CPC Charlestown IN -- Message 04/05/2020 CSI JERUSALEM
CSI: Jerusalem Matthew 26:14-27:66
A crime has been committed. The victim is dead. Clues to what really happened are available at the crime scene. Evidence has been collected. Eyewitnesses have been interviewed, attesting to what they heard and what they saw.
All of this information is needed by a crime scene forensics team which is tasked with finding the truth. Forensic science uses scientific tests and techniques in the detection of crime to help answer legal questions: What was done? Who did it? Where was it done? How was it done?
Crime scene investigators, or CSIs for short, have been around a long time. Their primary responsibility is to collect and analyze physical evidence of a crime. They might collect hair, tissue, or body fluids from a crime victim or perform tests on items found at the crime scene.
Today, we put on our CSI lab coats. What happened to Jesus from the time of the Last Supper until his crucifixion? Was Jesus really dead when he was taken down from the cross? Some biblical scholars don't believe so.
These scholars endorse what's known as the "swoon theory." This position speculates that Jesus did not die on the cross. He only lost consciousness. He swooned or fainted and came very close to death. Once his body was wrapped and laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimethia, the cool damp air revived him. Jesus then regained his strength and rolled away the stone from the tomb's entrance. He then appeared to his disciples, making them believe he had risen from the dead.
However, the swoon theory has been fully discredited. Few people cling to it today. But it's still around and is often carted out around Lent each year.
In 1986, William Edwards, MD, published a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association using clues from the Gospel narratives and modern science to determine if Jesus really died on the cross. Just like a current day crime scene investigator, Dr. Edwards used his medical training to reconstruct Jesus' ordeal from Thursday evening through Friday afternoon.
His conclusion? Jesus was indeed dead when he was taken down from the cross. This morning, we'll examine his evidence and findings
Torture Before the Cross
According Dr. Edwards' paper, the night before Jesus' trial and crucifixion, he was under extreme psychological distress. In Luke 22:42-44, we learn that Jesus' prayer to God to avoid his coming torture and death was so intense, his sweat appeared as drop of bloods.
This had to be a metaphor though, right? People don't sweat blood. Well...actually they can. There is a medical condition called hematidrosis. Although rare, it can occur when severe anxiety releases chemicals into the bloodstream. These chemicals breakdown capillaries in the sweat glands, allowing blood into the sweat. The chemicals also cause the skin to become more sensitive.
In addition, Jesus was physically exhausted. He had very little sleep from the day before. He had taught in the Temple during the day. He had an emotional meal, the Last Supper, with his disciples. He suffered great anguish during his prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas betrayed him while a crowd surrounded him and then, arrested him.
Jesus' accusers man-handled him around Jerusalem that night. He attended no fewer than five trials overnight. He was presented to the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin (where he was also beaten); then taken before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate; then dragged before King Herod; then sent back to Pilate.
After the crowds demanded his crucifixion, Pilate had Jesus beaten. The more correct term is flogging, and it was brutal. For this type of punishment, the Romans created a whip of braided leather with metal balls and sharp pieces of bone woven into it. Up to 39 lashes could be administered across the shoulders, back, buttocks, and legs of the victim. These beatings were sometimes so severe the person's spine would be exposed. Cuts so deep that muscles were ripped and exposed. Brutal.
At this point, Jesus would have been in tremendous pain. He'd had little food and even less rest as he endured this torture for roughly 12 hours...9pm Thursday to 9am Friday.
One of the important conditions Dr Edwards highlighted in his report is that Jesus' severely weakened state came from hypovolemic shock. Hypo - low; vol - volume; emic - blood = "low volume of blood." Shock was setting in from Jesus' great loss of blood. This causes the heart to beat faster to pump blood that isn't there. Blood pressure drops, causing the person to faint or collapse. Remember Simon of Cyrene in Luke 23:26 had to carry Jesus' cross for him.
Hypovolemic shock causes the kidneys to shut down to maintain what volume of blood is left. This, in turn, causes extreme thirst. The body craves fluids to replace lost blood. Twice during his ordeal, Jesus was offered drinks to sate his thirst.
At this point, there's no doubt that Jesus was in serious medical condition before the first nail was spiked into the wooden cross.
