A S P E C T S - a monthly devotional journal
For subscription information on receiving Aspects every month via
e-mail, or the laser-printed edition by mail, see NOTES, COPYRIGHT &
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION near the end of this file.
Aspects is written by David S. Lampel.
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Issue #24, November 1992 (Internet Edition)
S T A N D I N G B E F O R E T H E T R E E
J O H N 1 9 : 1 6 - 3 0
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In this issue:
Perspective - Yehohanan, Son of Hagakol
Perspective - Mary from Magdala
Perspective - Come Down and We'll Believe
Perspective - Blinders
Perspective - Never Before Forgiven
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Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the
soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out
to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).
Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side
and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened
to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many
of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified
was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and
Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not
write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king
of the Jews." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have
written." When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes,
dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the
undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one
piece from top to bottom. "Let's not tear it," they said to one
another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that
the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my
garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what
the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his
mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When
Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing
nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and
to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this
disciple took her into his home. Later, knowing that all was now
completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said,
"I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a
sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and
lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus
said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his
spirit. -JOH 19:16-30 NIV
__________________________
How are we to approach the death of Christ? With our mind or with our
heart? It is my earnest belief that to fully comprehend the depth of His
sacrifice--and its impact on our lives--we must first be conversant in
the particulars of that sacrifice. Before we can understand the why, we
must understand the what and the how.
I love my earthly father. I love him all the more knowing of the
sacrifices he made so that I might have a good life. It is the same with
my heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus became a man. For a time He inhabitated flesh--flesh that ached
and knew hunger, was refreshed by the cool evening breeze, that was
warmed by the sun and chilled by the wet sea breeze. On our behalf Jesus
left the peace and comfort of heaven to dwell among those He had created
out of the dust of the earth and the star dust of the firmament.
If we speak of His crucifixion and death blithely, without intimate
knowledge of precisely what Jesus was obliged to suffer for us, we
cheapen that suffering. If His sacrifice is little more than a song
topic in an Easter musical, we diminish that sacrifice.
Conversely, if we lose ourselves in the minutia of archaeology without
weeping with His mother at the foot of the cross, we have missed the
meaning of Jesus' death. If we spend all of our time arguing the
location of Golgotha, (1) our hearts will never ache with joy over the
victory that happened there.
Let us strive for balance. Let us, together, strive to understand what
Jesus suffered, then why--the latter especially through the eyes and
hearts of those who stood in sorrowful disbelief before the tree.
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Perspective Y E H O H A N A N , S O N O F H A G A K O L
-------------
In 1968, Vassilios Tzaferis, an archaeologist with the Israel Department
of Antiquities, examined a tomb near Jerusalem that had been accidently
opened by a construction crew. Tzaferis discovered the bones of two
generations of a Jewish family that lived in Jerusalem about the first
century AD. A large nail piercing the heel bones of one skeleton led to
the conclusion that this man had been crucified.
The following has been taken from his article in the January/February
1985 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review:
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Many people erroneously assume that crucifixion was a Roman invention.
In fact, Assyrians, Phoenicians and Persians all practiced crucifixion
during the first millennium BC. Crucifixion was introduced in the west
from these eastern cultures; it was used only rarely on the Greek
mainland, but Greeks in Sicily and southern Italy used it more
frequently, probably as a result of their closer contact with
Phoenicians and Carthaginians.
During the Hellenistic period, crucifixion became more popular among
the Hellenized population of the east. After Alexander died in 323 BC,
crucifixion was frequently employed both by the Seleucids (the rulers
of the Syrian half of Alexander's kingdom) and by the Ptolemies (the
rulers of the Egyptian half).
Among the Jews crucifixion was an anathema. (2) The traditional method
of execution among Jews was stoning. Nevertheless, crucifixion was
occasionally employed by Jewish tyrants during the Hasmonean period.
At the end of the first century BC, the Romans adopted crucifixion as
an official punishment for non-Romans for certain legally limited
transgressions. Initially, it was employed not as a method of
execution, but only as a punishment. Moreover, only slaves convicted
of certain crimes were punished by crucifixion. Only in later times,
probably in the first century BC, did crucifixion evolve into a method
of execution for conviction of certain crimes.
