A Historical and Medical Perceptive

on the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Juan Manny juanmanny11@gmail.com

about.me/juanmanny

Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………,.i

The Passion of the Christ…………………………………………………………….1

The Death of the Christ………………………………………………………………7

The Resurrection of the Christ………………………………………………………13

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..ii

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...iii

Introduction

Jesus of Nazareth has been the most controversial name in all of history, known for his good

deeds, known for his great teachings but more importantly but more importantly known for the

question of his divinity. Some argue either he was the Christ or just another person in history. As

the writings about Jesus found in the four Gospels, discuss and explain the death and resurrection

of Jesus, much discussion is examined as we come to question if he actually died and if he

actually rose from the dead. In this investigative report, we will study in depth the understanding

of the medical and historical perceptive of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We will unravel the mysteries of the passion with a detailed look though the eyes of history and

medicine. With the blood drops that dripped from his forehead like sweat in the garden of

Gethsemane to the mystery behind the death on the cross, to discover what really happened on

resurrection Sunday. During this investigation we propose that the evidence that is given about

his passion, death and resurrection confirm the deity of Jesus as the Christ. Through this

investigative report we will configure and confirm that Jesus is the Christ through the evidence

found in medical journals and in the historical books.

The Passion of the Christ

he Passion of Jesus Christ can be better understood as his final days alive. And can

be classified as the road, from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Cross at Calvary. He

showed the obedience that was put upon him1 and the chastisement of God that was

given to Him2 that was demonstrated as he went towards the cross. The events leading to the

death of Jesus named the Christ are essential to determine if he really was the Christ. For

throughout the Bible, there is a mention of a “messiah” or “savior” to come to the Jewish people

to free them from oppression. The time leading up to the one of the most important event of

Jesus‟ life is known as the time that he spent praying the night that He was betrayed by Judas in

the Garden of Gethsemane3, a garden between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.

As we start the investigation of Jesus as the Christ we

must understand what really happened to Jesus before

the deity was challenged through the historical and

medical perceptive. The Garden of Gethsemane is

important to determine the deity of Jesus as the Christ

for as he prayed before being betrayed, He prayed

earnestly that his sweat became like great drops of blood

falling to the ground (Luke 22:44). We must determine whether or not this is actually possible in

a human being or was a miracle in itself. After the betrayal of Jesus that happened in the Garden

1 Philippians 2:8, (NKJV): And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to

the point of death, even the death of the cross. 2 Isaiah 53 (NKJV)

3 Luke 22:39-44 (NKJV)

T

Figure 1; the Mount of Olives

of Gethsemane, He was turned over to the Sanhedrin court for a Jewish judgment but since the

court had no power to put Jesus to death the sentence was sent over to a Roman Governor named

Pontius Pilate. After going through the judgment of Herod and Pontius Pilate, Pilate gave the

final order to have Jesus brutally scourged and let loose. But as the Jewish crowd insisted by the

leadership of the Jewish High Priest, he was sent to be crucified. On a hill named Golgotha or the

Place of the Skull, Jesus was sent to be crucified around the third hour of the day4 and in the

sixth hour of the day a great darkness came over the land until the time that Jesus died on the

cross5 that was placed under the order of Pontius Pilate.

The Garden of Gethsemane

The Garden of Gethsemane is said to have been located at the foot of the Mount of Olives

located outside the city of Jerusalem6, where we can still find to this day. If we can travel to

Jerusalem today at modern day Israel, we can find the Garden of Gethsemane still standing. The

Mount of Olives can also be known as Mount Olivet, or Har HaZetim; Jebel ez-Zeitum in Arabic

or the “Mount of the Summit”, it is given its name due to the Olive Trees that cover the garden.

