MEDICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST III

PILATE'S VERDICT

Mark 15:15 - "Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified."

The Sanhedrin met early the next morning and sentenced Him to death ( Matthew 27:1). Because the Jews were not, and the Romans were, able to carry out an execution, Jesus was brought before Pilate.

Then Pilate sends Jesus to Herod. Jesus is speechless before Herod, and Herod sends Him back to Pilate. Pilate is unable to convince the crowds of Jesus' innocence and orders Jesus to be put to death. But he ordered that Jesus be flogged first.

It is at this point that Jesus suffers a severe physical beating. During that kind of flogging, a victim was tied to a post, leaving his back entirely exposed. The Romans used a whip, called a flagrum or flagellum which consisted of small pieces of bone and metal attached to a number of leather strands.

The number of strikes is not recorded in the gospels. The number of blows in Jewish law was set in Deuteronomy 25:3 at forty, but later reduced to 39 to prevent excessive blows by a counting error.

The victim often died from the beating (39 hits were believed to bring the criminal to "one from death".) Roman law did not put any limits on the number of blows given.

During the flogging, the skin was stripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of muscle and bone. Extreme blood loss occurred from this beating, weakening the victim. perhaps to the point of being unconscious.

Jesus' beating was so severe that He was beyond recognition. Isaiah 52:14: ". . . Just as there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness".

              ROMAN SOLDIERS MOCK AND BEAT JESUS

Matthew 27:28-30 (The soldiers) stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

Unlike the traditional crown which is depicted by an open ring, the actual crown of thorns may have covered the entire scalp. Some sources say the thorns may have been 1 to 2 inches long. The gospels state that the Roman soldiers continued to beat Jesus on the head. The blows would drive the thorns into the scalp (one of the most vascular areas of the body) and forehead, causing severe bleeding.

For the beginning and concluding part of this update, read HERE