Do you know how much God loves you?
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3) Life is a miracle from God. Watch this video: Meet Olivia.
God loves you with an everlasting love!
Do you know this truth?
Do you understand?
Do you treasure this love in your heart?
God’s Son Jesus Christ is completely sinless. He has done no wrong! He did not deserve to die! So why did He die?
For love of you!
Yes, to show you the depth of His infinite love for you!
As you read the following passages, take them deeply to heart and never forget for one moment God’s infinite love for you!
Crucifixion was invented by the Persians between 300-400 B.C. It is quite possibly the most painful death ever invented by humankind. The English language derives the word “excruciating” from crucifixion, acknowledging it as a form of slow, painful suffering. Its punishment was reserved for slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and the vilest of criminals. Victims were nailed to a cross.
Although we cannot know with certainty the exact corporeal realities that Jesus faced, the information below is medically and biologically accurate. We caution the reader, as some of the descriptions are graphic.
It is important to understand from the beginning that Jesus would have been in excellent physical condition. As a carpenter by trade, He participated in physical labor. In addition, He spent much of His ministry traveling on foot across the countryside. His stamina and strength were, most likely, very well developed. With that in mind, it is clear just how much He suffered: If this torture could break a man in such good shape, it must have been a horrific experience.
Following the Passover meal and Christ’s Last Supper with His apostles, Jesus takes them to pray at Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. As He prays in this state of anguish, His sweat becomes like “drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44) There is a rare medical condition called hemohedrosis, during which the capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands break down. Blood released from the vessels mixes with the sweat; therefore, the body sweats drops of blood. This condition results from mental anguish or high anxiety, a state Jesus expresses by praying “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). Hemohidrosis makes the skin tender, marking a worsening of Jesus’ physical condition, in addition to His psychological distress. (Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46)
As Jesus speaks to the disciples, who have been inattentive and sleeping throughout His fervent praying, Judas arrives. With him is an angry mob accompanied by the elders and chief priests. Judas greets Jesus with a kiss, the signal that He is the one they seek to arrest. Betrayed by Judas, taken into custody, and deserted by the disciples, Jesus’ mental state is no doubt impacted by these events. Betrayal trauma, particularly by someone with whom one is very close, is associated with a host of symptoms, including anxiety, depression, emotional detachment, dissociation, and general physical discomfort. Despite this inner turmoil, Jesus accepts His fate saying “… all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” (Matthew 26:56) (Matthew 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-50, Luke 22:47-53, John 18:1-11)
Brought before the council of Caiaphas, the high priest, witnesses testify against Jesus, though their false claims do not hold up. Caiaphas presses Jesus to declare if He is the Messiah and the Son of God, and Jesus responds: “You say that I am.” (Luke 22:70) At this, Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy and pronounced deserving of death. The physical assault on Jesus begins, as He is blindfolded, struck repeatedly, and spat upon. (Matthew 26:57-68, Mark 14:53-65, Luke 22:66-71, John 18:19-24)
During this time, Peter waits in the courtyard to see what will happen to Jesus. He is soon recognized as one of Jesus’ disciples and approached three separate times to identify himself. Each time, he denies knowing Jesus and grows more agitated. The denials are just as Jesus predicted when He said, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny Me three times.” (Luke 22:61) Jesus’ knowledge that this would transpire likely compounded the physiological effects of betrayal by His trusted followers and community. (Matthew 26:69-75, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:54-62, John 18:15-18, 25-27)
Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, who sends Jesus to King Herod to be questioned at length. Herod and his soldiers scorn Jesus before returning Him to Pilate’s court. Traveling from Pilate to Herod and back again, Jesus walks approximately two and a half miles. He has not slept, and He has been mocked and beaten (Luke 22:63-65). In addition, His skin remains tender from the hemohedrosis. His physical condition worsens.
Although Pilate cannot find any just cause for execution, the riotous crowds urge him to have Jesus killed. Pilate bends to their will, ultimately releasing the prisoner Barabbas in exchange for Jesus, who he hands over to be crucified. (Matthew 27:11-26, Mark 15:1-15, Luke 23:1-25, John 18:28-40)
Pilate orders Jesus to be flogged as required by Roman law before crucifixion. Traditionally, the accused stood naked, and the flogging covered the area from the shoulders down to the upper legs. The whip consisted of several strips of leather. In the middle of the strips were metal balls that hit the skin, causing deep bruising. In addition, sheep bone was attached to the tips of each strip. When the bone makes contact with Jesus’ skin, it digs into His muscles, tearing out chunks of flesh and exposing the bone beneath. The flogging leaves the skin on Jesus’ back in long ribbons. By this point, He has lost a great volume of blood which causes His blood pressure to fall and puts Him into shock. The human body attempts to remedy imbalances such as decreased blood volume, so Jesus’ thirst is His body’s natural response to His suffering (John 19:28). If He would have drank water, His blood volume would have increased.
Roman soldiers place a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head and a robe on His back (Matthew 27:28-29). The robe helps the blood clot to prevent Jesus from sustaining more blood loss. As they hit Jesus in the head (Matthew 27:30), the thorns from the crown push into the skin and He begins bleeding profusely. The thorns also cause damage to the trigeminal facial nerve, the nerve that supplies the face, causing intense pain down His face and neck. As they mock Him, the soldiers also belittle Jesus by spitting on Him (Matthew 27:30). They rip the robe off Jesus’ back and the bleeding starts afresh. At this stage, Jesus’ physical condition becomes critical, already on the verge of death.
