The Ahmadiyya
movement which began in Pakistan in 1879, has taught that Jesus was taken down
from the cross before he actually died and later revived in a tomb. He then
escaped from Jerusalem and travelled towards India to continue his ministry among the
Lost tribes of Israel. Jesus completed his mission, died a natural death
and was buried in Srinagar, Kashmir.
Read more here: http://www.alislam.org/library/jesusinkashmir.html
Question: Is it possible that Jesus did not die on the cross?
Extracted from an interview conducted by reporter Lee Strobel to seek the expert opinion of Dr.
Alexander Metherell, M.D. (University of Miami of Florida) and PH.D in
Engineering (University of Bristol) [Strobel, 198-208].
After the Last Supper, Jesus went with his disciples
to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. He prayed all night
anticipating the events of the next day. He knew the suffering he has to
endure. Naturally, he was experiencing a great deal of psychological stress (Matthew
36:28, Mark 14:33) and he began to sweat blood (Luke 22:44). This is known rare
medical condition called “hematidrosis”.
This condition made
Jesus’ skin to be extremely fragile. When Jesus was flogged by the Roman
soldier the next day, the pain was intensified.
Roman floggings were designed to be terribly brutal. The soldier would
use a whip of braided leather thongs with metal balls and pieces of sharp bones
woven into them. When the whip strike the flesh, the metal balls would cause
deep bruises or contusions, which will break open with further blows. The sharp
bones would cut the flesh severely. The back would be so shredded that part of
the spine was exposed by the deep cuts. According to 3rd century
historian, Eusebius, the sufferer’s veins were laid bare; the muscles, sinews
and bowels were open to exposure. Many people would die from this kind of
beating even before they could be crucified. Jesus would have experienced
tremendous pain and gone into hypovolemic shock (effects of losing large amount
of blood).
Jesus was in hypovolemic
shock when he staggered up the road to the execution site, carrying the beam of
the cross. He collapsed and Simon was ordered to carry the cross for him. Jesus
was in critical condition at this stage.
At the Calvary, Jesus
was laid down and his hands would have been nailed in outstretched position to
the horizontal beam. The Romans used spikes that were 5 to 7 inches long and
tapered to a sharp point. The nails were driven to the wrists, the solid
position that would lock the hand (contrary to traditional belief that the
nails pierced his palms). The nail will crush the median nerve, the largest
nerve going out to the hand. The pain was excruciating.
Then Jesus was hoisted
as the crossbar was attached to the vertical stake. Nails were driven through
his feet. Again the nerves in his feet would have been crushed and caused
excruciating pain. The effects of hanging from the cross: both arms would have
been stretched and both shoulders would have been dislocated.
Crucifixion is an
agonizingly slow death by asphyxiation. The stresses on the Jesus’ muscles and
diaphragm put the chest into the inhaled position. To exhale, Jesus must push
up on his feet to ease the tension on the muscles for a moment. In doing so,
the nail would tear through the feet, eventually locking up against the tarsal
bones. After exhale, Jesus would be able to relax down and take another breath
in. The push up and relax down would scraped Jesus’ bloodied back against the
coarse wood of the cross. This would go on until complete exhaustion would take
and Jesus would not be able to push up and breathe anymore.
As Jesus slowed down his
breathing, he would have gone into respiratory acidosis—the carbon dioxide in
his blood would have been dissolved as carbonic acid, would have caused the
acidity of the blood to increase. Eventually, this would have led to irregular
heartbeat. The hypovolemic shock would have caused a sustained rapid heart rate
that would have contributed to heart failure resulting in pericardial and pleural
effusions (collection of fluid in the membrane around the heart and lungs).
When the Roman soldier
thrust a spear into Jesus’ side, the spear apparently went through the lung and
(if it was on his right side) through the heart as well. When the spear was
pulled out, the gospel of John’s description of “a sudden flow of blood and
water” (John 19:34) matches the condition where the fluid from pericardial and
pleural effusions came out. John probably had no idea why he saw “blood and
water” yet the description is consistent with modern medicine.
When
the Roman soldiers came and found that Jesus was already dead, they did not
break his legs as they have done to the other 2 criminals who were nailed
beside Jesus (John 19:32—33). With the special Sabbath coming, the Jews did not
want the bodies left on the crosses. They asked Pilate to have the legs broken
and the bodies taken down (John 19:31). The breaking of the legs was to speed
up death. The Romans would use the steel shaft of a short spear to shatter the
sufferer’s lower leg bones. This would prevent him from pushing up with his
legs so he could breathe. Death by asphyxiation would result in a matter of
minutes. Jesus’ legs were not broken because the soldiers had already
determined that he was dead.
These
Roman soldiers were experienced and well-trained, experts in killing people. If
a prisoner escaped, the responsible soldiers would be put to death themselves,
so they had to make absolutely sure that every prisoner was dead when he was
removed from the cross. The Roman soldier who pierced Jesus’ side with a spear
later testified to the early believers and they found it to be true (John
19:34-35).
Resources: “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel
(1998); “The Cross and the Crescent” by Colin Chapman (1995); “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ” by
William D. Edwards, Journal of the American Medical Association (21 March
1986); “Crucify Him” by Dale Foreman (1990); “Crucifixion in the Ancient World”
by M. Hengel (1977); “The Resurrection Factor” by Josh McDowell (1981).
The fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (6th-century BCE), link here: http://www.biblestudytools.com/isaiah/53.html
Independent historical source: 1st
century Romano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (not a follower of Jesus Christ) recorded references on Jesus and the origins of Christianity:
"Now there
was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for
he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth
with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the
Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the
suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved
him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the
third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other
wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from
him, are not extinct at this day."
Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus
