SURVEYING THE WONDEROUS CROSS

‘When I survey the wondrous cross / On which the Prince of glory died, / My richest gain I count but loss, / And pour contempt on all my pride”, wrote the hymnist, Isaac Watts. The basic symbol of most Christian churches has for centuries been the cross. Yet how often do we stop to think about what made the cross so significant to Christendom. We cannot afford to belittle the significance of Christ’s death on the cross.

In his book The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel[i] recounts an interview he had with the prominent physician, Dr. Alexander Metherell. In this interview Dr. Metherell gives chilling scientific details of the kind of agony and distress Jesus went through before finally dying. In responding to Mr. Strobel’s question on the accuracy of the gospel writers when they tell of Jesus sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane as he prayed all night, the physician said it is an established medical condition called hematidrosis. “What happens is that severe anxiety causes the release of chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As a result, there’s a small amount of bleeding into these glands, and the sweat comes out tinged with blood”, he said. Luke 22:44 describes it this way: “In great anguish he prayed even more fervently; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

According Dr. Metherell, who has extensively studied the historical, archaeological, and medical data concerning the death of Jesus, the Roman floggings were terribly brutal.[ii] The floggings usually consisted of thirty-nine lashes but it sometimes could be more depending on the mood of the soldier doing the lashing. Typically a whip of braided leather thongs with metal balls woven into them would be used. When the whip struck the flesh, the balls would cause deep bruises which could break open with further blows. As if this was not enough, the whip had pieces of sharp bone which would cut the flesh severely. The back of the victim would be so shredded that part of the spine was sometimes exposed by the deep cuts. The whipping could go all the way from the shoulders down to the back, the buttocks, and the back of the legs. The victims veins are laid bare and the muscles, sinews, and bowels would be opened to exposure. This would send the victim into a hypovolemic shock. Hypo means low, vol means volume and emic means blood. Thus a person suffering hypovolemic shock is in effect losing large amounts of blood. This leads to four things according to Dr. Metherell:

“First, the heart races to try to pump blood that isn’t there; second, the blood pressure drops, causing fainting or collapse; third, the kidneys stop producing urine to maintain what volume is left; fourth, the person becomes very thirsty as the body craves fluids to replace the lost blood volume.”

Evidence of the above can easily be seen in the scriptures. The hypovolemic shock would account for Jesus’ collapse on the way to the execution site on Calvary. Simon of Cyrene was ordered to continue the journey with the cross. Later, on the cross Jesus cried out “I thirst” and a sip of vinegar was offered to him.

Commenting on the crucifixion itself, Dr. Metherell noted that the Romans used spikes (nails) that were five to seven inches long and tapered to a sharp point and these were driven through victim’s wrists rather than the palms, like most modern day portraits of the crucified Christ show. The wrists (which were considered part of the hand in the language of the day) provide a solid position that would lock the hand on the cross. If the nails were driven through the palms, the weight of the body would have caused the skin to tear and he would have fallen off the cross. When the nail was driven through his wrist, by pounding, it would have crushed his Meridian nerve – the largest nerve that goes out to the human hand. Dr. Metherell described the resulting pain and the cause of death in these words:

“Do you know the kind of pain you feel when you bang your elbow and hit your funny bone? That’s actually another nerve, called the Ulna nerve. It’s extremely painful when you accidentally hit it. Well, picture taking a pair of pliers and squeezing and crushing that nerve. That effect would be similar to what Jesus experienced. … Once a person is hanging in the vertical position crucifixion is essentially an agonizingly slow death by asphyxiation [Cessation of breathing caused by lack of oxygen]. The reason is that the stresses on the muscles and diaphragm put the chest into the inhaled position; basically, in order to exhale, the individual must push up on his feet so the tension on the muscles would be eased for a moment. In doing so, the nail would tear through the foot, eventually locking up against the tarsal bones. After managing to exhale, the person would then be able to relax down and take another breath in. Again he’d have to push himself up to exhale, scraping his bloodied back against the coarse wood of the cross. This would go on and on until complete exhaustion would take over, and the person wouldn’t be able to push up and breathe anymore. As the person slows down his breathing, he goes into what is called respiratory acidosis – the carbon dioxide in the blood is dissolved as carbonic acid, causing the acidity of the blood to increase. This eventually leads to an irregular heartbeat. In fact, with his heart beating erratically, Jesus would have known that he was at the moment of death, which is when he was able to say, ‘Lord, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ And then he died of cardiac arrest.”[iii]

Without a doubt crucifixion was terrible! The degree of pain resulting from crucifixion was such that no single word in the language of that day was adequate in describing it. This triggered the invention of a new word. The word “excruciating”, which we use to describe unbearable pain actually comes from two Latin words: ex cruciatus, meaning “out of the cross.”[iv] So you see, this thing we call sin, which we sadly belittle, is so serious to God that he would take his son through such torment in order to reconcile us to Himself. Sin separates us from God and he does not like this. Over two thousand years ago, Jesus took the ultimate shame, suffering and pain to bring us back to the dignity of a relationship with God. We ought to always remember that this was done for us and surrender totally to Christ.

We should never deceive ourselves with the idea that God, in his great love and mercy, will save even those who reject his grace, which comes through the crucified Christ.  Think of the shame and agony he endured. This was the path Jesus (God in human flesh) chose in order to reach out to you and to me. Apostle Paul warns us saying, “For there is no longer any sacrifice which will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us. Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God!”[v]

We have this tendency to play down on certain sins and free ourselves of the guilt. Hear now, Dr. Zacharias, as he counsels us against belittling some sins:

“But lest we think of wrong merely in quantitative terms, let me underscore a caution. During the Nuremberg trials of the Nazi judges who took part in the Holocaust, the only judge willing to accept some responsibility for his role in the death camps tried to mitigate his guilt by saying, “I never intended it to go so far.” To that exculpatory qualifier, one of the members of the tribunal pointedly responded, “The first time you knowingly condemned an innocent person you went too far.” It was not the volume of sin that sent Christ to the cross; it was the fact of sin.”[vi]

Let us not treat as a cheap thing the death of Christ on the Cross. The suffering Jesus went through tells how man has brutally rejected his Creator by sinning. Imagine how God feels! Still our song sounds like this: ‘Glory to Man in the highest. We are getting better and better.’ This is the ultimate rebellion. We cannot sink any lower into sin than this. Like a preacher once said, “Hell is not a place for people who would otherwise have repented of their sins had they been given the grace. Hell is for those who continue to rebel against God even when they have been given the grace.” To really appreciate the evil of sin, one just has to look to Calvary’s cross where God unleashed his wrath on His Son for the sins of the world.

Like Dr. Zacharias has noted in his book, Can Man Live Without God, the cross of Christ expresses rare virtues – self-control, mercy and forgiveness. Jesus showed these virtues even though he had all the power in the universe to ruthlessly fight back with supreme force and power. Who could have stood in his way if he had decided to show his military might? Yet the gentle lamb chose instead a humble path. Jesus wins his battle by loving and changing the heart of men. He is gentle yet powerful.

The virtues expressed by Christ are in sharp opposition to all that we humans value and exalt. We want power rather than humility. We exalt shortcuts over waiting, cover-up over confession, feelings over commitment, anger over forgiveness. Jesus teaches us something profound at the cross – he exalts sacrifice over comfort. This is where the line is drawn between today’s popular kind of Christianity and the Christianity found in the Bible. We exalt comfort over sacrifice. Jesus continually contradicts us in the way we view life. He forces us to totally redefine what we mean by fulfilment in life. In Jesus’ way, fulfilment in life is not in living for yourself but in dying to yourself, it is not in receiving but in giving, it is not in being forgiven but in forgiving others. He reverses all of our values. Are you ready to have your values reversed by Christ this Easter season? Says Isaac Watts:

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.[vii]