Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Friday of Judica (Lent V)

Friday of Judica (Lent V)

Daily Lectionary Readings: Exodus 5:1-6; Mark 15:33-47; (Sirach 31)

Trigger warning: Today’s appointed lectionary reading from Mark is the crucifixion account. This post will be a little different, consisting of background details of Roman crucifixion. While not overly graphic, they are not pleasant to read. Why is it important for us to know these details? Why wouldn't it be? This is what our Savior suffered for us. Candy coating it to make it less uncomfortable for us does not drive home the reality of Jesus' suffering and death. Knowing what Jesus went through and that it was witnessed makes the Apostles' witness of the miracle of the Resurrection all the more remarkable. Imagine seeing Jesus' Passion in person, then seeing Him alive and well again! Words do not do it justice. Perhaps knowing these details, while difficult to stomach, will make the reality of Jesus' death and Resurrection all the more real for you.

These details are taken from the half-dozen or so scholarly works in my library written by medical doctors over the past 50 years regarding the crucifixion.

Mark 15:33-41 [33] And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. [34] And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [35] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” [36] And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” [37] And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. [38] And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. [39] And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

[40] There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. [41] When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

Crucifixion

How was crucifixion actually carried out? The first thing we learn from historical sources is that there was great variety in the way crucifixions were done. The primary goal of crucifixion was to utterly humiliate the condemned individual and, in so doing, impress upon the masses that they did not want to fall under the same fate.

The Romans appear to have followed the same procedure in most cases but sometimes departed from their standard protocol. Seneca, the Roman philosopher, points to this reality when he records, "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet." (Dialogue 6:20.3).

The standard procedure for crucifixion began with flogging or scourging. The extent of this flogging often determined how long it took the crucified person to die on the cross. The next step was to have the condemned carry their cross to the place of execution. However, this was not the whole cross, which probably would have weighed well over 300 pounds. The condemned man typically carried the crossbeam (patibulum) across his recently flogged shoulders. The crossbeam would have weighed approximately 100 pounds. This procession to the crucifixion site was ordinarily led by a complete military guard headed by a centurion. A sign (titulus) that told what the condemned man was guilty of was sometimes carried by a soldier and sometimes put around the condemned man's neck. Later this sign would be attached to the top of the cross. The fact that Jesus was not able to carry his cross all the way, and the fact that he died in six hours, indicates that His flogging must have been especially severe.

It was not uncommon for cities in the Roman Empire to have places of execution outside of the city walls. This seems to be the case in Jerusalem as well. At these places of execution would have been permanently located the upright beam of the cross (stipes) onto which the crossbeam piece the condemned man carried would be attached. When the victim reached the place of execution, by law, he was given a drink of wine mixed with myrrh (gall). This was intended to be a mild narcotic that would deaden the pain. Jesus refused this drink since He was to bear our sin's entire weight and penalty.

The criminal was stripped naked, thrown to the ground on his back with his arms outstretched along the crossbeam. The hands would either be tied or nailed to the crossbeam, but the sources clearly indicate that nailing was the Romans' preferred method. Once this was done, the criminal would be hoisted up to attach the crossbeam to the upright beam. Finally, the feet were nailed through the ankles to the vertical shaft with another iron spike. Frequently, but not always, jutting out from the upright beam was a small block or plank (sedile) which the crucified would straddle, thus absorbing some of the body's weight. From the writings of the time, we know that there was a high cross and a short cross. The short cross was the more common and was no more than seven feet tall. The detail that a soldier put a sponge on a hyssop plant to give Jesus a drink suggests that he was crucified on a seven-foot cross since the hyssop stalk was typically 16-18 inches long.

In 1968, the remains of a crucified man were found in an ancient burial chamber in the northern portion of Jerusalem. The remains were from the time of Jesus, the first century A.D. The name of the crucified man was scratched onto the ossuary. His name was Jehohanan ben Hagkol. The nail driven through his feet was still in place in the feet. It was about 7 inches long and made of iron. Chemical examination of this nail revealed that the cross which the spike had been driven had been made out of olive wood. Further evidence indicated that the nails had been hammered between the radius and cubitus of the wrist, not through his palms, as commonly depicted in art. It should be noted that the wrist was considered part of the hand to the people of that time (i.e., the Gospel writers, etc.).

The pain of crucifixion is not difficult to imagine. In addition to the excruciating pain from the nails, the victim's position on the cross led to extreme difficulty with respiration, especially exhalation. The crucified person could not exhale properly, which would eventually lead to painful muscle cramps. Furthermore, adequate exhaling required the crucified to lift his body by pushing up on the feet and rotating his elbows. This, of course, resulted in searing pain in both feet and hands. Raising the body to properly exhale would also painfully scrape the scourged back against the rough wooden cross, probably reopening wounds and causing more bleeding. On the cross, every breath would be an agonizing affair and finally, in combination with exhaustion, would lead to asphyxia.

This gives us a better understanding of why the legs of the crucified were often broken, as was the case with the two robbers who were crucified with Jesus (John 19:31-33). The legs of the crucified were broken often out of "mercy." Without the support of their legs, the crucified were unable to raise up their bodies, which in turn made it impossible for them to exhale adequately, thus considerably speeding up death, often within minutes. All of this means that the seven sayings of Jesus were uttered with great difficulty since speaking takes place during exhalation. It was hard enough for Jesus to exhale, let alone speak. Death by crucifixion at times came quickly due to the severity of flogging. At other times it did not come for days. The crucified would hang, naked, the object of jeering and ridicule, insects landing in his mouth, eyes, open wounds, and unable to remove them, exposed to the elements, unable to eat or drink. As history records, crucifixion in the ancient world was the most disgraceful and agonizing execution known to man.

This is the death that Jesus Christ died. All this our Savior did for us, out of love, so that the penalty of our sin was paid and we can be forgiven. We are the forgiven children of God. But it came at a cost, a horrible and terribly high price.

The Death of Jesus Christ- Blood & Water

When we consider the words of John 19:34, "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water," it allows us to compare what John has written with what is known from the world of medicine and pathology today. What can we learn from Jesus' last hours? First of all, the Roman scourging would have critically wounded Jesus. Those who

were flogged would often go into hypovolemic shock, which refers to low blood volume. In other words, the person would have lost so much blood he would go into shock. The results of this would be: The heart would race to pump blood that was not there. 
 Next, the victim would collapse or faint due to low blood pressure. Then, the kidneys would shut down to preserve body fluids. 
 
Finally, The person would experience extreme thirst as the body desired to replenish lost fluids. 
 


When we look at the Gospel accounts of Christ's Passion, the evidence is that Jesus experienced hypovolemic shock as a result of his flogging. Consider that as Jesus carried His own cross to Golgotha, He collapsed. This collapse indicates Jesus had low blood pressure. Jesus declared He was thirsty as He hung on the cross, indicating His body’s desire to replenish fluids. 
Before death, the sustained rapid heartbeat caused by hypovolemic shock would have also caused fluid to gather in the pericardial sack around the heart and around the lungs. This gathering of fluid in the membrane around the heart is called pericardial effusion; the fluid around the lungs is called pleural effusion.

Putting all of this together, we have an explanation for the flow of blood and water that flowed from Jesus’ side. When the Roman soldier thrust a spear through Jesus’ side, he pierced Christ’s lungs, His pericardial sack, and His heart. The blood came from the pierced heart, and the water came from the pericardial sack and lungs. The result of this Roman action would have been certain death if Jesus were not already dead.