Easter

Have you ever thought about the physical aspect of the suffering of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and the beating He suffered through to the cross? In my mind, no normal human being could survive the beating He took, then be forced to carry the cross and be hung on it. It was all a part of God’s plan that Jesus die for our sins. This suffering was to show everyone the extent He went through to do that, all so we may truly appreciate the sacrifice He made for us. I don’t think it could have been done had it not been God’s will.

Luke 22:44: “And being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.”

“Around the sweat glands, there are multiple blood vessels in a net-like form. Under the pressure of great stress, the vessels constrict. Then, as the anxiety passes, the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. The blood goes into the sweat glands. As the sweat glands are producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface—coming out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat.”

This certainly describes Jesus’ situation in the Garden. But there is one tricky word in the Greek which should give us a bit of pause. The text itself says that His “sweat became ὡσεί (hosei) great drops of blood…” That word means “like.” It is used to denote a comparison. So it is possible that what Luke is saying is not that Jesus was sweating actual drops of blood, but that His sweat was pouring out of Him as one would expect blood to pour out.

Needless to say, whether there was actual blood or sweat pouring like blood, we know Jesus suffered great anguish the night before He was arrested. But that seemed to be a very small part of what was to come. The beating He endured was gruesome and painful.

Matthew 26:67–68: “Then they spit in His face and struck Him with their fists. Others slapped Him and said, ‘Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?’”

Mark 15:15: “Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.”

Now, this was not a beating with fists. It was a cruel act meant to shame someone, as well as inflict pain—and sometimes kill. The Romans first stripped Jesus and tied His hands to a post above His head. The whip was made of several pieces of leather with pieces of bone, lead, or other sharp instruments at the end. Two men would do the flogging. The Jews limited flogging to a maximum of 40 strikes, but this was not a limit that applied to Jesus. The following is a medical doctor’s description of the physical effects of flogging:

The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs. At first, the heavy thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles… Finally, the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. (C. Truman Davis, “The Crucifixion of Jesus: The Passion of Christ from a Medical Point of View,” Arizona Medicine 22, no. 3 [March 1965]: 185.)

It is not surprising that victims of Roman floggings seldom survived.

After this horrific beating, there was more to come. Mark 15:16–19: “The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on Him. And they began to call out to Him, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ Again and again they struck Him on the head with a staff and spit on Him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to Him.”

The crown of thorns placed on His head was not made of rose thorns. It was most likely Euphorbia milii, commonly known as the Crown of Thorns. The sap, as well as its sharp thorns, protects the plant from animals that would devour it. The stems of this plant are pliable and could be intertwined and shaped into a circle, making a crown. This plant, native to Madagascar, was brought to the Middle East before the time of Christ, so it is quite possible that this could have been the plant used.

Mark 15:20: “And when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.”

Putting the robe on His bleeding and battered body would have caused pain just from the weight of the material alone. Taking it off would have ripped skin, causing more bleeding and pain. Then forcing Him to carry a wooden cross, which most likely had large splinters and sharp pieces sticking into His already raw flesh, caused even more suffering.

The nails placed into His hands and feet, and the jarring His body took as the cross was hoisted into the hole—breathing would have been difficult, as His diaphragm was not able to expand or contract unless He pushed up with His feet. It is estimated that Jesus lost between 1 and 5 liters of blood, which would have killed any human other than Jesus. All of this happened in such a short time.

Would you be able to go through what Jesus did? I know I would not. Such a great sacrifice for a mere mortal like me. How humbled I am every time I think of this.