Death by Crucifixion
Death by Crucifixion
Dr. Peter Rowan explained how and why a human being actually died after being crucified. One of the aims of crucifixion was to make the coming of death as long and as agonizing as possible. An Arab crucified in Damascus in 1247 took two days to die.
The victim was usually nailed to his cross, although some were tied. The nails for the hands needed to go through the bones, just past the wrist joint, near the base of the thumb. If they went into the palm they would tear the flesh, and the victim would not stay up on the cross. Also, the nails were first driven through discs of wood, to prevent any chance of the head pulling through. There is space between the eight small bones of the hand close to the wrist, which will support the body's weight when nailed. The nails were carefully placed to avoid any major blood vessels so the victim could not bleed to death, and to avoid the nerves to preserve sensation and muscle function.
The nail in the foot went between the second and 'third long foot bones. (one archaeological find has a nail driven through the heel bone. ( see [www.centuryone.org/crucifixion2.html] ) This enabled the victim to push down and take some weight off the hands. This only made things worse because it prolonged the execution.
The cross was then erected. The cross was about two and a half metres high with an arm support of about one and a half metres, fixed about half a metre from the top. The cross was buried about half a metre into the ground.
The victim then began to die. He had a choice: either to support his weight with the feet or hands, or both. The hands were generally much more painful than the feet. Every stage of crucifixion was a slow one. Victims took longer to die when their arms were outstretched than if they were above the head;
The cause of death in all cases was asphyxia. (If you are suspended by the hands, it becomes very difficult to move the rib cage and to breathe) With breathing limited, oxygen gradually failed to arrive in the tissues and waste products (carbonic acid) began to build up in the muscles, making the blood more acid, producing a muscle spasm called tetany. As death approached, the victim's head was held rigid by the spasm of the muscles of the neck. These cramps would spread to the arms and legs. When the arm muscles went into spasm they pulled the body up the cross and made breathing slightly easier for a while.
Eventually the victim found it more and more exhausting to support the body, causing breathing to become weaker and weaker, and the heart to begin to fail under the strain until death, mercifully, arrived.
This is why the soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. Once their legs were broken they could no longer take the weight off their arms and breathing became impossible. Thus they would die in time be removed before the holy day started at sunset.
Jesus survived on the cross a remarkably short time - only a few hours. "Pilate marveled if he were already dead." ( Mark, 15, 44.) Although he had allowed men to take him and crucify him, he remained in control. He said, "It is finished" and gave up his spirit.
At this stage, owing to the nature of crucifixion, Jesus would not have lost very much blood. When Passover lambs or other animals were sacrificed, their throats were cut and their blood was poured out. (In Torah it is said "the life is in the blood", and that meat was to be drained so that the people did not eat the blood) For some reason known to himself but not recorded, one of the soldiers sent to speed the deaths of the victims, seeing Jesus was already dead, thrust a spear into his side, causing blood and water to flow out. He thus fulfilled the necessary shedding of blood, without which there is no remission of sins.
For more medical detail and archaeological evidence see www.centuryone.org/crucifixion2.html and www.geocities.com/bramlett2000/lovestory.html
Why Jesus died for you and me. The spiritual reasons for the Cross
At the cross Jesus made an exchange for us . . .
All the evil due to us came on Him ---- All the good due to Him came on us.
Isaiah says (prophetically) of Him, "All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way. And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
The original Hebrew for iniquity is abon which means rebellion, guilt, iniquity, and the consequences of this rebellion (turning to our own way).
| Came to Jesus | Came to us | References |
| Punishment | Forgiveness | Isaiah 53 v6 |
| Pains and sicknesses (usually, wrongly, translated griefs and sorrows) | Healing (Shalom - meaning wholeness and wellbeing usually trans Peace) | Isaiah 53 v4&5 |
| Made Sin with our sinfulness | Made righteous with his righteousness | Isaiah 53 v10 2 Corinthians 5 v21 |
| Death | Life | Hebrews 2 v9 |
| Curse | Blessing | Galatians 3 v13&14 - See Deuteronomy 23 (re curse for being hanged on a tree!) People still suffer from curses placed centuries ago! |
| Poverty | Abundance (not necessarily monetary wealth) | 2 Corinthians 8 v9 and 9 v8 - at his death Jesus was hungry, thirsty, naked and having nothing) |
| Shame | Glory | Matthew 27 v35&36 (naked before passers by) Hebrews 2 v10 (re Glory) |
| Rejection | Acceptance | Matthew 27 45-51 (tearing of the veil is our acceptance by God) Ephesians 1 (Accepted in the Beloved) |
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