Do you have questions about 'The Passion of The Christ'?

There is one supremely urgent question in life which every person must answer. It was asked by Jesus Himself: "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). It is finally not "What do others say?" but "What do you say?" That alone really counts.

On the surface it is admittedly a strange question. Indeed, coming from the lips of anyone but Jesus of Nazareth it would seem absurd. "Who am I?" asked by someone else could not even be taken seriously. "Why, of course, you are a man, a human being, just like all other human beings—who do you think you are?" might be the reply. But with this person Jesus we know one cannot answer so easily, for there is mystery. Yet we know we must answer—and we sense that what we say is fearfully important.

In order to get at an answer to Jesus’ probing question, "But who do you say that I am?" let us consider the matter under two headings: Jesus Christ as the Son of man, and Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

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A Physician's View of the Crucifixion of Jesus
Christ

By Dr. C. Truman Davis
As a physician, I pursued the physiological and anatomical aspects of our
Lord’s passion.

CBN.com -

WARNING: MATERIAL IN THIS
ARTICLE MAY BE UNSUITABLE FOR
YOUNGER CHILDREN. PARENTAL
DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

About a decade ago, reading Jim Bishop’s The
Day Christ Died, I realized that I had for years
taken the Crucifixion more or less for granted —
that I had grown callous to its horror by a too
easy familiarity with the grim details and a too
distant friendship with our Lord. It finally occurred
to me that, though a physician, I didn’t even know
the actual immediate cause of death. The Gospel writers don’t help us much
on this point, because crucifixion and scourging were so common during their
lifetime that they apparently considered a detailed description unnecessary.

So we have only the concise words of the Evangelists: “Pilate, having
scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified — and they crucified
Him.” I have no competence to discuss the infinite psychic and spiritual
suffering of the Incarnate God atoning for the sins of fallen man. But it seemed
to me that as a physician I might pursue the physiological and anatomical
aspects of our Lord’s passion in some detail.

What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of
torture?

This led me first to a study of the practice of crucifixion itself; that is, torture
and execution by fixation to a cross. I am indebted to many who have studied
this subject in the past, and especially to a contemporary colleague, Dr. Pierre
Barbet, a French surgeon who has done exhaustive historical and
experimental research and has written extensively on the subject.

Apparently, the first known practice of crucifixion was by the Persians.
Alexander and his generals brought it back to the Mediterranean world — to
Egypt and to Carthage. The Romans apparently learned the practice from the
Carthaginians and (as with almost everything the Romans did) rapidly
developed a very high degree of efficiency and skill at it. A number of Roman
authors (Livy, Cicer, Tacitus) comment on crucifixion, and several
innovations, modifications, and variations are described in the ancient
literature. For instance, the upright portion of the cross (or stipes) could have
the cross-arm (or patibulum) attached two or three feet below its top in what
we commonly think of as the Latin cross. The most common form used in our
Lord’s day, however, was the Tau cross, shaped like our T.

In this cross, the patibulum was placed in a notch at the top of the stipes.
There is archeological evidence that it was on this type of cross that Jesus was
crucified. Without any historical or biblical proof, Medieval and Renaissance
painters have given us our picture of Christ carrying the entire cross. But the
upright post, or stipes, was generally fixed permanently in the ground at the
site of execution and the condemned man was forced to carry the patibulum,
weighing about 110 pounds, from the prison to the place of execution.

Many of the painters and most of the sculptors of crucifixion, also show the
nails through the palms. Historical Roman accounts and experimental work
have established that the nails were driven between the small bones of the
wrists (radial and ulna) and not through the palms. Nails driven through the
palms will strip out between the fingers when made to support the weight of
the human body. The misconception may have come about through a
misunderstanding of Jesus’ words to Thomas, “Observe my hands.”
Anatomists, both modern and ancient, have always considered the wrist as
part of the hand.

A titulus, or small sign, stating the victim’s crime was usually placed on a staff,
carried at the front of the procession from the prison, and later nailed to the
cross so that it extended above the head. This sign with its staff nailed to the
top of the cross would have given it somewhat the characteristic form of the
Latin cross.

