Faith & Reason Nexus

Dr. Howard A. Matzke, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Kansas, explains the physical effects of crucifixion:

• Pain and Breathing Difficulty: “Crucifixion resulted in severe pain because the body was hanging on the nails through his hands. It also placed a considerable stretch on the muscles important for breathing, thus preventing normal expiration. This caused the chest to remain expanded.”
• Impaired Breathing and Muscle Spasms: “Impaired breathing leads to a decreased oxygen supply to the muscles, causing the accumulation of lactic acid, resulting in muscle spasms similar to cramps.”
• Attempting Relief: “To alleviate the pain from severed nerves and muscle spasms, the victim would try to push up with the nails through his feet as a brace. However, within a few minutes, the pain in the feet would become unbearable, and the body would sag again.”

Dr. Richard R. Parlour, Head of a Psychiatric Clinic in Claremont, California, discusses the mental and emotional toll:

• Self-Control and Integrity: “Enduring the agony of crucifixion with dignity, along with the humiliations and hardships, would require superb self-control… To conquer this death without losing one’s personal integrity would seem to require devotion to something supra-human.”
• Matthew 27:46: “About the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ As a rule, victims did not endure crucifixion serenely.”

INRI:

• According to Cicero, many crucifixion victims became “ravening madmen” long before their death. “It was often necessary to cut out their tongues to stop their screams and curses. Some died within twelve hours, while for others, death took several days.”