April 18, 2003 - 9:52 a.m.
A couple of years ago foxphotog gave me a copy of The Case for Christ which he was rather impressed with. The author is more conservative than I and I disagreed with him on several points but this book has one of the best descriptions of crucifixion that I have read to date. As Christians who attend church regularly, we've heard the Passion story so many times that we rarely think about it anymore.
- Gethsemane
- According to the Gospel of Luke, while Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, he sweats blood. There is actually a rare phenomenon called hematidrosis in which the sweat glands hemorrhage in persons suffering high degrees of stress or overwhelming emotions. Although Jesus' blood loss would have been slight, his skin would have become very fragile and tender.
- Jewish and Roman Trials
- Jesus is tried in the middle of the night by the Sanhedrin, an illegal practice according to Jewish law. He is beaten (remember the state of his skin) and found guilty of blasphemy. Then they send him to Pilate under the accusation that he is attempting to undermine Roman rule in the region. Pilate instead sends him to Herod Antipas, who only wants to see Jesus perform miracles. When he doesn't get that, he sends Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate attempts to set him free by offering the mob a choice of victims, but the crowds cries for Jesus' execution. (Whether, in truth, all of this actually happened is unknown but Luke uses these examples to spread the causes of Christ's death over all branches of secular and spiritual law and all levels of citizenry.) At this point, Jesus has been up all night, beaten, and walked about 3 miles around Jerusalem.
- The Scourging
- A flogging was routine in Roman crucifixions. The flagellum was a short whip of braided leather and iron or bone. It produced deep contusions and lacerations across the victim, tearing the skin and muscles into ribbons and causing massive blood loss. As Jesus' skin had already suffered the results of hemadtidrosis, the scourging probably left him in a critical state. Even without crucifixion, he may well have died. He was in such a weakened state that he was unable to carry his cross (probably just the horizontal crossbar or patibulum) to his execution.
- The Crucifixion
- The Romans did not invent the process of crucifixion but found it very useful as a form of torture, humiliation, and capital punishment. It was a slow, painful death. (Excruciating comes from excruciatus, Latin for "out of the cross") Victims could hang there anywhere from a few hours to half a week, though death could be hastened by breaking the legs below the knees so the condemned could not raise himself to exhale. Crucifixion interfered with normal respiration as the weight of the body forced the muscles to remain in a state of inhalation. In order to breathe, the victim would have to push up against the cross, exacerbating the wounds of his back and causing searing pain to his fractured feet and wrists. (Although the victim could be tied to the cross, archaeological evidence from the period of Christ has suggested nails were commonly used. Remains of a crucified body in a period ossuary indicate the nails were iron spikes approximately 5 to 7 inches long and 3/8 across, driven through the wrists rather than the hands.) Eventually the crucified's muscles would give in to cramping, blood loss, and exhaustion and he would die of shock or asphyxia. Some theorists also suggest congestive heart failure and stress induced arrhthmias as causes of death.
That's all I have time to write at the moment. Perhaps more later. Feel free to voice your opinions or corrections in the guestbook :)
