Jesus suffered more than any man has ever suffered by being beaten by Roman centurions, flogged 39 times with coral cleats ripping out his flesh, and being hung from a wooden cross. It is reported that to qualify as a Roman centurion, you’d have to be able to knock out a raging bull with one punch. Wow. Can you imagine being beaten by a dozen or more of them, mocking you and crushing a crown of thorns on your head?
Here’s a medical account of Jesus’ injuries for you to consider how much Jesus went through for you (and for me!).
When you reconstruct the medical aspects of Jesus’ crucifixion, the result is a brutal, vivid picture of what Jesus endured to save people from sin. [Content removed, see full article using link below.]
In 1986, The Journal of the American Medical Association published a series of articles examining the practice of torture. The first piece was entitled “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ,” by William D. Edwards, M.D.; Wesley J. Gabel, M.Div.; and Floyd E. Hosmer, M.S., AMI. [Content removed, see full article using link below.]
An Excruciating Death
This is what we did to the God of the universe, as described by the article:
- “Although the Romans did not invent crucifixions they perfected it as a form of torture and capital punishment that was designed to produce a slow death with maximum pain and suffering” (1458).
- “For scourging, the man was stripped of his clothing, and his hands were tied to an upright post. The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged either by two soldiers (lictors) or by one who alternated positions. The severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of the lictors and was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death” (1457).
- “As the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh” (1457).
- “When the soldiers tore the robe from Jesus’ back, they probably reopened the scourging wounds” (1458).
- “The driven nail would crush or sever the rather large sensorimotor median nerve. The stimulated nerve would produce excruciating bolts of fiery pain in both arms” (1460).
- “Adequate exhalation required lifting the body by pushing up on the feet and by flexing the elbows and adducting the shoulders. However, this maneuver would place the entire weight of the body on the tarsals and would produce searing pain. Furthermore, flexion of the elbows would cause rotation of the wrists about the iron nails and cause fiery pain along the damaged median nerves” (1461).
- “Since speech occurs during exhalation, these short, terse utterances [Jesus’ words from the cross] must have been particularly difficult and painful” (1462).
Read the full article here: http://www.mychristiandaily.com/index.php/uk/149-feature-puff/10272-#sthash.ExLaEB42.dpuf
Why Did Jesus Sacrifice His Own Life?
People often ask me why God would sacrifice someone, especially his own son. That’s a good question and God’s Word has the answer.
Jesus took upon himself the penalty of Adam’s transgression which separated God from man and introduced sin and death into the world (Romans 5). Because of his voluntary sacrifice of his own sinless life, those who confess Jesus is Lord and believe God raised him from the dead are redeemed and are joined to God, ending the separation.