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Urgent----Sunday School Project

coptic pharoahcoptic pharoah
edited December 1969 in Coptic Orthodox Church
Hi..me and a freind are working on a project for Sunday School... We are doing research on GOOD FRIDAY.. basically.. we have to find stuff that is NON-RELIGIOUS  like the size of the cross..wat type of wood they used... the size and weight of the naisl...please HELP it is due very soon..... and we are still starting on it.. so ANY helpful info/FACTS would be GREAT...thank you

God Bless

Coptic Pharaoh

Comments

  • veene11veene11
    There is an article about the scientific death of Jesus somewhere.
    I read it, its good.
    If I find it i'll post it here.
    Look for it :) its good for your project.
  • coptic pharoahcoptic pharoah
    Well..i need it kind of urgently.. if posible before suday..but thanks for the help anyways...
  • kokiiekokiie
    How old is your sunday school class, because I have a medical account of the crucifiction... but it's really for people 14 and upp ..
  • kokiiekokiie
    Here it is, I encourage everyone to read it!

    http://www.csun.edu/~hbeng151/icc/studies/account.html


    The Medical Account of the Crucifiction



    In this paper, I shall discuss some of the physical aspects of the
    passion, or suffering, of Jesus Christ.  We shall follow Him from
    Gethsemane, through His trial, His scourging, His path along the Via
    Dolorosa, to His last dying hours on the cross...
    This led me first to a study of the practice of crucifixion itself; that
    is, the torture and execution of a person by fixation to a cross.
    Apparently, the first known practice of crucifixion was by the Persians.
    Alexander and his generals brought it back to the Mediterranean world -
    Egypt and Carthage.  The Romans apparently learned the practice from the
    Carthaginians and (as with almost everything the Romans did) rapidly
    developed a very high degree of efficiency and skill in carry it out.  A
    number of Roman authors (Livy, Cicero, Tacitys) comment on it.  Several
    innovations and modifications are described in the ancient literature; Ill
    mention only a few which may have some bearing here.  The upright portion
    of the cross (or stipes) could have the cross-arm (or patibulum) attached
    two or three feet below its top - this is what we commonly think of today
    as the classical form of the cross (the one which we have later named the
    Latin cross); however, the common form used in Our Lords day was the Tau
    cross (shaped like the Greek letter Tau or like our T).  In this cross the
    patibulum was placed in a notch at the top of the stipes.  There is fairly
    overwhelming archeological evidence that it was on this type of cross that
    Jesus was crucufied.

    The upright post, or stipes, was generally permanently fixed in the ground
    at the site of execution and the condemnded man was forced to carry the
    patibulum, apparently weighing about 110 pounds, from the prison to the
    place of execution.  Without any historical or biblical proof, medieval
    and Renaissance painters have given us our picture of Christ carrying the
    entire cross.  Many of these painters and most of the sculptors of
    crucifixes today show the nails through the palms.  Roman historical
    accounts and experimental work have shown that the nails were driven
    between the small bones of the wrists and not through the palms.  Nails
    driven through the palms will strip out between the fingers when they
    support the weight of a human body.  The misconception may have come about
    through a misunderstanding of Jesus words to Thomas, Observe my hands.
    Anatomists, both modern and ancient, have always considered the wrists as
    part of the hand.

    A titulus, or small sign, stating the victims crime was usually carried at
    the front of the processions and later nailed to the cross above the head.
    This sign with its staff nailed to the top of the cross would have given
    it somewhat the characteristic form of the Latin cross.

    The physical passion of the Christ begins in Gethsemane.  Of the many
    aspects of this initial suffering, I shall only discuss the one of
    physiological interest; the bloody sweat.  It is interesting that the
    physician of the group, St. Luke, is the only one to mention this.  He
    says, And being in agony, He prayed the longer.  And his sweat became as
    drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.

    Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away
    this phrase, apparently under the mistakes impression that this just
    doesnt happen.

    A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical
    literature.  Though very rare, the phenomenon of Hematidrosis or bloody
    sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries
    in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat.  This process
    alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock.

    We shall move rapidly through the betrayal and arrest; I must stress that
    important portions of the passion story are missing from this account.
    This may be frustrating to you, but in order to adhere to our purpose of
    discussing only the purely physical aspects of the Passion, this is
    necessary.  After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was brought
    before the Sanhedrin and Caiphas, the High Priest; it is here that the
    first physical trauma is inflicted.  A soldier struck Jesus across the
    face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiphas.  The palace guards
    then blindfolded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they
    each passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face. 

    In the morning, Jesus, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted
    from a sleepless night, is taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the
    Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea,
    Pontius Pilate.  You are, of course, familiar with Pilates action in
    attempting to pass responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea.
    Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod
    and was returned to Pilate.

    It was then, in response to the cries of the mob, that Pilate ordered
    Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.
    There is much disagreement among authorities about scourging as a prelude
    to crucifixion.  Most Roman writers from this period do not associate the
    two.  Many scholars believe that Pilate originally ordered Jesus scourged
    as his full punishment and that the death sentence by crucifixion came
    only in response to the taunt by the mob that the Procurator was not
    properly defending Caesar against this pretender who claimed to be the
    King of the Jews.

    Preparations for the scourging are carried out.  The prisoner is stripped
    of His clothing and His hands are tied to a post above His head.  It is
    doubtful whether the Romans made any attempt to follow the Jewish law in
    this matter of scourging.  The Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more
    than forty lashes.  The Pharisees, always making sure that the law was
    strictly kept, insisted that only thirty-nine lashes be given.  (In case
    of a miscount, they were sure of remaining within the law.)  The Roman
    legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand.
    This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two
    small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. 

    The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across
    Jesus shoulders, back and legs.  At first the heavy thongs cut through the
    skin only.  Then, as the blows continue, they are cut deeper into the
    subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the
    capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding
    from vessels in the underlying muscles.  The small balls of lead first
    produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows.
    Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire
    area is an unrecognizable mass of torn bleeding tissue.  When it is
    determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the
    beating is finally stopped.

    The half-fainting Jesus is then undied and llowed to slump to the stone
    pavement, wet with Hiw own blood.  The Roman soldiers see a great joke in
    this provincial Jew claiming to be a king.  They throw a robe across His
    shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a scepter.  They still need a
    crown to make their travesty complete.  A small bundle of flexible
    branches covered with long thorns (commonly used for firewood) are plaited
    into the shape of a crown and this is pressed into His scalp.  Again there
    is copious bleeding (the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the
    body.)  After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers
    take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the
    thorns deeper into His scalp.  Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport
    and the robe is torn from His back.  This had already become adherent to
    the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in
    the careless removal of a surgical bandage, causes exruciating
    pain...almost as though He were again being whipped - and the wounds again
    begin to bleed. 

    In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return His garments.  The heavy
    patibulum of the cross is tied across His shoulders and the procession of
    the condemned Christ, two thieves and the execution detail of the Roman
    soldiers, headed by a centurion, begins its slow journey along the Via
    Dolorosa.  In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy
    wooden cross together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is
    too much.  He stumbles and falls.  The rough wood of the beam gouges into
    the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders.  he tries to rise, but
    human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance.  The centurion,
    anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African
    onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross.  Jesus follows, still
    bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock.  The 650 yard
    journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed.  The
    prisoner is again stripped of His clothes - except for a loin cloth which
    is allowed the Jews.

    The crucifixion begins, Jesus is offered wine mixed with Myrrh, a mild
    analgesic mixture.  He refuses to drink.  Simon is ordered to place the
    cross on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown backward 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 and 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 flexibility and movement.  The patibulum is
    then lifted in place at the top of the stipes and the titulus reading
    Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews is nailed in 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 moderately 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 wrenching
    torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet.  Again
    there is the searing agony of the the tearing through the nerves between
    the metatarsal bones of the feet.

