Jesus Death By Crucifixion: Did it Really Happen?

Did Jesus Death By Crucifixion Really Happen? 

Since the very beginning there has been opposition to God's truth and His church. Some opponents even make the bold claim that Jesus death by crucifixion never happened.

· Some say it never happened because a person named Jesus never even existed. However, this is a very weak argument that only works on people who either already want to believe that, or people who don't know much about history. Today, we would call that "gas lighting".

· Some admit that the crucifixion happened but say that it wasn't what the bible says it was. Jesus wasn't really dead, He merely appeared to be dead, possibly drugged. Then while in the tomb He was revived and escaped [perhaps with the help of the disciples] and when He showed Himself to people they believed He had risen from the dead. Until the recent century this has been the more prevalent of the two.

Addressing both forms of skepticism starts in the same place, what is written.

Jesus Recorded as Crucified in Roman Historical Records

(Cornelius Tacitus ca. 56-120) wrote a 16 volume history: Annals of the Roman Emperors. In it he recorded “Christ… suffered the extreme penalty [crucifixion] during the reign of Tiberius at the hand of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus”.

At the time this was written the Church was still tiny, generally disliked, and persecuted. Cornelius was very much against this weird new religious movement which refused to honor the religions of Rome. Cornelius Tacitus was not some sneaky Christian trying to write his own personal religious beliefs into the history books.

He mentions the crucifixion because he knew it had happened and he thought letting people know about the shameful death of their great leader people would see this new movement as foolish and weak. 

So, this well known Roman historian, who was no friend of the Church, confirms that Jesus existed and that He was crucified…

What Was A Roman Crucifixion like?

Crucifixion was a brutal execution method designed to make the maximum impression on those who witnessed it... it was used as a deterrent... and was considered "the extreme penalty". crucifixion was a certain and sure death for the victim. What’s more… historical descriptions of the crucifixion process match up closely with what the bible says about Jesus execution and death.

When we consider what history tells us of what a Roman crucifixion was like... there is simply no way Jesus (or any person) could have survived the beating... being nailed to the stake... followed by three days and nights isolated in a dark, cold tomb.

Step 1. Leading up to the execution Rome Administered a severe beating, lashing...  called “scourging”

Matt 27:26  The leather scourge, was designed braided with pieces of bone and metal woven into the ends that tore into the flesh with each stroke ripping into the underlying muscles tearing off strips of bleeding flesh exposing muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim. Many victims would die from the scourging before they could be crucified.

From a medical point of view the extreme pain and loss of blood, would often send the victim into shock—his blood pressure would drop and cause fainting, collapse and intense thirst.

· Mark 15:20-21 – so weak he could not carry the cross

· John 19:28 – displayed the symptom of thirst

Note: Jesus “Scourging” Was a Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy

· Isaiah 50:6 written hundreds of years before Jesus even born

· Isaiah 52:14 so badly beaten, bloodied and maimed, that He was scarcely recognizable as a human being… Which fits the picture based on description of scourging etc. (not a black eye), Isaiah 53:5.

Step 2. The agony of crucifixion

From a medical standpoint, after scourging, the victim would already be in serious to critical condition even before He was taken away to be crucified (Alexander Metherell, M.D., quoted by Strobel, p. 196 Case for Christ).

To crucify, the Romans used iron nails, five to seven inches long and about three eighths of an inch square, driven into the victim's wrists and feet to fasten him to the wooden members. In Bible times the wrist was considered part of the hand. They drove these nails into the wrists, between the arm bones, because the hands themselves could not support the weight of the body. The nails pounded through the wrists would crush the median nerve, the largest nerve going to the hand, causing indescribable pain.

Hanging from the nails... the victim dies a slow agonizing death by asphyxiation. To breathe he has to push up on the nail in his ankle, eventually tearing through the foot and locking up against the tarsal bones. This would go on and on until complete exhaustion would take over, and the person wouldn't be able to push up and breathe anymore… and they suffocate as their lungs fill up with fluid.

Psalm 22:14-15 prophecy of Christ's suffering related to His bones and exhaustion, and thirst.

Matthew 27:34 before they actually drove the nails into his wrists and ankles they offered Him a form of painkiller [wine and gall]. Note: both Matthew and Mark include this little detail wanting readers to know Jesus refused to drink it, In other words saying He was not drugged.

Them saying that proves nothing. Drugged or undrugged the human body could not survive the ordeal of a Roman crucifixion.

The Shed Blood of Jesus

Matthew 26:28—while He was still alive on the stake of execution. His life blood was poured out. This is the blood of our Passover lamb who is Christ... this is the blood of His sinless, blameless life, given so that death might pass over you... that the penalty for your sins might be considered paid in full... given so that you might live.

Jesus would have bled from the horrible scourging, then having large nails driven through His wrists and feet. However there was one more way in which His blood was shed that provides added certainty to the finality of His death.

John 19:31-34 could make it appear that Jesus died and then later was stabbed by one of the Roman soldiers, "bringing a sudden flow of blood and water" (verse 34, NIV). However, there is a problem if this were the specific order of events, because dead bodies, once the heart has stopped its pumping action, no longer bleed like that.

