Bob Josey - The Physical and Spiritual Death of Jesus the Messiah - Apr 10, 2022

SLIDES

The Physical and Spiritual Death of Jesus the Messiah

The three most important events that have ever or will ever occur happened 1900 years ago outside the city of Jerusalem at two places that may have been very near one another. The first place is called Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, where the Romans crucified people. The second place is in a burial cave owned by a rich man Joseph of Arimathea who was a member of the Sanhedrin. There the Messiah was buried and was resurrected. Those of you who have been to Israel have seen both places where these events possibly occurred. The profound event that we will discuss today is the death of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. Since the death of Christ is the basis for forgiveness of sin that results in reconciliation with God and eternal life (Romans 6:23), I thought it would be appropriate and important to discuss the spiritual and physical death of Jesus before we celebrate Good Friday and Resurrection Day.

The Death of the Messiah

The biblical word “death” means separation. Death does not mean cessation of existence or nonexistence. Physical death is the separation of the spirit/soul from the physical body. James 2:26 states, “… the body without the spirit is dead.” Physical death occurs when the immaterial part of man (soul and spirit) separates from the material part of man (body). Though the soul and spirit are separated from the body at physical death, they will continue to exist eternally. (Rev. 6:9‒11).

When the life-giving soul and spirit leave the body, the body begins to decompose. Spiritual death is the separation of man from God because of sin. Physical death is a result of spiritual death. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in eating of the forbidden fruit, they both died spiritually instantaneously. They were separated from God spiritually. Then, they slowly began to die physically. Spiritual and physical death are the result of sin. (Romans 6:23) Since that time, humans are born spiritually dead and therefore are subject physical death. Therefore, if Jesus was to satisfy the demands of God’s holiness, righteousness, and justice to provide deliverance of sin for people who are spiritually dead, He would have to experience the same death that separated them from God. For man to be reconciled to God and be restored physically and spiritually, Jesus would have to die physically and spiritually. Jesus did exactly that on the cross.

The Spiritual Death of the Messiah

From approximately noon to 3 PM, while Jesus hung on the cross, it became totally dark, similar to one of the plagues of Egypt. We read in Exodus 10:21, Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” The darkness in Egypt lasted three days and the darkness during the crucifixion lasted three hours. At both times one could almost cut the darkness with a knife. Amos 8:9 describes the darkness in relation to judgement.

“It will come about in that day, declares the Lord God,

“That I will make the sun go down at noon

And make the earth dark in broad daylight.

There is evidence in extra biblical writings of that time that the darkness covered Egypt and what is known as Turkey today.

While on the cross during the three hours while it was totally dark, Jesus was not only betrayed by his friends and forsaken by his followers, but He was also abandoned by and separated spiritually from His Father that had never happened before. He suffered and died alone. He experienced three hours of spiritual death because His soul/spirit was separated from the Father. To accomplish spiritual salvation for man, His spirit/soul had to be separated. During this three hours of separation from the Father, Jesus took upon Himself every sin and the guilt of every person who has ever lived, is living today, and will live in the future. Paul wrote about this in 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf ...” We all know and have experienced that sin and guilt can weigh very heavily on an individual and cause spiritual and physical suffering. The evidence He bore spiritual death on the cross in seen in His cry as described in Matthew 27:46, About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ^This a quote from Psalm 22:1. The entirety of Psalm 22 is about David being persecuted and suffering, felt he was abandoned by God. Most of Psalm 22 is basically hyperbolic language. However, Psalm 22 is prophetic in nature about Jesus death, but in Jesus’ case it was not hyperbolic but physical in nature. Isaiah 53 called the Suffering Servant also is prophetic in nature about Jesus death.

Questions and Comments

The Physical Death of the Messiah

Jesus, as we know, also had to die physically. Hebrews 9:22 says, “… without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

To describe Jesus’ physical death, I want to read something written by a medical doctor, who was also a pastor, wrote about the death of the Messiah from a medical and biblical perspective. The piece is called A Physician Analyzes the Crucifixion – A medical explanation of what Jesus endured on the day He died by Dr. C. Truman Davis.

Gethsemane

The physical passion of Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of His initial suffering, the one which is of particular physiological interest is the bloody sweat. Interestingly enough, the physician, St. Luke, is the only evangelist to mention this occurrence. He says, "And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground" (Luke 22:44 KJV).

Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away the phenomenon of bloody sweat, apparently under the mistaken impression that it simply does not occur. A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock.

Although Jesus' betrayal and arrest are important portions of the passion story, the next event in the account which is significant from a medical perspective is His trial before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. Here the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him, mockingly taunted Him to identify them as each passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face.

Before Pilate

In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and worn out from a sleepless night, Jesus was taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. We are familiar with Pilate's action in attempting to shift responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate. It was then, in response to the outcry of the mob, that Pilate ordered Barabbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.

