Deliverance from the Cross — Page 80
he had been given the vinegar, one account recording the loud cry which was not understood, the other the words which proved that Jesus realised it is finished. Since, medically speaking, giving up the ghost means the end of breathing, the testimony of these three logically implies that breathing ended immediately after the administration of the vinegar. When Jesus asked for a drink, he was fully conscious and did not have the feeling that his last minute had come. In the course of the slow death struggle, he was thirsty. But, in normal circumstances, this struggle would not have ended as yet. He was given the vinegar which, immediately upon entering the air passage (speeded up by the fact that he sucked it from a sponge) cut off the air passing to and from the lungs, and instantly incapacitated those regions which were already affected by cramp. He had only just enough time to realise it was finished, and for a last cry which gave expression to that realisation. This was the cry which was heard by the people around him. There was only just enough air in the lungs to make the effort possible. Even a man in this desperate condition can speak for a few more seconds, - say ten to thirty - without additional intake of air. The suffering of Jesus was at an end and all who witnessed it were surprised how quickly it had come. From a medico-scientific point of view what can be said about the final phase of the crucifixion is this. 80