Our Lord's Crucifixion through a Surgeon's Eyes

Introduction

I would like to share with you, my perspective as a Christian physician, on the crucifixion of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We are frequently exposed to paintings, sculptures, and pictures that depict the crucifixion. Rappers even wear gaudy, gold crucifixes. I personally believe that our culture has become desensitized and perhaps truly apathetic to the true meaning of the suffering and death of our Lord. I believe that the precious 60 hours which begin with the Last Supper and end in the Resurrection, represent the most important spiritual and physical events, which have ever occurred since the creation of the world. I think it would be safe to say that no man’s death has been more studied, more questioned, and more revered than the death of Jesus Christ. Through the scrutinizing eyes of history, it has shaped and continues to shape the destiny of mankind as no other event since the beginning of time. For non-believers, His death represents a folly, possibly the biggest hoax in history. For Christians, it represents the ultimate act of love of our creator, for sinful mankind.

My interest in Christ’s Passion began when I was in the fifth grade. I read a book, A Doctor at Calvary by Pierre Barbet, which had a lasting impact on my life. It influenced me to become a physician and ultimately a surgeon. Dr. Barbet was a French surgeon who committed himself to a lifelong, detailed study of the crucifixion. He was particularly interested in the Shroud of Turin, the linen cloth believed to be Christ’s burial cloth. Although the authenticity of the Shroud is often questioned, I personally believe that it contains exquisite detail about Our Lord’s passion which could not be fabricated. I will refer to it later in this monograph. Dr Barbet performed extensive research on cadavers to help us to better understand the medical aspects of a crucifixion. He published his definitive book in 1953 which has become the primary reference source on the subject.

Today, I will focus on the Lord’s Passion at the hands of the Jews and the Romans, seen through the eyes of a surgeon. I hope to re-awaken in each of us a magnificent sense of awe, as we study intensely the almost indescribable suffering Jesus chose to endure to secure redemption for humanity.


Crucifixion was developed in Persia, an area which now makes up Iraq and Iran. The Romans adopted the practice of crucifixion 600 years before the birth of Christ; they developed a high degree of efficiency and skill at performing this consummate means of torture and death. The technique was modified and improved in order to create a controlled, exquisitely painful and disgusting method of execution. The Romans made the victim of crucifixion a public spectacle for all to see. Although we believe that Christ died on the cross after 3 hours, there are records of criminals hanging for as long as 3 days. They fell prey to insects and birds. Their bodies would be devoured by wild animals before or after death occurred; many were never buried. This form of capital punishment shows us the sadistic cruelty of the rulers, in controlling the masses; it provided a strong message to the citizens to remain submissive to the order of Rome.

Investigation of writings from around the time of Christ, and archeological discoveries suggest that Christ was not crucified on a cross shaped like the small letter “t,” but rather on s Tau cross shaped like a capital “T.” The cross consisted of 2 components, the stipes and the patibulum. The stipes (the vertical component of the cross) was permanently implanted in the ground. The patibulum (or horizontal piece) was the only component carried by the victim. The stipes was inserted through a hole in the patibulum in a mortise joint after the victim was affixed to the patibulum.

As we study the Passion, there is a fascinating interplay that develops, between Christ’s human nature and Christ’s divine nature. From the time of His birth in Bethlehem, He was entirely divine. Nevertheless, He chose to take on all of the attributes of humanity, with the exception of sin. We can see this interplay between Christ’s divinity and humanity in Gospel stories about His life; it takes on special significance during his Passion and Death. One of my favorite stories is about the death of Lazarus. Lazarus was one of Jesus’ special friends. When he was seriously ill, his sisters, Margaret and Mary sent Jesus a message to ask him to be at his side. But, Jesus was detained. He arrived at Lazarus’ house three days after he had died. From His human nature, He wept openly for the loss of His endeared friend. But from His divine nature he had the opportunity to perform one of His greatest miracles – raising Lazarus from the dear. He went down to the tomb and called out with a loud voice, “Lazarus come out.” And Lazarus was brought back to life.

I will remind you that our study of the Passion is summarized in the powerful words of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Some of the material I will present is graphic and may be disturbing. If anyone becomes troubled by my work, please know that I, too, have been deeply troubled by this powerful message for a very long time. It is my hope that our investigation will make all of us intensely aware of the depth of Christ’s love for each one of us.


The Last Supper and the Agony in the Garden

On Holy Thursday evening, Jesus retired to the upper room with his 12 apostles, including Judas Iscariot, to celebrate the Passover. During the meal, He gave His final instructions to prepare them for the ordeal to come. Before the meal, He washed the feet of each of the apostles, giving them an example of their need for humility: serving one another. His divinity recognized that Judas Iscariot was about to betray Him in a few hours, and He made mention of this in a way that the other apostles did not understand.

Christ shared His last meal with them. He said, “I have longed to eat this Passover with you, because never again shall I taste of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God has come.” You will recall that Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him 3 times before the cock crowed. Judas had already negotiated his deal: he would turn Jesus over with a kiss, in return for 30 pieces of silver. This reward is symbolic. It represents the price of a slave at that time. It also is equivalent to 3 months’ wages.

