-
Christ's Demise; Real Or Imagined?
It's actually pretty easy to verify.
†. John 19:31-35 . . But when they came to Jesus and found that he was
already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers
pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He
knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.
Since Jesus was somewhat elevated, (it's not stated exactly how high) the
spear point would have entered his body at an upward angle. The text
doesn't say which side was penetrated, but from John's description, and
judging from the intent of the soldier to leave no doubt about Jesus' death,
the heart side was very likely the side they cut into and the spear point
would've entered just under his rib cage.
The heart is surrounded by a membrane called the pericardium; which
serves to contain a serous matter or liquor resembling water to prevent the
surface of the heart from becoming dry and/or chafed by its continual
motion. It was very likely this which was pierced and from which the water
flowed. The point of the spear also seems to have reached one of the
ventricles of the heart, and the blood, yet warm, rushed forth, either
mingled with, or followed by, the liquor of the pericardium, so as to appear
to John to be blood and water flowing together. Though not medically
accurate in our day, John's calling the serous fluid "water" was accurate
enough in his own day.
Had Christ managed to survive the spear he most certainly would have died
of suffocation. According to the records, his friends covered his face with a
towel, wrapped him with strips of cloth like a mummy, and coated him with
a paste consisting of 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes: all of which served to
not only put him in a straight jacket, but also sealed him in a cocoon of
sorts.
1• A towel
"And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes,
but wrapped together in a place by itself." (John 20:7)
The koiné Greek word translated "napkin" is soudarion (soo-dar'-ee-on)
which defines a sweat-cloth; viz: a towel for wiping the perspiration from the
face, or binding the face of a corpse.
2• Like a mummy
"Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes" (John
19:40)
"And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes,
but wrapped together in a place by itself." (John 20:7)
The Greek word translated "wound" is deo (deh'-o) which means to bind
The Greek word translated "linen cloths" is othonion (oth-on'-ee-on) which
defines bandages.
3• A cocoon of sorts
"And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night,
and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the
spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury." (John 19:39-40)
Myrrh is a gum resin. The aloe of that day was a thick liquid taken from an
aromatic tree and used in medicines and cosmetics, etc. Blending those two
ingredients together produced a nice sticky goo that could be slathered and
plastered all over the deceased to seal the body and retard decay. This was
likely the final step just prior to wrapping the whole affair in a shroud.
According to the New Testament; Christ fully expired.
†. Luke 23:44-47 . . And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said: Father,
into Thy hands I commit my spirit. And having said this, he breathed his
last.
Upon expiring, Christ's soul was transferred to a region known in ancient
Greek culture as hades.
†. Acts 2:29-32 . . Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to
this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with
an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would
raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning
the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in hades, nor did his
flesh see corruption.
Christ described the location of hades as deep underground.
†. Matt 12:40 . . Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly
of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth.
Christ's corpse wasn't interred in the heart of the earth. It was interred up
on the surface. And it wasn't even interred in the ground. It was interred
above ground in rock.
Christ predicted that he would be in the heart of the earth "just as" Jonah
was in the belly of a sea monster. In other words: under similar
circumstances. Well; it's very easy to miss in the story of Jonah but he was
deceased for three days and three nights, same as Jesus; and while his
corpse was interred in the sea monster's tummy, his soul was interred in
another tummy called sheol in Hebrew. Jonah described the location of sheol
as the roots of the mountains.
†. Jonah 2:5-6 . . The great deep engulfed me, weeds were wrapped around
my head. I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars
was around me forever.
Well; as anybody familiar with geology knows, mountains aren't rooted in
the tummies of sea monsters; they're rooted deep in the earth.
While Jonah was languishing behind the earth's bars in sheol, he was
inspired to pray.
†. Jonah 2:2 . . I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me.
I cried for help from the depth of sheol. Thou didst hear my voice.
How did Jonah know that the Lord heard his prayer in sheol. Well; in
response to Jonah's prayer, the Lord raised him from the dead.
†. Jonah 2:6 . .Thou hast brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
"brought up my life" is the language of resurrection; and in Old Testament
lingo, "the pit" typically refers to putrefaction. So in all points-- other than
the nature of their graves of course --Jesus' three-day experience mirrored
Jonah's three-day experience; viz: both men were deceased, both men's
souls were transferred to a location deep in the earth, neither man's soul
remained deep in the earth, neither man's flesh was marred by putrefaction;
and both men were brought back to life.
====================================