Outside of Italy, the Roman procurators alone possessed authority to
impose the death penalty. Thus, when a local provincial court
prescribed the death penalty, the consent of the Roman procurator had
to be obtained in order to carry out the sentence.
Once a defendant was found guilty and was condemned to be crucified,
the execution was supervised by an official known as the Carnifix
Serarum. From the tribunal hall, the victim was taken outside,
stripped, bound to a column and scourged. Following the beating, the
horizontal beam was placed upon the condemned man's shoulders, and he
began the long, grueling march to the execution site, usually outside
the city walls.
Sometimes the victim was attached to the cross only with ropes . . .
If the victim was attached by nails, he was laid on the ground, with
his shoulders on the crossbeam. His arms were held out and nailed to
the two ends of the crossbeam, which was then raised and fixed on top
of the vertical beam. The victim's feet were then nailed down against
this vertical stake.
THE CRUCIFIXION OF YEHOHANAN
His remains reveal the horrible manner of his dying. From the way in
which the bones were attached [to the excavated nail], we can infer
the man's position on the cross.
The two heel bones were attached on their adjacent inside (medial)
surfaces. The nail went through the right heel bone and then the left.
Since the same nail went through both heels, the legs were together,
not apart, on the cross.
A small seat, or sedile, must have been fastened to the upright of the
cross. The evidence as to the position of the body on the cross
convinced the investigators that the sedile supported only the man's
left buttock. This seat both prevented the collapse of the body and
prolonged the agony.
Given this position on the cross and given the way in which the heel
bones were attached to the cross, it seems likely that the knees were
bent, or semi-flexed. This position of the legs was dramatically
confirmed by a study of the long bones below the knees, the tibia or
shinbone and the fibula behind it.
Only the tibia of the crucified man's left leg was available for
study. The bone had been brutally fractured into large, sharp slivers.
This fracture was clearly produced by a single, strong blow. . . The
angle of the line of fracture on these left calf bones provides proof
that the victim's legs were in a semi-flexed position on the cross.
The arm bones of the victim revealed the manner in which they were
attached to the horizontal bar of the cross. A small scratch was
observed on one bone (the radius) of the right forearm, just above the
wrist. The scratch was produced by the compression, friction and
gliding of an object on the fresh bone. This scratch is the
osteological (3) evidence of the penetration of the nail between the
two bones of the forearm, the radius and the ulna.
Christian iconography usually shows the nails piercing the palms of
Jesus' hands. Nailing the palms of the hands is impossible, because
the weight of the slumping body would have torn the palms in a very
short time. The victim would have fallen from the cross while still
alive. As the evidence from our crucified man demonstrates, the nails
were driven into the victim's arms, just above the wrists, because
this part of the arm is sufficiently strong to hold the weight of a
slack body.
The position of the crucified body may then be described as follows:
The feet were joined almost parallel, both transfixed by the same nail
at the heels, with the legs adjacent; the knees were doubled, the
right one overlapping the left; the trunk was contorted and seated on
a sedile; the upper limbs were stretched out, each stabbed by a nail
in the forearm.
Normally, the Romans left the crucified person undisturbed to die
slowly of sheer physical exhaustion leading to asphyxia. (4) However,
Jewish tradition required burial on the day of execution. Therefore,
in Palestine the executioner would break the legs of the crucified
person in order to hasten his death and thus permit burial before
nightfall. (5)
__________________________
So here was the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, hanging outside the city
of Jerusalem from a crude wooden cross perched atop an ugly, rocky place
shaped liked a human skull. Since the quiet beginning of His short life
He had given Himself to serving His children. Jesus had come to serve,
to minister, to redeem those lost in sin. He had come to love those who
hated Him.
And love still flowed out of Him, as steadily as the blood flowing from
his awful wounds. His children had turned against Him, begging Pilate to
put Him to death; His children had plotted against Him, fabricating lies
that would convince the Romans to cooperate in their travesty of
justice; His children had beat Him and spat upon Him and cursed Him; and
finally His children had laid Him back upon a crude beam and had driven
spikes through His flesh.
