Understanding The Crucifixion of Christ

Crucifixion goes back to 600 BC.  It was invented by the Persians, passed on to the Carthaginians, and then passed on to the Romans.  It was the dominant form of capital punishment by the Romans until AD 337.  

William Barclay wrote, “There was no more terrible death than death by crucifixion.” Cicero called it “the most cruel and horrifying death.” Tacitus described it as a “despicable death” It was so terrible that the Romans never crucified anyone in the homeland; it was only used in the provinces, such as Judea.  It was never used on Roman citizens, no matter how horrible the crime.  It was reserved for slaves and the worst criminals who were not Roman citizens.

The pain of crucifixion was so horrible that there were no words that could describe it, so a new word was invented -- excruciating.  The word literally means "from the cross."

Crucifixion always followed a standard pattern.  When the criminal was condemned, the governor would say, “Ibis ad crucem,” or “You will go to the cross.” There was no death row.  The sentence was carried out immediately.  

The criminal was placed in the center of four soldiers, called a quaternion, and he was escorted to the site of the crucifixion (Jn 19:23).  

His own cross was placed on His shoulders.  Typically the vertical beam of the cross was already in place at the execution site, and the criminal just had to carry the horizontal beam.  Still, this beam was 100-200 pounds, and it had to be carried from Jerusalem to an execution site outside of the city, since it was illegal to crucify someone within the city walls of Jerusalem (Jn 19:17).

John notes that Jesus carried the cross by Himself, but in the other gospels we learn that the Romans forced a man named Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross (Jn 19:17; Mk 15:21).  Simon was just coming into to Jerusalem at the same time that Jesus was carrying His cross, and the soldiers made him help.  Jesus likely carried the cross until He made it out of the city, and when He could carry it no longer, Simon was forced to carry it the rest of the way, following behind Jesus.

Was Christ's inability to carry His cross all the way to Golgotha a sign of weakness?  Not at all.  Recall that Jesus had already been flogged before having to carry the cross (Jn 19:1).  In a typical crucifixion, the flogging would occur at the execution site, but Jesus was flogged before having to carry His cross.  In a typical Roman flogging, the criminal was tied to a post with his arms and hands tied up over his head to fully expose his entire backside – back, shoulders, buttocks, and legs.  The whipping would usually last for 39 lashes, but sometimes more, depending on the mood of the soldiers.  The special whip had several names:  cat of nine tails; flagellum; flagrum; scorpion.  It had nine braided leather strands with heavy metal balls woven into them.  Whipping would create deep bruises which would eventually bust open as the flogging went on.  The whip also had pieces of sharp bone, metal, or bronze woven into the strands.  These would dig into the flesh as the whip hit the body, and then rip off flesh and cause deep cuts to the bone as the whip was pulled back. 

One scholar who studied Roman floggings said, "As the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh." 

Eusibius, a historian from the third century wrote about Roman floggings, "The sufferer's veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victims were open to exposure."

The flogging was so severe that it would cause the victim to go into hypovolemic shock due to massive blood loss. At this point Jesus would have experienced four things.  First, His heart would have been racing to try to pump blood that wasn't there.  Second, His blood pressure would have dropped, causing him to fall down and pass out.  Third, His kidneys would have stopped producing urine to try to hold on to fluid.  Fourth, He would have been very thirsty to try to replace the lost fluids from blood loss.  Many criminals went crazy during the flogging, and many others did not survive.

Christ's flogging was perhaps worse than most, because after the flogging the soldiers placed a crown of thorns on his head (Mk 15:17).  This crown was made from the long spikes (up to twelve inches) of a date palm.  Then they repeatedly hit Him on the head with a stick, spit on Him, and insulted Him. (Mk 15:19).

Jesus had to carry His cross on His shoulders after the flogging.  And to make matters worse, the flogging would often continue all the way to the crucifixion site.

On the way to the execution site, the criminal would be led through as many streets as possible.  This was done for two reasons: 1) To warn the people of the consequences of crime against the Roman government. 2) If there were any witnesses who might bear witness on behalf of the accused, they might be persuaded to come forward.  In this case the procession would be stopped and the case retried.  

Jesus was crucified at a place called Golgotha, which means Place of the Skull (Jn 19:17).  The Latin word for Golgotha is Calvary.  We are not sure why it was called Place of the Skull.  It is most likely that the hill looked like a skull.  