At the Last Supper, the Lord said, “I am going where you at present cannot follow me, but you will follow me later.” He was referring to going to the crucifixion. Remember nearly all of the apostles later followed Him to martyrdom.

Jesus departed from the Last Supper, going directly to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane. As His suffering began, it is important to understand that Jesus freely chose to endure, to its fullest extent, all of the degradation, agony and cruelty the crucifixion entailed. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus demonstrated his understanding of the events which would take place. He told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem now. There the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, who will condemn Him to death. They will turn him over to the Gentiles, to be made sport of and flogged and crucified. But on the third day, He will be raised up.”

In preparation, He went off alone to pray to His heavenly Father for strength before His ultimate test. He gave insight into the frailty of His human nature, in seeking special support from His 3 beloved apostles, Peter, James and John (the same men who witnessed the Transfiguration). He told them, “My soul is sorrowful even unto death.” He asked them to stay awake and pray along with Him during this first period of His torment. He departed from them a short distance, to pray fervently to the Father. He was overcome with unspeakable sorrow, as we believe all of the sins of the world were displayed before Him. After a period of time, He went back to His 3 chosen apostles and found them asleep. A second and again a third time, He asked them to “pray and be on the alert.” Each time, He prayed even more intensely.

His suffering was so extreme, Luke commented in his Gospel that His sweat turned to drops of blood. Medical science recognizes the phenomenon called Hemathidrosis. It is rarely observed in patients, during periods of violent mental disturbance and profound fear. As a result of an outpouring of adrenaline into the circulation, microscopic blood vessels called capillaries go into spasm. When the muscles surrounding the vessels become fatigued, the vessels dilate and then rupture, resulting in the excretion of a mixture of sweat and blood through the skin. This condition would leave the victim weakened from blood loss and emotional exhaustion. More importantly, it left the skin over Christ’s entire body unusually sensitive to the scourging which was to follow.

Christ cried out, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup from Me.” His humanity was pleading: “Does it have to be this way? Is there no one else who can bear the suffering?” His Father answered: “There is no other way.” Christ’s divine nature responded, “Not my will but Thine be done.” The Hemathidrosis created a veil of blood covering his eyes. His dreadful agony had begun. Jesus was drained to the point of collapsing. He felt that He was totally alone, abandoned by the Father, abandoned by His disciples and apostles. Jesus returned to His three apostles and awakened them from a sound sleep. They went down from the hill and found the other disciples more or less asleep around a fire.

As they departed, Judas arrived with a band of armed soldiers. Jesus asked who they were searching for, and they told Him, “Jesus, the Nazarene.” He responded, “I am He.” Jesus said this in a sorrowful way, and was betrayed by the kiss of Judas Iscariot. As they began to bind Him with ropes, Peter took his sword and cut off part of the ear of the Roman soldier’s servant, Malchus. Jesus ordered Peter to put down the weapon. He touched the servant’s ear and cured him. This was Christ’s final miracle on earth. As He was lead away, Jesus experienced a great sorrow, being taken from His beloved mother and His disciples. The Jews expected the Messiah to become a king and to establish His own kingdom. He told them very clearly, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Nevertheless, the platoon of 100 Roman guards was armed with swords, clubs and ropes, expecting an uprising from His followers.


The Trial

Jesus was betrayed by Judas around 10 P.M. From the Garden of Gethsemane, He was led off in the cold night air, bound and guarded like a criminal. The Roman guards had control of Him and in the ensuing hours of the night, they took liberties to amuse themselves and further enhance His torment. Our blessed Lord was repeatedly struck with sticks and clubs; stones were hurled at Him from a distance. During His transit of more than 2 miles, the Son of God was spat upon and treated with disgust.

Jesus was interrogated by the Sanhedrin, Annas, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, and Herod Antipas. He was charged with blasphemy - claiming to be the Messiah, the true Son of God. He answered His accusers honestly. A number of witnesses testified falsely, but their accounts contradicted one another.

In the early hours of the morning, the guards were again given the opportunity to amuse themselves by tormenting the Lord. He was struck with clubs and sticks, causing Him to become dazed. He was blindfolded, and the soldiers mockingly asked Him to play God and identify who it was that struck Him. Jesus was fatigued, weary and thirsty from His interrogation. Pilate’s main concern was to maintain his position in authority and to avoid a serious uprising among the Jews who had assembled for the Passover. His wife sent him a message: “Do not interfere in the case of that holy man. I had a dream about Him today which has greatly upset me.”

Pilate mistakenly thought a violent scourging would be sufficient to quiet the unruly crowd. In truth, this bloodthirsty mob became all the more wild when they saw the suffering that Christ experienced with the scourging; they were not willing to accept anything less than the ultimate sentence.

The Sanhedrin was a Jewish body, composed of priests, scribes and elders. It was allowed to pass the sentence of death on Jews, but such sentence had to be reviewed by the Roman procurator. They told Pilate he would be no friend of Caesar if he released Jesus. Pilate realized he was trapped. The violent crowd cried out in a loud voice, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” Pilate knew he could not risk denying their demands. He washed his hands declaring, “I am innocent of the blood of this just man. The responsibility is yours.” The Jews responded, “Let this blood be on us and on our children.”

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