The name “Gethsemane” comes from the Hebrew word “Gat,” meaning “a place of pressing”

and “Shemanim”, which means “oils” and according to tradition in the garden of Gethsemane is

the place where the olives from the Mount of Olives were pressed into oil. To this day there are

eight olive trees in this garden that may be at least 2,000- 3,000 years old. According to history

and archeology the place of the Garden of Gethsemane cannot be disproven and thus the witness

of history remains that Jesus named the Christ could have visited this site before his death.

4 Mark 15:25 (NKJV)

5 John 23:44-46 (NKJV)

6 Elizabeth Knowles. "Garden of Gethsemane." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford

University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com.(November 5,

2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-GardenofGethsemane.html.

While he was in this garden, he prayed all night until His sweat became like drops of blood

(Luke 22:44). Alexander Metherell, M.D., PH.D., challenges this medical condition can be

known as hematidrosis7 or hemachromatosis which is

associated with a high degree of psychological stress.

Metherell mentions that during a severe anxiety of this

magnitude it releases chemicals that break the capillaries in

the sweat glands which results in bleeding into the glands or

sweat becoming as though it were blood. According to the

medical journals, this is a rare disease that is an excess of iron deposits throughout the body

which results in cardiac failure.8 Another condition comes as a result of sickle cell anemia

9, a

condition in which there‟s not enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the

body. Some of the symptoms that this causes are fatigue, periodic episodes of pain or crises, and

jaundice, which is known as liver dysfunction, causing a yellowing of the skin and the whites in

the eyes. Sickle cell anemia also may cause stroke, chest pain, and pulmonary hypertension,

resulting in cardiac arrest. So there could be no way that during this extreme pressure that Jesus

could have actually survived through this pain that is believed to have occurred during this

process. So it could have been possible that Jesus could have suffered cardiac arrest during his

prayer in the garden. So why is it that he didn‟t die in the garden and instead of the cross? And,

how could one man suffer all this and still live?

7 Lee Stobel, The Case for Christ, p. 195 8 hemochromatosis, p . 856, Mosby’s Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professions

9 Mayo Clinic Staff, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER); (2009)

http://mayoclinic.com/health/sickle-cell-anemia/DS00324

Figure 2: Sickle Cell Anemia

After Jesus had prayed in the Mount of Olives, he was betrayed by one of his closest students,

Judas Iscariot, with him accompanied the Roman Soldiers and the Temple Guard to arrest Jesus.

They took him into the judgment of the High Priest, Pontius Pilate, Herod, then back again to

Pontius Pilate, where Pilate decided to have Jesus Christ scourged and then crucified. Before we

go into detail of the Roman process of scourging, we must first ask ourselves if Pontius Pilate

actually existed and which of the Herod Dynasty passed judgment on Christ.

Who is Pontius Pilate?

According to the gospel according to Luke, Pontius Pilate was a governor of Judea under the

reign of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius Caesar10

.

“The best known of the Roman governors of Judea was Pontius Pilate (26-36 CE),

under whom Jesus was crucified. He was not a good administrator, and he

angered the Jews by setting up votive shields in Herod‟s palace. He also put to

death many Samaritans, as a result of which an embassy was set to Vitellius, The

Roman legate, complaining of his actions. Pilate was ordered to go to Rome to

answer before the emperor, and he was removed from his governorship.” 11

Josephus the Historian gives us a witness of the existence of Pontius Pilate in his writings,

Antiquities of the Jews.

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a

man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the

truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the

Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal

10

Luke 3:1 (NIV) 11

ADRIAN CURTIS, HERBERT GORDON MAY, “Oxford Bible Atlas”, Oxford University Press, 2007, p.56.

men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the

first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the

divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things

concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at

this day.”12

Pontius Pilate made the decision to have Jesus Christ scourged and then to be crucified. So

History can tell us that Pontius Pilate existed to make this judgment on the Christ.

The Scourging

Jesus before being crucified was scourged, until it was said that

his face was unrecognizable, that “his appearance was so

disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond

human likeness13

,” that he didn‟t look human in his appearance

is a image that none can imagine on a human being. Eusebius

gives reference to the scourging that would happen under Roman

rule, “the sufferer‟s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews and bowels of the victim

were open to exposure.”14

Scourging was practiced by the Romans for cruel punishment, usually before being crucified.