When they finally reached Golgotha, Jesus was stripped naked.  Then He was made to lie on the ground while His arms were stretched out and nailed to the horizontal beam that He carried.  The nails were wrought iron spikes, five to seven inches long.  They would have been driven through the wrists.  In those days, the wrist was considered to be part of the hand.  If the nails had been driven into the hands, they would have ripped through the hands under the weight of His body; so it was likely the wrists.  The nail would have pierced the median nerve, the largest nerve going out to the hand.  Think of the pain you feel when you hit your funny bone.  That nerve is called the ulnar nerve.  Imagine squeezing and crushing that never with a pair of pliers.  That’s what Jesus felt. 

Then they would have lifted Jesus up and connected the horizontal beam to the standing vertical beam.  All of His weight was hanging by His nail-pierced wrists.  The weight of His body would have immediately caused His arms to be stretched an extra six inches, dislocating both shoulders.  

Then the soldiers drove a single nail through His overlaid feet.  

Sometimes the vertical beam would have a small piece of wood that served as a kind of seat.  The purpose of the seat was not to make life more comfortable, but to prolong and increase the agony (MacArthur Study Bible).

Mark says that they offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh, which served as a pain reliever.  The Jews had a custom, following Pr.31:6, of giving pain medication to victims of crucifixion.  But when Jesus tasted it, He refused to drink.  This was His most important hour, and He wanted to be fully present mentally, emotionally, and spiritually (Mk 15:23).

Jesus was crucified along with two other men, with Jesus being in the middle. Traditionally these men have been called “thieves,” but the Greek word used to describe them, "criminals" (Mk 15:27; Gk. lestes), is the same word used to describe Barabbas.  It probably refers to insurrectionists, or revolutionaries, or guerilla fighters who wanted to overthrow Rome.  These were probably Barabbas' colleagues.

At first, both of these men criticized Jesus (Mt 27:44).  But eventually one of them became a believer in Jesus while hanging from the cross (Lk 23:39-43).  

Pilate had a sign made and placed above Christ's head on the cross. This is also typical of a Roman crucifixion.  A placard or sign was made with the criminal’s crime written on it.  Sometimes the sign was carried by the soldier walking in front of the criminal, and sometimes it would hang around the criminal’s neck.  Jesus' sign read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”  Pilate knew that Jesus had not actually committed a crime, but this is what the Jews framed Jesus for, and Pilate needed a legitimate excuse for execution.  The Jewish leaders opposed the wording on the sign.  They said that it should read, “He claimed to be the king of the Jews.”  But Pilate left it as written, probably to insult the Jewish leaders for forcing his hand in executing an innocent man.  

One of the perks of being a soldier during a crucifixion was that you to got the criminal’s clothes (Jn 19:23-24).  Every Jew wore five articles of clothing – a head covering, belt, sandals, outer-clothes, and tunic (an undergarment worn next to the skin, from the neck to the knees or ankles).  They divided the first four among themselves, but they cast lots for the tunic.  John points out that this is a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy (Ps 22:18).

The Gospel of Mark tells us that as Jesus was hanging on the cross, He also had to endure the mockery and insults of the Jewish leaders and the people passing by (Mk 15:29-32).  They said things like, “If You really are the Messiah, the King of Israel, then save Yourself.  If you come down from the cross, then we will believe in You.” 

It was always risky to publicly support a known enemy of the Jewish and Roman authorities.  Yet Jesus was not alone during the crucifixion.  He was supported by mostly a group of courageous women (Jn 19:25).  John mentions four.  His mother, Mary.  His mother’s sister, who we know as Salome, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.  Mary the wife of Clopas, the mother of James the younger and Joseph.  And Mary Magdalene, who Jesus delivered from seven demons.  Mark tells us that these women followed Him in Galilee and took care of Him.  But these were not fair-weather friends.  They followed Jesus when He was popular, and they followed Him as He hung upon the cross.

  

Even in His dying hour, Jesus was focused on others.  He prayed for the forgiveness of those who mistreated Him (Lk 23:34).  And He placed His mother in the care of the apostle John (Jn 19:26-27).

At one point Christ says, "I'm thirsty Jn 19:28)."  This is a reminder of His humanity – He was fully God, and fully man.  He had to be human in order to die for our sins. They dipped a sponge in a jar of sour wine.  Sour wine (NIV “wine vinegar”) was the cheap wine, the drink of ordinary folks (NIV Study Bible). They held up the sponge to his mouth with a hyssop branch.  This was a name given to a number of different plants, so we’re not sure of the exact type.  