It makes more sense that verse 31 begins a new thought here and offers and explanation why in contrast to the two criminals crucified with him, not one of Jesus bones was broken. WHY? Because Jesus had already died when His side was pierced so that His bones did not need to be broken to speed up death.

The purpose of breaking the legs was so the body would slouch down completely making breathing impossible and speeding up the death by asphyxiation. This was not necessary in Jesus case because he was already dead.

Verse 36—fulfills the requirement that the Passover lamb’s bones were to be unbroken Exodus 12:46.

Verse 37—fulfills Zechariah 12:10 that messiah’s body would be pierced.

The final, fatal thrust that ended Jesus' life

This soldier who thrust the spear into Jesus was a Roman: well trained, proficient, and would know which part of the body to pierce in order to quickly ensure that the victim was undeniably dead... thus fulfilling his duty as executioner.

Standing below Jesus as He hung on the cross, he would thrust upwards under the left ribs. The heavy, two-edged spearhead would enter the left side of the upper abdomen, open the...stomach, pierce the diaphragm, would cut, wide open, the heart and great blood vessels, arteries and veins... and lacerate the lung.

The wound would be large enough to permit the open hand to be thrust into it. Blood and water from the...stomach, would gush out. The whole event as described by John is presented with medical details he couldn’t have dreamed up. John could write it that was because he saw it happen. John 20:24-29

The idea that Jesus didn't really die, that He fainted or was drugged and was later resuscitated is absurd when you consider the clear statements from various sources that He died. 

Mark 15:43-46 – a trained Roman soldier was familiar with death… he knew a dead man when he saw one. Jesus of Nazareth was dead and presumably recorded as such in Romans records which were later referenced by Cornelius Tacitus in the Annals of The Roman Emperors.

The Romans were brutally efficient and kept great records, proud of their history. They were a great way for God to provide a reliable testimony to the fact of Jesus' death!

Jesus' Burial Place Was Guarded

Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea a prominent man on the Jerusalem scene. His real existence would have still been well know to the readers of the Gospels… as would be the actual location of his tomb. Up until 70 AD. it was probably easy enough to visit the place and confirm for yourself.

Matt 27:62-66 Could a person really survive a Roman crucifixion… then hide out in a tomb for 3 days and 3 nights without any medical care… roll away a gigantic rock and slip off into the night eluding trained Roman guardsmen posted to prevent just such a thing?

Jesus' enemies acknowledged that the tomb was empty

After 3 days and 3 nights the women came and found the tomb empty… they told the disciples and word of Jesus resurrection began to spread. What was the reaction of Jesus' enemies?

Did they respond that the disciples were lying, that Jesus' body still lay in the rock-hewn tomb? No. Did they claim that the disciples were hallucinating? No. Instead, they bribed the Roman soldiers responsible for guarding the sealed tomb to spread what they knew was a lie. They told them to spread a cover story, to claim that Jesus' disciples had come and stolen His body while they slept, and that they would cover for the soldiers if they got in trouble with the Roman governor -- Matthew 28:11-15.

They knew Jesus was dead. They never denied that fact. What they deny is His resurrection. The resurrection is a different topic than what we have been discussing... which is the certainty of His death. However, lets briefly go over a few points concerning testimony.

Eyewitness Accounts of His appearances

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 most of the people Paul was talking about were still alive… they could back it up as witnesses. It's been suggested that these appearances were merely hallucinations on the part of the disciples. But this theory cannot account for the fact that the appearances were in different places, at different times and in front of different groups of people. Jesus appeared in ways that were convincing to all the apostles and large crowds of people.

Appearances in bodily form

Luke 24:36-43 All of Jesus' appeared to them bodily form not a wispy dream. He invited them, "Behold [look at] My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."

The testimony and martyrdom of the disciples'

· Acts 4:1-23 They defied threats of imprisonment if they continued to speak about this man Jesus

· Acts 5:17-42 They faced beatings & death threats because they preached that Jesus was alive and was the Messiah

Whereas only weeks before they had denied they even knew Him, now these men gave the remaining years of their lives, and ultimately life itself, for the One they knew had conquered death. Had they all been only participants in a giant hoax, could we believe these men would give their lives for something they knew to be a lie?

Jesus' Death and Resurrection is a Reasonable Conclusion.

The death of Jesus Christ meets the reasonable standards of what we would consider a historic fact… Making bold claims that He never existed... or that the crucifixion was a hoax are silly arguments.

Why make such an argument?

Because the timing and manner of His death tell us something very important about the scriptures. 

Prophecies of Jesus death were written hundreds of years before the fact. No one seriously contests that fact that Isaiah, or Zechariah wrote what they did about the death of the anointed one centuries before Christ come on the scene.

The scriptural record combined with the Romans records of history indicate Jesus death came to pass by crucifixion... and the details of death by crucifixion match the prophecies. These aspects of the biblical record cannot be easily dismissed.

And in this way the death of Jesus serves as a powerful proof that the Bible is exactly what it claims to be… the word of God.