Moore Perspective: The Brutal Suffering and Death of Jesus the Christ (Part 2 of 2)

The Scourging

Pilate had Jesus severely whipped.¹ Matthew and Mark employ the verbal φραγελλόω (to “flagellate,” “scourge”), whereas John uses μαστιγόω (to “flog,” or “beat with lashing [μάστιξ]”²), according to what Jesus himself had predicted.³ The Gospel writers are brief and pointed, without further description. The original reading audiences would have been all too familiar with the brutality of the Romans and already knew the horrific details. For modern readers, however, it is helpful to hear the words in the context of the first-century Roman world and appreciate the impact these simple statements would almost certainly have had.

The Romans used the Latin term verberatio for this savage beating, brutal enough to cause death in many cases (see Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 4.15). The instrument was a flagellum or flagrum, a short whip with three or more single or braided leather strands of varying lengths, with iron balls or pieces of sharp bone to lacerate. The victim was stripped of his clothing, with his hands bound to an upright post. “The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged either by two soldiers (lictors) or by one who alternated positions. The severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of the lictors and was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death.”⁴

Medically, as the victim was beaten, “the iron balls would cause deep contusions,” and the leather straps and sharp bones “would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues.” As the beating continued, “the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally set the stage for circulatory shock. The extent of blood loss may very well have determined how long the victim would survive on the cross.”⁵

Further Torture, Humiliation, and Death

Afterwards the soldiers stripped Jesus (again), put a twisted crown of thorns on his head and mocked him, spat on him, struck him on the head with a reed, and beat him with their hands.⁶ Jesus was then forced to carry the implement upon which he would be executed (John 19:17), probably the 75-125 lb. (35-60 kg) crossbeam (patibulum).⁷ Apparently weakened by extreme blood loss and fatigue, someone else (Simon of Cyrene) was conscripted to take it the rest of the way.⁸ “The physical and mental abuse meted out by the Jews and the Romans, as well as the lack of food, water, and sleep, also contributed to his generally weakened state. Therefore, even before the actual crucifixion, Jesus’ physical condition was at least serious and possibly critical.”⁹

Jesus was then crucified.¹⁰ “Death by crucifixion was one of the cruelest forms of execution humanity has ever devised.”¹¹ Tapered iron spikes of approximately 7 inches (17-18 cm)¹²were driven through the victim’s “hands” [χεῖρας] and “feet” [πόδας],¹³ affixing him to the wooden cross [σταυρός] and serving the twofold purpose of immobilization and torture – no defense against aggressive insects and other scavengers.

It is commonly believed the spikes would have been driven through the wrists rather than the palms, since the weight of the body would cause the nails to rip through the flesh of the hands. While the term χείρ could be used for any part of the hand, incl. a “finger” (Luke 15:22) and in the plural “wrists” (Acts 12:7),¹⁴ it is not a forgone conclusion that the spikes would not and could not have been driven through the palms. Ropes were often used to hold the limbs in place, and the weight of the body would have put more pressure on the nailed feet than the hands. The biblical record employs the same word for Jesus’ crucified “hands” (Luke 24:39, 40; John 20:20, 25, 27) that consistently applies elsewhere specifically to his hands rather than his wrists.¹⁵

The bitter, perfumed wine [οἶνος] and the vinegar [ὄξος] offered to Jesus at the cross¹⁶ were not acts of compassion but further attempts to taunt him and to increase his suffering.¹⁷ The victim of a Roman crucifixion would die of muscle spasms, loss of bodily fluids, organ failure, and/or asphyxia, taking between three hours to four days to expire.¹⁸

To hasten the process, the legs would be broken below the knees to prevent the victim from pushing up on his feet to facilitate breathing (John 19:31-32). Jesus died after about six hours of suffering on the cross (Mark 15:25, 33-37, 42) without his legs being broken, and his death was confirmed by a centurion (Mark 15:39, 44-45) and a Roman soldier’s spear thrust into his side (John 19:33-37).¹⁹

Is there such a thing as a person who would actually prefer wasting away in pain on a cross—dying limb by limb one drop of blood at a time—rather than dying quickly? Would any human being willingly choose to be fastened to that cursed tree, especially after the beating that left him deathly weak, deformed, swelling with vicious welts on shoulders and chest, and struggling to draw every last, agonizing breath? Anyone facing such a death would plead to die rather than mount the cross.