Christ's last words were, "It is finished (Jn 19:30)."  After saying this, He died.  Mark says that Jesus was crucified at nine in the morning, and He died at 3 pm.  Six hours on the cross (Mk 15:33-34).  The words "It is finished" are only recorded in John.  The Synoptic gospels simply say that He gave a loud shout.  John tells us exactly what He shouted.  What was finished?  In Greek, "It is finished" is one word, tetelestai.  It was a common accounting term that meant "Paid in full."  By His died Christ fully satisfied God's wrath against us sinners (Rm 5:8-9).  He paid off our sin-debt in full.  Nothing else needs to be done to receive God's forgiveness.  No good deeds or large donations.  Not confession, or communion, or baptism.  "It is finished."  

How did Christ die?  Probably from asphyxiation and cardiac arrest.  Asphyxiation is a fatal lack of oxygen.  Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating and you die.  When Jesus was on the cross, His body hung in an inhale position.  Every time Jesus needed to exhale, He had to push up on His feet, which would have caused the nail to tear through the foot and brace up against the tarsal bone.  He would lift Himself up to exhale, and then sink down to inhale.  This would have become exhausting over time.  Eventually His breathing would have slowed down, leading to an irregular heartbeat, which eventually led to cardiac arrest and death.

Christ died on "preparation day (Jn 19:31)."  On Thursday night they celebrated the Passover.  Now it was Friday, the preparation day before the Sabbath.  Crucifixions in Judea differed a little from a typical Roman crucifixion.  Roman law required that a criminal would hang upon the cross until he died, and this could take days.  Victims died from thirst, starvation, blood loss, suffocation.  They hung for days in the heat of day, in the cold of night, tortured by insects and wild animals.  But the Jews had a law that a person who was executed could not be left overnight but had to be buried the same day (Dt 21:22-23).  This meant that Jesus and the other criminals needed to die that day, and they needed to die before nightfall, because that was when the Sabbath began, and no more work could be done.  They needed to hasten death.  

In order to breathe, the criminal had to lift up his body by pushing on the nails in his hands and feet. So, to hasten death, the Roman soldiers broke the prisoners’ legs so they couldn’t lift up to breathe.  They took a mallet and smashed their legs.  This they did to the two criminals on the side of Christ (Jn 19:32).  But when they came to Jesus, He was already dead, so they didn’t brake His legs.  Instead, to ensure that He was dead, they pierced His side with a spear, causing blood and water to flow out (Jn 19:33-34).  They likely pierced His heart, which would also puncture his pericardium, the sac of fluid around the heart.  Thus the appearance of blood and water.  John points out that this too was a fulfillment of prophecy (Num 9:12; Zech 12:10).

Mark describes several amazing occurrences when Jesus died.  From 12-3 pm, darkness came over the whole land.  When He cried out and breathed His last breath, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  When the Roman centurion witnessed how Jesus died, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God! (Mk 15:33-39).  Matthew adds that at the moment of Christ's death, there was a rock-splitting earthquake, and the tombs were opened and many of the faithful Jews who had died came to life, went into to Jerusalem, and appeared to many (Mt 27:51-53)!

  

According to Roman law, a crucified criminal was not buried but was simply thrown away for the wild animals.  But this was illegal under Jewish law.  The body had to be buried the same day as death.  Two men stepped up to the plate to bury Christ.  Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (Jn 19:38-42).  Both men were members of the Sanhedrin, the high Jewish council or senate, and they were both secret followers of Jesus before His death.  But Christ's death emboldened them.  Joseph was a rich man; a good and righteous man.  The Bible says that when the Sanhedrin decided to kill Jesus, he disagreed with their plan and action (Lk 23:50).  He received permission from Pilate to remove Christ’s body and bury it.  He buried it in His own tomb – a new tomb cut into the rock that had never been used.  It was likely meant to be his own tomb.  Nicodemus also came to help.  This was the same Pharisee who came to Jesus secretly at night to ask more questions.  It was to Nicodemus that Jesus said those famous words, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God… For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:3, 16).”  Nicodemus brought seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes (perfumes) – enough for a king’s burial. The two men wrapped Jesus’ body in linen cloths, sort of like a mummy, placing the fragrant spices in the folds of the cloths).  They placed him the tomb (which was in a garden very near Golgotha), and rolled a stone against the entrance (Mk 15:46).  Some of the women watched as He was buried (Mk 15:47).