Crucifixion

Volume Two—Chapter Fourteen CRUCIFIXION

Credit is gratefully given for much of the material in this chapter to W. Reid Litchfield, M.D. whose excellent paper, “Acquainted With Grief, A Physician’s Review of the Lord’s Atonement, Crucifixion, and Death,” I had the opportunity to review some years ago. He has given me permission to quote freely from his manuscript.

It is not the main purpose of this chapter to review Jesus’s individual experience with crucifixion, though his experience will be referenced at a few points. Rather, I will review the major features of crucifixion in general, particularly as practiced by the Romans at the time of Christ. I will emphasize the actual mechanisms of suffering and death experienced by the victims of crucifixion.

#Crucifixion and Doctrine

Logically, I am unable to completely justify the inclusion of this chapter in a volume dedicated to discussion and clarification of our gospel doctrines, but I have decided to include it anyway. I have a desire to communicate to the reader the inhumane agony and horror suffered by every victim of crucifixion. I will describe in detail the barbaric technique of crucifixion used by the Romans and others. It will explain, from a medical perspective, just how the victim of crucifixion suffers and dies. I warn the reader in advance that this is not a pleasant story.

The largest part of the Savior’s unimaginable suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary was not due to the abuse by the members of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Nor did it come from the taunting of Roman soldiers, the flogging, or even the crucifixion itself. Rather, it was due to the profound suffering incident to his atoning sacrifice. His atonement required his suffering to the point of literal and perfect personal empathy for every human being who has ever lived or who will ever live and suffer here on earth.1 His atoning suffering was orchestrated by the Father himself (3 Nephi 11:11; D&C 76:107). The Father knew well that his Only Begotten must suffer. Nevertheless, it is poignant to try to imagine the Father’s pain as he watched the atonement unfold.

The awful physical suffering produced by crucifixion was completely separate from and added upon the exquisite agony of the atonement. Crucifixion was, however, the actual cause of Jesus’s death. If the reader can come to truly glimpse the dreadful torture produced by the cross itself, it may result in an even greater appreciation for what the Savior was required to endure for each of us.

#The History of Crucifixion

The Roman philosopher and statesman, Cicero (first century BC) referred to the practice of crucifixion as “the most cruel and atrocious of punishments.” It seems to have had its beginnings among the Persians (sixth century BC) who were infamous for torturing their enemies. From Persia, the practice spread to the Indians, the Scythians, the Taurians, the Assyrians, and to other eastern cultures. Alexander the Great was taken by this curious form of execution (fourth century BC). He adopted it and imported it into the expanses of the Greek Empire. Later, it was practiced in Egypt under the Ptolemies and in Syria under the Seleucids. Crucifixion was used commonly in Carthage in North Africa. The Romans borrowed the practice from the Carthaginians. If credit for the popularization of crucifixion goes to the Carthaginians, Rome should receive recognition for refining and perfecting the practice. Under them, it became a sophisticated method for producing prolonged torture, and eventually the slow and agonizing death of the victim.

So awful was this form of capital punishment, it was used to execute only the vilest of criminals, revolutionaries, vanquished enemies, and slaves. Except for the most unusual circumstances, Roman citizens were given the privilege of execution by means other than crucifixion. Constantine abolished the Roman practice of crucifixion in AD 341.

#The Components of the Cross

The cross consisted of two wooden parts. The type of wood depended on what was available at the time. The vertical element of the two-piece cross was known as the stipes crucis. It measured between eight and twelve feet in height and was usually permanently fixed at the site of execution. The horizontal cross-bar was the patibulum. It measured about six feet in length. The victim’s wrists were eventually nailed to this piece. Depending on the type of cross, the patibulum would fit into a notch in the stipes, or the stipes would fit into a hole bored in the middle of the patibulum. A single patibulum was used for several crucifixions. The assembled cross is estimated to have weighed over three hundred pounds.