And His love still flowed.
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Perspective M A R Y F R O M M A G D A L A
-------------
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to
another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve
were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil
spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons
had come out . . . (6)
__________________________
Jesus had loved her when no one else had dared. He had loved her enough
to free her tortured mind from the demons that had held it in bondage.
For years she had known no peace--only the screaming of those in
competition for her sanity. Then one day Jesus stepped into her life and
she was suddenly free--free!--her mind clear and attentive, and
receptive to her Lord's every word.
She was a woman of means, and she now shared freely from her modest
wealth to support Jesus and His disciples in their ministry journeys.
Even more, knowing no better way to repay Jesus for her new-found
clarity and freedom, Mary left her life beside the Sea of Galilee to
accompany them.
But now the one who had granted her such life-changing freedom hung
dying before her, captive of a cruel Roman cross, and Mary once again
felt the world pressing in on her. How could this be happening? How
could anyone in his right mind think to crucify one so filled with
compassion and love? How could God permit this hideous end to a life
filled with such promise?
As she stood there, huddled with the other followers against the jeering
crowd, Mary struggled to make some sense out of it all. She paged back
through her memory--leaves still fresh and alive with images so vivid
after years of disuse--and recalled a quiet and restful evening some
time back when she had asked the Lord a very important question . . .
They had all shared from a simple meal cooked beneath the stars; Jesus,
His twelve disciples, and the others that traveled with them lounged
against the trunks of trees in a small grove. Mary cautiously approached
her Lord, who was sitting by Himself.
"Master?"
"Did you get enough to eat, Mary?"
"James is a good cook. I only wish he could keep the sand out of the
pot."
"We wouldn't want to hurt his feelings," Jesus laughed. "Besides, he's
the only one who can get all those tiny bones out of the fish."
"Lord, may I ask you a question?"
Jesus looked intently into her eyes and His smile slowly faded.
"I can see there is something troubling you. Sit down."
Though Mary had been rehearsing the words for days, she still hesitated,
collecting her thoughts into a coherent question.
"I--I've been wondering for some time: Why?"
Jesus waited for her to continue.
"Why did you do it? Why me? Why did you heal me?"
Jesus let his gaze travel past Mary, out over the blackness of the Sea
of Galilee, out to where the apron of stars met the far distant hills.
The easiest answer would be that He had healed His friend Mary because
He loved her and wanted her to be freed from her tormentors. But that
would be only part of the correct answer.
Jesus turned back to face Mary.
"I've spoken so often in parables and stories," He began, "but this time
I'd like to tell you about a very real event that took place during the
early days of my ministry.
"It was the Sabbath, and I was in my home town of Nazareth after being
away for some time. In the synagogue it became my turn to read from the
scroll. I was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, so the Spirit led
me to read:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for
the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the
oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (8)
"After I handed the scroll back to the attendant and sat down, I went on
to tell them: 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing.' (9)
"My friends became very agitated, because I was proclaiming Myself to be
the long-awaited Messiah, and especially because I told them I would
have no special favors for them just because they were people I had
grown up with. In all things I would obey the will of the Father."
Jesus took her hands in His.
"Mary, what I was telling them was that I had come to release people
from their bondage--both now and eternally. You were in the possession
of demons; I released you from that bondage so you could minister in my
name. The world is in the possession of sin; I have come to release it
from that bondage so that all people might have eternal life. All that
is required--both from you and anyone else--is that they believe that I
have the power to do it."
__________________________
Freedom. Freedom from bondage.
Mary stared up at the sagging body of her Lord. Rusted spikes protruded
from His wrists and feet. Blood ran in ugly russet ribbons off His brow,
into His eyes. His naked chest heaved from the painful exertion of
breathing. His skin was pasty white, cold, trembling in the gathering
darkness.
Where was His freedom? This one who had salvaged her life from Satan's
torment, who had given her purpose and a reason to get up each
morning . . . Where was His freedom? Who would free Jesus from this
horrible end? Who would save Him just as He had saved her?
