By Ty B. Kerley
Last week, we explored a common type of resurrection theory by looking at the offering of
the atheist David Mirsch. Picking up the story from last week, the plan, Mirsch explains, was to
utilize common herbal drugs of the time (namely Shephard’s Purse, Mandrake, Myrrh, and
possibly Opium) to aid in Jesus’ survivability during the crucifixion. This concoction was then
slipped into the “sour wine” container at the crucifixion site. Mirsch argues that Jesus first
refused the sour wine offered him on the Cross because enough time had not passed (Matt
27:34). Had he taken the wine at that point, he would have lost consciousness and appeared dead
within a few minutes of having been crucified. It was at the second offering of sour wine (Matt
27:48) that Jesus accepted the drink, the drink laced with the conspirator’s concoction that
“produced a deep, almost comatose state that made Jesus appear dead.”
Mirsch maintains that Jesus suffered from a genetic disorder, favism, which manifested
itself as hemolytic anemia (premature destruction of red blood cells) and can produce the
blood/water mixture observed when the Roman soldiers pierced the side of Jesus. He states, “The
Roman soldiers merely pierced the skin of Jesus’ side intending to ascertain whether or not the
victim died. This piercing of Jesus’ side, him being in the state of hemolytic anemia, would
produce the flow of water and blood.” So, according to Mirsh, the spear thrust was not lethal.
This scenario of a reversible, drug-induced coma, followed by a “mere piercing of the skin” of
Jesus’ side was followed by premature removal of Jesus from the Cross, displacement of his
body to the tomb, and the subsequent resuscitation by Joseph and Nicodemus. This all sounds
possible until the evidence is more closely evaluated. Mirsch himself first contradicts the notion
of a skin piercing; he states that “it was due to the occasional recovery of crucified victims that
the Roman soldiers were ordered to mutilate the bodies before they could be removed from the
cross.” Since Jesus appeared dead to the soldiers (there was no need for breaking his legs), the
carrying out of the order to mutilate the bodies was accomplished with a spear thrust through the
skin, lungs, pericardial sac, and into the heart itself. Anything short of a lethal spear thrust is
incompatible with standing Roman orders and in contrast with the Gospel accounts.
To best answer Mirsch and other proponents of “swoon”-type theories is to ask the
singular question; “Is there good reason to believe Jesus survived the crucifixion? What exactly
was the human body of Jesus subjected to?” To better understand what Jesus experienced
physically and to ponder the possibility that Jesus “swooned” and then was revived in the tomb,
perhaps we should consider what facts the medical community can bring to bear. Over the years,
several physicians have analyzed and described the process of the crucifixion from a
physiological perspective.
In an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Drs. William Edwards,
Wesley Gabel, and Floyd Hosmer report a medical perspective on the crucifixion, beginning with
the sentencing of Jesus by Pilate. Flogging, referred to as scouring, involved using a short whip
called a flagrum, consisting of several strands of leather to which small iron balls and sheep bone
fragments were attached to the ends. Under Roman law, the man was stripped, and his hands
were tied to an upright post. The flogging was applied to the back, buttocks, and legs. As the
process proceeded, the initial lashes cut through the skin only then: “The skin of the back was
hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of bleeding tissue.” The
scourging produced tremendous blood loss, which initiated circulatory shock. The extent of the
blood loss at this stage played a role in determining how long the victim would survive on the
Cross.
Medical experts grant Jesus as being in excellent health and adept at traveling long
distances by foot. However, the emotional stress and sleep deprivation endured from his arrest
the previous evening, his various trials through the night, and the emotional toll “may have
rendered Jesus particularly vulnerable to the adverse hemodynamic (blood flow) effects of
scouring.” This weakening of Jesus is attested to in the Gospels. Although it was customary for
the victim to carry the cross beam (patibulum) of the Cross, Simon of Cyrene was called to carry
the patibulum for the weakened Jesus. (Mat 27:32, Mak 15:21, Luk 23:26) Once at the
crucifixion site, the victim was laid on his back upon the patibulum, his arms outstretched. The
hands were then either tied with rope or nailed to the patibulum. The Romans preferred nailing,
and the Roman historian Tacitus wrote of Christian victims being “ . . . nailed to crosses.” Next,
the victim, attached to the patibulum, was raised and set in place on the upright (stipes) of the
Cross. The feet were then nailed to the stipes either by placing one foot on top of the other and
the nail driven between the tarsal bones or the nail was driven through the calcaneum (heel bone)
of each foot and nailed to the sides of the stipes.
Join us next week as we continue to look at the likelihood (or rather, unlikelihood) that
Jesus could have survived the Cross. Until then, ask yourself a brave question: is God dead?
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics and relief
preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife, Vicki, are members of the Waurika
church of Christ and live in Ardmore, OK.