Death on The Cross? — Page 7
V - Duration of Crucifixion. The period of time for which Jesus remained on the Cross was not long enough to warrant his death by crucifixion. Criminals generally took several days to die a lingering death on the cross, on account of the loss of blood from the wounds on hands and feet, the physical exhaustion, pain, pangs of hunger and thirst. The minimum time of death on the cross ranged between twenty-four hours and twentyeight hours but in some cases it took several days to die on the cross. . In such cases it was used to break the legs of the criminals with a cruciflagram, SO that death may be hastened by internal haemorrhage. . Further investigation into the matter of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ tells us that Jesus remained on the cross for a few hours only. The actual duration of time Jesus remained on the cross was not more than three or four hours. Jesus Christ, who was in the prime of his youth (33 years old) and enjoyed excellent health, could not be expected to have died within such a short time, especially when his legs were not broken as was done in the case of the two robbers crucified with him the same day. . It may not be out of place here to note that according to the Roman calendar the day began with the rising of the sun and ended with its setting. The same custom is in vogue even to this day in Arab countries. According to John 19:14 it was about the sixth hour of. Friday that Pilate spoke last to the Jews about Jesus' crucifixion and handed him over to them: "And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, Lama. Sabachthani? My God, My God why hast thou forsaken (Mark 15:33, 34) me?". This clearly shows that Jesus retained his consciousness up to the ninth hour of the day and then he fell into a swoon or lost consciousness. This is what the New Testament writers call "giving up the ghost. " None of the writers were present on the spot to stand as eye-witness. The 'swoon' was taken to be 'death' and 'death on the cross' means an accursed death. Do we not read in the Bible, "for he that is hanged is accursed of God. " Deut. 21:23. What audacity 7