Some authors describe the addition of an appendage to the cross called a sedile. This was a wooden horn-like structure that was placed midway down the stipes that served as a seat on which the condemned could lean some of his weight. It might appear that this was a merciful addition provided to alleviate the pain caused by hanging from the nails piercing the hands and the feet. In reality, the sedile was used to prolong the agony and delay death. As we shall see, the sedile allowed the condemned to breathe more easily than would be the case if he were hung continuously by his hands. The addition of this sedile probably resulted in some victims’ surviving many days on the cross and eventually dying of exposure and dehydration.

The T-shaped cross likely used at the time of the Savior’s crucifixion, came in two sizes. The low cross, which reached a height of six to eight feet above ground, was the “standard- issue” Roman cross. The high cross, extending to twelve feet above ground, was reserved only for those whom Rome wished to make more conspicuous during their execution. The low cross was more convenient for the guards who carried out the execution. It left the victim at or only slightly above eye level.

Many of the artistic renderings of the cross depict Jesus bearing an assembled cross on the way to Golgotha. This was almost certainly not the case for routine executions of this era. In all likelihood, he carried only the patibulum. The victims arms were usually lashed to this cross piece as he carried it. If he happened to fall during his march to the place of execution, the immobilization of his arms would prevent him from using his arms to break his fall.

#Preparation for the Cross

Apparently death by crucifixion was not punishment enough, at least for the Romans. A mandatory preliminary to crucifixion was for the victim to first be scourged. Notable exceptions to this rule were the crucifixion of women and soldiers guilty of crimes other than desertion. This scourging or flogging resulted in significant blood loss, tremendous pain, and was, on occasion, lethal by itself. Scourging was inflicted with an instrument called a flagrum or flagellus. It consisted of a wooden handle from which emerged as many as twelve long leather thongs. To the end of each of these thongs were attached a variety of weights: lead balls, pieces of bone (the Romans were fond of the sharp and irregular ankle bones of sheep), shards of iron, or other metals. These weights dramatically increased the damage that could be inflicted by this devastating weapon.

The victim was stripped of his clothes and tied, arms above his head, to a whipping post. This position left the entire back exposed for the two Roman infantrymen that acted as lictors. Each soldier in turn would strike the condemned man, one from each side. Jewish law dictated that a maximum of forty lashes be given. The pious Jews, ever fearful that a miscount would inadvertently place them in violation of the law, insisted that the condemned receive “forty stripes save one” with the flagrum. Roman law allowed one hundred lashes. We do not know how many Jesus received. This instrument would initially produce multiple sites of bleeding under the skin (hematomata). Subsequent blows would tear open the skin, eventually leaving it an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. Care was taken to ensure that the injuries produced by the scourging were not fatal. The prisoner still had to carry the patibulum of the cross to the place of execution.

#The Crucifixion

At the time of Christ’s mortal sojourn, crucifixion was carried out under the authority of Rome. It was, amongst the Jews, considered anathema. As a Roman punishment, it was administered and supervised by Roman hands. Having been pronounced guilty and sentenced to die by crucifixion in the Roman courts, punishment for the condemned was swift and merciless. The malefactor was immediately transferred to the custody of a Centurion, a commissioned officer of the Roman army. He was known as the exactor mortis—he who exacts death. Under his command were four infantrymen of the Roman military contingent, know as the quaternio. These men were responsible for inflicting all the punishments preceding crucifixion, performing the crucifixion itself, and guarding the crucified until he was dead.

Once the condemned reached the site of crucifixion, little time was wasted in carrying out the execution. On occasion, the victim was given a drink of an analgesic mixture (myrrh and wine) to deaden the pain of being nailed to the patibulum. Sometimes the condemned was given a blow to the armpit before crucifixion. This gesture, oddly, was probably a way of extending a measure of mercy to the accused, for it was known to hasten the death of the victim. It probably accomplished this by adding further compromise to normal breathing mechanics which were eventually fatally compromised by crucifixion as will be discussed below. At the site of execution, the victim was quickly affixed to the cross-piece. The patibulum was placed on the ground, the victim’s arms were fully extended, he was laid supine on the patibulum, and his arms were either nailed (usually in the wrists), tied with rope, or a combination of the two. Each was equally effective. Rome was fond of the nail, as evidenced by early Roman texts and the remains of crucified victims.

