Anatomy of the Crucifixion
A good friend of mine commented to me that our Crucifixes appear 'sanitized.' I have thought so too for many years. Many depict Our Lord without a trace of the scourging, profuse bleeding, and characteristics of one who had literally been tortured almost to death - being spared further beatings since the people wanted to see Him suffer and die the horrible death of a 'criminal' on a cross.The famous Mel Gibson movie, Passion of the Christ, did an excellent job of portraying what Jesus most likely went through. Mr. Gibson as I understand it, actually toned down a lot of the gore because of pressure over the rating or something to that effect. On this page, you will find several links to analyses of what scourging and death by crucifixion really entailed. Recall as you read and review these sites, what Our Divine Savior, the Lord God Himself, permitted to be done to Him for you and for me. Can you possibly think of anyone who would undergo any of what Christ suffered so that you would be spared? I can't.So often we see pictures in prayer books and perhaps books on the Stations of the Cross which present 'sanitized' versions of the passion and death of Our Lord. Read what these experts in forensic medicine and related fields have to say and grasp the seriousness of what Jesus went through and then reflect on why He did what He did. It was for YOU.
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate and drank, they took husbands and wives, right up to the day Noah entered the ark—and when the flood came it destroyed them all.
It was much the same in the days of Lot: they ate and drank, they bought and sold, they built and planted. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be like that on the day the son of Man is revealed. . . . Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it; whoever loses it will keep it. (Luke 17:26-33)
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As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate and drank, they took husbands and wives, right up to the day Noah entered the ark—and when the flood came it destroyed them all.
It was much the same in the days of Lot: they ate and drank, they bought and sold, they built and planted. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be like that on the day the son of Man is revealed. . . . Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it; whoever loses it will keep it. (Luke 17:26-33)