Passing out during crucifixion is like passing out underwater. Stop moving, stop breathing, die in the time it takes to drown.
The big problem here is just that most people don’t know how crucifixion kills the victim. “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ” was a JAMA article published in 19861 that looked into just this question. Here’s a quote from the paper’s abstract:
“death resulted primarily from hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia”
Hypovolemic means low volume & in this case the phrase hypovolemic shock implies shock from massive blood loss due to the flogging & the nails. It’s the second phrase ‘exhaustion asphyxia’ that I want to focus on, though. It means the victim suffocates due to exhaustion. How can that be?
Sit up straight, put your hand on your stomach & take a deep breath in. What happens to your stomach? It goes in & your chest expands. Exhale & the stomach relaxes & comes back out. Now think about every picture you’ve ever seen of crucifixion victims. What do their stomachs look like? Gaunt & drawn in?
When the body is put on the cross, the victim isn’t given a proper pedestal to stand on. No, that would be too kind. Remember this is the process that coined the phrase excruciating pain. The weight of the body stretches out the stomach to a position corresponding to a deep inhaled breath. How does the person exhale to get another breath? He has to push up with his legs and/or pull up with his arms. Pulling up is really hard. Sometimes the body’s weight dislocates the shoulders. Not to mention the nails in the hands go thru the nerve we call our funny bone. There is also pain from pushing against the nails in the feet. Excruciating might be an understatement.
What happens when the victim stops struggling because he’s passed out from exhaustion, heart attack, shock or just plain whacked on the head? He quits breathing & suffocates. Let me repeat that: If the victim passes out for any reason at all, he suffocates in the amount of time it takes to drown. Once more: Stop moving, stop breathing, die in the time it takes to drown!
Do we have any idea how long Christ was on the cross after he quit moving? I don’t have a video on my cellphone of a stopwatch ticking the seconds off, but I can give you an idea of the minimum and the maximum time he was out on the cross. Mark 15:33-37 says a darkness came over the land from the sixth to the ninth hour & that Jesus breathed his last at the ninth hour. My NIV Study Bible footnotes say that is from 12 noon to 3 pm, so he dies mid-afternoon around 3.
In John 19:31, the jews want the bodies down before Passover Sabbath starts at sunset, because work on the Sabbath is a no-no. When is sunset during Passover in Jerusalem? Around 6-7p from roughly March 20th to April 20th. Jesus could have been ‘passed out’ on the cross for 3-4 hours. Undoubtedly the jews would have wanted him down the earlier the better, but the italian thugs, uh, roman guards control when he is taken down. They die by crucifixion if he is taken down before he is dead. The usual procedure is to leave the dead body up for days as warning to others not to anger the Romans.
Rush job? No problem, mack. When do youse guys need ’em down by? Sundown? Geez, they’re still breathin’ & we was told to make it slow & painful! 😕😟😒 You gots a problem with ‘dat, buds? ‘Cause ‘dis could take all night, capeesh? Oh yeah, where’s ‘dat work order says Pilate’s okay with ‘dis?
The point of crucifixion is a slow torturous death to discourage rebels & criminals from interfering with the Romans. Bodies could get left up for days as a warning. Pontius Pilate has to be asked to give permission to retrieve Jesus’ body this early. The 2 other victims are still alive & their deaths have to be sped up, but it can’t happen till the soldiers get Pilate’s okay. How much red tape is there in the way of getting to Pilate & how much time does it take? I’d think it’s at least half hour if not an hour at minimum but I’m not convinced it matters much. Here’s why.
After the guards get permission to kill the other 2, they don’t just lop off their heads with a sword. They use a big mallet to break their legs. Broken legs equals no pushing & breathing. Now they have to wait for them to suffocate. They don’t rush this either. Why? There was this rule to encourage roman soldiers to be thorough when crucifying people. If the victim survived, the guards responsible got crucified as punishment. These guards crucify people for a living, so they know the signs of death:
- The heart stops & blood pools in the lowest parts of the body, so looks pale on top & bruised on the bottom.
- The body gets cold to touch.
- The body stiffens in rigor mortis.
John 19:33-34 says it wasn’t necessary to break Jesus legs, probably cold to touch or blood pools visible, but in the meantime they do put a spear into him. Once the other 2 are dead and gone, they take down the bodies. It’s not very likely they are going to give anyone CPR with their lives on the line. So again how long does it take for someone to drown? 5-10 minutes? Jesus had at least that much time passed out on the cross. If getting permission was slow, it was 30 minutes up to 3 hours. He had a headstart on the other 2 at suffocating too. He is really, really dead, when they take body down.
One last point that I think unnecessary, but others often make. They argue that if Jesus did revive in the tomb after many hours without medical care for his wounds, blood loss & dehydration, that it would practically require a miracle for him to inspire anyone he had conquered death. Indeed that is the same word often used when someone revives after being passed out underwater for a long period of time, miracle. Probably just a coincidence.
What is the simplest case you can make for the resurrection? Tell you in Post #10.
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