    At this point, another phenomenon occurs.  As the arms fatigue, great
    waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless,
    throbbing pain.  With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself
    upward.  Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the
    intercostal muscles are unable to act.  Air can be drawn into the lungs,
    but cannot be exhaled.  Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even
    one short 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 the life-giving oxygen.
    It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short
    sentences which are recorded:

    The first, looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His
    seamless garment, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

    The second, to the penitent thief, Today thou shalt be with me in
    Paradise.

    The third, looking down at the terrified, grief stricken, adolescent John,
    (the beloved Apostle), He said, Behold thy mother, and looking to Mary,
    His mother, Woman behold thy son.

    The fourth cry is from the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, My God, my God,
    why hast thou forsaken me?

    Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting joint- rending cramps,
    intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His
    lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber.  Then
    another agony begins.  A deep crushing pain deep in the chest as the
    pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.

    Let us remember again the 22nd Psalm (the 14th verse), I am poured out
    like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax, it is
    melted in the midst of my bowels.  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 tissue - the
    tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to draw in small gulps of air.
    The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain.

    Jesus gasps His fifth cry, I thirst.

    Lut us remember another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm: My strength
    is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou
    has brought me into the dust of death.

    A sponge soaked in Posca, the cheap, sour wine which is the staple drink
    of the Roman legionnaires, is lifted to His lips.  He apparently does not
    take any of the liquid.  The body of Jesus is now in extremis and He can
    feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues.  This realization
    brings out His sixth words - possibly little more than a tortured whisper.

    It is finished.

    His mission of atonement has been completed.  Finally He can allow his
    body to die.

    With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His torn feet
    against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters
    His seventh and last cry, Father into thy hands I commit my spirit.

    The rest you know.  In order that the Sabbath not be profaned, the Jews
    asked that the condemned men be dispatched and removed from the crosses.
    The common method of ending a crucifixion was by cruxifracture, the
    breaking of the bones of the legs.  This prevents the victim from pushing
    himself upward; the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the
    chest, and rapid suffocation occurred.  The legs of the two thieves were
    broken, but when they came to Jesus they saw that this was unnecessary,
    thus fulfilling the scripture, not one bone shall be broken.

    Apparently to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance
    through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the
    pericardium and into the heart.  The 34th verse of the 19th chapter of the
    Gospel according to John: And immediately there came out blood and water.
    Thus there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the
    heart and blood from the interior of the heart.  We, therefore, have
    rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that Our Lord died, not the usual
    crucifixion death by suffocatin, but of heart failure due to shock and
    constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.

    Thus we have seen a glimpse of the epitome of evil which man can exhibit
    toward man - and toward God.  This is not a pretty sight and is apt to
    leave us despondent and depressed.  How grateful we can be that we have a
    sequel:  A glimpse of the infinite mercy of God toward man - the miracle
    of the atonement and the expectation of Easter morning!

    Contact: Daniel de Sailles
    Email: [email protected]
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  • Marmoura99Marmoura99
    Someone sent me an amazing ppt presentation about the scientific facts of Jesus' crucifixion. if you'd like, i could send it to you!

    Remember me in your prayers always,

    ~Your sister in Christ~
  • joegjoeg
    Yeah, i have this powerpoint somewhere......yeah, found it. Its quite short, and clearly the language is simple, and contains very simple facts but if you want it, PM meyour e-mail, and ill e-mail it to you.

    pray for me

    joe
  • epshiriepshiri
    hizz child


    Do not hold that statement back; rather, express your feelings. We are all mature enough on this board to handle it
  • kokiiekokiie
    [quote author=epshiri link=topic=6474.msg85572#msg85572 date=1207926562]
    hizz child


    Do not hold that statement back; rather, express your feelings. We are all mature enough on this board to handle it


    Is this a joke? Why are you coppying other people's posts? LOL..

    Anyway, I DId. It's RIGHT THERE ! the thing in blue.
  • coptic pharoahcoptic pharoah
    WOW..i just read that..that is VERY helpful... God Bless You guys... that is so awsome too... explains even how Jesus died...
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