Finding the truth about Good Friday

Details

Published on Sunday, March 13, 2016

By Linda Rioux

After several mock trials before the Jewish priests and elders, Jesus of Nazareth was taken before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Pilate had one main concern: was Jesus setting himself up as a king in opposition to Caesar? So Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 

Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” — John 18: 33-34

Pilate famously replied, “What is truth?”.

This is what we will now  examine, the truth about the day called Good Friday. But first, let's discuss what truth is not. 

Truth is not whatever works. 

Truth is not what is simply understandable. 

Truth is not what makes people feel good. 

Truth is not what is intended. 

Truth is not just what is believed by any group of people. 

Truth is fact and reality. Truth can be verified. Truth is faithful to its object.

With this in mind let's  look at some of the myths and opposing ideas said and written about the Crucifixion. There are two main challenges: the swoon theory and  the conspiracy theory.

In the first it is stated Jesus did not die on the cross but simply became unconscious and revived later in the coolness of the tomb. In the second, Jesus and his followers conspired to fake his death with a drug, He would be revived in the tomb and appear to have miraculously come back to life. After we examine Jesus' final day, the evidence will give us a verdict — the truth.

On the night before the Crucifixion, after the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus spent hours praying in the Garden of Gethsemane in such psychological distress that He sweat blood. This is a  condition called hematidrosis, which makes the blood vessels and skin extremely fragile and sensitive, a factor in his collapse on the way to the cross the next morning.

Around midnight Judas betrayed Jesus to a crowd of Jewish elders and temple soldiers. When Jesus appeared before  the Jewish priests, legal experts and Sanhedrin, no one could produce a charge against Him that was valid according to the legal rules of the time. Yet despite his innocence, He was beaten and spat upon by the temple soldiers. After  Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate for the final time, Pilate unsuccessfully tried to release Jesus in place of the murderer Barabbas. Then Pilate sent Jesus to be scourged, thinking that the beating would placate the Jews.

One needs to understand the  intensity of that flogging to appreciate the condition in which Jesus was sent to the cross. The whip had a long handle to which was attached five leather thongs with  sharp bones and lead balls tied to the end of each strap. When applied  it laid open Jesus' skin and muscles in strips, right to the bone, on His back, sides, chest, shoulders, arms, buttocks and legs. Thirty-nine strokes (what Jewish law allowed) were known to expose the ribs, spine and organs, often causing death. The pain and loss of blood would cause hypovolemic shock. After the scourging Jesus was sent back to Pilate for the final order of execution. Pilate released him to Roman soldiers, who also mocked Him, and punched Him so much His face became unrecognizable. Then they placed a crown of thorns on his head. 

The procession to the cross began with Jesus in critical condition from the torture. He was then forced to carry the patibulum (horizontal beam of the cross). The shock, loss of blood and agonizing pain caused Him to collapse and require help with the cross from Simon of Cyrene.

Because no archaeological evidence had been found, there has been some question in the past about whether or not the Romans actually crucified their victims. In1968 a bone box (ossuary) was discovered in a tomb in Jerusalem.  Inside were the remains of a man who had been crucified. The large square spike used by the Romans was still piercing the man's heel bones. Roman crucifixion has also been verified, in writing, by such ancient historians as Tacitus, Plutarch, Cicero and Seneca the Younger.

The Cruxifixion took place 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

What happened to Jesus on the cross? Historians, archaeologists and medical doctors  tell us exactly what  happened. He was laid down on the ground and nailed to the crossbeam. The spikes used were from five to seven inches long, tapered to a sharp point. Jesus' wrists, not His palms, were impaled with these nails because  His hands could not hold His body weight without tearing the skin and His body falling off the cross. In the language of the time, the word for hand included the wrist and even the forearm. The median nerve was pierced at this place, causing terrible squeezing pain. Then Jesus would have been lifted up and the crossbar attached to a vertical stake dug into the ground. His feet were nailed to that post. From the historical evidence, this was most likely through the heels on either side of the stake. Now His suffering increased. 

In order to keep breathing and not suffocate, Jesus had to push down on His feet to lift His body enough to exhale. Without doing so, He would have died from suffocation because He could only inhale when in the down position. Every time Jesus lifted Himself to breathe out, all the broken parts of His body would have rubbed against the rough wood, the nail holes would have torn and bled anew, and His shoulders would have dislocated due to the stretched position of his arms. The pain was so bad that a new word, “excruciating” was invented, meaning out of the cross. As exhaustion set in, the heart would have beaten harder to pump blood that wasn't there. Respiratory acidosis developed and fluid collected around the heart and lungs. The heart began to beat irregularly, eventually leading to cardiac arrest.

A strong victim could last several days, eventually needing to have his legs broken so he could no longer lift his body to breathe. But Jesus was already in a state of near death from His long night and terrible beating. Medical doctors have agreed the most likely cause of death was heart failure. That may not be relevant because the spear from the Roman soldier definitely killed him. It went through the right lung into the heart. When it came out, so did the fluid from the pericardial and pleural effusion – the water and blood mentioned in the Bible. 

There is no doubt that Jesus was absolutely dead — not unconscious, not drugged, not in a swoon — medically and legally dead. The Roman soldiers responsible for crucifixion were experienced. They could not be fooled. They knew whether or not a man was dead. If they got it wrong, they would be the ones to be executed.

The facts show that both the swoon and conspiracy theories can be dismissed. But there was another conspiracy happening that day. Listen to these words of Jesus: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep... For this reason the Father knows me and I know the Father... For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again.”  — John 10: 14-18

From the few words  that Jesus spoke from the cross, these words confirm this authority: “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” — Luke 23:46

He committed His life; His life was not taken from him. Jesus chose to take our earned punishment. The Father chose to send His son, Jesus, to the cross. Together they agreed to save all who would believe on Jesus as their Saviour. By His terrible suffering, they proved the depth of our sin and the depth of God's love. 

We discussed God's true love last month. Here it is on full display. Will you respond to that infinite love? Will you ask Jesus to be your Saviour? Your answer will determine how you will spend eternity.