There is a scientific article about the death of Jesus, published in 1986 in one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world—the JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The article is titled “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ”.

In it, the authors prove that the Roman flogging process was horribly cruel. Technical details are outlined, which, along with the Biblical narrative, provide a comprehensive overview of this entire process, from the trial to death on the cross.

Before judgment, it is narrated in Luke 22 that Jesus was in deep distress and sweating blood. Although a rare phenomenon, doctors recognize this feature as hematidrosis, which can occur due to high-stress levels.

After being judged, Jesus was violently whipped with a leather whip, with tiny balls of iron on the tips and pointy bones. The balls of iron caused internal injuries and bones tore apart flesh, exposing skeletal muscle and causing major blood loss, which probably left him in a pre-collision state.

After a severe flogging, Jesus was mocked, spat on, and forced to carry his own cross to Golgotha.

During the crucifixion, the accused was thrown on the cross on the ground and nailed with nails as long as 18 cm long on the wrists and feet.

Crucifixion was a process that produced intense pain and caused a slow and suffocating death.

Breathing was extremely painful. With every breath, Jesus had to lift his back up in live flesh, dragging it across the wood, and supporting all the weight on the feet, which were nailed. The fact that it increased blood loss and caused terrible pain.

The causes of death by crucifixion could be several, but the two most common were hypovolemic shock and suffocation from exhaustion.

When the Gospel of John narrates that after Jesus’ death a soldier stabbed him with a spear and came out “blood and water”, the scientist’s explanation is that the water probably represented pleural fluid and serous pericardium. It was preceded by the flow of blood and it would be less volume than blood. Perhaps in the scenario of hypovolemia and acute heart failure, pleural and pericardic flashes could have developed and been added to the apparent volume of water.

Only by analyzing Jesus’ physical suffering, do we realize how terrible it must have been to endure all this. Intense stress, sleepless night, unfair judgment, brutal lashing, mocked, and still having to carry his own instrument of death.

But even MORE so!

What “weighed” on His shoulders were our sins. Isaiah prophesied:

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, and he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement that brings us peace was upon him, and by his stripes, we were healed. “

| Isaiah 53:5 |

He was the sacrifice. Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Only God who became a man could reconcile men to God.

That’s why we say sacrifice was for love because He had no sin, we did. If sin begets death, it was us who were to die, not Him.

So all your rot, all your evil thoughts, and actions, all your rebellion against God. This was all on Christ’s shoulders.

And He overcame not only sin but also death!

When you think your life is too hard, that nothing is working, look at this picture and remember all that Jesus went through for the love of you. The punishment that brought us peace was upon HIM. THERE ARE NO EXCUSES!

Source: Christian Freedom 

Consider the way His punishment was portrayed in the movie “The Passion of Christ”. I was likely worse than what we saw but He did it and suffered through it to pay for all of humanity’s sins. The price that He paid for your salvation and mine is more than we can imagine. He knew what was in store for Him and that was why He was praying so hard in the garden before His arrest. I pray that all of you who read this will seek Him as your Savior soon.