EASTER AND THE CRUCIFICTION AND RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST - WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CRUCIFIED

EASTER AND THE CRUCIFICTION AND RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CRUCIFIED

                                                                                                             Stes de Necker

According to the Bible, Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred around the time of the Jewish Passover, which was celebrated on the first full moon following the vernal equinox.

Prior to 325 A.D., Easter was celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the first full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox. At the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., the Western Church decided to establish a more standardized system for determining the date of Easter.

Today in Western Christianity, Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the Paschal Full Moon date of the year.

This year we commemorate Easter on 16 April 2017 and on Friday 14 April 2017 the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus.

But do we realize what it means to die on a cross ?

Dr . Coen Slabber, former DG of the Department of Health, explains:

" It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him ( Mark 15:25 ) . Jesus died that same day - about three pm. John tells us that the two criminals crucified with Jesus were still alive so the soldiers had their legs broken. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break his legs (John 19:33 ).

We must accept Jesus' physical condition, before his arrest, was good - He covered great distances barefoot. Between his arrival at Gethsemane and the start of His crucifixion, Jesus suffered severe emotional stress. We read of Jesus ' struggle in Gethsemane, the repeated trials, his friends ( the disciples ) that let Him in the lurch , flogging by the Jews , etc. . He probably did not sleep that Thursday night. He had between 2.5 and 3 km to walk from one trial to another. This has made ​​Him vulnerable to the scourge of the Roman soldiers.

There are three aspects of Jesus ' death which are controversial to physicians:

( 1 ) What was the cause of his death ?

( 2 ) Why did Jesus died so soon? According to Mark, the total duration of Jesus on the cross were six hours . It is very short for a young man. Why?

( 3 ) What was the nature of the wound in Jesus' side?

We begin with an overview of Jesus ' crucifixion.

What do we know of Jesus ' crucifixion?

There are few details of the crucifixion of Jesus in the gospels. It was probably because crucifixion and scourging were so common that the evangelists did not deem it necessary to say much about this. I will not say anything about the psychological and spiritual suffering that Jesus suffered. I will only deal with the anatomical aspects of his suffering and death.

For purposes of this article I want to emphasize certain aspects.

1 . Medieval and Renaissance painters have always pictured Jesus where he hanged on the whole cross. The upright of the cross was usually implanted in the ground. Convicted had to carry their own cross from the prison to the place of execution. It is estimated that a cross weighed approximately 35 and 50 kg. 

2 . Most paintings show that the nails were inserted in Jesus' hands.  Nails in the palms would, however tore out because of the full body weight hanging on them.  The nails were usually inserted between the bones of the wrist or just above the wrist. Where does this misconception come from?

Anatomists - especially in ancient times - considered the wrist part of the hand.

Let us now try to determine chronologically what happened to Jesus during his last 24 hours.

( a) The physical suffering of Jesus did not started at Calvary, but already in Gethsemane . It is interesting that Luke, the doctor, is the only one who describes Jesus’ sweating: His sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground ( Luke 22:44 ) . Prior Luke tells us that Jesus was in anguish, and that he prayed more earnestly. Can you sweat blood? 

Matidrose (sweat) is a very rare phenomenon and is usually the result of severe emotional stress. Small blood vessels in the sweat glands bursts so that the blood and sweat mix.

( b ) That night Jesus appeared before Annas , Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin . Already here begins his physical trauma: One of the guards slapped him because he did not like Jesus' answered the high priest 's question. The men watching Jesus, mocked him and beated Him. They blindfolded him and said that he was a prophet so He should be able to say who it was that hit him.

( c ) The morning Jesus came to the Jewish Council. By this time he was all bruised and probably dehydrated. He had not slept much. He was taken early on the morning to Pontius Pilate, who, as a result of the calls from the crowd, handed Jesus over to be flogged and crucified.

( d ) During flogging Jesus' hands were tied to a pole above his head. Jewish law has a limit on the number of strokes placed - forty. It is doubtful whether the Roman soldiers adhere to these restrictions or even seem to care. Jesus was flogged with a flagrum.  It was a short whip with several heavy leather thongs. Nearby the points of these thongs were tiny lead balls or pieces of woven bone. 

The lead balls in the whip causing severe bruising . The thongs tearing the skin. Later even the underlying muscles hurt and torn. The skin on the back hanging in long strips. Pain and blood loss was severe. The amount of pain and blood loss determines how long such a person would survive on the cross would. If the soldier thought that the victim was near death, the beating stopped.

( e ) The soldiers covered Jesus in a purple robe , put a crown of thorns on his head and gave him a stick in his right hand . The soldiers spit on Jesus and struck him with the stick over his head. This may have driven the thorns deeper into His scalp. We all know that the scalp is very rich in blood and can bleed badly.

( f ) At this stage, the mantle would have stuck to Jesus' backs because of the clotted blood . In order to pull the robe off Him must have been very painful and caused profuse bleeding.

   

( g ) Then Jesus had to carry His cross to Golgotha. The cross was usually tied to the victim's shoulders with ropes.

Now the procession along the Via Dolorosa. When Jesus could not carry the cross any more, Simon of Cyrene was commandeered to help. We have to accept that wearing the cross Jesus ' wounds reopened and caused further bleeding. 

( h ) At Calvary the soldiers gave Jesus a mixture of wine and myrrh ( gall ). This blend has a mild anesthetic effect.  Jesus refuses to drink it. The normal procedure is that the hands / wrists were nailed first. Then the transom was attached to the vertical pole and lifted. Then the feet were nailed to the vertical pole.

( i ) Gradually the weight of the victim lower the victim down . More weight was placed on the nails in the wrist. Terrible pain shooting down the hand and into the arm, because there is pressure placed on major nerves that run through the wrist. To prevent this, the victim tries lifting himself but now he puts his full weight on the nails in his feet.

( j ) As the arms are tired , severe cramps develop in the muscles . The muscles between the ribs cannot  function anymore. Air can be inhaled but not exhaled. Jesus had to raise him to breathe out. Every time he does His raw back scrapes against the bark of the cross. This causes severe pain and bleeding. It is during this time that the seven short cross words were uttered.

( k ) There is now a further pain - a pain pressing as the pericardium slowly filled with fluid and gradually places pressure on the heart. It makes you think of Psalm 22:15 I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax, it is melted within me.

( l ) We are nearing the end . The loss of blood and fluid now reaches critical levels; the heart struggles to pump; the lungs can hardly breathe air. Again it reminds us of Psalm 22 : I was so little like a potsherd , my tongue cleave to my palate, you leave me like I'm dead ( Psalm 22:16) . It was then that Jesus said: I am thirsty. The soldiers made a sponge with sour wine, put it on a hisop stick and gave it to Jesus .

( m ) He realizes that death is imminent: It is finished . With a great effort Jesus uttered His last words: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. His mission was complete. He died.

( n ) To make sure that Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers stuck a spear in his ribs - and immediately blood and water came out.” 

Let us never forget how great the price was what He paid for our sins.