The Crucifixion of Christ from a Medical Point of View

by C. Truman Davis, M.D.,M.S

In this paper, I shall discuss some of the physical aspects of the passion or suffering of Jesus Christ. We shall follow Him from Gethsemane, through His trial, the scourging, His path along the Via Dolorosa, to His last dying hours on the cross.

I became interested in this when I read an account of the crucifixion in Jim Bishop's book, The Day Christ Died. I suddenly realized that I had taken the crucifixion more or less for granted all these years ... that I had grown callous to its horror by a too easy familiarity with the grim details ... and a too distant friendship with Him. It finally occurred to me that as a physician I didn't even know the actual immediate cause of His death. The Gospel writers don't help us very much on this point, because crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetime that they undoubtedly considered a detailed description totally superfluous ... so that we have the concise words of the evangelist: "Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified... and they crucified Him."

The infinite psychic and spiritual suffering of the incarnate God in the atonement for the sins of fallen man I have no competence to discuss; however, the physiological and anatomical aspects of our Lord's passion we can examine in some detail ... what did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture?

The Practice of Crucifixion

This led me first to a study of the practice of the crucifixion itself, that is, torture and execution of a person by fixation to a cross. Apparently, the first known practice of crucifixion was by the Persians. Alexander and his generals brought back this practice to the Mediterranean world, to Egypt and Carthage. The Romans learned the practice from the Carthaginians and (as with almost everything the Romans did) rapidly developed a very high degree of efficiency and skill in carrying it out. A number of Roman authors (Livy, Cicero, Tacitus) comment on it. Several innovations and modifications are described in the ancient literature; I'll mention only a few which may have some bearing here. The upright portion of the cross (the stripes) could have the cross-arm (or patibulum) attached two or three feet below its top ... that is what we commonly think of today as the classical form of the cross (the one which we have later named the Latin cross); however, the common form used in our Lord's Day was the Tau cross (shaped like the Greek letter Tau, or like a "T"). In this cross, the patibulum was placed in a notch at the top of the stripes. There is fairly overwhelming archaeological evidence that it was on this type of cross that Jesus was crucified.

The upright post, or stripes, was generally permanently fixed in the ground at the site of the execution and the condemned man was forced to carry the patibulum, apparently weighing about 110 pounds, from the prison to the place of the execution. Without any historical or Biblical proof, medieval and renaissance painters have given us our picture of Christ carrying an entire cross. Many of these painters and most sculptors of crucifixions today show the nails through the palms. Nails driven through the palms will strip between the fingers when they support the weight of a human body. The misconceptions man has come about through a misunderstanding of Jesus' words to Thomas, "...observe my hands." Anatomists, both modern and ancient, have always considered the wrists as a part of the hand.

A titulus, or small sign, stating the victim's crime, was usually carried at the front of the procession and later nailed to the cross above the head. This sign with its staff nailed to the top of the cross would have given it somewhat the characteristic of the Latin cross.

Gethsemane - The Wine Press

The physical passion of Christ begins in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of this initial suffering, I shall discuss the one of sociological interest; the bloody sweat. It is interesting that the physician of the group, Luke, is the only one to mention this. he says, "And being in agony, He prayed the longer, and His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground."

Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away this phrase, apparently under the mistaken impression that this just doesn't happen.

A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing with sweat. This process could have produced marked weakness and possible shock.

Betrayal and Arrest

We shall move rapidly through the betrayal and arrest; I must stress again that important portions of the passion story are mission from this account. This may be frustrating to you, but in order to adhere to our purpose in discussing only the purely physical aspects of the passion, this is necessary. After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiphas, the High Priest; it is here that the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they passed by, spat on Him and struck Him in the face.

