by Dr. C. Truman Davis
Dr. C. Truman Davis, an ophthalmologist in Mesa, Arizona,
has researched the medical sufferings of Jesus on the cross. He has published
them in medical journals in Arizona, Florida and Alabama and has traveled
extensively across the nation giving lectures on the subject. His findings are
printed here:
The physical aspects of the passion, or suffering, of
Jesus Christ will be discussed in this series. We shall follow Him from
Gethsemane, through His trial, His scourging; His path along the Via Dolorosa
and to His last dying hours on the cross.
About a decade ago, reading Jim Bishop's "The Day
Christ Died", I realized that I had for years taken the Crucifixion more
or less for granted -- that I had grown callous to its horror by a too easy
familiarity with the grim details and a too distant friendship with our Lord.
It finally occurred to me that, though a physician, I didn't even know the
actual immediate cause of death. The Gospel writers don't help us much on this
point, because crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetime
that they apparently considered a detailed description unnecessary. So we have
only the concise words of the Evangelists: "Pilate, having scourged Jesus,
delivered Him to them to be crucified -- and they crucified Him."
I have no competence to discuss the infinite psychic and
spiritual suffering of the Incarnate God atoning for the sins of fallen man.
But it seemed to me that as a physician I might pursue the physiological and
anatomical aspects of our Lord's passion at some detail. What did the body of
Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture?
This led me first to a study of the practice of
crucifixion itself; that is, torture and execution by fixation to a cross. I am
indebted to many who have studied this subject in the past, and especially to a
contemporary colleague, Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who has done
exhaustive historical and experimental research and has written extensively on
the subject.
The physical passion of the Christ began in Gethsemane.
Of the many aspects of this initial suffering, the one of
greatest physiological interest is the bloody sweat. It is interesting that St.
Luke, the physician, is the only one to mention this. He says, "And being
in Agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood,
trickling down upon the ground."
Every ruse (trick) imaginable has been used by modern
scholars to explain away this description, apparently under the mistaken
impression that this just doesn't happen. A great deal of effort could have
been saved had the doubters consulted the medical literature. Though very rare,
the phenomenon of Hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under
great emotional stress of the kind our Lord suffered, tiny capillaries in the
sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process might well
have produced marked weakness and possible shock.
We shall move rapidly through the betrayal and arrest; I
must stress again that important portions of the Passion story are missing from
this account. This is done to adhere to our purpose of discussing only the
purely physical aspects of the Passion.
After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was
next brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiphus, the High Priest; it is here that
the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face
for remaining silent when questioned by Caiphus. The palace guards then
blind-folded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each passed
by, spat upon Him, and struck Him in the face.
In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated,
and exhausted from a sleepless night, Jesus is taken across the Praetorium of
the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea,
Pontius Pilate. You are, of course, familiar with Pilate's action in attempting
to pass responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus
apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was
returned to Pilate. It was then, in response to the cries of the mob, that
Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and
crucifixion.
There is much disagreement among authorities about the
unusual scourging as a prelude to crucifixion. Most Roman writers from this
period do not associate the two. Many scholars believe that Pilate originally
ordered Jesus scourged as his full punishment and that the death sentence by
crucifixion came only in response to the taunt by the mob that the Procurator
was not properly defending Caesar against this pretender who allegedly claimed
to be the King of the Jews.
Preparations for the scourging were carried out when the
Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His
head. It is doubtful the Romans would have made any attempt to follow the
Jewish law in this matter, but the Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more
than 40 lashes. The pharisees, always making sure that the law was strictly
kept, insisted that only 39 lashes be given. (In case of miscount, they were
sure of remaining within the law.)
The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or
flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy,
leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The
heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus'
shoulders, back, and legs. At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then,
as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing
first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and
finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.
The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises
which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is
hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn,
bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the
prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped.
The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to
slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see a
great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They throw a robe across
His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still need a
crown to make their travesty complete. Flexible branches covered with long
thorns (commonly used in bundles for firewood) are plaited into the shape of a
crown and this is pressed into His scalp. Again there is copious bleeding, the
scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.
After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the
soldiers take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving
the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport
and the robe is torn from His back. Already having adhered to the clots of
blood and serum in the wounds, its removal causes excruciating pain just as in
the careless removal of a surgical bandage, and almost as though He were again
being whipped the wounds once more begin to bleed.
In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return His
garments. The heavy patibulum (wooden beam) of the cross is tied across His
shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the
execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion begins its slow
journey along the Via Dolorosa.
As we study the passion of Christ, let's first look at the
practice of the crucifixion, the torture and execution of a person by fixation
to a cross.
Apparently, the first known practice of crucifixion was by
the Persians. Alexander and his generals brought it back to the Mediterranean
world -- to Egypt and to Carthage. The Romans apparently learned the practice
from the Carthaginians and (as with almost everything the Romans did) rapidly
developed a very high degree of efficiency and skill at it. A number of Roman
authors (Livy, Cicer, Tacitus) comment on crucifixion, and several innovations,
modifications, and variations are described in the ancient literature.
