Mark 15: 12-25
"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the King of the Jews?" Pilate asked them. "Crucify him!" they shouted. Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. Pilate had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified. They put a purple robe on him to signify a mocked royalty, and twisted together a crown of thorns and pressed it down on his head and into his brow. Again and again they struck him and spit on him. They mocked him and called him names. Finally they brought Jesus to the Place of the Skull, called Golgotha and there they crucified him.
The following is a graphic physical description written by a Christian physician, of a crucifixion. As you read this description, picture each word in your mind.
The cross, which is hewn out of a rough, rugged piece of timber, is placed on the ground with its base near the edge of the hole which has been dug for it. The exhausted man, (exhausted because he has been flogged and beaten), is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. Jesus was made to carry his own cross up the hill to the designated place of his death, until he could no longer physically stand up under the weight of it and the pain of all the torture he had already endured. The legionnaire (Roman soldier) feels for the depression at the front of the wrist and 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 process, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but allowing some flex (or slack) and movement. The cross is then lifted into place in the hole and it is filled up with dirt and rock in order to hold it steady.
The left foot is pressed backward against, or on top of the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed a bit. This will allow the victim to try to lift himself up in order to breathe and to relieve the pressure on his arms. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags down this causes 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 (veins) as well. As he pushes himself upward to avoid his stretching/pulling 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 the feet.
As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward anymore, in order to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights and struggles to pull himself up 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 subside, due to his near-death state. Spasmodically he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves himself up and down against the rough timber of the cross. Then another agony begins; a deep, crushing pain, deep in the chest as the pericardium, (a cavity or space that contains the heart), slowly fills with serum and begins to compress, or squeeze, the heart.
It is now almost over the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level — the com¬
pressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues — the tor¬
tured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of
death creeping through his tissues — finally, he can not fight or struggle anymore he can
finally allow his body to die.
Mark 15: 33-37
At the sixth hour (about noon), darkness came over the whole land and lasted until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Then with a loud cry Jesus called out, "Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit" and when He had said this, He breathed His last!!!!
The preceding is a most graphic description of the cruelest form of death. For God to give up His ONLY Son to die a shameful and agonizing death on a rough and rugged cross, between two common criminals because He loves us that much is hard to imagine. Can you imagine such wondrous love? God's love for the human race is truly beyond our imagination or measure. Never, ever forget God's love for you!!!!