Anguish on the Cross
Once Jesus reached the Place of the Skull, Golgotha, his arms were stretched out on a horizontal beam. The metal spikes, five to seven inches long, were driven through his wrists. But wait, we've always thought it was his hands where the nails were placed. In the Greek language, the word "hand" includes the part of the wrist. Had the spikes been hammered through Jesus's palms, his weight would not be supported and the nails would've torn through his hands.
In between your wrist bones are two nerves called the median nerve. The spikes were driven through this nerve. Imagine the funny bone in your elbow being squeezed or twisted with a pair of pliers...that's the pain generated from the median nerve. So painful was this pain that a new word was invented to describe it -- "excruciating," which means "out of the cross."
Upon being raised up to hang on the cross, Jesus's arms would've been stretched another six to eight inches, causing dislocation of his shoulders. Once raised, his feet were spiked through similar nerves in the wrist, causing even more intense pain.
Death on the Cross
Dr. Edwards' paper states that Jesus would have died from asphyxiation and/or cardiac arrest. Suffocation would have set due to the stress placed on all the muscles and diaphragm would put the chest in the "inhale" position. To exhale, Jesus would have had to push up with his feet to ease the pressure. The spikes would tear through the feet until they locked into the bones. Pushing up to exhale would scrape the beaten, bloody back against the rough wooden cross. Finally, exhaustion would eventually make it so Jesus' legs could no longer push up to breathe.
Cardiac arrest can be deduced from the Roman guards surprise at how quickly Jesus died. With his blood becoming more acidic, an irregular heart resulted. Paired already with the hypovolemic shock, the conclusion that a heart attack resulted is valid.
Conclusion
Given the evidence that Jesus' tomb was empty Sunday morning and that Jesus was indeed dead when he was taken down from the cross, why have doubters created stories to discount the resurrection of Jesus. We've briefly discussed the swoon theory. Some less creative tall tales are that Jesus' body was thrown into a shallow grave outside the city walls and that wild dogs came and ate his body. Why fabricate such falsehoods?
Because it is easier to believe the lies than to believe a man rose from the dead. Because if you do believe in that resurrected man, Jesus, who lived a sinless life but died for our sins -- then something may be expected of you. Expectations and life changes for which you may not be prepared. But Matthew 11:29-30 tells us: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light."
A crime has been committed. The victim is dead. Clues to what really happened are available at the crime scene. Evidence has been collected. Eyewitnesses have been interviewed, attesting to what they heard and what they saw. Now...what say you? Amen.
For Dr. Edwards' full paper at JAMA, click here.
All of this information is needed by a crime scene forensics team which is tasked with finding the truth. Forensic science uses scientific tests and techniques in the detection of crime to help answer legal questions: What was done? Who did it? Where was it done? How was it done?
Crime scene investigators, or CSIs for short, have been around a long time. Their primary responsibility is to collect and analyze physical evidence of a crime. They might collect hair, tissue, or body fluids from a crime victim or perform tests on items found at the crime scene.
Today, we put on our CSI lab coats. What happened to Jesus from the time of the Last Supper until his crucifixion? Was Jesus really dead when he was taken down from the cross? Some biblical scholars don't believe so.
These scholars endorse what's known as the "swoon theory." This position speculates that Jesus did not die on the cross. He only lost consciousness. He swooned or fainted and came very close to death. Once his body was wrapped and laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimethia, the cool damp air revived him. Jesus then regained his strength and rolled away the stone from the tomb's entrance. He then appeared to his disciples, making them believe he had risen from the dead.
However, the swoon theory has been fully discredited. Few people cling to it today. But it's still around and is often carted out around Lent each year.
In 1986, William Edwards, MD, published a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association using clues from the Gospel narratives and modern science to determine if Jesus really died on the cross. Just like a current day crime scene investigator, Dr. Edwards used his medical training to reconstruct Jesus' ordeal from Thursday evening through Friday afternoon.
His conclusion? Jesus was indeed dead when he was taken down from the cross. This morning, we'll examine his evidence and findings
Torture Before the Cross
According Dr. Edwards' paper, the night before Jesus' trial and crucifixion, he was under extreme psychological distress. In Luke 22:42-44, we learn that Jesus' prayer to God to avoid his coming torture and death was so intense, his sweat appeared as drop of bloods.
This had to be a metaphor though, right? People don't sweat blood. Well...actually they can. There is a medical condition called hematidrosis. Although rare, it can occur when severe anxiety releases chemicals into the bloodstream. These chemicals breakdown capillaries in the sweat glands, allowing blood into the sweat. The chemicals also cause the skin to become more sensitive.
