By Dr Monique Thompson

TWO weeks ago we looked at what Jesus endured from Gethsemane through His conviction and His walk to Calvary. This week, we focus on the cross.

Crucifixion is easily one of the cruelest designs of capital punishment, and certainly held that title during the time of Christ. It is excruciatingly painful, and death, though imminent, can be slow, sometimes taking days.

When being nailed to the cross, seven-inch nails were driven through the median nerve that runs in the hand, along the arm to the spine. When pierced, it sends excruciating burning pain through the limb that can not be quelled. In addition to piercing the median nerve, the Romans also severed a tendon in the wrist that resulted in Jesus having to use His back muscles to support His ability to breathe. The arms are stretched very far part, often resulting in shoulder dislocation when the cross is placed upright and the weight of the body is applied. In positioning the prisoner on the cross, the legs are slightly bent and rotated at the knee, followed by the feet being nailed to the cross. As with the hands, the nail driven through the feet is again targeted at a nerve to illicit maximal pain. Comprehensively, the positioning of the legs is very uncomfortable and was designed with one purpose – to cut off breathing.

Suffocation is the primary means by which crucified individuals succumb. The body is positioned on the cross in such a way that breathing is shallow at best, and very difficult. With the arms being stretched apart, the muscles used for inspiration are essentially in a fixed position. This makes it very difficult to breathe out. In order to exhale, the victim must push up on their legs to relieve the pressure in their chest so that they can breathe out. Once the pain is unbearable, or exhaustion has taken over, the legs return to the bent position, hindering respiration. Some speculate that this effect accounts for why christ made short statements while on the cross. To illustrate how key the legs were in staying alive, after Jesus died, Roman soldiers broke the legs of the thieves to hasten death. This immediately stopped their ability to breathe and they died very soon after.

After Jesus had ensured that this mother would be taken care of by His disciple John, Scripture says, “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.” A few physical factors lead to His state of dehydration. He had not had anything to eat or drink from the evening before. Second, He was physically exerted and sweating as He had walked approximately 2.5 miles after He was arrested, walked to and from his trials, to Calvary, and struggled with the cross along the way. Lastly, and most significantly, He had lost incredible amounts of blood. It is a wonder that He made it to Calvary at all. After a sponge soaked in vinegar was stuck on the end of a hyssop branch and lifted to His lips, “He said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19: 30 KJV).

There He was; His lifeless body hanging on a cross. “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34 KJV). This observation made by John lead people to wonder just how did Jesus die? Was it from suffocation like most individuals, or was it something else? A few theories exist to offer an explanation of why this happened. One theory is that when Jesus fell as He was carrying the cross, His heart physically got damaged under the weight of the cross. After being crucified, He suffered a major heart attack that caused his heart to tear or rupture. A second theory states that the crucifixion itself, with the body’s position being a factor, his heart began to beat irregularly leading to an arrhythmia, which ultimately killed Him. The third theory postulates that Jesus’ low blood pressure resulted in hypovolemic shock. In this condition, His heart began to beat much faster as it tried to keep His pressure up. However, as the dehydrated body tries to compensate by speeding up the heart, fluid begins to surround the heart and the lungs. This pressure constricts the heart, and stops it. As a result, when the soldier pierced Jesus’ side, the spear tore through the sacs surrounding both the lung and heart, releasing the clear fluid (water), then pierced a chamber of the heart, spewing what little blood He had left.

I can not say for sure if my Lord died from suffocation, a myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, severe arrhythmia, or because His heart ruptured. What I do know is this: He lived a perfect life as a man, died for the iniquity of us all, and rose again to reign forever. To God be the glory, for great things He has surely done!

• Dr Thompson is the founder of Cornerstone Healing Institute, an integrated family medicine clinic, and can be contacted at 356-0083 or info@chibahamas.com with any questions/comments.