gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) (03/05/91)
Easter is a time to rejoice and give thanks. It is also a time for reflexion and meditation on the Crucifixion and the miraculous Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet there is a tendency to overlook the horrors of the Crucifixion while concentrating on the spiritual aspects of Jesus' death. I'd like to take us back to that day and time. We need to look again at the great price that was paid for us. Originally, crucifixion was a mild form of punishment for slaves. The Romans would tie a wooden "V" against the victim's shoulders, and march him through the streets proclaiming his crime. The first recorded case of using crucifixion as a form of capital punishment was the Phonecians use of this method. Eventually, the Romans also began to use it as a means of captial punishment. The Romans turned it into both a means of killing, but also a means of extreme torture in the process. They could keep a person alive for a very long time up on their cross. Actually, the Romans used three forms of cross for crucifixion. One was in the shape of a large "X." A second was made by affixing the crossbar about 3/4th the way up the stake. This is the one most often seen in churches. The third, and most commonly used cross, was a wooden "T." The Romans preferred this one because: 1. It could be put up quickly on short notice. 2. Its simplicity lent itself to mass executions. The upright stake -- its top tapered to a point, like a pencil -- was buried in the ground. A sturdy crossbar had a hollow cup whittled from its center, which fitted over the stake's pointed tip. But, lets start with the actual process of crucifixion as it was done with Jesus. First came th scourging. This was done for the amusement of the Roman soldiers and toi ensure that the victim would be docile on the way to his execution. The victim was striped. His hands were tied in such a fashion as to force them over his head and to make his body bend. Then two soldiers would take up positions on both sides of the victim with whips known as flagellum. This whip consisted of several leather thongs with lead or bone sewn into the tips. As the whips struck the flesh of the back, the leather and the metal or bone tips would be embedded into the flesh. When yanked back for the next lashing, the leather and the tips would tear hunks of flesh from the back. The affects were so devastating that it is recorded that some of the soldiers became ill watching, and these were very combat hardened men. The national law (Jewish) prohibited more than 40 lashes. Ever cautious to uphold the law, the Pharisees demanded the beatings be stopped at the 39th stroke. Rome had only one stipulation: the prisoner must remain alive and capable of carrying his 125 pound crossbar to the execution. Despite this, some victims did in fact die. Many slipped into shock. The entire process took less than four minutes, but the victim was effectively beaten about the back and shoulders until he was raw and bleeding profusely. The victim was quite docile by this point. This is what was done to Jesus. But in Jesus' case, the scourging wasn't enough. The Roman soldiers played with Him and mocked Him. There is the beaten Jesus surrounded by the Roman cohort in the Praetorium. He stood before the soldiers naked; His body a mass of swollen, bruised, and lacerated flesh. They decided that if this man was the King of the Jews, then He should have a scepter, a robe, and a crown. The scepter was a reed from a nearby plant. The robe came scarcely to His elbows. But it was the crown the was designed to humiliated Him even more, as well as to cause Him more pain. It was made of thorns measuring from 3/4 of an inch to 3-1/2 inches in length. Then they blindfolded Jesus so He couldn't see. The mockingly bowed down to Him. They hailed Him as the King of the Jews in a mocking tone. They spit on Him. Then they struck Him and demanded that He tell them which one of them had done it. Finally, done with having their fun, they put His own clothes back on Him, which was unusual. The Romans normally crucified their victims naked to increase the humiliation. National preference, however, called for some clothing. The Romans usually acceded to this request by providing a loincloth. Yet, Jesus was re-clothed in His own garments right up until He was about to be thrown down and nailed to the Cross. He was then stripped of all His outer garments and left with the loincloth. Jesus was then tied to the crossbar upon which He was to eventually die. This was done to all victims under this method of crucifixion because it prevented the victim from attempting to escape enroute to his death, and it also prevented the victim from striking out at his guards and tormentors along the route. Arriving at Calvary, the crossbar was removed. Jesus was stripped down to His loincloth. He was then thrown to the ground on top of the crossbar. His arms were stretched out so that the Executioner could mark the spots to drill the holes for the spikes that would be driven into Jesus wrists to hold Him to the cross. The nails, or spikes, actually, were large square spikes about a third of an inch thick at its head. The nail point was placed at the heel of the victim's hand. A single blow sent it ripping through the tissue, separating the carpal bones as it plunged into the crossbar. Such a thing would cause pain in and of itself. But usually, the nail tore through the median nerve, creating an unending trail of fire up the victim's arms, augmenting the pain that tortured his body. From this moment on, the victim's pain would intensify each time he moved because the metal of the spikes irritated the open nerve endings. In some countries that used crucifixion, they would tie their victims onto the crossbar. But the Romans preferred nails. Nails were more efficient, and a man nailed to a cross was almost certain to die within a reasonable period of time, while one who was tied would linger, adn might be rescued. Once the victim was in place, the plaque stating his crimes was nailed to the crossbar. This done, the crossbar was then elevated and, with a thud, dropped into place on the pointed stake. Before the elevation, the victim's arms formed a 90 degree angle with his body. After elevation, the sag caused by the weight of the victim's body decreased this angle to 65 degrees, exerting a tremendous pull on each nail. There was not real need to nail the feet. But the guards didn't like the victim's legs flailing around. So to prevent this, they put one foot over another and drove a nail through both. However, this merely increased the time for death. If the Romans didn't nail the feet, the full weight of the victim's body hung on his arms, and rather quickly he went into a spasm that prevented exhalation. The victim would quickly suffocate from the inability to use his respiratory muscles. Recent archeological discoveries in Israel have uncovered the body of a young Jew who was crucified. His remains date back to the very time of Christ. He was nailed to the crossbar through the wrists. And both feet had been nailed together -- not to the actual upright, but to another piece of wood that was nailed to the upright. We know this because the nail used on his feet had bent and the wood into which it was driven had broken off when the Romans tried to remove the nail or his feet. The nail through the feet gave the victim an extremely painful means of risen up to take the weight off his arms and draw a breath. This macabre dance would become a reflex action after a few hours. It could prolong life for as much as two days, depending upon the individual's strength and determination. To this extent, the continuance of his life rested in the willpower of the crucified victim. The hours wore on and the victim's mental faculties were impaired. Soaked with sweat, suffering from intense thirst, the victim hung there in incredible pain and shock. And this pathetic picture ended only with the death of the victim. Sometimes the Roman procurator would want to hasten the death of the crucified. So the Roman guard would use an iron rod to smash the leg bones so that the victim could not continue the macabre dance. Without his legs to lift himself up, the victim quickly died. For assurance, the Romans classically added a coup de grace. When the crucified seemed dead, a lance was thrust into the right side of the chest into the heart. And this was the horror that awaited Jesus as He rose from His knees that night in the Garden of Gethsemane and onward to Golgotha. Jesus had told the disciples that a man has no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends, and this they could understand. But soon, the disciples came to understand a love far greater than this -- a love so divine that it surpasses all love. For Jesus laid His life down not only for His friends, but also for His enemies as well. And His love came clear in those great words He uttered through the pain and shock of His crucifixion: "Father, forgive them..." So, this Easter, let's look at the Cross and know the terrible price that was paid for each of us that day when the Saviour hung there for us. En Agape, Gene