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Good Friday, also known as “Holy Friday,” is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday. It is traditionally celebrated as the day on which Jesus was crucified. But if He was crucified, why is it known as “good” Friday? What happened wasn’t good, but the outcome was good (Romans 5:8; 1Peter 3:18). But, crucial question: did Jesus actually die?
The resurrection of Jesus needs to be investigated; however, the death of Christ is the necessary prerequisite to His resurrection. After all, another monotheistic religion, Islam, denies that Jesus died on the cross. Also, many skeptics challenge the reality of Christ’s death.
To begin, may the evidence be examined from the beginning. The Old Testament predicted that the Messiah would die (Psalms 22:16; Isaiah 53:5-10; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10). Jesus fulfilled this and nearly 100 other Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Jesus also predicted many times during His ministry that He was going to die and rise again (Matthew 12:40; 17:22-23; Mark 8:31; John 2:19-21; 10:10-11). But of course, that’s all dependent upon whether the Bible is accurate and reliable. And it is.
“Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.”
(Matthew 27:26) -ESV
What was it like for a prisoner to be “scourged” at the time in which Jesus walked this Earth? Well, the word “scourged” is the Greek word phragello, and that word struck terror into anyone who heard it. When a decision was made to scourge someone, the victim was first stripped completely naked so his entire flesh uncovered and vulnerable to punishment it would receive. Then the victim was bound to a two-foot-high post with his hands tied over his head to a metal ring, and his wrists securely shackled to the metal ring in order to restrain his body from movement. All this was to ensure that the victim would not be able to move so as to avoid or dodge the lashes that he would receive.
The scourge itself consisted of a short, wooden handle with several 18-to-24-inch-long straps of leather coming out from the handle. The ends of these pieces of leather were equipped with sharp, rugged pieces of metal, wire, glass, and jagged bone fragments. This was considered to be one of the most feared and deadly weapons of the Roman world. Most often, two torturers carried out the punishment simultaneously, lashing the victim from both sides. As these dual whips struck the victim, the leather straps with their shard ends, descended and extended over his entire back. Each piece of metal, wire, glass, or bone would cut deeply through the victim’s skin and into his flesh, shredding his muscles and sinews.
Every time the whip cracked across the victim, those straps curled around the torso, digging painfully and deeply into the skin of the abdomen and/or upper chest. As each stroke lacerated the victim, the torturer would jerk back, pulling hard in order to tear the flesh and rip chunks out from the body. The victim’s back, buttocks, back of legs, stomach, upper chest, and face would soon be disfigured by the slashing blows of the whip.
Historical records describe a victim’s back as being so mutilated after a Roman scourging that his spine would actually be exposed. Others recorded how the bowels of a victim would actually spill out through the open wounds created by the whip. The early church historian, Eusebius, wrote, “The veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.”
The Roman scourging was dangerous and sometimes deadly. If the scourging wasn’t stopped, the slicing of the whip would eventually flay the victim’s flesh off his body. With so many blood vessels sliced open by the whip, the victim would being to experience a profuse loss of blood and bodily fluids. The heart would pump harder and harder, struggling to get blood to the parts of the body that were profusely bleeding. But it was like pumping water through an open water hydrant; there was nothing left to stop the blood from pouring through the victim’s open wounds. This loss of blood caused the victim’s blood pressure to drop drastically. Because of the massive loss of bodily fluids, he would experience excruciating thirst, often fainting from the pain and eventually going into shock. Frequently, the victim’s heartbeat would become so irregular that he would go into cardiac arrest. This was a Roman scourging!
According to Jewish law in Deuteronomy 25:3, the Jews were permitted to give 40 lashes to a victim, but they often stopped at 39 (see 2Corinthians 11:24). However, the Romans did not limit themselves to Jewish law, and the scourging Jesus experienced was at the hands of Romans, not Jews. Thus, it is entirely possible that Jesus received far more than 40 lashes. In fact, this is even probable in light of the explosive outrage the Jews felt for Jesus and the terrible mocking He had already endured at the hands of the Roman soldiers.
So, when the Bible tells us that Jesus was scourged, we now know exactly what type of beating Jesus received that day. What toll did the cruel Roman whip exact on Jesus’ body? The New Testament doesn’t tell us exactly what Jesus looked like after the scourging; however, Isaiah 52:14 (ESV) says, “As many were astonished at you — his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.”
Thus, we can conclude that Jesus’ physical body was marred nearly beyond recognition. As appalling as this sounds, this had only been the beginning — Jesus still had to carry His own cross and then endure crucifixion.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
(Isaiah 53:5) -ESV
The prophet told us that we are healed by His wounds. The word “wounds” used in this verse is the Greek word molopsi, which describes a full-body bruise. It refers to a terrible lashing that draws blood and that produces discoloration and swelling of the entire body. Peter quoted Isaiah in 1Peter 2:24, yet he wasn’t speaking by revelation but by memory. Peter vividly remembered what happened to Jesus on that day and what His physical appearance looked like while on that cross.
