The Crucifixion:
Today we have these little catch phrases like, “Covered by the blood of Christ;” or “Jesus suffered and died for us.” But have you ever asked yourself, “What was it really like? How much did Jesus suffer in our place?” How does the Lord feel when we fail him in words, in deeds, in motives and in love?
Being tied to a stake by the Persians eventually evolved into Roman crucifixion. It appears to have been started by the Persians who ruled the then known civilized world between 539 B.C. and 335 B.C. But the Romans picked up on it, and brought it to a new level of perfection about 100 B.C. The word excruciating did not exist until Christ was crucified. Excruciating meaning, “pain out of the cross.”
Scriptures reveal to us that Jesus is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In the year 4 B.C. He would take on the form of a man; for He was,
1 Timothy 3:16, K.J.B. “God manifest in the flesh.” He is “God with us.” He was sent by the Father and came of his own free will. What were his reasons for coming?
Luke 19:10, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 5:32, Jesus is speaking, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Let’s begin at Gethsemane where the suffering began in earnest. Luke 22:44, “And being in agony he (Jesus) prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood.” If it was blood mixed with his sweat the Lord would have been under great physiological stress.
Next, He would be blindfolded and taken to the high priest’s palace where he was falsely accused of blaspheme, then spit on and beaten. He was then taken to Pilate, and here was Pilate’s offer to the people.
Matthew 27:17, “Who will you that I release unto you? Barabbas or Jesus which is called Christ? And the crowd answered “Barabbas.” They also cried out, “Let his blood be on us, and on our children.”
Side note, the name Barabbas means “Son of the Father.” The Roman soldiers now take Jesus; they mock him, strip him and put a scarlet robe on him, then made for him a crown of thorns. Have you ever seen the thorns that grow in that area, there 2 inches in length? The solders would press the thorns down on his head cutting deeply into the flesh all around. They then bowed down mocking him, “saying, Hail, King of the Jews!”
Isaiah gives further details concerning Jesus punishment. Isaiah 53:3, He was despised, rejected,” — Verse 4, “Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten”—- wounded, bruised, and “with his stripes” we are healed.”
The Roman whip consists of 3 braided pieces of rawhide, attached to a round wooden handle, the last 12 inches or so were not braided. At the ends of the three lashes were tied pieces of sheep bone and iron lead balls. The balls of lead would cause deep contusions in the skin tissue, and the bone would cause deep lacerations in the skin, tendons and muscles under the skin.
The victim was tied to a post, and the Roman soldier doing the lashing would whip the upper back and work his way down the legs. He would move to the other side and repeat his work. When finished, there would be deep cuts and trauma to the back and legs. The blood loss would be significant, causing a drop-in blood pressure.
Normally 39 lashes were required by law, but the Romans were not obligated to Jewish law, and depending on their mood no count was necessary.
The cross-beam Jesus carried is estimated to weigh 75 to 100 lbs. When they arrived where the sentence was to be carried out, the cross-beam was nailed to the vertical beam that lay on the ground. He was then laid down on top of the vertical beam his arms in a horizontal position before being nailed to it. The nails used were about 6” long and ¼ inch square.
They were driven into wrist just below the carpal bones, which were considered part of the hand back then. The nails crushed the median nerve and carpal tunnel causing a great deal of excruciating pain. Then the feet were nailed down into the vertical beam. But before they were nailed down, the knees would have to be bent in order to bring the feet down flat on the beam. The driven nail would crush the medial plantar nerve causing great pain throughout his body.
When this was finished, the vertical beam would be lifted and set in place. When this happened, the weight of Jesus body would be pulled downward, placing a great deal of pressure on the elbow and shoulder joints, as well as the nail in his feet being driven up into the bones of the feet. It is estimated that the load on his elbow and shoulder joints was between 150 to 200 lbs. on each arm. This would cause the bones of his joints to separate, lengthening his arms some 6 inches. What prevented the arms from tearing off were the tendons and muscles.
In this position, breathing out was much more difficult than breathing in. To exhale, the Lord had to push down on the nails holding his feet to the beam in order to raise himself. Every time he would make this move, the open flesh on his back would rub up and down on the beam.
Eventually in his condition, the blood became filled with carbon-dioxide causing him to suffocate. Also, from the loss of blood he would become very thirsty as his tongue would cleave to the roof of his mouth. Due to the loss of blood, he would go into bulimic shock and eventually die of heart failure.
The Roman guard then plunged a spear into the right side of his heart causing blood and water to come out through the wound, proving that he was dead. If he had been alive they would have broken both of his legs.
Now, the next time you look at, or speak of the man hanging from the cross, understand fully what he suffered for each and every one of us. All I can say is, “Thank you Lord Jesus!”
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com