Death

 

I have been thinking about things that have to die. Actually all of us are dying but at different rates. Did you know there is a science associated with dying? It's called mortuary science. Funerals occurred in ancient times. The most famous are the Egyptians who embalmed their dead.

But what is the role of a mortician? To preserve the body and make it look presentable for the funeral. My question is why? When something dies shouldn't we let it be exposed in all of its cautionary glory? Shouldn't wounds and the signs of pervasive diseases be left as warnings be they spiritual or physical? 

The concept of “dying to self” is found throughout the New Testament. It expresses the true essence of the Christian life, in which we take up our cross and follow Christ. Dying to self is part of being born again; the old self dies and the new self comes to life (John 3:3–7). Not only are Christians born again when we come to salvation, but we also continue dying to self as part of the process of sanctification. As such, dying to self is both a one-time event and a lifelong process. 

So then my focus goes to Jesus's example of dying, crucifixion is a brutal way to go. On another site I found this information regarding crucifixion:

In The Garden of Gethsemane

There is a rare condition called hematidrosis that occurs in cases of extreme anxiety caused by fear. Also known as hemorrhagia percutem, it manifests as sweat that contains blood or blood pigments. Anxiety due to intense fear affects the autonomic nervous system. Fear triggers the amygdala, which is the brain’s fear center. We know the reaction as the fight-or-flight response. The response results in: profuse sweating (diaphoresis), accelerated heart rate, vasoconstriction of blood vessels, increased blood pressure, diversion of blood from non-essential areas in order to increase blood perfusion to the brain and muscles of the arms and legs, skin pallor, and decreased function of the digestive system, which may result in vomiting and abdominal cramps.

Jesus’ fight-or-flight response lasted several hours as He prayed alone while His apostles slept nearby. He would have been completely exhausted and dehydrated because of diaphoresis and vomiting.When the angel appeared to give Him strength, He would have had a sudden and complete reverse reaction, resulting in “severe dilation and rupture of the blood vessels into the sweat glands, causing hemorrhage into the ducts of the sweat glands and the subsequent extrusion out onto the skin.”

Jesus is scourged

“The Roman flagellation or scourging was one of the most feared of all punishments. It was a form of brutal, inhumane punishment generally executed by Roman soldiers using the most dreaded instrument of the time, called a flagrum.” The flagrum used in scourging was a whip consisting of three or more leather tails that had plumbatae, small metal balls or sheep bones at the end of each tail. 

In Mosaic Law, scourging could not exceed forty lashes, but often the number of lashes was dependent upon the cruelty of the executioners. If the executioners did not want the cruciaris, or victim, to die too quickly, they limited the amount of lashes administered. The number of lashes also depended on the person and their crime. Pilate ordered that Jesus be scourged in an extreme manner in an attempt to appease the mob. When they were not satisfied and demanded the release of Barabbas, he pronounced sentence. Jesus would have been stripped naked and shackled by His wrists to a low column so that He would be in a bent-over position. One or more soldiers would be assigned to deliver the blows from the flagrum. Standing beside the victim, he would strike in an arc-like fashion across the exposed back. “The weight of the metal or bone objects at the ends of the leather thongs would carry them to the front of the body as well as to the back and arms, the shoulders, arms, and legs down to and including the calves. The bits of metal would dig deep into the flesh, ripping small blood vessels, nerves, muscle, and skin.”4 The soldier would change position periodically and deliver blows from the opposite side.

Effects of scourging

The injuries sustained during scourging were extensive. Blows to the upper back and rib area caused rib fractures, severe bruising in the lungs, bleeding into the chest cavity and a partial or complete pneumothorax (puncture wound to the lung causing it to collapse). As much as 125 milliliters of blood could be lost. The victim would periodically vomit, experience tremors and seizures, and have bouts of fainting. Each excruciating strike would elicit shrieks of pain. The victim would be diaphoretic (profusely sweating) and exhausted, his flesh mangled and ripped, and would crave water because of the loss of fluid from bleeding and diaphoresis. The steady loss of fluid would initiate hypovolemic shock while a slow, steady accumulation of fluid in the injured lungs (pleural effusion) would make breathing difficult. Fractured ribs would make breathing painful and the victim would only be able to take short, shallow breaths. The plumbatae at the end of the leather strips would lacerate the liver and maybe the spleen. Jesus’ condition after scourging was serious. The pain and brutality of the torture put Him in early traumatic or injury shock. He was also in early hypovolemic shock because of pleural effusion, hematidrosis, hemorrhaging from His wounds, vomiting, and diaphoresis.

The crown of thorns

The Syrian Christ Thorn, which was available in Jerusalem, was the plant most likely to be used for the crown of thorns. Other experts speculate that the Christ’s Thorn was used, although no one can be certain. Both of these plants have sharp, closely spaced thorns and can be easily plaited into a cap.

Effects of the crown of thorns

“The nerve supply for pain perception to the head region is distributed by branches of two major nerves: the trigeminal nerve, which essentially supplies the front half of the head, and the greater occipital branch, which supplies the back half of the head.” 6 These two nerves enervate all areas of the head and face.

The trigeminal nerve, also known as the fifth cranial nerve, runs through the face, eyes, nose, mouth, and jaws. Irritation of this nerve by the crown of thorns would have caused a condition called trigeminal neuralgia or tic douloureux. This condition causes severe facial pain that may be triggered by light touch, swallowing, eating, talking, temperature changes, and exposure to wind. Stabbing pain radiates around the eyes, over the forehead, the upper lip, nose, cheek, the side of the tongue and the lower lip. Spasmodic episodes of stabbing, lancinating, and explosive pain are often more agonizing during times of fatigue or tension. It is said to be the worst pain that anyone can experience.

