Miscellaneous - http://maxpages.com/starfire7s/Where_Will_You_Be

The Greatest Testimony of Life After Death

As Jesus arrived at the execution site, the
beam or, cross, was thrown upon the ground
and Jesus was roughly thrown backwards onto
it. His arms were extended to a pre-selected
position. The executioners would be careful
not to draw his arms to a fully extended
position, for that would hasten His death.

Large triangular construction-grade nails
were used to secure Jesus to the cross.
The Bible states that these were driven
driven through His hands. Many authorities
believe that they were driven through the
lower portion of his forearm near the
wrist. There they would compress the
median nerve trunks to the hand. These
nerve trunks then would impinge on the
tendons of the palm causing the thumbs to
bend toward the palm. It only matters to
me that He accepted the cross on my
be-half, not where the nails were driven.

With the nails in place, Jesus was
literally hoisted upright. His feet were
secured with a single nail--the left foot
extended slightly over the right with the
knees flexed, and the nail driven
through the arches of His feet. {I recall
having stepped on a nail, how horribly it
hurt...I can't imagine what my Saviour
endured, and for so long!}

The Romans had perfected this brutal art
to where the length of time required for
the condemned person to die could be
computed by how much flexion was left in
the knees to expedite breathing. His
position on the cross forced a condemned
person into a horribly cruel exercise:
In order to breathe and to relieve the
pain in the arms as the body sagged
downward, he would have to push up on
the nail in the, which, in turn, added
to the horrific pain He was already
enduring, for my sake and yours. This
forced an up and down slithering motion
upon the cross until he died.

Dangling by the arms in this position
resulted in severe muscular pain in
the upper extremities. It also caused
a progressive pain from joint
separation. Continual hanging by His
arms gradually result in paralyzation
of the intercostal muscles of the
thoracic wall. As a result, Jesus
could draw breath into His lungs
easily but He could not exhale.
As carbon dioxide accumulated,
progressive degrees of
asphyxiation would occur.
Accumulated carbon dioxide and
lactic acid created an intense
muscular hyperexcitability and
violent muscle spasm throughout
His body.

As the suffering sensation became
overwhelming, {suffocation and
unheard of pain}, Jesus was
compelled to push up on the nail in
His feet to gasp for breath. It
is undoubtedly in this position that
Jesus uttered His famous seven last
words. It is indeed amazing, as Jesus’
physical body was ravaged by
shock, exhaustion, incredible thirst,
central nervous system pain,
stimulation beyond our comprehension,
and gradual asphyxiation, that no
reviling or words of condemnation were
uttered by Him. Rather, He expressed
concern for those about Him, saying,

"Father, forgive then, they know not
what they do."

As the crucifixion continued, His chest
wall further elongated and became
grossly distorted. The stomach area
sank. The altered changes in His
thoracic cavity resulted in a progressive
effusion of fluid into the pericardial
sack, creating a searing, sharp, pleuritic
type pain with each heartbeat and each
attempted movement on the cross. {If you
have ever suffered from pleurosy, you
have a small idea what He suffered in
His attempts to breathe under these
circumstances}

Jesus was placed upon the cross at about
the sixth hour. The crucifixion lasted
at least through the ninth hour when the
darkness fell upon the land. Therefore,
by inference, it was approximately six
hours before Jesus released his spirit.

We need to keep considering Calvary, and
the blood that was spilled as payment in
full for our sins. We need also to
remember the empty tomb and the testimony
of hundreds of witnesses who saw Jesus,
physically, following His resurrection.
Then we need to answer the same haunting
question that Pilate faced,

"What shall I do with this man called
Jesus?"

{What WILL we do with Him, now?}
THE STARFIRE7S

Starfire7s@aol.com

Smile......Jesus love you!

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Page Updated Fri Mar 26, 1999 7:03pm EST