THIS IS NOT MY WORK BUT COPIED FROM ANOTHER.

Back in the day, I read a scientific article on 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 demonstrate that the Roman whipping process was terribly cruel. Technical details are described, which together with the biblical narrative, provide a complete overview of this whole process, from the trial to death on the cross.

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

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

After 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 up to 18 cm long on the wrists and feet.

The crucifixion was a process that produced intense pain and caused a slow, suffocating death.

Breathing was an extremely painful thing. With each breath, Jesus had to lift His back up on living flesh, dragging it on the wood and supporting all the weight on the feet that were nailed. Fact that 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 exhaustion suffocation.

When the gospel of John narrates that after the death of Jesus a soldier passed him with the spear and came out “blood and water”, the explanation of the scientists is that the water probably represented pleural fluid and serous pericardium and would have preceded the flow of blood and it would be less volume than blood. Perhaps in the scenario of hypovolemia and acute heart failure, pleural and pericardial outbursts could have developed and been added to the apparent volume of water.

Only by analyzing Jesus’ physical suffering, we realize how terrible it must have been to endure all of this.

Intense stress, sleepless night, an unfair trial, inhuman beating, mocking and still having to load your own instrument of death.

But that was NOTHING!

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

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.” “

Isaiah 53:5

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

Only God who made man could reconcile men to God.

Therefore we say his sacrifice was for love, for He had no sin, we do. If sin produces death, who should die would it be us, not Him.

So all their rotting, all their evil thoughts, all their rebellion against God.. all this was on Christ shoulders.

And he overcame not only sin but death as well!

When you think your life is too hard, that nothing is working, don’t fall victim. Look at this picture and remember everything Jesus went through for love for you.

“the punishment that brings us peace was upon him.”

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© Richard J Kirk, writing as Joseph R Mason – 2025. If you want to know why, see:
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