Did Jesus actually die on the cross?

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 3^rd 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.

There was absolutely no doubt that Jesus was dead.

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