Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

His Death

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His resurrection are the two most important events in human history. Why is this so? Because of Jesus' death, the human race has the opportunity for eternal salvation. All four of the New Testament Gospels talk of the crucifixion of Christ. These authors give us graphic accounts of the ancient Roman practice. Here are some main points in the crucifixion timeline:

Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:43-52).
Jesus endured six trials - three by Jewish leaders and three by the Romans (John 18:12-14, Mark 14:53-65, Mark 15:1a, Mark 15: 1b-5, Luke 23:6-12, Mark 15:6-15) Jesus survived painful beating, whipping, and mocking (Mark 15:16-20)
Pilate tried to compromise with the religious leaders by having Jesus beaten, but this act didn't satisfy them. Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified (Mark 15:6-15)
Jesus was mocked by the soldiers as they dressed Him in a purple robe and a crown of thorns (John 19:1-3)
Jesus was crucified on Golgatha, which means the Place of the Skull (Mark 15:22) The sky turned dark for three hours (Mark 15:33).
Jesus cried, "Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit!" and He died (Luke 23:46).

Author Arthur W. Pitt describes it this way,

"With bleeding back, carrying His cross under the heat of the now almost midday sun, He [Jesus] journeyed up the rugged heights of Golgotha. Reaching the appointed place of execution, His hands and feet were nailed to the tree. For three hours He hung there with the pitiless rays of the sun beating down [on] His thorn-crowned head. This was followed by the three hours of darkness, now over. That night and that day were hours into which an eternity was compressed."

The Savior of the world had emerged from three hours of darkness, during which He was separated from God the Father. Why did the Father turned away from Him? It is against the character of God to face sin, so God withdrew Himself from communication with His Son while Jesus bore the guilt of the world's sin.

Crucifixion: Jesus Faced a Horrible Death

Crucifixion sometimes began with a scourging or flogging of the victim’s back. The Romans used a whip called a flagrum, which consisted of small pieces of bone and metal attached to a number of leather strands. The number of blows given to Jesus is not recorded; however, the number of blows in Jewish law was 39 (one less than the 40 called for in the Torah, to prevent a counting error). During the scourging, the skin was ripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of tissue and bone. Extreme blood loss occurred, often causing death, or at least unconsciousness. In addition to the flogging,

Crown of Thorns:

Jesus faced severe beating and torment by the Roman soldiers, including the plucking of His beard and the piercing of His scalp with a crown of thorns.

The Patibulum:

After the flogging, the victim was often forced to carry his own crossbar, or patibulum, to the execution site. The patibulum could easily weigh 100 pounds. In the case of Jesus, the record shows that He may have carried His patibulum the distance of over two football fields. In a weak and tormented state, it’s no wonder the record establishes that Jesus needed a great deal of assistance. Once the victim arrived at the execution site, the patibulum was put on the ground and the victim was forced to lie upon it. Spikes about 7 inches long and 3/8 of an inch in diameter were driven into the wrists. The spikes would hit the area of the median nerve, causing shocks of pain up the arms to the shoulders and neck.

The Stipes:

Already standing at the crucifixion site would be the 7-foot-tall post, called a stipes. In the center of the stipes was a crude seat to “support” for the victim. The patibulum was then lifted on to the stipes, and the victim’s body was awkwardly turned on the seat so that the feet could be nailed to the stipes. At this point, there was tremendous strain put on the wrists, arms and shoulders, resulting in a dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints. The position of the nailed body held the victim’s rib cage in a fixed position, which made it extremely difficult to exhale, and impossible to take a full breath. Having suffered from the scourging, the beatings and the walk with the patibulum, Jesus was described as extremely weak and dehydrated. He was probably losing significant amounts of blood. As time passed, the loss of blood and lack of oxygen would cause severe cramps, spasmodic contractions and probably unconsciousness.

Suffocation:

Ultimately, the mechanism of death in crucifixion was suffocation. To breathe, the victim was forced to push up on his feet to allow for inflation of the lungs. As the body weakened and pain in the feet and legs became unbearable, the victim was forced to trade breathing for pain and exhaustion. Eventually, the victim would succumb in this way, becoming utterly exhausted or lapsing into unconsciousness so that he could no longer lift his body off the stipes and inflate his lungs. Due to the shallow breathing, the victim’s lungs would begin to collapse in areas, probably causing hypoxia. Due to the loss of blood from the scourging, the victim probably formed a respiratory acidosis, resulting in an increased strain on the heart, which beats faster to compensate. Fluid would also build up in the lungs. Under the stress of hypoxia and acidosis, the heart would eventually fail.

There are several different theories on the actual cause of death for Jesus. One theory is that there was a filling of the pericardium with fluid, which put a fatal strain on the ability of His heart to pump blood. Another theory states that Jesus died of cardiac rupture. Another theory is that Jesus' death was “multi factorial and related primarily to hypothermic shock, exhaustion asphyxia and perhaps acute heart failure.” Regardless of the actual medical cause of final death, the historical record is very clear -- Jesus suffered numerous hours of horrible and sustained torture on the cross of Calvary.

Crucifixion: Jesus Suffered for You and Me

The crucifixion accounts of Jesus Christ are in entire agreement with the customs and practices of the Romans in that period. The evidence for Christ’s horrible and painful death is unquestioned by today’s legitimate scholars. The only dispute is the nature and character of the “criminal” Jesus Christ. Look at the record yourself --

Even with all the pain, Jesus thought of others rather than Himself. His first words from the cross were, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). He thought of His mother, who stood by the cross weeping, and asked his beloved disciple John to take care of her. On either side of Jesus were two thieves executed at the same time. When one of them accepted Jesus as Lord, Jesus shared with him, "To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Finally, Jesus expressed his complete surrender to the will of God as He said, "It is finished;" (John 19:30). "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit" (Luke 23:46).

Investigate the historical record, and then examine your heart. Jesus gave Himself willingly for you and me. Jesus suffered a horrible death for you and me. Jesus loved us so much that He willingly died in utter shame and pain for our sins. In fact, the Bible teaches us that He who was without sin was literally "made sin" for us. God, in human form, allowed himself to be made sin to save us. On the cross, he bore all the world's sin because of His love. The only way to complete His story of love is to love Him in return.

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ - His Burial and Resurrection

Following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph was given permission to bury Jesus, so he brought fine linen, wrapped the body, laid Jesus in a tomb and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Jesus was in the grave for three days. After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of Jesus), and Salome prepared spices to anoint Jesus' body. When they arrived at the tomb, the stone had already been rolled away! They entered the tomb, where an angel said, "Don't be alarmed. . .You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you'" (Mark 16:6-7).

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ - His Eternal Gift

What does the crucifixion of Jesus Christ have to do with you? God, who knows what you're are made of, knew you could not live the sinless life necessary for heaven. So He decided to offer Himself in your place. He did that by becoming a man in the person of Jesus Christ, His own Son. Jesus lived a sinless life on earth. God had said the punishment for sin is death. Since we all have sinned (Romans 3:23, 6:23), we needed someone sinless to die in our place. Jesus, being sinless, died in our place and became the saving grace of the world. He died for you! Romans 5:10 says, "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" The Bible says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. . ." (Acts 16:31). Attending church or performing good works will not contribute to your salvation. God saves you by His grace. Jesus is offering you the gift of eternal life. Will you accept it by faith?

Ohio Leaders Leading in Righteousness
Pure Leadership Day
January 11, 2011

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