And they crucified Him... (Matthew 27:35)
What is crucifixion? Most people know the term and
understand the idea behind it, but precious few really
understand what our Lord went through on the day He
laid down His life for us. So in observance of Good
Friday, I would like to share with you a piece written
by a medical doctor, kind of graphic. It details the
agony of crucifixion.
“The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted
man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders
against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the
depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a
heavy, square wrought iron nail through the wrist deep
into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and
repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms
too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement.
The cross is then lifted into place. The left foot is
pressed backward against the right foot, and with both
feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the
arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is
now crucified.
As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails
in the wrists, excruciating fiery pain shoots along
the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain -
the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the
median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid
this stretching torment, he places the full weight on
the nail through his feet. Again he feels the
searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves
between the bones of his feet.
As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles,
knotting them deep relentless, and throbbing pain.
With these cramps comes the inability to push himself
upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs
but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order
to get even one small breath. Finally, carbon dioxide
builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and
the cramps partially subsided. Spasmodically, he is
able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in
life-giving oxygen. Hours of limitless pain, cycles
of twisting, joint-renting cramps, intermittent
partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn
from his lacerated back as he moves up and down
against rough timber. Then another agony begins: a
deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the
pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to
compress the heart.
It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has
reached a critical level. The compressed heart is
struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into
the tissues. The tortured lungs are making frantic
effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the
chill of death creeping through his tissues. Finally,
he allows his body to die. All this the Bible records
with the simple words, “and they crucified him.”
AI