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long,
the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I
live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in
my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my
commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me
will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself
to him." (10)
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Perspective C O M E D O W N A N D W E ' L L B E L I E V E
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And good riddance. Finally the deed was done--the heretic was at last
where they had been trying to put him for months.
Malchiah felt as if he had been suffering with a pounding toothache for
the last six months; seeing this Nazarene finally affixed to a Roman
tree, he felt as if the nagging pain had miraculously disappeared. There
were other of his fellow councillors who were displaying no small
measure of regret after seeing the result of their scheming, but
Malchiah was experiencing nothing short of total relief.
Clearly the God of Abraham would be blessing their actions. Once again
they had faithfully defended the Law of Moses and the holy traditions of
Israel. And once again the land was cleansed of yet another false
messiah.
Surely, though, this one had been the worst. Even now, with his last,
lingering breaths, he was spouting his pathetic blasphemy. Could no one
shut him up! Surely he was as insane as they had made him out to be.
Now was the time, as he hung dying, for him to come clean! But the
lunatic was raving on, even refering to God as his "father," and calling
upon Him to forgive those who had crucified him. Forgiveness? He is the
one who should be begging for forgiveness! Were he not a pious man,
Malchiah would have gladly volunteered to pound in the nails himself.
Word was spreading that this false prophet had succeeded in turning even
some in the Sanhedrin. This was unthinkable to Malchiah, that someone so
obviously counterfeit could persuade any member of that august body.
What was even more unthinkable--and painful--was that one of those who
had turned had once been Malchiah's closest friend . . .
BLINDERS
Time: Thursday before the crucifixion
Place: An anteroom of the Sanhedrin's council chamber
Enter MALCHIAH [Mal-keye'-uh] and JOSEPH of Arimathea , members of the
Sanhedrin. Occasionally voices can be heard from backstage, outbursts
coming from the heated exchange in the council chambers.
MALCHIAH: You're a fool, Joseph! How much longer do you think you can
keep this up?
JOSEPH: Will you now give me away?
MALCHIAH (exasperated): No, I'll not give you away. You're still my
friend. But I should turn you in. If you persist in this you'll bring
us all down with you.
JOSEPH: You didn't vote with me.
MALCHIAH: I am implicated by your confidence in me. I take a chance by
simply leaving the council chamber with you.
JOSEPH: Then why can't you vote with me? Why can't you see it,
Malchiah?
MALCHIAH: I would ask you the same, my misguided friend.
JOSEPH: You were even with me that day he spoke.
MALCHIAH: There have been many days he has spoken. Too many.
JOSEPH: Yes, he's given us every opportunity to understand, and still
some refuse........
MALCHIAH: There's no need to get personal!
JOSEPH: But that's precisely what Jesus has been telling us! Malchiah,
are you just like the rest? We keep going to him, we learned men of the
Sanhedrin, trying to....debate Jesus into submission.
MALCHIAH (insistently): This man is a disruption!
JOSEPH: And what is he disrupting?
MALCHIAH: Well...our way of life....the way we do things here.......our
tradition.
JOSEPH (he had been waiting for that word): Yes, our tradition. And I
thank God he is disrupting our tradition.
There is a surge of voices from offstage during JOSEPH's last line and
MALCHIAH nervously tries to silence JOSEPH.
MALCHIAH: Don't press your luck, Joseph.
JOSEPH (slightly subdued; acknowledging his rash behavior): It was quite
some time ago. A group of us had sought Jesus out to once again argue
trivialities. A report had come to the council that the disciples of
Jesus had been observed eating without having washed their hands.
MALCHIAH (smugly): Now I remember. He refused the challenge, as I
recall.
JOSEPH: Jesus refused to join in our petty bickering.
MALCHIAH: `Petty bickering'? It's the Law!
JOSEPH: Your memory fails you, Malchiah---as does your scholarship.
MALCHIAH is greatly offended.
JOSEPH: We didn't challenge him on the law. We asked Jesus why his
disciples transgress the tradition of the elders.
MALCHIAH (not seeing the difference): Yes.......
JOSEPH (incredulous; sadly): Well, I see you are still one of them.
