How Did The Romans Expect Jesus To Die?
To understand the problem we must first look at the Vietnam war. POW's were
tortured by tying their arms behind there back and then lifted by there wrists into the
air. This would cause their chest to constrict so they could not breath. Their
lungs could not expand and they would pass out. Before they would suffocate to
death the Vietnamese solder would let go of the rope and they would drop to the
ground. As soon as the prisoner would wake up the solder would lift him back up.
The pain was unbearable.
Now read very carefully so you can know the answer this question. What the
Vietnamese did to the POW's is a lot like how the Roman cross works. A mans arms are
away from his body. The man is forced to put all his weight on his legs. After
a wile his legs give out and his arms are carrying all his weight. His arms are out
on his sides and he must lean forward which causes his chest to constrict and he slowly
suffocates.
Now study a picture of Christ Jesus on a torture stick very carefully. You will
see that his hands are nailed over his head and his feet are nailed below him. This
is very painful way to die because it would take days to die from exposure to the hot sun.
The Romans placed two other men on the hill with Jesus with the intention
that they would suffer terribly and finally die. The two men with Jesus that day were
criminals (Luke 23:32). Then the Jews asked the Romans break their legs because they
wanted them to die before the Sabbath (John 19:32,33).
The question we must now ask is this: "How would breaking the man's legs when he
is on a torture stick cause him to die quickly?" This would cause all his
weight to be on his arms. The nail in his hands would cause his hand to tare but
this would not speed up his death. Now lets look at a picture of a cross.