Modern man has almost reached the point at which he is immune to shock. While that may be good in some ways, there are some things for which being shocked is a necessity. The crucifixion of Jesus is so horrifying an event that for man to be passive toward that shameful act is unacceptable for anyone. It is an integral part of the gospel, the paramount part being His resurrection, and in that act was man’s redemption made possible.
It is hard to imagine how normal human beings could think of treating another human in the way demanded by “crucifixion.” But it happened, and no other methods could be so cruel, so brutal.
Crucifixion as a means of execution was a product of several “civilizations.” The Phoenicians and others were searching for a means of execution that would be public, painful and prolonged. Writers have claimed they wanted something so shocking that their citizens would be deterred from crime as a result of such a horrible death. Several methods were tried but eventually ruled out, including boiling in oil, by which the “criminal” died a horrible death. But this method was abandoned because the subject died too quickly.
Dismemberment was also very painful, but the pain it produced resulted in shock, limiting the suffering. So, crucifixion was the next consideration. History is not very explicit regarding the means by which crucifixion was selected, but it was certainly a public event, observed by all within sight and sound. It was painful, so much so that the screams of pain could be heard a long distance from the site. The shame attached to crucifixion caused it to be very much a deterrent, and it was usually reserved for the vilest criminal. Yet Jesus, the only sinless One in any generation, was put to death in that shameful, public, painful, prolonged manner.
Death by crucifixion was usually produced by suffocation. Jesus was already weakened physically by the trial, a loss of sleep, the trauma of being accused by His own people, the deadly scourging, by the burden of carrying the cross itself to Golgotha, “the place of the skull”. He also carried the weight of man’s sin – past and future, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.
A book authored by Jim Bishop, The Day Christ Died, describes the placement of the “nails” thus:
The executioner wore an apron with pockets. He placed two five-inch nails between his teeth and, hammer in hand, knelt beside the right arm. The soldier whose knee rested on the inside of the elbow held the forearm flat to the board. With his right hand, the executioner probed the wrist of Jesus to find the little ‘hollow spot’. When he found it, he took one of the square-cut nails from his teeth and held it against the spot, directly behind where the so-called life line ends. Then he raised the hammer and brought it down with force,” JAMA, pp. 323-324.
The movie industry has provided us with some very graphic views of the details surrounding the crucifixion, and other sources have done so as well. In March, 1986, The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article that describes how a person dies by crucifixion. When we replace the technical words of medicine and anatomy with every day terms, it is a shocking bit of reading. The following is from that source:
Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged and sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (“patibulum”) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion, his wrists were nailed to the patibulum and, after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post (the “stipes”), his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with one’s normal respiration. Accordingly, death resulted primarily from hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia.”
JAMA included drawings detailing the nails, the placement of the nails, and the means by which the feet were nailed to the stipes. The nailing of the feet prevented immediate death, making it possible for the victim to painfully lift himself upon the nails in his feet to relieve the suffocation that threatened. Muscles that govern breathing could become paralyzed by the weight of the body on the hands, thereby causing death by suffocation.
With Jesus’ death the great veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom, symbolizing His entry into the Holy Place once for all, Hebrews 9:1-12. The law of Moses was “nailed to the cross,” Colossians 2:14-17. When His blood was shed the New Testament had its beginning, Hebrews 9:16-17. This is the reason we remember Him on the first day of the week by participating in the Lord’s Supper. This is why we submit to baptism, where we contact the saving blood of Jesus, Romans 6:1-17. He did not deserve to die, but He was nailed to the cross – for you and for me. That is the greatest story ever told!