Normally there were between one and six trained Roman officers called lictors, who were

responsible of punishing the victim. The instrument used for scourging is a short whip called a

flagrum or flagellum to which was attached short braided leather like material of different

12

Flavius Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, 18.3.3. 13

Isaiah 52:14 (NIV) 14

Eusebuis, Historia Ecclesiastica, IV, 15

Figure 3: Roman Flagellum

lengths. Knots were tied in the ends of each braided leather, and sheep bone or iron balls were

inserted into the knots at the end of each braid. The person was stripped of his clothing and his

hands are tied to a post. Roman soldiers repeatedly strike the victim‟s back, butt and legs with

full force causing deep cuts. Blow cuts would go deep into muscles and rip the overlaying skin of

the back to a point where it hangs as ribbons of bleeding flesh. Once the victim fainted, the

Roman soldier or lector would check his pulse and detect sufficient respiration or breath, the

beating would continue, once the prisoner was near death, the beating would stop. According to

Jewish law15

the prisoner was to receive no more than 40 lashes, the Pharisees always making

sure the law was strictly kept, insisted that only 39 lashes be given in case of a miscount. But the

Roman law did not have a limit set on the number of blows one could give. The main objective

of the scourging was to weaken the prisoner to a state near to death, were the name was given

“half death.” Many did not survive this cruel punishment, and due to the extent of blood loss

would determine how long the prisoner would survive on the cross.

“[Roman] Slaves were continually punished by flagellation. Whips of various

types were used. The terrible Roman flagellum, made of thongs of ox-leather, cut

into the flesh like a knife. According to Horace, the sadistic cruelty and

vindictiveness of some judges let them to order floggings with were so excessive,

and continued so long, that the executioner often enough, through sheer

exhaustion, was obliged to desist before the sentence was completed. Many slaves

died under the whip. The thongs were knotted with bones and pieces of metal;

sometimes lead balls, cruel hooks or spikes were affixed to the ends. Ladies who

could not wield the whip themselves hired the public executioner or compelled

other slaves to flog their servants.”16

15

Deuteronomy 25:3 16

George Ryley Scott, History of Torture Throughout the Ages, p. 48-49.

Alexander Metherell, M.D., PH.D., describes that when someone would be flogged, „the victim

would experience tremendous pain and go into Hypovolemic Shock, which is 1/5 blood- loss in

the body. Some of the symptoms are anxiety or agitation, confusion, pale skin color, and rapid

breathing17

. Which gives us a brief description of what Jesus went through as he made his way to

Golgotha. Without a doubt Jesus would and could have died on the wiping post, but the question

still remains if he is who he said he was?

The Death of the Christ

he death of Jesus named the Christ is the one of the most essential parts to determine

the deity of the Jesus as the Christ. If his death did not happen, the basic Christian

doctrine would be of no worth. The Gospels give us a description of what happened

as Jesus died on the cross, we must first examine the location, the

process and the detailed death of Jesus named the Christ.

The Place

Before we can start examining the acts, we must first determine the

place. The exact place where Jesus died was called Golgotha,

named place of the skull18

, and according to some scholars and

historians this could have been the exact place where the temple

mount was built and the place where the Abraham tried to off up

17

University of Maryland Center (UMMC), 16 November 2009, available from http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/000527all.htm; Internet; accessed 16 November 2009. 18

John 19:17

T

Figure 4: Golgotha

Isaac his one and only son, as a sacrifice19

, still some argue these two were to different

locations. Golgotha is said to be located outside the wall of Jerusalem near the Mount of Olives.

In Hebrew, the word "Golgotha" means, "the PLACE of the skull" or "Skull Hill"2021

the

emphasis was on a place where a skull would be found. This skull can still be seen today at the

face of the mountain, but the question still remands if his is the exact place where Jesus was

crucified?

The Cross

One of the details that we find in the Gospel According to Luke is the importance of two

criminals also being crucified with Jesus, showing us that Jesus was not the only one in history to

be crucified. Even though some historians argue that there was no mention of other crucifixions.

Biblical Scholar Raymond Brown writes, “as for crucifixion by Jews, one of the earliest

references to the practice is the execution in the early first century B.C. of 800 prisoners by

Alexander Jannaeus. As Roman armies began to interfere in Judea, crucifixion of Jews became a

matter of policy, e.g., the governor of Syria crucified 2,000 Jews in 4 B.C. In the first century

A.D. Jesus is the first Jews whom we know to have been crucified. Otherwise Josephus records

no crucifixions of Jews during the first part of the Roman prefecture in Judea (A.D. 6-40),

though there is an ample attestation of crucifixion during the second part of the prefecture (A.D.

44-66).”22

So we can see and understand that the practice of crucifixion was practiced during the

time of Jesus. But the process of death by crucifixion was known to be the most agonizing pain

19

Genesis 22 20

Luke 23:25 21

Golgotha (gŏl’gəthə) definition found: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Golgatha 22

Brown, The Death of the Messiah, vol. 2, p. 946.

ever felt. The origins of crucifixion could have started with the Persians23

and then expanding the

custom by Alexander the Great, as he introduced the practice, to the Egyptians. It also appears

that the Romans learned this practice from the Carthaginians. Even though the Romans did not

invent crucifixion, they perfected it as a perfect form of torture and punishment, their goal was to

cause the most pain possible while the prisoner slowly died.

As Jesus was crucified in the place called Golgotha, some historians say that is the place where a

man would suffer the worst pain injected upon a human being. Cicero called death by

crucifixion, “the most cruel and hideous of tortures” and the “extreme and ultimate penalty for a

slave.”24

“The pain was absolutely unbearable,” relates Alexander Metherell, M.D., Ph.D. “In

fact, it was literally beyond words to describe; they had to invent a new word: excruciating.

Literally, excruciating means „out of the cross.‟”According to the accounts that are written in the

Gospels, the pain that Jesus suffered on the cross was unbearable until he gave up his last breath,

meaning that he willingly gave up his life willingly. So how did the Christ suffer?

If Jesus was crucified, just as the Gospels explain, historians agree on some of the following

discoveries; such as the hands and feet being pierced and death by respiratory complications that

would soon follow. One of the important medical discoveries about the cross is the way they

would hang the body on the cross, horizontal, vertical, or upside down. The Romans configured

the human anatomy in such a way to conflict the most pain possible. The procedure that the

Romans used is still known but for this investigation we will start investigating the hands and

feet of those crucified and the way the prisoner was hung on the cross.

23

Friedrich G:Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, p. 572, 573, 632 24

Cicero, V in Verrem.

As the prisoner would be hung on the cross, the Romans would first by law would give the

prisoner would be given a drink of wine mixed with myrrh (gall) as a analgesic or pain killer.25

Than the Romans would secure the hands to hold the body in place, and for this they used five to

seven inch long spikes. Now, much controversy has been brought up about this point due to the

fact that the depiction of Jesus is him being crucified in the palm of his hand but according to

studies shown, the palm of the hand would not be a wise decision due to the fact that the hand

could not support such body weight so studies show that through the wrist would be the

reasonable location of the nails. Alexander Metherell, M.D., Ph.D., speaking of the crucifixion

of Jesus, comments that, “through the wrist, this was a solid position that would lock the hand; if

the nails had been driven through the palms, his weight would have caused the skin to tear and

he would have fallen off the cross. So the nails went through the wrists, although this was

considered part of the hand in the language of the day. And it is important to understand that the

nail would go through the place where the median nerve runs. This is the largest nerve going out

to the hand.”26

It is said that the nails were placed about one to a inch and half below the palm of

the hand, and through this part of the wrists is located the median nerve. Dr. Smalhout describes

the pain that resulted from this: “One of the principle nerves, the median, crosses the wrist

joint… The nail almost always came into contact with this nerve. Touching or damaging a nerve

would cause the maximal amount of pain possible.”27

This would have caused the body to

experience some of the worst pain ever felt. After the piercing of the hands they would go to the

feet.