In addition, Jesus was physically exhausted. He had very little sleep from the day before. He had taught in the Temple during the day. He had an emotional meal, the Last Supper, with his disciples. He suffered great anguish during his prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas betrayed him while a crowd surrounded him and then, arrested him.
Jesus' accusers man-handled him around Jerusalem that night. He attended no fewer than five trials overnight. He was presented to the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin (where he was also beaten); then taken before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate; then dragged before King Herod; then sent back to Pilate.
After the crowds demanded his crucifixion, Pilate had Jesus beaten. The more correct term is flogging, and it was brutal. For this type of punishment, the Romans created a whip of braided leather with metal balls and sharp pieces of bone woven into it. Up to 39 lashes could be administered across the shoulders, back, buttocks, and legs of the victim. These beatings were sometimes so severe the person's spine would be exposed. Cuts so deep that muscles were ripped and exposed. Brutal.
At this point, Jesus would have been in tremendous pain. He'd had little food and even less rest as he endured this torture for roughly 12 hours...9pm Thursday to 9am Friday.
One of the important conditions Dr Edwards highlighted in his report is that Jesus' severely weakened state came from hypovolemic shock. Hypo - low; vol - volume; emic - blood = "low volume of blood." Shock was setting in from Jesus' great loss of blood. This causes the heart to beat faster to pump blood that isn't there. Blood pressure drops, causing the person to faint or collapse. Remember Simon of Cyrene in Luke 23:26 had to carry Jesus' cross for him.
Hypovolemic shock causes the kidneys to shut down to maintain what volume of blood is left. This, in turn, causes extreme thirst. The body craves fluids to replace lost blood. Twice during his ordeal, Jesus was offered drinks to sate his thirst.
At this point, there's no doubt that Jesus was in serious medical condition before the first nail was spiked into the wooden cross.
Anguish on the Cross
Once Jesus reached the Place of the Skull, Golgotha, his arms were stretched out on a horizontal beam. The metal spikes, five to seven inches long, were driven through his wrists. But wait, we've always thought it was his hands where the nails were placed. In the Greek language, the word "hand" includes the part of the wrist. Had the spikes been hammered through Jesus's palms, his weight would not be supported and the nails would've torn through his hands.
In between your wrist bones are two nerves called the median nerve. The spikes were driven through this nerve. Imagine the funny bone in your elbow being squeezed or twisted with a pair of pliers...that's the pain generated from the median nerve. So painful was this pain that a new word was invented to describe it -- "excruciating," which means "out of the cross."
Upon being raised up to hang on the cross, Jesus's arms would've been stretched another six to eight inches, causing dislocation of his shoulders. Once raised, his feet were spiked through similar nerves in the wrist, causing even more intense pain.
Death on the Cross
Dr. Edwards' paper states that Jesus would have died from asphyxiation and/or cardiac arrest. Suffocation would have set due to the stress placed on all the muscles and diaphragm would put the chest in the "inhale" position. To exhale, Jesus would have had to push up with his feet to ease the pressure. The spikes would tear through the feet until they locked into the bones. Pushing up to exhale would scrape the beaten, bloody back against the rough wooden cross. Finally, exhaustion would eventually make it so Jesus' legs could no longer push up to breathe.
Cardiac arrest can be deduced from the Roman guards surprise at how quickly Jesus died. With his blood becoming more acidic, an irregular heart resulted. Paired already with the hypovolemic shock, the conclusion that a heart attack resulted is valid.
Conclusion
Given the evidence that Jesus' tomb was empty Sunday morning and that Jesus was indeed dead when he was taken down from the cross, why have doubters created stories to discount the resurrection of Jesus. We've briefly discussed the swoon theory. Some less creative tall tales are that Jesus' body was thrown into a shallow grave outside the city walls and that wild dogs came and ate his body. Why fabricate such falsehoods?
Because it is easier to believe the lies than to believe a man rose from the dead. Because if you do believe in that resurrected man, Jesus, who lived a sinless life but died for our sins -- then something may be expected of you. Expectations and life changes for which you may not be prepared. But Matthew 11:29-30 tells us: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light."
A crime has been committed. The victim is dead. Clues to what really happened are available at the crime scene. Evidence has been collected. Eyewitnesses have been interviewed, attesting to what they heard and what they saw. Now...what say you? Amen.
For Dr. Edwards' full paper at JAMA, click here.
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