DEATH BY CRUCIFIXION

By Boyd Sellers

Picture a human being, stripped of clothing, beaten with a metal-tipped scourge, goaded to the outside of town, and nailed to a post alongside a public road to helplessly await a slow, torturous death. Josephus called crucifixion “a most wretched death.” It was a common practice in the time of Jesus and the method by which He was put to death (Matthew 27:35-36).

“Death by crucifixion,” the Roman magistrate announces and the victim is placed into the rough hands of soldiers who are just “doing their job.” Cries for mercy fall on deaf ears. There is no pity. Rather, there seems to be even a degree of levity as preparations are made for the execution.

The procedure has little variety. It begins with the scourging. The prisoner is stripped of his clothing. His hands are tied to a post above his head, and the Roman legionnaire steps forward with whip in hand. His whip (or scourge) consists of a small handle that holds several heavy, leather thongs, each containing pieces of bone, metal, or other sharp objects at the end. The heavy whip is brought with full force again and again across the back, shoulders, and legs of the prisoner. The legionnaire has not done his job well until bones are laid bare and the flesh of the back is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. The beating is stopped when the centurion in charge decides that the prisoner is near death. Hands untied, he slumps to the ground. The ordeal has just begun.

The slow, painful, humiliating journey to the place of execution now begins. weakened and faint from the scourging, the victim is forced to get up and carry, on his lacerated back, part or all of the cross on which he is destined to die. All along the road he is pushed, thrown down, gouged with sticks, and forced on by every indignity and abuse imaginable. Crowds gather. Friends, if any, and relatives keep their distance as they look on in anguish. Others, not so friendly, have come simply to see the sight and possibly to add to the pain and humiliation of the sufferer.

Arriving at the selected site, a society of women are on hand to offer a pain killer-wine mixed with myrrh. The criminal is now forced to watch the preparations for his torture. The soldiers waste no time. Before his eyes the upright part of the cross is driven into the ground. stripped of his clothing, he is thrown backward against the crosspiece on the ground. One of the soldiers grabs an arm, feels for the depression at the front of one wrist and drives a spike through the wrist into the wood. He moves to the other side and proceeds likewise. A small sign naming the crime is nailed over his head. The crosspiece, with victim attached, is now lifted up and secured at the top of the upright. Leaving knees flexed, one foot is placed over the other and another large spike is used to secure them to the wood. The victim is now crucified. The pain is excruciating. The solder’s duty now is to remain and watch until he is dead. This will probably take two or even three days.

The real suffering has begun. As the body hangs against the nails in his wrists, the pain is unbearable. He pushes up with his feet to take the pressure off the wrists only to feel the nail tearing the flesh of the feet. every movement brings new and excruciating agony. His thirst is unbearable. Insects buzz around. Birds of prey circle overhead. friends and relatives watch helplessly.

Death does not come from loss of blood, or from exposure to the elements nor by the terrible pain connected with crucifixion. Instead, the sufferer slowly suffocates. As the arms grow tired, cramps knot the muscles. The cramps prevent the victim from being able to push himself upward. The chest muscles are paralyzed and the breathing muscles (intercostal) are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. there is a struggle to pull up with the arms or push up with the feet to get even one short breath. Spasmodically, he pushes himself upward to bring in the life-giving oxygen. The time drags by as the victim is forced to endure the agony of this “lingering death.” Eventually there is no more will or strength or ability to push himself up. Death comes mercifully either by suffocation or heart failure.

Without the lurid details, the Bible simply tells us, ‘and when he (Pilate) had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified ... and they crucified him” (Matthew 27:26, 35). R. C. Foster said, “He died a thousand million deaths on the cross as He died for us.” Paul said, “He loved me and gave Himself for me!” (Galatians 2:20).