~ CRUCIFIXION ~
(  His pain, our gain )

What is crucifixion? A medical doctor provides a physical description:

The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown
backwards with his shoulders against the wood.

The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist.  He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist deep into the wood.

Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful
not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement.

The cross is then lifted into place.

The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both
feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each,
leaving the knees flexed.

The victim is now crucified.

As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists,
excruciating fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to
explode in the brain - the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the
median nerves.

As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places
the full weight on the nail through his feet.

Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet.

As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles, knotting them in
deep relentless, throbbing pain.

With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to
breathe.

Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled.

He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath.

Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and
the cramps partially subside.

Spasmodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in
life-giving oxygen.

Hours of limitless pain,cycles of twisting, joint-renting cramps,
intermittent partial asphyxiation,searing pain as tissue is torn from
his lacerated back as he moves up and down against rough timber.

Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the
pericardium slowly fills with serium and begins to compress the heart.

It is now almost over - the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level
- the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish
blood into the tissues - the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to
gasp in small gulps of air.

He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues... Finally,
he can allow his body to die...

All this the Bible records with the simple words;
"and they crucified Him"(Mark 15:24).


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