lord
Jesus, it is empty. What a dramatic testimony to the power of our risen
Lord Jesus Christ.
We need to keep considering Calvary, and the blood that
was spilled as payment in full for our sins. We need also to remember the
empty tomb and the testimony of hundreds of witnesses who saw Jesus physically
following His resurrection. Then we need to answer the same haunting question
that Pilate faced, 'What shall I do with this man called Jesus?'
Another view from: CBN - Dr. C. Truman Davis
Thanks For Visiting
WARNING: MATERIAL IN THIS ARTICLE MAY BE UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN. PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Following the last supper, Jes...
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.jpg "Muerte de Jesús")
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