Show Notes
In this sixth week of Lent, Case delves into the depths of pain and suffering that Jesus endured on the cross. He explores the physical and physiological effects of crucifixion, highlighting both the torment of Christ as well as his unfathomable love.
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Episode Transcript
And so we come to Holy week after this Lenten journey of 40 days. Today, I have for you a bit longer of an episode. So I encourage you to find a place to be still, to focus and listen as we experience the depths and the horrors of crucifixion. Now we don’t glory in gore, but we delve into the depths of pain and suffering so that we can better appreciate the heights of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and a love that only Jesus has to offer.
A reading from 44 Details About Death by Crucifixion by Scott Ross:
Crucifixion is likely the most painful death ever invented and is where we get our term excruciating. The Roman Senator Cicero called it quote, a most cruel and disgusting punishment. Quote, it was reserved primarily for the most vicious of male criminals. The crucifixion of Jesus guaranteed a horrific and a most humiliating, slow, public and painful death.
Jesus was stripped naked and his clothing divided by the Roman guards. This was in fulfillment of Psalm 22:18, quote, they divide my garments among them and for my clothing, they cast lots.
Having been nailed to the cross, Jesus now had an impossible anatomical position to maintain. Jesus’ knees were flexed at about 45 degrees and he was forced to bear his weight on the muscles of his thighs, which is not a position that is possible to maintain for more than a few minutes without severe cramps in the muscles of the thigh and calf. Think of wall squats.
As the strength of the muscles of Jesus’ lower limbs tired, the weight of his body had to be transferred to his wrists, his arms, and his shoulders.
Within a few minutes of being placed on the cross, Jesus’ shoulders were almost certainly dislocated. Minutes later, Jesus’ elbows and wrists became dislocated. Thus, prophecy was fulfilled from Psalm 22:14, I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint.
After Jesus’ wrists, elbows, and shoulders were dislocated, the weight of his body on his upper limbs caused traction forces on the pectoralis major muscles of his chest wall. These traction forces caused his rib cage to be pulled upwards and outwards in a most unnatural state. His chest wall was permanently in a position of maximal respiratory inspiration.
To expire air from his lungs, Jesus had to push down on the nails in his feet to raise his body, allowing his rib cage to move downwards and inwards. Unlike Hollywood movies about the crucifixion, the victim was almost certainly extremely active. The crucified victim was physiologically forced to move up and down the cross, a distance of about 12 inches in order to breathe. The process of respiration caused excruciating pain mixed with the absolute terror of asphyxiation.
As the hours of the crucifixion wore on, Jesus was less and less able to bear his weight on his legs. As his thigh and calf muscles became increasingly exhausted. Within minutes of crucifixion, Jesus became severely dyspeptic, which is short of breath.
The Romans could prolong the pain for days by erecting a platform on the cross that allowed the condemned more ease for respiration movement. Conversely, when the Romans wanted to expedite death, they would simply break the legs of the victim, causing the victim to suffocate in a matter of minutes. Neither occurred in Jesus’ case.
Jesus’ movements up and down the cross to breathe cost excruciating pain in his wrists, his feet, his dislocated elbows and shoulders. In particular, the pain from the shattered median nerves in his wrists exploded with every movement. Jesus was surely covered in blood and sweat.
Blood was a result of the scourging that nearly killed him and the sweat as a result of his violent involuntary attempts to expire air from his lungs. Throughout all this, he was completely naked and the religious leaders, the crowds, and one of the thieves on the cross beside him were jeering, swearing, laughing at him.
In addition, Jesus’ own mother was watching.
Physiologically, Jesus’ body was undergoing a series of catastrophic and terminal events. Because Jesus could not maintain adequate ventilation of his lungs, he was now in a state of hypoventilation, inadequate ventilation. His blood oxygen level began to fall and he developed hypoxia, low blood oxygen. In addition, because of his restricted respiratory movements,
His blood carbon dioxide, CO2 levels began to rise, a condition known as hypercapnia. This rising CO2 level stimulated his heart to beat faster in order to increase the delivery of oxygen and the removal of CO2. The respiratory center in Jesus’ brain sent urgent messages to his lungs to breathe faster, and Jesus began to pant. Jesus’ physiological reflexes demanded that he took deeper breaths, and he involuntarily moved up and down the cross much faster, despite the excruciating pain. However, due to the nailing and his increasing exhaustion, he was unable to provide more oxygen to his oxygen-starved body.
The twin forces of hypoxia to little oxygen and hypercapnia to much CO2 caused his heart to beat faster and faster. And Jesus developed tachycardia. His pulse rate was probably about 220 beats per minute. The maximum that’s normally sustainable. Jesus was already very dehydrated, having apparently nothing to drink for about 20 hours.
His blood pressure surely fell alarmingly. It was probably about 80 over 50. He was in first degree shock with hypovolemia, low blood volume, tachycardia, excessively fast heart rate, tachypnea, excessively fast respiratory rate, and hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating.
By about noon, Jesus’ heart probably began to fail.
Jesus’ lungs probably began to fill up with pulmonary edema.
This only served to exacerbate the challenges with his breathing, which was already severely compromised. Jesus was in heart failure and respiratory failure.
Jesus said, I thirst, because his body was crying out for fluids. He was in desperate need of an intravenous infusion of blood and plasma to save his life. Jesus could not breathe properly and was slowly suffocating to death. At this stage, Jesus probably developed hemopericardium, plasma and blood gathered in the space around his heart called the pericardium.
This fluid around his heart caused cardiac tamponade where the flood around his heart prevented Jesus’ heart from beating properly because of the increasing physiological demands on Jesus’ heart. In the advanced state of hemo pericardium, Jesus probably eventually sustained cardiac rupture. His heart literally burst.
This was most likely the cause of his death.
At three o ‘clock in the afternoon, Jesus said, tetelestai, meaning it is finished.
At that moment he gave up his spirit and he died.
When the soldiers came to Jesus to break his legs, he was already dead. Not a bone of his body was broken in fulfillment of Psalm 34:20, he keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken.
Jesus willingly endured the most excruciating and terrifying torture ever invented to pay the price for our sin.
Isaiah 53, he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our wellbeing fell upon him and by his scorching, we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way.
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.
And so Lord, for even this, we give you thanks. Amen.