But, of course, the physical passion of the Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the
many aspects of this initial suffering, the one of greatest physiological interest
is the bloody sweat. It is interesting that St. Luke, the physician, 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 ruse (trick) imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain
away this description, apparently under the mistaken impression that this just
doesn’t happen. A great deal of effort could have been saved had the
doubters consulted the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon
of Hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional
stress of the kind our Lord suffered, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can
break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process might well have produced
marked weakness and possible shock.

After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was next brought before the
Sanhedrin and Caiphus, 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 Caiphus. The palace guards then blind-folded Him and
mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each passed by, spat upon
Him, and struck Him in the face.

In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from a
sleepless night, Jesus is taken across the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia,
the seat of government of the Procurator 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
Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.
There is much disagreement among authorities about the unusual scourging as
a prelude to crucifixion. Most Roman writers from this period 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 only in response to the taunt by the mob that the Procurator was not
properly defending Caesar against this pretender who allegedly claimed to be
the King of the Jews. Preparations for the scourging were carried out when
the Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above
His head. It is doubtful the Romans would have made any attempt to follow
the Jewish law in this matter, but the Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more
than forty lashes. 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 lead 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 thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they
cut deeper into the 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 lead 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
centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally
stopped. The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the
stone pavement, wet with His own blood.

The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be king.
They throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a
scepter. They still need a crown to make their travesty complete. Flexible
branches covered with long thorns (commonly used in bundles 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 take 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. Already having adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the
wounds, its removal causes excruciating pain just as in the careless removal of
a surgical bandage, and almost as though He were again being whipped the
wounds once more begin to bleed. In deference to 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 centurion begins its slow
journey along the Via Dolorosa.

In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam,
together 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 human muscles have
been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to get on with
the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene,
to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy
sweat of shock, until the 650 yard journey from the fortress Antonia to
Golgotha is finally completed. Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild
analgesic mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place the
patibulum on the ground and Jesus 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 to tightly, but to allow
some flexion and movement. The patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of
the stipes and the titulus reading, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” is
nailed in place.

The left foot is now 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 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 His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the
nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At
this point, 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 intercostal 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
lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside.
Spasmodically, 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 recorded:

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 shalt be with me in Paradise.”

The third, looking down at the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John — the
beloved Apostle — he said, “Behold thy mother.” Then, looking to His
mother Mary, “Woman behold thy son.”

The fourth cry is from the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, “My God, my God,
why has thou forsaken me?”

Jesus experienced hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending
cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain where tissue is torn from
His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then
another agony begins -- a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the
pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. One
remembers again the 22nd Psalm, the 14th verse: “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.”

It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the
compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the
tissue; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of
air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the
brain. Jesus gasps His fifth cry, “I thirst.” One remembers another verse from
the prophetic 22nd Psalm: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my
tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of
death.” A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine which is the staple
drink of the Roman legionaries, is lifted to His lips. He apparently doesn’t
take any of the liquid.

The body of Jesus is now in extremes, and He can feel the chill of death
creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out His sixth words,
possibly little more than a tortured whisper, “It is finished.” His mission of
atonement has 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.”

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 a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the
breaking of the bones of the legs. This prevented the victim from pushing
himself upward; thus 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 the soldiers came to Jesus they saw that 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 according
to St. John reports: “And immediately there came out blood and water.” That
is, there was an escape of water fluid from the sac surrounding the heart,
giving postmortem evidence that Our Lord died not the usual crucifixion death
by suffocation, but of heart failure (a broken heart) due to shock and
constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.

Thus we have had our glimpse — including the medical evidence — of that
epitome of evil which man has exhibited toward Man and toward God. It has
been a terrible sight, and more than enough to leave us despondent and
depressed. How grateful we can be that we have the great sequel in the
infinite mercy of God toward man — at once the miracle of the atonement (at
one ment) and the expectation of the triumphant Easter morning.

Used by permission. Copyright © 2000.

Dr. C. Truman Davis was a nationally respected opthalmologist, vice
president of the American Association of Ophthalmology, and an active
figure in the Christian schools movement. He was founder and president
of Trinity Christian School in Mesa, Arizona, and a trustee of Grove City
College.

The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2004

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