Jesus’ cross was probably not the Latin cross, but rather a Tau cross (T). The vertical piece (the stipes) remains in the ground permanently. The accused carries only the horizontal piece (the patibulum) up the hill. Atop the patibulum lies a sign (the titulus), indicating that a formal trial occurred for a violation of the law. In Jesus’ case, this reads “This is the King of the Jews” (Luke
23:38). It was common to force condemned individuals, especially non-Roman citizens, to carry the patibulum or horizontal piece of the cross to their execution site. The cross rubs the open wounds on Jesus’ back, contributing to more blood loss and pain. (John 19:16-17)
Jesus’ severe blood loss has restricted the flow of oxygen to His muscles, creating acute muscle fatigue. The weight of the cross further makes balancing difficult for Jesus in His extremely weakened state. While attempting to walk, His muscles cannot compensate for the disruption in balance and He is unable to remain upright. Due to severe blood loss without replacement, Jesus is undoubtedly in shock. As such, He is unable to carry the cross and Simon of Cyrene executes this task. (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26)
The accused needed to be nailed to the patibulum while lying down, so Jesus is thrown to the ground, reopening His wounds, grinding in dirt, and causing bleeding. They nail His “hands” to the patibulum. The Greek meaning of “hands” includes the wrist. It is more likely that the nails went through Jesus’ wrists. If the nails were driven into the hand, the weight of the arms would cause the nail to rip through the soft flesh. Therefore, the upper body would not be held to the cross. If placed in the wrist, the bones in the lower portion of the hand support the weight of the arms and the body remains nailed to the cross.
The huge nail (seven to nine inches long) damages or severs the major nerve to the hand (the median nerve) upon impact. This causes continuous agonizing pain up both of Jesus’ arms. With Jesus’ wrists nailed to the patibulum, the guards lift the patibulum and place it on the stipes already in the ground. As it is lifted, Jesus’ full weight pulls down on His nailed wrists and His shoulders and elbows dislocate (Psalm 22:14), and tearing deeper into His nailed wrists. In this position, Jesus’ arms stretch to a minimum of six inches longer than their original length.
It is highly likely that Jesus’ feet were nailed through the tops as often pictured. In this position (with the knees flexed at approximately 90 degrees), the weight of the body pushes down on the nails and the ankles support the weight. The nails would not rip through the soft tissue as would have occurred with the hands. Again, the nail would cause severe nerve damage, severing the dorsal pedal artery of the foot, and causing acute pain. (Matthew 27:33-37, Mark 15:22-32, Luke 23:33-38, John 19:18-25)
Normally, to breathe in, the diaphragm (the large muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity) must move down. This enlarges the chest cavity and air automatically moves into the lungs (inhalation). To exhale, the diaphragm rises up, which compresses the air in the lungs and forces the air out (exhalation). As Jesus hangs on the cross, the weight of His body pulls down on the diaphragm and the air moves into His lungs and remains there. To exhale, Jesus must push up each time on His nailed and battered feet, causing more pain. In order to speak, air must pass over the vocal cords during exhalation.
The Gospels note that Jesus spoke seven times from the cross, each vocalization requiring strained effort to generate the air required to pass over the vocal cords during exhalation. In His agony, He pushes up to speak aloud to His Father: “Forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) Two others have also been crucified alongside Him, one who expresses remorse for his crimes and asks Jesus to remember him when He comes into His Kingdom. The Lord speaks to him, saying, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) (Luke 23:39-43)
Jesus’ mother, aunt, and Mary Magdalene stand near the cross, watching Jesus in His final moments. His disciple, John, is also present. Jesus again manages to speak through immense suffering to bring His mother and John together, preparing them to support each other after His death. (John 19:25-27)
The difficulty surrounding exhalation leads to a slow form of suffocation. Carbon dioxide builds up in the blood, raising the amount of carbonic acid in the blood to dangerous levels. The body responds instinctively, triggering the desire to breathe. The desire to breathe is overwhelming and Jesus’ heart beats faster in order to circulate available oxygen. The decreased oxygen causes damage to the tissues and the capillaries begin leaking watery fluid from the blood into the tissues. This results in a build-up of fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion) and lungs (pleural effusion).
It is around 3 p.m. in the Gospel accounts when Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)
The collapsing lungs, heart failing, severe dehydration, and significant decrease in oxygen to the tissues, essentially suffocate Jesus. The decreased oxygen also damages the heart itself (myocardial infarction) which leads to cardiac arrest. Jesus most likely died of a heart attack.
After Jesus’ death, the soldiers pierce His side to confirm that He is dead. In doing this, it is reported that “blood and water came out” (John 19:34), referring to the watery fluid surrounding the heart and lungs. (Matthew 27:45-56, Mark 15:33-41, Luke 23:44-49, John 19:28-30)
Jesus’ death on the cross marks the cessation of His human life. All vital bodily functions, from circulatory and respiratory systems to brain activity, have ended.
In the evening, Jesus’ body is retrieved from the cross, wrapped in linen, and laid in a rock-hewn tomb. A massive stone is rolled across the entry to His grave. (Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42)
The full brutality of Jesus’ death is difficult to contemplate.
Jesus Christ, as a flesh and blood human, felt every bit of His execution.
Dear reader, may you never forget the depth of God’s love poured out for you that day in Calvary!
The information in this post was taken from this article.