Preparations for Jesus' scourging were carried out at Caesar's orders. The prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. The Roman legionnaire stepped forward with the flagrum (whip), or flagellum, in his hand. This was a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again across Jesus' shoulders, back and legs. At first the weighted thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continued, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.

The small balls of lead first produced large deep bruises that were broken open by subsequent blows. Finally, the skin of the back was hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it was determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner was near death, the beating was finally stopped.

Mockery

The half-fainting Jesus was then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with his own blood. The Roman soldiers saw a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They threw a robe across His shoulders and placed a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete. Small flexible branches covered with long thorns, commonly used for kindling fires in the charcoal braziers in the courtyard, were plated in the shape of a crude crown. The crown was pressed into his scalp and again there was copious bleeding as the thorns pierced the very vascular tissue. After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers took the stick from His hand and struck Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper in His scalp. Finally, they tired of their sadistic sport and tore the robe from His back. The robe had already become adherent to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, caused excruciating pain. The wounds again began to bleed.

Golgotha

In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans apparently returned His garments. The heavy patibulum (cross beam) of the cross was tied across His shoulders. The procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion began its slow journey along the route which we know today as the Via Dolorosa.

In spite of Jesus' efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious loss of blood, was too much. He stumbled and fell. The rough wood of the beam gouged into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tried to rise, but human muscles had been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to proceed with the crucifixion, selected a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus followed, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650-yard journey from the Fortress Antonia to Golgotha was finally completed. The prisoner was again stripped of His clothing except for a loin cloth which was allowed the Jews.

The crucifixion began

Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic, pain-reliving mixture. He refused the drink. Simon was ordered to place the patibulum (cross beam) on the ground, and Jesus was quickly thrown backward, with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire felt for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drove a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moved to the other side and repeated the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum (cross beam) was then lifted into place at the top of the stipes (vertical post), and the titulus (plaque) reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" was nailed into place.

The left foot was pressed backward against the right foot. With both feet extended, toes down, a nail was driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The victim was now crucified.

On the Cross

(As I read this part of the crucifixion of Jesus, please keep in mind that He was not only suffering physically but He was much more suffering spiritually. The physical suffering was horrendous, but it does not even compare to the spiritual suffering He went through. For three hours that it was totally dark, Jesus was abandoned by and spiritually separated from His Father. He was bearing the sin and guilt of every person who person who had lived, was living, and would live. He was in deep spiritual agony and distress.)

As Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrist, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks which traverse the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of his feet.

At this point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by the arm, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, the carbon dioxide level increased in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided.

The Last Words

Spasmodically, He was able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences that are recorded.

The first - looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do."

The second - to the penitent thief: "Today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

The third - looking down at Mary His mother, He said: "Woman, behold your son." Then turning to the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John, the beloved apostle, He said: "Behold your mother."

The fourth cry is from the beginning of Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

He suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain as tissue was torn from His lacerated back from His movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Then another agony began: a deep crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart.

The prophecy in Psalm 22:14 was being fulfilled: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels."

The end was rapidly approaching. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical level; the compressed heart was struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues sent their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasped His fifth cry: "I thirst." Again we read in the prophetic psalm: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death" (Psalm 22:15 KJV).

A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine that was the staple drink of the Roman legionnaires, was lifted to Jesus' lips. His body was now in extremis, and He could feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brought forth His sixth word, possibly little more than a tortured whisper: "It is finished." His ministry on earth was completed. The debt has been paid. His mission of atonement had completed. Finally, He could allow His body to die. With one last surge of strength, He once again pressed His torn feet against the nail, straightened His legs, took a deeper breath, and uttered His seventh and last cry: "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit."

Death

The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the bones of the leg. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest, and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers approached Jesus, they saw that this was unnecessary.

Apparently, the make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. John 19:34 states, "And immediately there came out blood and water." Thus, there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart and the blood of the interior of the heart. This is rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that Jesus died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.

Resurrection

In these events, we have seen a glimpse of the epitome of evil that man can exhibit toward is fellowman and toward God. This is an ugly sight and is likely to leave us despondent and depressed.

But the crucifixion was not the end of the story. How grateful we can be that we have a sequel: a glimpse of the infinite mercy of God toward man - - the gift of atonement, the miracle of the resurrection, and the expectation of Easter morning.

Questions and Comments

Before Good Friday, I want to encourage all of you to read Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 and compare it to Matthew 27:11-56 and the piece that Dr. Davis wrote. Doing this will certainly give you something to ruminate on as you praise the Lord for Jesus dying for you, for your family, for your friends, for those at Johnson Ferry, for your brothers and sisters in Christ in our Thriving in Jesus Connect group, and of course, for the world, as you anticipate worshipping the Lord on Resurrection Day. Also, this would be a great time to share the gospel with individuals.

Because the Father abandoned His son Jesus, who died in our place as a sin substitute, please remember that He will never abandon us who have come to faith in Him.

SELAH!