But apart from prophecies, the crucifixion itself is the real nitty gritty truth. Jesus’ injuries made death unavoidable. Not only did Jesus not sleep the night before He was crucified because He had stayed awake in prayer (Matthew 26:36-46), but He was also beaten, whipped (with chunks of flesh being ripped out), and He even collapsed while being forced to carry His own cross (Luke 23:26-31). This prelude to the crucifixion alone was life-draining. Further, the nature of the crucifixion assured death.
In 1968, an ancient burial site was uncovered in Jerusalem containing about 35 bodies. It was determined that most of those bodies had suffered violent deaths in the Jewish uprising against Rome in 70 AD. In one of the bodies (known as “Yohanan Ben Ha’galgol”) was found a seven-inch nail driven through both his feet. The feet had been turned outward so that the square nail could be hammered through at the heel, just inside the Achilles tendon. This would have bowed the legs outward as well so that they could not have been used for support on the cross. The legs were crushed, which is consistent with the common use of the Roman crucifragium. Death by crucifixion was essentially death by asphyxiation or coronary failure.
The person being crucified was first laid on the crossbeam with his arms outstretched. Then a soldier would drive five-inch (12.5-cintimeter) iron nails through his wrists (not palm of the hands) into the crossbeam. Once the wrists were secured in place, the feet came next. First, the legs would be positioned so that the feet were pointed downward with the soles pressed against the post on which the victim was suspended. A long nail would then be driven between the bones of the feet, lodged firmly enough between those bones to prevent it from tearing through the feet as the victim arched upward, gasping for breath.
After being nailed to the crossbeam, the victim was hoisted up by rope, and the crossbeam was dropped into a notch on top of the upright post. When the crossbeam dropped into the groove, the victim suffered excruciating pain as his hands and wrists were wrenched by the sudden jerking motion. Then the weight of the victim’s body typically caused his arms to be pulled out of their arm sockets. Flavius Josephus — the Jewish historian — wrote that the Roman soldiers “out of rage and hatred amused themselves by nailing their prisoners in different postures.”
In order for the victim to breathe, he had to push himself up by his feet, which were nailed to the vertical beam. However, because the pressure on his feet became unbearable, it wasn’t possible for him to remain long in this position; thus, he would eventually collapse back into the hanging position. The victim would repeatedly push up and collapse back down while attempting to breathe until he was unable to do so anymore due to exhaustion. And this exhaustion to fight led to asphyxiation. All of these known details affirm the New Testament description of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Due to extreme loss of blood and hyperventilation, the victim would begin to experience severe dehydration. It is written that Jesus experienced this (John 19:28) when He said He was thirsty. Jesus hung on the cross for about six hours (Mark 15:25,33) while bleeding from the wounds in His hands, feet, and His scalp (from the crown of thorns that had been shoved on His head; John 19:2). The amount of blood that had drained from these wounds within a six-hour span of time would have been an amount of life that was drained.
Further, after several hours of this torment, the victim’s heart would begin to fail. Next, his lungs would collapse, and excess fluids would begin filling the lining of his heart and lungs, adding to the slow process of asphyxiation. Jesus’ side was pierced with a spear. From this wound flowed a mixture of blood and water (John 19:34), a proof that physical death had indeed occurred. Modern medical experts would agree. An article in the March 21, 1986 Journal of the American Medical Association concluded: “Clearly, the weight of historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted and supports the traditional view that the spear, thrust between his right rib, probably perforated not only the right lung but also the pericardium and heart and thereby ensured his death. Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge.” (See also: the article from Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine)
The Roman soldiers, accustomed to crucifixion and death, pronounced Jesus dead (Mark 15:44-45). And though it was common practice to break the legs of the victim to speed death (a person would no longer be able to support himself to breathe), the Roman soldiers did not believe it was necessary to break Jesus’ legs (John 19:33) because He was already dead. Further, Pilate made sure Jesus was dead prior to giving the corpse to Joseph of Arimathea to be buried.
Jesus had also been placed in a sealed tomb for three days (Matthew 27:60; John 19:39-40). Even if Jesus had somehow not died from His injuries and/or loss of blood by then, the lack of food, water, and medical treatment would certainly have brought death.
And finally, several non-Christian historians and writers from the first and second centuries recorded the death of Christ as indisputable fact. Among these are the Talmud, Flavius Josephus (Jewish historian), and Cornelius Tacitus (Roman historian).
To research evidence of extreme detail, I recommend reading The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Dr. Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona.
Conclusion:
The historical evidence for Christ’s death is greater than that for almost any other event in the ancient world. We can conclude with certainty that Christ Jesus of Nazareth died a physical death and was sealed in a tomb. However, that’s not the end of the story. The tomb was found empty…
Next investigation: Is the Resurrection of Jesus Authentic?
Quest For Truth 
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