The source Material concerning Christ's death comprises a body of literature and not a physical body or its skeletal remains. Accordingly, the credibility of any discussion of Jesus' death will be determined primarily by the credibility of one's sources. For this review, the source material includes the writings of ancient Christian and non-Christian authors, the writings of modern authors, and the Shroud of Turin.1 Using the legal-historical method of scientific investigation,27 scholars have established the reliability and accuracy of the ancient manuscripts.26,27,29,31
The most extensive and detailed descriptions of the life and death of Jesus are to be found in the New Testament gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.1 The other 23 books of the New Testament support but do not expand on the details recorded in the gospels. Contemporary Christian, Jewish, and Roman authors provide additional insight concerning the first-century Jewish and Roman legal systems and the details of scourging and crucifixion.5 Seneca, Livy, Plutarch, and others refer to crucifixion practices in their works.8,28 Specifically, Jesus (or his crucifixion) is mentioned by the Roman historians Cornelius Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, and Suetonius, by non-Roman historians Thallus and Phlegon, by the satirist Lucian of Samosata, by the Jewish Talmud, and by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, although the authenticity of portions of the latter is problematic.26
The Shroud of Turin is considered by many to represent the actual burial cloth of Jesus,22 and several publications concerning the medical aspects of his death draw conclusions from this assumption.5, 11 The Shroud of Turin and recent archaeological findings provide valuable information concerning Roman crucifixion practices.22-24 The interpretations of modern writers, based on a knowledge of science and medicine not available in the first century, may offer additional insight concerning the possible mechanisms of Jesus' death.2-17
When taken in concert certain facts -- the extensive and early testimony of both Christian proponents and opponents, and their universal acceptance of Jesus as a true historical figure; the ethic of the gospel writers, and the shortness of the time interval between the events and the extant manuscripts; and the confirmation of the gospel accounts by historians and archaeological findings 26-27 -- ensure a reliable testimony from which a modern medical interpretation of Jesus' death may be made.
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| 1. Matthew 26:17-27:61, Mark 14:12-15:47, Luke 22:7-23:56, John 13:1-19:42, in The Holy Bible (New International Version). Grand Rapids, Mieh, Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1978. | 18. Allen AC: The Skin: A Clinicopathological Treatise, ed 2 New York, Grune & Stratton Inc. 1967, pp 745-747- | 35. Arndt WF, Gingrich FW: A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. University of Chicago Press, 1957, p 673 |
| 2. Lumpkin R: The physical suffering of Christ. J Med. Assoc Ala 1978,47:8-10,47. | 19. Sutton RL Jr: Diseases of the Skin, ed 11. st Louis, CV Mosby Co. 1956, pp 1393-1394. | 36. Brown F. Driver SR, Briggs CA: A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament With an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic. Oxford, England, Clarendon Press, 1953, pp 841, 854. |
| 3 Johnson CD: Medical and cardiological aspects of the passion and crucifixion of Jesus, the Christ. Bol Assoc. Med. PR 1978;70:97-102. | 20. Scott CT: A case of haematidrosis. Br Med. J 1918;1:532-533. | 37. Robertson AT: A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research. Nashville, Tenn, Broadman Press, 1931, pp 417-427. |
| 4. Barb AA: The wound in Christ's side. J Warburg Courtauld Inst. 1971;34:320-321. | 21. Klauder JV: Stigmatization. Arch DermatoI Syphilol 1938;37:650-659. | .38. Jackson SM (ed): The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. New York, Funk & Wagnalls, 1909, pp 312-314.. |
| 5. Bucklin R The legal and medical aspects of the trial and death of Christ. Sci Law 1970; 10:14-26. | 22. Weaver KF: The mystery of the shroud. Natl Geogr 1980;157:730-753. | 39. Kim H-S, Suzuki M, Lie JT, et al: Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) and dis-seminated intravascular coagulation (DIC): Autopsy study of 36 patients. Arch Pathol Lab Med 1977;101:65-68. |
| 6. Mikulicz-Radeeki FV: The chest wound in the crucified Christ. Med News 1966;14:30-40. | 23. Tzaferis V: Jewish tombs at and near Giv'at ha-Mivtar, Jerusalem. Israel Explor J 1970;20:18-32. | 40. Becker AE, van Mantgem J-P: Cardiac tamponade: A study of 50 hearts. Eur J Cardiol 1975;3:349-358. |
| 7. Davis CT: The crucifixion of Jesus: The passion of Christ from a medical point of view. Ariz Med 1965;22:183-187. | 24. Haas N: Anthropological observations on the skeletal remains from Giv'at ha-Mivtar. Israel Explor J 1970;20:38-59. | |
| 8. Tenney SM: On death by crucifixion Am Heart J 1964;68:286-287. | 25. McDowell J: The Resurrection Factor. San Bernardino, Calif, Here's Life Publishers, 1981 pp 20-53, 75-103. | |
| 9. Bloomquist ER: A doctor looks at crucifixion. Christian Herald, March 1964, pp 35, 46-48. | 26. McDowell J: Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Historical Evidences for the Chnstian Faith. San Bernardino, Calif, Here's Life Publishers, 1979, pp 39-87, 141-263. | |
| 10. DePasquale NP, Burch GE: Death by crucifixion. Am Heart J 1963;66:434-435. | 27. McDowell J: More Than a Carpenter. Wheaton, III, Tyndale House Publishers, 1977 pp 36-71, 89-100. | |
| 11. Barbet P: A Doctor at Calvary: The Passion of Out Lold Jesus Christ as Described by a Surgeon, Earl of Wicklow (trans) Garden City, NY, Doubleday Image Books 1953, pp 12-18 37-147, 159-175, 187-208. | 28. Hengel M: Crucifixion in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross Bowden J (trans). Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1977, pp 22-45, 86-90. | |
| 12. Primrose WB: A surgeon looks at the crucifixion. Hibbert J. 1949, pp 382-388. | 29. Ricciotti G: The Life of Christ, Zizzamia AI (trans). Milwaukee, Bruce Publishing Co 1947, pp 29-57, 78-153, 161-167, 586-647. | |
| 13. Bergsma S: Did Jesus die of a broken heart? Calvin Forum 1948;14:163-167. | 30. Pfeiffer CF, Vos HF, Rea J (eds): Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago, Moody Press, 1975 pp 149-152, 404-405, 713-723, 1173-1174, 1520-1523. | |
| 14. Whitaker JR: The physical cause of the death of our Lord. Cath Manchester Guard 1937;15:83-91 . | 31. Greenleaf S: An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice. Grand Rapids, Mich, Baker Book House, 1965, p29. | |
| 15. Clark CCP: What was the physical cause of the death of Jesus Christ? Med Rec 1890;38:543. | 32. Hatch E, Redpath HA: A Concordance to the Septuagint and the Other Greek Versions of the Old Testament (Including the Apocryphal Books). Graz, Austria, Akademische Druce U Verlagsanstalt, 1975, p 1142. | |
| 16. Cooper HC: The agony of death by crucifixion. NY Med J 1883;38:150-153. | 33. Wuest KS: Wuest Word Studies From the Greek New Testament for the English Reader Grand Rapids, Mich, WB Eerdmans Publisher 1973, vol 1, p 280. | |
| 17 Stroud W: Treatise on the Physical Cause of the Death of Chlist and Its Relation to the Principles and Practice of Christianity, ed 2. London, Hamilton & Adams, 1871, pp 28-156, 489-494. | 34. Friedrich G: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Bremiley G (ed-trans). Grand Rapids, Mich, WB Eerdmans Publisher, 1971, vol 7, pp 572, 573, 632 |