Given that the top of the stipes was usually only six to eight feet high, the process of connecting the stipes and the patibulum was facilitated by having the accused stand while a pair of guards lifted each end of the patibulum up to its position on the stipes. Once the cross was assembled, the feet would then be nailed in position on the stipes crucis. Usually they were nailed directly to the vertical stipes crucis.

#The Physiology of Crucifixion

Just what causes the death of those nailed to a cross? In addition to the fundamental cause of death, which will be discussed below, secondary damaging consequences of crucifixion included exposure and dehydration. While hanging from the cross, the victim would be swarmed by biting and burrowing insects that fed on the countless open wounds resulting from scourging. Raging thirst was a prominent feature of the suffering. While thus immobilized, the victim was vulnerable to the abuses, both verbal and physical, of any onlookers permitted nearby. It was not uncommon for witches of those days to frequent the sites of crucifixions to obtain human blood from the helpless sufferers for their sorceries and satanic rituals.

The most lethal aspect of crucifixion and the mechanism of death is suffocation. There is nearly unanimous consensus among medical scholars that respiration or breathing on the cross was profoundly disturbed. In order to best understand why this occurs with crucifixion, it is helpful to consider the mechanics of breathing in the normal individual.

There are two principal ways in which the lungs are filled with air during normal breathing. The first involves the diaphragm, and the second relates to the movements of the chest wall.

The diaphragm is the principle muscle of respiration. It is a thin sheet of muscle situated horizontally in the chest. It is attached full circle to the inside of the chest wall at the level of the lower rib margins. This muscle forms a floor at the base of the chest cavity. It is actually a partition between the chest cavity and the abdominal cavity. This partition is not flat. Rather, in its resting position, it is shaped like a dome, with the convex top of the dome pointing upward towards the head. The diaphragm contracts with each breath. When the diaphragm contracts, it flattens, and the domed configuration of the diaphragm disappears. This action creates a momentary vacuum inside the chest cavity that pulls air through the nose and mouth to fill the lungs. When you take a deep breath, your abdominal wall tends to move outward. This occurs because the diaphragm pushes down on the stomach and intestines when it contracts. The abdominal wall therefore expands outward to accommodate the downward movement of these organs.

The chest wall is also of critical importance in normal respiration, particularly during deep breathing. Take a moment to notice how your chest expands outward and upward when you take a deep breath. This movement relates to the way the ribs, and the muscles that move them, are situated in the chest. During deep inspiration, the muscles that move the ribs (the intercostal muscles) contract and pull the ribs upward. Thus, the chest expands upward and outward when you deeply inhale.

Although normal breathing occurs spontaneously and subconsciously (without our having to think about it), it is an active process that requires coordinated contraction of the muscles of respiration. The diaphragm and chest wall work in concert during inspiration. When either disease or paralysis renders the chest wall or the diaphragm unable to contribute to the respiratory effort, the efficiency of the system is greatly diminished. This decreased efficiency may not be noticed at rest. It would become apparent during conditions of increased respiratory demand such as exercise or illness.

The process of exhaling is much simpler. It occurs almost passively. When the diaphragm relaxes, it again assumes its resting shape as a dome and forces air out of the lungs as it moves upward. The ribs also move down and inward, as the intercostal muscles relax, and thereby the lungs are compressed. Also, the lungs have a natural tendency to deflate spontaneously just as a balloon will empty if you blow it up and then release it. The lungs have elastic recoil that forces the air out when the muscles of inspiration relax. Finally, the abdominal muscles may contract minimally to place gentle pressure on the abdominal organs. This, in turn, exerts pressure on the diaphragm from below which pushes upward on the diaphragm.