25

Stroud W: Treatise on the Physical Cause of the Death of Chlist and Its Relation to the Principles and Practice of Christianity, p. 28-156, 489-494. 26

Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ, p. 197. 27

Smalhout, The Terrible Easter of A.D. 33, p. 4.

As the hands were pierced the feet also followed, this was important for the crucifixion to fulfill

its purpose. The Romans would place one foot above the other, bending the legs, knees, and

placing the nails in the second metatarsal space. This would happen to cause the purposed effect

of excruciating pain. As the process of death by crucifixion had taken its route, the worst pain

was soon to come.

Alexander Metherell, M.D., Ph.D. helps explain what would happen as Jesus would be hung on

the cross:

“Once a person is hanging in the vertical position, crucifixion is essentially an

agonizingly slow death by asphyxiation. The reason is that the stresses on the

muscles and diaphragm put the chest into the inhaled position; basically, in order

to exhale, the individual must push up on his feet so the tension on the muscles

would be eased for a moment. In doing so, the nail would tear through the feet,

eventually locking up against the tarsal bones. After managing to exhale, the

person would then be able to relax down and take another breath in. Again he‟d

have to push himself up to exhale, scraping his bloodied back against the coarse

Figure 5: Nailing of wrists

wood of the cross. This would go on and on until complete exhaustion would take

over, and the person wouldn‟t be able to push up and breathe anymore. As the

person slows down his breathing, he goes into what is called respiratory acidosis-

the carbon dioxide in the blood is dissolved as carbonic acid, causing the acidity

of the blood to increase. This eventually leads to an irregular heartbeat.”28

As this punishment continued some say that they would eventually break the prisoner‟s legs to

secure the death of each prisoner. Frederick Farrar gives this explanation about death by

crucifixion:

“For indeed a death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can

have of horrible and ghastly- dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness,

traumatic fever, tetanus, shame, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment,

horror of anticipation, mortification of unintended wounds- all intensified just up

to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the

point which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness. The

unnatural position made every movement painful; the lacerated veins and crushed

tendons throbbed with incessant anguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure,

gradually gangrened; the arteries- especially at the head and stomach- became

swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood; and while each variety of misery

went on gradually increasing, there was added to them the intolerable pang of a

burning and raging thirst; and all these physical complications caused an internal

excitement and anxiety, which made the prospect of death itself- of death, the

unknown enemy, at whose approach man usually shudders most- bear the aspect

of a delicious and exquisite release.”29

Death by a cross was literally unbearable and painful; this would have without a doubt had killed

Jesus. But the one issue remains either he was the Christ as he said he was. Was He the Christ or

just another man?

28

Lee Strobel, The Case of Christ, p. 198-199. 29

Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, p. 222-223, quotes, Fredrick Farrar, The Life of Christ, p.440.

The Resurrection of the Christ

he Resurrection of Jesus is the most controversial discussion to ever be discussed,

for as understandable it is that Jesus could have died, the issue of him coming back

to life from the death leaves many in doubt. Even the apostle Paul wrote of what

have been if Jesus would not have resurrected from the dead.30

Still atheists to this day argue

over this mere part of the life of Jesus, to see if he was actually dead, or if his body was stolen, or

was he the Christ?