In the early morning, Jesus, battered and bruised, dehydrated and exhausted from a sleepless night, is taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the fortress Antonia, the seat of the government of the Porcurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. You are of course familiar with Pilate's action in attempting to pass responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate. It was then, in response to the cries of the mob, that Pilate ordered Barabbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion. There is much disagreement among authorities about scourging as a prelude to crucifixion. Most Roman writers do not associate the two. Many scholars believe that Pilate originally ordered Jesus scourged as His full punishment and that the death sentence by crucifixion came in response to the taunt of the mob that the Procurator was not properly defending Ceasar against this pretender who claimed to be the King of the Jews.

Scourging

Preparation for the scourging are carried out. The prisoner is stripped of his clothing and his hands are tied to a post above his head. It is doubtful whether the Romans made any attempt to follow the Jewish law in this matter of scourging. The Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more than forty lashes. The Pharisees, always making sure the law was strictly kept, insisted that thirty-nine lashes be given. (In case of a miscount, they were sure of remaining within the law.) The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of leather attached near the ends of each. 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 into subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of led first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally, the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurian in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped.

Mocking

The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers saw a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be King. They threw a robe across His shoulders and placed a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete. A small bundle of flexible branches covered with long thorns (commonly used for firewood) are plaited into the shape of a crown and this is pressed into His scalp. Again, there is copious bleeding (the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.) After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers took the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and the robe is torn from His back. This had already become adherent to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, causes excruciating pain ... almost as though He were again being beaten ... and the wounds again begin to bleed.

In deference to the Jewish custom, the Romans return His garments. The heavy 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 Centurian, begins the slow journey along the Via Dolorosa. In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, along with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls, the rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but the human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance. The Centurian, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding an sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650 yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed. The prisoner is stripped of His clothes ... except for a loin cloth which is allowed the Jews.

The Crucifixion

The Crucifixion begins. Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild anagesic mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown backward 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 patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of the stripes and the titulus reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" is 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 the 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 His full weight on the nail through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurs. As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercestal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the blood stream and the lungs and the cramps subside. Spasmodically (involuntary muscular contraction), He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences which are recorded.

The Seven Last Saying of Jesus

The first, looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

The second, to the penitent thief, "Today, Thou shal t be with me in paradise. "

The third, looking down at the terrified, grief stricken, adolescent John (the beloved apostle), He said, "Behold Thy mother," and looking to Mary, His mother, "Woman, behold Thy son."

The forth cry is from the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, "My God, My God, why hath Thou forsaken Me?"

Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rendering 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.

Let us remember again the 22nd Psalm (the 14th verse), "I am poured out like water, and My bones are out of joint, My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels."

It is almost over ... the compressed heart is struggling to pump henry,-thick sluggish blood into the tissue ... the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to grasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain.

Jesus grasps His fifth cry, "I thirst. "

Let us remember another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm, "My strength is dried up like potsherd; and My tongue cleaveth to My jaws; and Thou has brought me unto the dust of death."

A sponge soaked in vinegar, the cheap, sour wine which is the staple drink of the Roman Legionnaires, is lifted to His lips. He apparently doesn't take any of the liquid. The body of Jesus is now in extramis, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out the sixth word ... possibly little more than a whisper. "it is finished."

His mission of atonement has been completed, Finally, He can allow His body to die.

With one last surge of strength, He once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath and utters His seventh and last cry, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit."

Conclusion
The rest you know. 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 of ending the crucifixion was by breaking the bones of the legs. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest, and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when they came to Jesus, this was unnecessary.

Apparently, to make doubly sure of death, the Legionnaire drove His lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. The 34th verse of the 19th chapter of the Gospel of John: "And immediately there came out blood and water." Thus, there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart and blood from the interior of the heart. We, therefore, have a rather conclusive postmortem evidence that our Lord died, not the usual, crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium (Webster's: "...the thin, closed, membranous sac surrounding the heart and the roots of the great blood vessels and containing a clear serous liquid.")

Thus, we have a glimpse of the epitome of evil which man can exhibit toward man ... and toward God. This is not a pretty sight and is apt to leave us despondent and depressed. How grateful we can be that we have a sequel: Atonement and the expectation of Easter morning!