For instance, the upright portion of the cross (or stipes)
could have the cross-arm (or patibulum) attached 2 or 3 feet below its top in
what we commonly think of as the Latin cross. The most common form used in our
Lord's day, however, was the Tau cross, shaped like our T. In this cross the
patibulum was placed in a notch at the top of the stipes. There is
archeological evidence that it was on this type of cross that Jesus was
crucified.
Without any historical or biblical proof, Medieval and Renaissance
painters have given us our picture of Christ carrying the entire cross. But the
upright post, or stipes, was generally fixed permanently in the ground at the
site of execution and the condemned man was forced to carry the patibulum,
weighing about 110 pounds, from the prison to the place of execution.
Many of the painters and most of the sculptors of
crucifixion, also show the nails through the palms. Historical Roman accounts
and experimental work have established that the nails were driven between the
small bones of the wrists (radial and ulna) and not through the palms. Nails
driven through the palms will strip out between the fingers when made to
support the weight of the human body.
The misconception may have come about through a misunderstanding
of Jesus' words to Thomas, "Observe my hands." Anatomists, both
modern and ancient, have always considered the wrist as part of the hand.
A titulus, or small sign, stating the victim's crime was
usually placed on a staff, carried at the front of the procession from the
prison, and later nailed to the cross so that it extended above the head. This
sign with its staff nailed to the top of the cross would have given it somewhat
the characteristic form of the Latin cross.
The procession along the Via Dolorosa moves slowly, as
Jesus stumbles and falls frequently. In spite of his efforts to walk erect, the
weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious
blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam
gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise,
but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance.
The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion,
selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross.
Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock,
until the 650 yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally
completed.
The prisoner is again stripped of his clothes - except for
a loincloth which is allowed the Jews.
The crucifixion begins. Jesus is offered wine mixed with
myrrh, a mild analgesic mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place
the patibulum on the ground and Jesus quickly thrown backward 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 and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats
the action being careful not to pull the arms to tightly, but to allow some
flexion and movement. The patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of the
stipes and the titulus reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"
is nailed in place.
The left foot is now 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 moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As
He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists excruciating
pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain -- the
nails in the writs are putting pressure on the median nerves. As He pushes
Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on
the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing
through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet.
At this point, another phenomenon occurs. As the arms
fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep,
relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push
Himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles (large chest muscles)
are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles (small muscles between the ribs) are
unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus
fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon
dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially
subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring
in the life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He
uttered the seven short sentences recorded:
The first, looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing
dice for His seamless garment, "Father, forgive them for they know not
what they do."
The second, to the penitent thief, "Today thou shalt
be with me in Paradise."
The third, looking down at the terrified, grief-stricken
adolescent John -- the beloved Apostle - he said, "Behold thy
mother." Then, looking to His mother Mary, "Woman behold thy
son."
The fourth cry is from the beginning of the 22nd Psalm,
"My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?"
Hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending
cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain where tissue is torn
from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then
another agony begins...A terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the
pericardium (sac surrounding the heart) slowly fills with serum and begins to
compress the heart.
One remembers again the 22nd Psalm, the 14th verse:
"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart
is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels."
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 tissue; the tortured lungs are making a frantic
effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send
their flood of stimuli to the brain.
Jesus gasps His fifth cry, "I thirst."
One remembers another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm:
"My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my
jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death."
A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine which is
the staple drink of the Roman legionaries, is lifted to His lips. He apparently
doesn't take any of the liquid. The body of Jesus is now in extremes, and He
can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization
brings out His sixth words, possibly little more than a tortured whisper,
"It is finished."
His mission of atonement has completed. Finally He can
allow his body to die.
With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His
torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and
utters His seventh and last cry, "Father! Into thy hands I commit my
spirit."
The rest you know. In order that the Sabbath not be
profaned, the Jews asked that the condemned men be dispatched and removed from
the crosses. The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture,
the breaking of the bones of the legs. This prevented the victim from pushing
himself upward; thus the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the
chest and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken,
but when the soldiers came to Jesus they saw that this was unnecessary.
Apparently to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire
drove his lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through
the pericardium and into the heart. The 34th verse of the 19th chapter of the
Gospel according to St. John reports: "And immediately there came out
blood and water." That is, there was an escape of watery fluid from the
sac surrounding the heart and the blood from the interior of the heart, giving
postmortem evidence that Our Lord died not the usual crucifixion death by
suffocation, but of heart failure (a broken heart) due to shock and
constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.
Thus we have had our glimpse -- including the medical
evidence -- of that epitome of evil which man has exhibited toward Man and
toward God. It has been a terrible sight, and more than enough to leave us
despondent and depressed. How grateful we can be that we have the great sequel
in the infinite mercy of God toward man -- at once the miracle of the atonement
and the expectation of the triumphant Easter morning.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dr. C. Truman Davis is a nationally respected
Ophthalmologist, vice president of the American Association of Ophthalmology,
and an active figure in the Christian schools movement. He is founder and
president of the excellent Trinity Christian School in Mesa Arizona, and a
trustee of Grove City College.
This work is (c)copyrighted by The Review of the NEWS,
April 14, 1976