As the soldiers struck Jesus on His head with reeds, He would have felt excruciating pains across His face and deep into His ears, much like sensations from a hot poker or electric shock. As He walked and fell, as He was pushed and shoved, as He moved any part of His face, and as the slightest breeze touched His face, new waves of intense pain would have been triggered. The pain would have intensified His state of traumatic shock. The thorns would have cut into the large supply of blood vessels in the head area. Jesus would have bled profusely, contributing to increasing hypovolemic shock.  He would have been growing increasingly weak and light-headed. As well, He would have bouts of vomiting, shortness of breath, and unsteadiness as hypovolemic and traumatic shock intensified.

The cross and the nails

How could a humiliated, weakened, beaten, bleeding, mangled mess of a man already suffering from breathing difficulties, as well as hypovolemic and traumatic shock, carry a t-shaped cross that weighed between 175 and 200 pounds? The short answer is that He did not.

The cross used in Roman crucifixions consisted of two parts: “the upright or mortise, referred to as the stipes, or staticulum, and the tenon or crosspiece, which is called the patibulum or antenna.” Historic information shows that the stipes were already in position at Calvary. Jesus carried the crosspiece. At Calvary He was nailed to the crosspiece, which was then placed into a rectangular notch carved into the tip of the stipes.

We know that Jesus fell at least three times on the way to Calvary. His condition was serious. Each time He fell, it would have been more difficult to get up. His executioners needed to keep Him alive until the crucifixion and so made Simon of Cyrene help carry the crosspiece.

The crucifixion

Teams of well-trained Roman soldiers carried out the crucifixions. Each team consisted of the exactor mortis or centurion, and four soldiers called the quaternio.

Crucifixions were carried out in full view outside the city walls of Jerusalem in a hilly region called Calvary or Golgotha. “Roman crosses probably stood about seven to seven-and-a-half feet in height because from a practical point of view, it was easier to lift the crosspiece and victim into position on a shorter cross. It was also easier to remove the victim from a short cross after death. Shorter crosses also made it easier for wild animals to finish off victims.”

The nails used in crucifixion were made of iron. A typical nail used in Jesus’ time measured 12.5 centimeters long with a square shaft that measured 9 millimeters at the head and tapered off to a 5 millimeter point at the tip. (The width of your pinkie is about a centimeter, the thickness of a nail is about a millimeter)

What happened at Calvary?

By the time He arrived at Calvary, Jesus was in exquisite pain, struggling to breathe and suffering from blood and fluid loss. One of the executioners threw Him to the ground and then made Him lie on His back. One other executioner pressed down on His chest, another held Him down by His legs, while a third soldier stretched His arms one at a time across the patibulum and nailed down His hands.

The pain from the nails would have been like having hot pokers driven through His hands, causing bolts of radiating pain up His arm. He would have screamed out in agony. “The process was repeated for the other hand, offering no relief from the agonizing pain. Then, two members of the execution squad likely manned the ends of the crosspiece while a third member grasped Jesus around the waist, getting Him to His feet. They backed Him up to the upright onto a platform device, and then two men lifted Him by the legs and inserted the crosspiece into a mortice on the top of the upright. They then bent His knees until His feet were flush to the cross and nailed His feet to the upright. Again, Jesus would likely have screamed out in agony after each foot was nailed.”

Effects of nailing the hands

The median nerve runs through the thenar furrow where the nail was hammered. A nail through this area would cause a burning, searing pain so severe that the slightest touch, movement, or gentle breeze felt here is agonizing. This condition, known as causalgia, intensifies with an increase in temperature. If the pain is not abated with strong narcotics, the sufferer goes into traumatic shock. Raising and mounting the crosspiece to the top of the stipes would have triggered even greater pain and contributed to traumatic shock.

Nailing the feet to the stipes

The Romans bent the legs of their victims at the knees and then placed their feet flush against the cross. Then they hammered one nail through the top of each foot, severing the plantar nerves. The pain would have been similar to the causalgia caused by the palm injuries. In addition, the effect of bending the knees to align the feet against the stipes would cause cramping and numbness in the calves and thighs. This would force Jesus to arch His back in an attempt to straighten His legs and alleviate the cramping.

Jesus would have had pleural effusion (fluid around the lungs) as a result of the brutal scourging. When the spear was pulled out with a quick, jerky motion, it would have “carried out blood that had adhered to the blade and some of the pleural effusion from the pleural cavity, resulting in the phenomenon of ‘blood and water.’” After the spear was withdrawn, the lung would have collapsed, preventing any further seepage of watery fluid. There would not have been a great gush of blood or other fluids.

The most important death in history was brutal in every facet. Yet at funerals today people dress up and the corpse is often presented in a clean sterile casket.

So what?

There are things in our lives that we need to die to. Unforgiveness comes to mind for me, but we want the deaths of things we have held on to to be clean and pretty like our funerals, but the process of not giving them up can cause us spiritual and emotional agony like Christ on the cross. It is this pain, just like His pain that is our gift. When we feel pain we move away from the source of our pain, if we step on a nail don't you pull your foot away? We must die to the things that cause us pain because of our own sins or the sins against us, sometimes both Spiritual and emotional leprosy are as deadly today as they were in Biblical times. We are told if there had been another way Jesus would have taken it, but there wasn't and He didn't. So need to die a little? Take up your cross.