MALCHIAH (alarmed): One of `them'? Joseph, (gesturing toward backstage)
you are one of them!
JOSEPH (with a touch of melancholy): Not anymore. Not since that day.
MALCHIAH (taking Joseph firmly by the shoulders): Don't take this any
further. You are a respected councillor, a member of the Sanhedrin.
Don't jeopardize your standing for the ravings of a lunatic prophet---an
accused blasphemer.
JOSEPH (pulling away): I'm told there is an animal down in Ethiopia that
has a habit of hiding its head in the sand when challenged by an
adversary. (pause) When I heard Jesus that day, I heard the truth---as
if for the first time. Don't you feel the hunger, Malchiah? Don't you
hunger for the truth?
MALCHIAH (stiffly): I know the truth.
JOSEPH: Do you think Jesus serves a God other than ours?
MALCHIAH: Don't quiz me on the twisted contents of his mind! My faith
has been tested by time and was given by the very hand of God.
JOSEPH: But it's those commandments God handed down to us that have
become twisted. We have designed for ourselves such a maze of
regulations that we've lost sight of who God really is! All Jesus has
done is cut through the confusion to show us that our relationship with
God must be personal. It can't be founded on regulations.
MALCHIAH (indignantly): He called us hypocrites!
JOSEPH: And he backed it up by quoting Isaiah: "This people honors me
with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. In vain do they
worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men." Tradition,
Malchiah. Just empty, selfish tradition.
MALCHIAH: Don't quote the scriptures to me!
JOSEPH (heatedly): Why not? You seem to have forgotten them!
MALCHIAH: All right! Go follow your miniature God. I'll not stand in
your way---and I'll not expose you to the rest of the council. (with
bitterness) But I'll not vote with you. (pause) And I'll not be your
friend.
MALCHIAH exits in a huff. JOSEPH stares after him, his anger
diminishing into a sadness for his friend. With a heavy sigh, he
follows, returning to the council chambers for the next vote against
Jesus. (12)
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Perspective N E V E R B E F O R E F O R G I V E N
-------------
It began as just another execution. What did he care who it was or what
their offense? Jew, Syrian, Egyptian, Moabite--who cared.
Not caring made his work much easier. After all, he wasn't judge and
jury; he wasn't the accuser; in fact, he wasn't even the one who
actually put the sorry beggars up on the cross. A centurion could pick
from one hundred other guys for someone to do the dirty work; he rarely
soiled his own hands.
Marcus Sertorius had his first clue that this was going to be no
ordinary crucifixion during the customary procession through the streets
of Jerusalem. The condemned generally fell into two categories: by the
time the crossbeam was strapped to their shoulders they were either
struggling wildly against their bonds or dejectedly resigned to their
fate. In both cases, they always appeared to Marcus Sertorius to be
completely guilty, and deserving of their end.
But this Nazarene was different. As they had wound their way through the
narrow streets, the prisoner had retained some mysterious--even
otherworldly--dignity and calm. He was resigned to his death, yes, but
seemed to be going to it out of duty--not so much enjoying it, but
expecting it, even wanting it.
Then there were his eyes. Normally he wouldn't bother looking into the
face of any prisoner; they just weren't worth it. But for some reason he
had with this one. What he saw there chilled him to the bone. For those
eyes held no hate, no resentment, no fear. Those eyes held only
love--and the very thought of one condemned loving his executioner was
too much for Marcus Sertorious to bear.
He was inured to the screams of those being impaled on a cross. Besides,
they were criminals; they deserved what they were getting. He would
never have to do it to another Roman, so what difference did it make.
But this one, whom they had laughingly labeled the "King of the Jews,"
did not cry out. His face betrayed his agony, but he did not cry out.
And Marcus Sertorious felt another chill run down his spine.
His men raised the Nazarene into place, with the crossbeam fixed to the
top of the upright post. They then laid the wooden plate against his
feet and drove home the spike.
Marcus Sertorious looked up into that face--but quickly glanced away. He
stepped away: far away from the groans of the three prisoners, the
wailing of the men's friends and family, the incessant joking and
cynical laughter of his men.
