On the evening before His crucifixion Jesus was gathered with His disciples in the upper room, sharing

with them
some of the most intimate truths of His entire ministry. As He discussed the love of the Father and His love for
His disciples he declared:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Though they did not realize it at the time, the disciples were only hours from the practical realization of this
truth. God shows the love for human in the simplest and most cruel way.

After Jesus was examined and declared to be without fault by the Roman Procurator Pontius Pilate, he delivered
Him to be judged by the assembled crowd. When the opportunity arose to decide the destiny of Jesus, the crowd
and the Jewish leadership cried out saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him." 1

"Great Drops of Blood"

The physical suffering of Jesus began in the Garden of Gethsemane on the evening before His crucifixion. While
the disciples slept, the Gospel of Luke records that the LORD "being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." 2

The notion that someone could actually sweat blood seems contrived. However, there is a rare but recognized
condition called hematidrosis, in which capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands rupture, causing them to
express blood. This usually occurs under conditions of extreme physical or emotional stress. Jesus wasn't sweating
blood because he was afraid of the physical pain of the cross.

The Trials

After Jesus' arrest they led Him away to the High Priest Caiaphas, where the Scribes and elders were assembled.
During this inquisition we are told that "some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to
say to Him, 'Prophesy!' And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands." 3

Beatings about the face received by a blindfolded individual cause even worse trauma. In the hours that followed
Jesus received two additional beatings at the hands of Roman soldiers. 4 Severe disfigurement of the face would
certainly have resulted from the brutal treatment. It is likely that the eyelids were swollen shut as a result of
such beatings. This was done in fulfillment of Isaiah 52:13-14:

Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were
astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.

The Scourging

After His trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus was scourged (flogged) by the Roman guards. This process typically
involved a whip with numerous leather thongs, 18-24 inches long, with bits of metal, bone or glass embedded in the
leather. At times they would use an iron rod to beat the prisoner. According to Jewish custom, a prisoner was
usually flogged 39 times (Forty minus one was a sign of Jewish mercy!)

Scourging was an extreme form of punishment. The skin on the victim's back was usually shredded, thus exposing
the underlying muscle and skeletal structures. Severe blood loss and dehydration were the rule. Many victims died
from such scourging.

After the scourging of Jesus, the Roman soldiers beat Him a second time with their hands and with a reed. Then
they put on him a "crown of thorns." 1.5 to 2 inches long.
Jesus had not drunk since the night before, so the combination of the beatings, the crown of thorns, and the
scourging would have set into motion an irreversible process of severe dehydration and cardiorespiratory failure.
All of this was done so that the prophecy of Isaiah would be fulfilled:

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and
spitting. Isaiah 50:6

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was
upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Crucifixion

Crucifixion was invented by the Persians between 300-400 b.c. It was "perfected" by
the Romans in the first century b.c.

The most common device used for crucifixion was a wooden cross, which consisted of
an upright pole permanently fixed in the ground with a removable crossbar, usually
weighing between 75-100 lbs. Victims of crucifixion were typically stripped naked and
their clothing divided by the Roman guards. In Jesus' case this was done in fulfillment
of Psalm 22:18, "They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast
lots."

The victim was then placed on his back, arms stretched out and nailed to the cross
bar. The nails, which were generally about 7-9 inches long, were placed between the
bones of the forearm (the radius and ulna) and the small bones of the hands (the
carpal bones). (Figure 1.)

The placement of the nail at this point had several effects. First it ensured that the
victim would indeed hang there until dead. Secondly, a nail placed at this point would
sever the largest nerve in the hand called the median nerve.

The severing of this nerve is a medical catastrophe. In addition to severe burning pain the destruction of this
nerve causes permanent paralysis of the hand. Furthermore, by nailing the victim at this point in the wrist, there
would be minimal bleeding and there would be no bones broken! Thus scriptures were fulfilled:

I can count all my bones: they look and stare upon me. Psalm 22:17 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Psalm
34:20

The positioning of the feet is probably the most critical part of the mechanics of crucifixion. First the knees were
flexed about 45 degrees and the feet were flexed (bent downward) an additional 45 degrees until they were
parallel the vertical pole. An iron nail about 7-9 inches long was driven through the feet between the 2nd and 3rd
metatarsal bones. In this position the nail would sever the dorsal pedal artery of the foot, but the resultant
bleeding would be insufficient to cause death.

The Catastrophic Result

With the knees flexed at about 45 degrees, the victim must bear his weight with
the muscles of the thigh. However, this is an almost impossible task-try to stand
with your knees flexed at 45 degrees for 5 minutes. As the strength of the legs
gives out, the weight of the body must now be borne by the arms and shoulders.
The result is that within a few minutes of being placed on the cross, the
shoulders will become dislocated. Minutes later the elbows and wrists become dislocated. The result of these
dislocations is that the arms are as much as 6-9 inches longer than normal.

As time goes on, the victim is less and less able to bear weight on the legs, causing further dislocation of the arms
and further raising of the chest wall, making breathing more and more difficult.

Over a period of several hours the combination of collapsing lungs, a failing heart, dehydration, and the inability to
get adequate oxygen supplies to the tissues cause the eventual death of the victim. The victim, in effect, cannot
breath properly and slowly suffocates to death. In cases of severe cardiac stress, such as crucifixion, a victim's
heart can even burst. This process is called "Cardiac Rupture." Therefore it could be said that Jesus died of a
"broken heart!"

To slow the process of death the executioners put a small wooden seat on the cross, which would allow the victim
the privilege of bearing his weight on his buttocks. The effect of this was that it could take up to nine days to die
on a cross.

When the Romans wanted to expedite death they would simply break the legs of the victim, causing him to
suffocate in a matter of minutes. At three o'clock in the afternoon Jesus said, "Tetelastai," meaning "it is
finished." Then He gave up the ghost. When the soldiers came to Jesus to break His legs, He was already dead. Not
a bone of Him was broken!

How Should We Then Live?

I realize that it is difficult to read of the details of Jesus' physical sufferings. And yet, when we realize that He
looked forward, on our behalf, to the cross, we are overwhelmed with His practical demonstration of love and,
hopefully, a personal realization of our unworthiness. How should we then live? I believe that the Apostle Paul said
it best:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to
be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness
of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death,
even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of
those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. Philippians 2:5-11