30

1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

T

Figure 6: Respiration during Crucifixion

The Tomb

According to the Gospels, after the death of Jesus on the cross, there was a man named Joseph, a

member of the Sanhedrin court from Arimathea, a Judean town31

. This man went to Pilate asking

for the body of Jesus and with his permission placed the body of Jesus in a tomb that was located

in a garden where He was crucified.32

William Lane Craig describes how archeologists have

found three different types of tombs during the time of Jesus:

“(1) kokim or tunnels perpendicular to the walls of the tomb, about six or seven

feet deep, three in each of the three inner walls of the tomb, into which the body

was inserted headfirst; (2) acrosalia or semi-circular niches two-and-one half feet

above the floor and two to three feet deep containing either a flat shelf or a trough

for the body; (3) bench tombs containing a bench that went around the three walls

of the tomb on which the body could be laid. Joseph‟s tomb is described as being

a bench or acrosalia tomb; these types of tombs were scarce in Jesus‟ day and

were reserved for persons of high rank. But such tombs of the Sanhedrin attest.

Near the Church of the Holy Sepluchre, the traditional site for Jesus‟ grave,

acrosalia tombs from Jesus‟ time have been found.”33

The Visitations

The Gospels relate that after three days of Jesus being placed inside the tomb, he rose from the

dead, and there were witnesses. On the day that Jesus was raised from the dead, he appeared to

his followers, even on one occasion, one of his closest students put his finger in his wounds. But

how did this happen? If Jesus were dead, how it possible is that one man would rise from the

dead after three days? According to medical journals the brain starts to die after 4 minutes the

heart stops beating, so if Jesus was pronounced dead the Roman Guard, than there would be no

possibility that he would rise from the dead. But the only solution is the visions that people had

about Jesus, would this be considered a mass prank or the truth?

31

Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38-42; Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-46 32

John 19:41 33

Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell: Evidence For the Resurrection, p. 171-172, quotes William Lane Craig, Assessing the New Testament Evidence For the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus, p. 186-187.

In the Gospels we can see that after that specific Sunday, Jesus appeared to more than over five

hundred different people, and this is in need of investigation to determine if Jesus is the Christ or

just another man. There at least has to be three different solutions; the story of the resurrection is

nothing but legend; it was nothing but hallucinations that the people saw Jesus walk again; or

Jesus who he said he was. The Story of the resurrection as a legend has been observed by Peter

Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, “there was not enough time for myth [legend] to develop…several

generations have to pass before the added mythological elements can be mistakenly believed to

be facts. Eyewitnesses would be around before that to discredit the new mythic visions. We

know of other cases where myths and legends of miracles developed around a religious founder-

for example, Buddha, Lao-tzu and Muhammad. In each case, many generations passed before the

myth surfaced.”34

In other words, the theory of the story being a legend is physically impossible

since the story was written by first hand witnesses. The next theory of hallucinations has also

been observed before by Gary R. Collins, PH.D.:

“Hallucinations are individual occurrences. By their very nature only one person

can see a given hallucination at a time. They certainly aren‟t something which can

be seen by a group of people. Neither is it possible that one person could

somehow induce a hallucination in somebody else. Since an hallucination exists

only in this subjective, personal sense, it is obvious that others cannot witness

it.”35

Hallucinations could not have been the problem that all the followers of Jesus could see and

touch him. Another theory is the theory of the disciples stealing the body, but Josh McDowell

observes this point:

“Each of the disciples, except John, died a martyr‟s death. They were persecuted

because they tenaciously clung to their beliefs and statements. As Paul Little

34

Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell, Evidence for the Resurrection, p. 204 quoted Peter and Ronald Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, p. 190-191. 35

Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ, p. 238-239 quoted Gary R. Collins, PH.D.

wrote, “Men will die for what they believe to be true, though it may actually be

false. They do not, however die for what they know is a lie.” If the disciples had

stolen the body of Jesus, they would have known that their resurrection claim was

false. Nevertheless, they never wavered in their commitment to the risen Jesus.

Not only did they die for this „lie,‟ but as a testimony to the strength of their

convictions, they placed the resurrection of Jesus as the centerpiece of their

preaching.”36

If the disciples were all lying, wouldn‟t it be obvious for at least one to come out with the truth.

