Roman crucifixions were infamous for their surgical cruelty and efficiency of execution quality. The Main standing pole of the cross was either a slit rail of wood or a standing strong tree already growing in the ground that could be used over and over again, preferably on a high hill where people could “enjoy” the spectacle of the humiliating executions. The most perfect spot for this in Jerusalem was a high hill in the shape of a skull named Golgotha, “The Skull,” which, ironically, directly faced the Temple.
Once again, it's important to note that Romans were experts in human physiology and pain and suffering and torture and knew how long a body could suffer until death. And knew how many different ways a body could die and how long it could take. And also the most humiliating ways of doing it as well. Crucifixion was the top of the list.
Crucifixion was a complication of death by pain, blood loss, and asphyxation (loss of oxygen through lack of adequate respiration to the respiratory system). The latter is usually the primary means of death on the cross. And it usually takes agonizing hours.
To put a victim on the cross, the victim is lied down on the ground, totally naked, and spread eagle with his arms across the patibulum. He is offered wine and myrh, or gall, and anesthetic pain killer to dull the pain of the oncoming agony of iron nails of several inches thick and long being pounded hard through muscles and tendons of the wrist, between the ulna and radius bones of the wrist to offer the best support to the weight of the body onto the wood of the patibulum. To offer more support to the body, ropes are wrapped around the arms/shoulders of the victim and around the patibulum criss-cross. Part of hindering the breathing process of the crucifixion process. The patibulum and the victim are them hoisted onto the growing tree or the free standing hewn pole and roped into place to create the crucifix.
But that is not enough support or enough satisfaction for the Romans to let the crucifixion process to go on long. At the near bottom of the tree or pole standing, is a foot support for the feet of the victim to stand on to support his body weight (the best he can) to keep shoving up his body for breath support to fight to stay alive. His feet are nailed one on top of another to this foot rest through the meta tarsals with a huge thick nail deep into the wooden foot support. This is agonizing, as the feet are one of the most sensitive parts of the body.
A common crucifixion can last all day, but in extrenuating circumstances, The Romans will show “mercy” to their victims by ending their agonizing death a very cruel way. In the case of Jesus' and the two robber's crucifixions, Sabbath was coming, and they had to be done by sundown. The Romans observed this in congruence with their Jewish subjects, and so agreed to cut the crucifixion process short. In order to do this, they had to speed up the suffication process of the victims.
To speed up the suffication process, they had to take away their body support keeping them pushing them up for air. The two robbers were still alive. Jesus had already given up his spirit and was gone. This was the ninth hour and going into sundown. Longinus, the centurion, did the traditional method of speeding of crucifixional death to the robbers and broke their legs, thereby taking away their bodily support. He then went to Jesus and saw he was dead, but, making sure, pierced his side up into his heart with his spear, and blood and water flowed out from the pericardium buildup as is usual when the body has gone into massive heart failure. Longinus knew Jesus was dead, and did not break his legs, thereby fulfilling the prophecy, “He keepeth all his bones. Not one of them is broken.” (Ps. 34:20)
And now, the oration of Jesus' Crucifixion.
From the four Gosples put together.
First of all, They bring Jesus and the two robbers to the top of Golgotha (“The Skull”) and make them face the Temple. They strip them of all their clothing and lay them down and nail and rope them to the patibula. The robbers take the wine mixed with gall/myrh but Jesus refuses it. He knows he must feel all the pain and have his senses clear for the total sacrifice to be complete.
The Roman guards nail a sign to the top of Jesus' crucifix fig tree trunk with the charge that got him on there written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, “Jesus of Nazareth – King of the Jews.” (Hebrew translation) היהודיםשלהמלךנצרתשל ישו (Greek translation) Ο Ιησούς από τη Ναζαρέτ Ο βασιλιάς των Ιουδαίων (Latin translation) Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum.