It was only a man! Just another man who had broken the law. Why should
it upset him so? He had joined his men in the Praetorium in their
contemptuous abuse of the prisoner. He had struck at him and spit upon
him with the same relish as had they. He was just another filthy Jew!
Then why was he sick at heart? Why was it he couldn't look this man in
the face? Who was he to intimidate him so?
As the hours dragged on, Marcus Sertorious found himself being drawn to
the small cluster of the Nazarene's followers. By eavesdropping on their
dispirited conversation he had learned that--at least in their
eyes--this was no ordinary man.
His name was Jesus, and he claimed to be the Son of God--son of the
Jews' One God. He had been a carpenter, as his father, before leaving
home to travel about the area speaking to and healing people. He had
never married, but traveled about with twelve disciples and many other
followers that included women.
It was said that he forgave others as if he were God, which didn't mean
much to Marcus Sertorious. In his life the gods had always been plural,
and none of them ever forgave anyone.
Funny. The sky was getting abnormally dark. Was that thunder? He glanced
up at Jesus, to see that the man was gasping for breath. His years of
experience told Marcus Sertorious that he was just moments away from
death. He moved closer to the base of the cross and looked up.
Jesus slowly, painfully lifted His head. He looked down into the
searching eyes of a calloused Roman executioner. Their eyes met, and for
the first time in his life Marcus Sertorious knew what it was to be
forgiven. He felt his soul lifting up to embrace this one who he now
knew to be no ordinary man.
Suddenly Jesus raised up and cried loudly into the darkening sky.
Lightning crashed overhead, splitting open the black clouds, and the
earth trembled as if giving birth to a second moon.
The body of Jesus slumped against the crude, wooden tree. Marcus
Sertorious knew He was dead. And Marcus Sertorious also knew that his
own life would be forever changed.
"Truly this was the Son of God!"
__________________________
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most--
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all. (13)
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NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Notes
-----
1 "The site of Jesus' crucifixion is given in MAT 27:33, MAR 15:22, and
JOH 19:17. The text of the NT gives only the briefest description--the
place-name Golgotha (Aramaic Golgota) explained with the two terms
kraniou ('skull') and topos ('place'). The Latin Vulgate translated
kraniou into Latin as calvaria, which was carried into English.
Wycliffe's version (1380) reads 'and their camen into a place, that is
clepide golgotha, that is the place of caluari.' From this name,
'calvary' passed into English, alt hough it is nowhere found in
Scripture." [from Theological & Grammatical Phrasebook of the Bible, by
William White, Jr. (Moody Press, 1984), p43.]
2 If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is
hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be
sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is
under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is
giving you as an inheritance. -DEU 21:22-23 NIV
3 Osteology: the study of the structure and function of bones
4 "The unnatural position, growing thirst, exposure to the weather, some
loss of blood, and impaired breathing contributed to bringing about a
lingering and painful death. The tension of the arms prevented normal
breathing, which caused the lungs to slowly fill with moisture. The
victim drowned slowly by internal accumulation of fluid. The action of
the heart was seriously affected. Frequently a crucified man might live
as long as thirty-six hours, or even longer in an increasing agony,
unless by sheer exha ustion or dementia he finally lapsed into
unconsciousness. Crucifixion was probably the most diabolical form of
death ever invented." [Merrill C. Tenney, in his commentary on the
Gospel of John, The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Zondervan, 1984),
Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, p.181.]
5 Vassilios Tzaferis, in his article Crucifixion--The Archaeological
Evidence, published in Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February
1985, Vol XI No. 1, p44.
6 LUK 8:1-2.
8 LUK 4:18-19.
9 LUK 4:21 NASB.
10 JOH 14:18-21.
12 From Blinders, Copyright c 1986, 1992, David S. Lampel, page 11 in
the His Company catalogue, Order #SK1. Blinders is taken from Act 1,
Scene 2 of the 3-act play The Essence of His Death, Copyright c 1988
David S. Lampel, page 33 in the His Company catalogue, Order #3A2. Visit
the His Company archive at ICLnet directory
/pub/resources/text/his.company
13 Isaac Watts, Hymn #185 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (WORD,
1986).
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