Only one would have ruined all credibility of Jesus but not one stood up. So what remains?

36

Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell, Evidence for the Resurrection, p. 218.

Conclusion

Is Jesus the Christ?

“I am trying to prevent anyone saying that the really foolish thing that people

often say about Him [Jesus]: „I‟m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,

but I don‟t accept His claim to be God.‟ That is one thing we must not say. A man

who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great

moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic- on a level with the man who says he

is a poached egg- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your

choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or

something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill

Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us

not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human

teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 37

The only conclusion that we can come up with as we examined the thesis, using historical and

medical evidence can we prove the deity of Jesus as the Christ, we can come to the conclusion

that the Jesus had to be the Christ in order to suffer so much pain and still come back from the

dead. If Jesus would have been just another regular man, the impact that he had throughout the

generations would have faded. From the death of his followers to the continuation of the life and

teaching of Jesus, we cannot refute the deity of Jesus as the Christ. There can be no other

solution to argue that the Christ died on the cross and resurrected from the dead on the third day.

37

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 52.

Bibliography

Books

Stroud W: Treatise on the Physical Cause of the Death of Christ and Its Relation to the

Principles and Practice of Christianity, ed 2. London, Hamilton & Adams, 1871.

Friedrich G: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Bremiley G (ed-trans). Grand

Rapids, Mich, WB Eerdmans Publisher, 1971, vol 7.

Lee Strobel: The Case For Christ, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Mich, 1998.

Josh McDowell: The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Here‟s Life Publishers, Inc., 1981.

Josh McDowell: More Than a Carpenter, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Ill,

1977.

Josh & Sean McDowell: Evidence For the Resurrection, What it Means for Your Relationship

with God, Regal From Gospel Light, Ventura, Cal, 2009.

George Ryley Scott: History of Torture Throughout the Ages, Kessinger Publishing, 2003.

William Ramsay, Rodolfo Amedeo Lanciani: A Manual of Roman antiquities, Charles Scribner‟s

Sons, New York, NY, 1895.

Adrian Curtis, Herbert Gordon May, “Oxford Bible Atlas”, Oxford University Press, 2007.

Flavius Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tenn.,

1998. Josephus, the Complete Works, translated by William Whiston, A.M.

Clive Staples Lewis: Mere Christianity, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 1952.

Bibles

New King James Version

Holy Bible, The Chronological Study Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008. New King James

Version, Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1982.

New International Version

Holy Bible, The NIV Student Bible, Revised, Compact Edition, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Mich,

1986, 1992, 2002. The New International Version, International Bible Society, 1972, 1978, 1984.

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Holy Bible, The Holman Illustrated Study Bible, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tenn.,

2006. Holman Christian Standard Bible, Holman Bible Publishers, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003.

Pictures

Figure 1: The Mount of Olives

http://www.bibleplaces.com/mtolives.htm

Figure 2: Sickle Cell Anemia

http://mayoclinic.com/health/medical/IM01729

Figure 3: Roman Flagellum

http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009/thumbs/la/world/lifestyl/measures/Denarius%20silver%

20c%20132%20BC%20%20%20Left%20-%20Rome%20and%20%20indic.jpg

Figure 4: Golgotha

http://www.ebibleteacher.com/images/golgotha.jpg

Figure 5: Nailing of wrists

http://www.frugalsites.net/jesus/crucifixion.htm#7

Figure 6: Respiration during Crucifixion

http://www.frugalsites.net/jesus/crucifixion.htm#7

Websites

Elizabeth Knowles. "Garden of Gethsemane." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.

Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com.(November 5,

2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-GardenofGethsemane.html.

Mayo Clinic Staff, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER); (2009)

http://mayoclinic.com/health/sickle-cell-anemia/DS00324

University of Maryland Center (UMMC), 16 November 2009, available from

http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/000527all.htm; Internet; accessed 16 November 2009.

Golgotha (gŏl‟gəthə) definition found: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Golgatha