--Seneca the Younger (ca. 4 BC–AD 65), Epistulae morales 101.14.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

¹ Matt. 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1. It is interesting that Luke, the compassionate medical-healer, does not mention this in the trial account other than the Lord’s earlier prophetic statement (Luke 18:33). See K. L. Moore, "What Do We Know About Luke? (Part 2)," Moore Perspective (2 March 2022), <Link>.

² Cf. Acts 22:24; Heb. 11:36.

³ Matt. 20:19; Mark 10:34; Luke 18:33; cp. also Matt. 10:17; 23:34.

⁴ W. D. Edwards, et al., op cit. 1457.

⁵ Ibid. See also D. McClister, “The Scourging of Jesus,” Truth Magazine 44:1 (Jan. 2000): 11-12.

⁶ Matt. 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:1-5.

⁷ An entire Roman cross could weigh over 135 kg (300 lb.), so it was the crossbeam, weighing approximately 35-60 kg (75-125 lb.), that was typically carried. See Plutarch, De sera 554; Titus Maccius Plautus, Miles gloriosus 358-360; Mostellaria 56-57; cf. Sverre Bøe, Cross-Bearing in Luke WUNT 278 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010): 63-71.

⁸ Matt. 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26. See K. L. Moore, “The Legacy of Simon the Cyrenian,” Moore Perspective (27 May 2020), <Link>.

⁹ W. D. Edwards, et al., op cit. 1458.

¹⁰ Matt. 27:33-50; Mark 15:22-39; Luke 23:32-49; John 19:18-30; cf. also Matt. 20:19; 23:34; 26:2; 27:22-44; 28:5; Mark 15:13-32; 16:6; Luke 23:21, 23, 33; 24:7, 20; Acts 2:23, 36; 4:10.

¹¹ C. L. Blomberg, op cit. 401.

¹² The evidence comes from an ossuary discovered in a Jerusalem tomb in 1968, containing the remains of a first-century crucified man with the spike still lodged in his heel bones. See Vassilios Tzaferis, “Crucifixion—The Archaeological Evidence,” Biblical Archaeology Review 11:1 (Jan./Feb. 1985), <Web>. The skeleton of another crucified man was discovered in 2017 in the village of Fenstanton in Cambridgeshire, England, dating back to the second–fourth centuries, with the spike also lodged in the heel bone. See Livia Gershon, “Rare Physical Evidence of Roman Crucifixion,” Smithsonian Magazine (10 Dec. 2021), <Web>.

¹³ Luke 24:39, 40; John 20:20, 25, 27.

¹⁴ Cp. Gen. 24:22; 38:28, 30; Jer. 40:4; cf. John 11:44.

¹⁵ Matt. 8:3; 9:18; 14:31; 19:13, 15; Mark 1:41; 5:23; 6:2, 5; 7:32; 8:23, 25; 10:16; Luke 4:40; 5:13; 13:13; 24:50. The evidence of the celebrated Shroud of Turin is disputable. Moreover, the Romans did not practice a uniform method of securing victims to the instruments of death of various shapes and positions.

¹⁶ Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23, 36; Luke 23:36; John 19:29-30.

¹⁷ These were not thirst quenchers (note John 19:28) but would have increased dehydration (C. L. Blomberg, op cit. 402, 404).

¹⁸ F. P. Retief and L. Cilliers, “The history and pathology of crucifixion,” SAMJ 93:12 (2003): 938-41.

¹⁹ “The Roman guard would not leave the victim until they were sure of his death …. Since no one was intended to survive crucifixion, the body was not released to the family until the soldiers were sure that the victim was dead. By custom, one of the Roman guards would pierce the body with a sword or lance. Traditionally, this had been considered a spear wound to the heart through the right side of the chest—a fatal wound …” (W. D. Edwards, et al., op cit. 1459-60). Also present at the cross to witness Jesus’ death was his mother and her sister, John and his mother (Salome?), Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Cleopas and mother of James the Less and Jose[s/ph], additional women, and perhaps other acquaintances (Matt. 27:55-56; Mark 15:40; Luke 23:49; John 19:25-26).

Image credit: https://www.josh.org/resurrection-crucifixion-details/