So how does crucifixion disrupt the normal mechanism of breathing? When the body is suspended by the arms, the chest assumes a position mimicking deep inspiration. That is, the ribs are pulled upward and outward. Thus the chest is expanded. There is also a tendency for the diaphragm to be displaced downward by gravity and by the extreme expansion of the chest. The lungs therefore, without any effort on the part of the victim, tend to assume an inflated or even hyper-inflated state. In this state, the lungs are full of air. Thus, the physiology or sequence of breathing is reversed. That is, inhalation is no longer an active process requiring muscular contraction. Rather deep inhalation is the basal state and is present without any effort on the part of the victim. Also exhalation no longer occurs passively but requires active effort. The only mechanism available to the victim for exhalation or emptying his lungs of air is contraction of the abdominal muscles. The passive tendency is for the lungs to remain filled with a single breath of air. The only way that air is exchanged or refreshed in the lungs is for the abdominal wall muscles to contract and force some air out of the lungs. This abdominal muscle exhalation is very inefficient and results in inadequate ventilation. The victim is thus limited in his ability to empty and refill the lungs with fresh air. This leads in time to inadequate oxygenation of the blood. There is thus a deficiency of oxygen available to all of the tissues of the body. The victim perceives this inadequate oxygen and becomes consciously short of breath. This leads to restlessness, agitation, eventually panic, and suffocation. In time the victim becomes drowsy, slips into a coma, and dies if the process is not reversed.

The victim on the cross has a way to relieve this respiratory difficulty. He can stand up on the nails in his feet and thus relieve the weight of his body on his arms. This maneuver will allow more nearly normal respiration to resume and rescue the victim from suffocation and death. It also relieves the terrible pain in the arms, shoulders, and wrists, by taking pressure off the nails securing the wrists. But it is performed at considerable expense to the victim. It dramatically increases the pain in the feet as the nails press on the injured tissues of the feet. Those skilled in performing crucifixions were careful to position the feet in such a way that the victim was unable to “lock” his knees or stand up fully—that is, stand passively on the nails. Thus the act of standing required continued active contraction of the muscles of the thighs and legs. It rapidly produced fatigue and cramping in the lower extremities. In time, this fatigue and cramping would force the victim to collapse again and hang from the nails in his wrists. The respiratory compromise would thus begin again.

Thus, the victim’s course on the cross was characterized by alternatively hanging from the wrists and struggling to stand. The rising and sagging of the condemned would continue for hours, all the while providing the soldiers with a visual measure of how the victim was faring. The experienced observer could recognize the approach of death by the victim’s decreased ability to stand for any length of time.

Also, if the executioners wished to speed the process, they could do so simply by breaking the legs with a heavy club or mallet. This would prevent the victim from standing and thus prevent him from obtaining any relief from his progressive respiratory insufficiency.

The victims typically lingered on the cross many hours before dying. Survival on the cross for two or three days was not uncommon. Some victims were known to live for nine days on the cross. It was the duty of the guards to remain with the accused until the full penalty had been exacted. Before taking the body down from the cross, the executioner pierced the heart with a sharp weapon to ensure that the victim was really dead. This incision was inflicted with the weapon the soldier had at hand, a lance or a short javelin. This blow at the heart was certainly studied and well known in the fencing schools of the Roman armies. It was accomplished between the ribs or just below the rib cage, depending on the angle available to the soldier.

Since first reading Dr. Litchfield’s article several years ago, I cannot think of the Savior’s crucifixion without a sense of horror and overwhelming gratitude. While it is difficult even to imagine the nightmarish agony of a death by crucifixion, again, we must keep in mind that this suffering was superimposed upon the incomprehensible suffering of the atonement itself.

For a discussion of why the Savior had to suffer so agonizingly, see volume 1, chapter 19, The Essence of the Lord’s Atonement.