Crucifixion

Crucifixion: Definition of:

Forenote: Before you continue on with your reading of this section we would like you to think, and I mean really think about the love God has for His children. I want you to consider this one simple thought; Would you WILLINGLY go through this completely agonizing death, not to mention the things He endured even before He went to the cross, for anyone including those that hate you even enough to beat you near death, laugh at you, persecute you and send you to the cross without having any true cause? Well, consider this for a momment, HE DID! and furthermore He did not have to. The reason He did is completely out of love for you and for me and for ALL the peoples of the world for the debt we owe as sinners. Our debt is; "PAID IN FULL", all we need to do is accept it.

Jesus did not disobey God the Father, as a matter of fact Jesus was the only person to have ever lived a sinless life, thus the Perfect unblemished sacrifitial lamb that akes away the sins of the world. We did sin and we do sin most every day of each of our earthly lives and I most certainly include myself as a sinner and worthy of death. Thank You Jesus for your perfect love and taking the punishment for me that I so rightly deserve.
- Pastor Scott

Definition From: Easton's Illustrated Dictionary:

A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the Mosaic law were, by the sword (Ex 21), strangling, fire (Lev 20), and stoning (Deut 21).

This was regarded as the most horrible form of death, and to a Jew it would acquire greater horror from the curse in Deut 21:23.

This punishment began by subjecting the sufferer to scourging. In the case of our Lord, however, his scourging was rather before the sentence was passed upon him, and was inflicted by Pilate for the purpose, probably, of exciting pity and procuring his escape from further punishment (Luke 23:22; John 19:1).

The condemned one carried his own cross to the place of execution, which was outside the city, in some conspicuous place set apart for the purpose. Before the nailing to the cross took place, a medicated cup of vinegar mixed with gall and myrrh (the sopor) was given, for the purpose of deadening the pangs of the sufferer. Our Lord refused this cup, that his senses might be clear (Mat 27:34). The spongeful of vinegar, sour wine, posca, the common drink of the Roman soldiers, which was put on a hyssop stalk and offered to our Lord in contemptuous pity (Mat 27:48; Luke 23:36), he tasted to allay the agonies of his thirst (John 19:29). The accounts given of the crucifixion of our Lord are in entire agreement with the customs and practices of the Roman in such cases. He was crucified between two "malefactors" (Isa 53:12; Luke 23:32), and was watched by a party of four soldiers (John 19:23; Mat 27:36, 54), with their centurion. The "breaking of the legs" of the malefactors was intended to hasten death, and put them out of misery (John 19:31); but the unusual rapidity of our Lord's death (John 19:33) was due to his previous sufferings and his great mental anguish. The omission of the breaking of his legs was the fulfilment of a type (Ex 12:46). He literally died of a broken heart, a ruptured heart, and hence the flowing of blood and water from the wound made by the soldier's spear (John 19:34). Our Lord uttered seven memorable words from the cross, namely, (1) Luke 23:34; (2) Luke 23:43; (3) John 19:26; (4) Mat 27:46; Mark 15:34; (5) John 19:28; (6) John 19:30; (7) Luke 23:46.

I obtained more information on crucifixion from: AllAboutJesusChrist.org, Copyright © 2002 - 2007 All Rights Reserved. As follows:

What was roman crucifixion like?

Roman crucifixion was a form of capital punishment reserved for individuals considered to be the very worst criminals. Jesus of Nazareth was executed in this way. That this punishment was reserved for the most odious was also supported by Hebrew culture, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13).

Roman crucifixion was a particularly severe execution. The cross, the instrument of execution, consisted of two beams of wood called the stipes and the patibulum. The stipes was the upright beam which remained implanted in the ground at the place of execution. The patibulum or crossbeam was carried across the shoulders of the prisoner to the execution site. This crossbeam generally weighed approximately 110 pounds.

Scourging of prisoners was not commonly associated with crucifixion; it was a separate form of punishment which consisted of flagellating the prisoner with a short, heavy whip made of leather thongs with lead balls at the end of each thong. That Jesus of Nazareth was both scourged and then crucified reveals the enormity of the price He paid for the ransom of sinners. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

Once the prisoner had made the journey to the place of execution, exhausted and chaffed from moving under the extreme weight and discomfort of the patibulum, he was then laid on the ground. The prisoner's wrists were nailed to each end of the patibulum by iron spikes five to seven inches long. These spikes were driven in by hammer through the median nerve as the prisoner's arms were stretched wide across the beam. The arms were not stretched utterly tight; a small amount of flexibility and movement was allowed to better enable the hanging process. The sufferer, nailed to the crossbar is hoisted up so that the patibulum can be attached to the vertical stipes. A sign called a titulus is placed at the top of the stipes which identifies the prisoner.

Now with the criminal's left foot pressed behind the right, another spike is driven through the arches and heels going through the lower portion of the upright beam. The knees are slightly bent; the body is turned unnaturally sideways. The prisoner is allowed a small seat, called a sedile, a small board attached to the cross. It offered little assistance, actually causing more pain as the person attempted to actually sit on it. As the prisoner writhes in response to each new painful atrocity, each movement causes a counter pain and torment. As excruciating as the agony was that the prisoner suffered, Roman crucifixion sometimes lasted for hours, even days before the individual succumbed to the torture, and finally died. The method for ending the crucifixion was the breaking of the bones of the legs, called crurifracture. This act was done to hasten the criminal's death as was done to the two other criminals executed on the day Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. This was performed that day in response to the concern that the Sabbath was approaching.

The prisoner could not push up as a result and would quickly succumb to suffocation. Suffocation was due to the prisoner's inability to exhale air once it had been inhaled; the muscles of the chest had been incapacitated as he sagged down from the nailed wrist and then attempted to push up from the nailed feet. The bones of Jesus were not broken, however, because He gave up His life; when the Roman soldiers came to Him, they found Him already dead. "But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. These things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken. . ." (John 19:33, 36).

Roman crucifixion was a heinous, barbarous act; it served, however, the purposes of holy God. Through it the penalty for sin was forever paid when the Son of Man was lifted up on the cross. "And they crucified him. . ." (Mark 15:24).

More from: AllAboutJesusChrist.org

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, 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.

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. 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.

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 “multifactorial and related primarily to hypovolemic 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.