How do I know it's a fig tree trunk they stick him on? From (Luke 23:31) “For it they do these things in the green tree, what will take place in the dry tree?” There is no other tree in the gardens of Israel large enough to hold more than one patibulum at one time on one tree. The picture I illustrate this entire narrative with has Jesus on a three tree trunk Fig tree of highly mature growth, perfect for three crucifixes. Also, Biblical scholars propose it was a type of fig that Eve and her man ate in the Garden of Eden, and not an apple, that caused the fall. So the cross trunk being a fig tree would be perfect for the sacrificial crucifixion in the spiritual realms.
The crucifixion guards nail and rope the patibulum to the tree and them nail Jesus' feet to the support mount below him. They then just – let him hang. In the mean time, the two robbers, one to the left and one to the right, are also hung in the same way, one each on another tree trunk, probably from the same root tree.
As Jesus and the robbers slowly die, the guards gamble for Jesus' clothes, but they don't rip them into pieces, they keep them in tact and gamble for their separate whole parts.
As they do all of this, Jesus prays Heavenward and asks God in Heaven, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
As the hours draw on into hour three, people start to pass by, including the elders, high priests of the temple and the scribes. They all yell up at Jesus and mock him, saying, “You trusted in God, let Him save You now. You're supposed to be the King of the Jews? The Son of God? Then get yourself down off of there! Then we'll believe in you!”
Even the robber on the left gets into the mocking of the same thing. But the robber on the right rebukes the robber on the left for it, saying, “Don't you fear God? We deserve to be up here for our crimes, but this man has done nothing wrong!” Then to Jesus he purposely asks Him, “Lord, please remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.”
Jesus forgives the robber right there of all his sins and replies, “I tell you truly, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
The sixth hour arrives. By now Jesus' breathing is very labored, he's totally dehydrated, going into renal failure, blood pressure dropping, and the pain is as unbearable as the fatigue.
Spiritually speaking he is now taking on all of the sins of every man, woman and child past, present and future on that cross and crucifying it with him – a literal epicenter of the sin of the world in one man's body and soul.
It is so thick with sin where he is on that cross, God, the truly righteous God, must look away from His only Son because of the ghastlyness of it, as total separation from Him now sets in, as ANY sin is separation from God, but now Christ has it ALL.
As God looks away, utter darkness covers the land for three hours, the sixth to the ninth hours of the crucifixion.
The ninth hour the separation is complete, and Christ feels it clear to his spirit. He cries out in sorrowful desperation, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?” (“My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”
The many others gathered round can't clearly understand what he says aloud because of His beaten face, and so they think He's calling out to the old prophet Elijah to save Him. Jesus cals out that he, “thirsts.” Longinus, the centurion on duty rushes to give Jesus a drink of vinegar on a reed and sponge in an effort to be of some aid. But all the rest say just let Christ be.
Jesus speaks his final words, words of victory. He looks up and says to all who listen, “It is finished.” There, the sacrifice has been completed. All of sin of all of mankind, past, present and future has been paid for by Christ precious shed blood and broken body and emotional, spiritual, and mental torment. Jesus looks Heavenward and cries out to God one last time, releasing His spirit to Him, “Into Your hands I commit My spirit!” And with that, he dies.
Immediately following that the holy veil of the holy of holies in the Temple is torn right in two straight down the middle and wide open as a great earthquake hits and rocks shear apart. Spiritually speaking, now EVERYONE has access directly to God through Jesus Christ, OUR High Priest, through His sacrifice on the cross.
At the earthquake, graves of the saints were opened and they were raised from the death as death lost its sting and Christ's life won. They re-entered the city, to many witnesses.
The centurion, Longinus, feared greatly, and praised God, saying, truly, this One was the Son of God.”
But the priests were still skeptical to the end. They complained the Sabbath was about to hit and to hurry the executions along before sundown hit according to Jewish Law. So, the Centurion checked on the robbers and saw they were still alive, and so broke both their legs so they couldn't support themselves and would soon suffocate. He checked Jesus, but saw him already dead. The priests wanted them to make sure, so Longinus speared Christ in the upper ribs and pierced his heart, and blood and water flowed, showing that yes, Christ was dead. The priests were satisfied in this regard.
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