The Idea that Jesus never died on the cross is found in the Koran (Which was written in the 7th Century). The Ahmadiyya Muslims claim that Jesus actually fled to India and the real burial place of Jesus is in Srinagar, Kashmir. [2]. By the end of 19th Century Karl Bahrdt & Karl Venturini came by the theory that Jesus only fainted from exhaustion on the cross or he was given a drug that made him appear to die and later he was revived. The ‘Drug’ here is pointed towards some liquid on the sponge which was given to Jesus (Mark 15:36). Pilate was also shocked at how quickly Jesus died (Mark 15:44). So all these things were present and it was tried to prove that Jesus actually did not die but was saved somehow from death. Today based on medical facts and science I am going to prove how Jesus really died and we will only rely on Scientific things applicable to humans only.
First of all let’s look at what exactly happened with Jesus before his death or crucifiction- It all started with the last supper. Jesu went to the mount of olives and he prayed all night. The thing to emphase is that he knew the amount of suffering he was going to endure, it is quite natural that he was experiencing a great deal of psychological stress. As the scripture says that he began to sweat blood. You might have a question, is this really possible? Or the gospel writers were really good at imagining things. And my answer is ‘NO’, this is a known medical condition called hematidrosis. It’s not very common but is associated with a high degree of psychological stress. This Severe anxiety causes the release of chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As a result there's a small amount of bleeding into these glands, and the sweat comes out tinged with blood. That is not the large amount of blood but just a little. The other thing to be noted here is that due to this his skin would be very very very sensitive.
The Roman Floggings were the most brutal known till today. The soldier would use a whip of braided leather thongs with metal balls woven into them. When the whip would strike the flesh, these balls would cause deep bruises or contusions, which would break open with further blows. And the whip had pieces of sharp bone as well, which would cut the flesh severely. “The back would be so shredded that part of the spine was sometimes exposed by the deep, deep cuts. The whipping would have gone all the way from the shoulders down to the back, the buttocks, and the back of the legs. It was just terrible. One physician who has studied Roman beatings said, ‘As the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh.’ A third-century historian by the name of Eusebius described a flogging by saying, ‘The sufferer’s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.’. We know that almost all people would die from this kind of beating even before they could be crucified. The Victim would experience the indescribable pain and would go into Hypovolemic Shock. Hypovolemic Shock means the person is suffering the effects of losing a large amount of blood. This is primarily due to four things
- The Heart races to try to pump blood that isn’t there
- The Blood Pressure drops, causing fainting or collapse
- The Kidney stops producing urine to maintain what volume is left.
- The Person becomes very thirsty as the body caves fluids to replace the lost blood Volume.
We can see some of the side effects shown in Gospels like jesus is unable to carry his cross so a man named Simon had to carry his cross. Later Jesus said ‘i Thirst’. Because of the terrible effects of this beating, there’s no question that jesus was already in serious & Critical condition even before the nails were driven through his hands and feet. I don’t think I need to move further to prove that jesus died on the cross after this but I will continue. At the site of crucifixion he had been laid down and his hands would be nailed. Historically speaking the Romans used spikes that were 5 to 7 inches long and were ta[ered to a sharp point. The Nails were pierced through his wrists unlike the painting that shows hands. If the Nails has been drive through the palms, his weight would have caused the skin to tear and he would fallen off the cross (a Simple logic). Now as soon as jesus was hanged on the cross first of all his arms would have immediately been stretched (Probably about six inches in length and both the shoulders would have been dislocated. The interesting thing that i found is that Psalms 22 says ‘My Bones are out of Joint’.If we continue and ask that did jesus Survived after this? I have more arguments. As jesus was hanging in vertical Position he would have died by asphyxiation. According to Cambridge dictionary it ‘the condition of being unable to breathe, usually resulting in death:’ Refer to other medical resource to know more about this. It was very diffculut for jesus to even breath in or out. In Simple ways, A person need to stand on a surface to breathe. Now Jesus was on the Cross with nails on his foot, so every time he had an urge to breathe meant he had to put pressure on his foot and this multiplied the pain even more.He had to do it again and again, scraping his bloodied back against the coarse wood of Cross. As the person slows down his breathing, Respiratory Acidosis (Carbon Dioxide in the blood is dissolved as carbonic acid, causing the acidity of the blood to increase. This Condition mostly lead to irregular heartbeat. Jesus would have known that he was at the moment of death, so he said ‘Lord, into your hand I commit my spirit’. And then he died of cardiac arrest. Now there is absolutely no doubt that Jesus was dead. To verify Jesus' death, soldiers even used spear. ‘They are normal soldier’ again a doubt here. But the roman soldiers were expert in killing the people, that was their job, and they did it very well and even by chance a prisoner escaped the soldier would be put to death. So they had a huge incentive to make absolutely sure that each and every victim was dead when he was removed from the cross.
But what if? He just got some dizziness while on cross. Let’s take this idea up. Will he be able to roll the stone on his grave, will he be able to move on the road or even tell his disciples to go and preach that I AM THE LIFE.
