Killing Jesus: A History (26 page)

The procession continues. Despite the assistance, the Nazarene is constantly on the verge of fainting. Each stumble drives the thorns on his head deeper into his skull. Jesus is so thirsty he can barely speak.

Meanwhile, just a few hundred yards away, in the Temple courts, the celebration of Passover is well under way, diverting the attention of many who revere Jesus and who might otherwise have rioted to intervene and save his life.

The execution site, Golgotha, is not a large hill. It is a low rise within a very short distance from Jerusalem’s city wall. In fact, anyone standing atop those walls will be able to view Jesus’s crucifixion at eye level and will be so close that they can hear every word he says if he speaks loudly enough.

But Jesus hasn’t spoken in hours. As the procession arrives atop Golgotha, the soldiers send Simon away and hurl the crossbeam onto the dirt and rough limestone—“Jerusalem rock,” some call it. The death squad takes control here. They force Jesus to the ground, laying his torso atop the upper crossbeam, the
patibulum
. His hands are then stretched out and two soldiers put all their weight on his extended arms, as another approaches with a thick mallet and a six-inch iron nail with a square shaft that tapers to a point.

The soldier hammers the sharpened point into Jesus’s flesh, at precisely the spot where the radius and ulna bones meet the carpals of the wrist. He jabs the nail hard into the skin to stabilize it before impact.

Jesus cries out in pain as the iron pierces its mark. The Romans use the wrist location because the nail never hits bone, instead passing all the way through to the wood with just a few sharp swings of the hammer. The wrist bones, meanwhile, surround the soft tissue, forming a barrier. So when the cross is hoisted upward and the victim’s body weight suspends from that spike, the bones keep the thin layer of muscle from ripping, preventing the person from falling to the ground.

The first wrist secure, the executioner moves on to the second. A crowd watches from the base of the hill. Among them are Jesus’s devoted friend Mary Magdalene and his mother, Mary. She came to Jerusalem for Passover, not having any idea what would befall her son. Now she can do nothing but look upon him in anguish.

After Jesus is nailed to the crossbeam, the executioners hoist him to his feet. A careful balancing act ensues, because the weight of the wood is now on Jesus’s back—not his shoulders. In his weakened state, he could easily fall over. Soldiers hold up both ends of the crossbeam, while a third steadies Jesus as they back him toward the vertical beam that will complete the cross.

The
staticulum
, as this in-ground pole is known, is close to eight feet tall. In cases where the Romans want a victim to suffer for days before dying, a small seat juts out halfway up its length. But tomorrow is the Sabbath, and Jewish law says that a man must be taken off the cross before it begins. The Romans want Jesus to die quickly. Thus, there is no seat (
sedile
) on Jesus’s cross.

Nor is there a footrest. Instead, when the moment comes that his feet are nailed into the wood, they must first be flexed at an extreme angle.

One soldier grabs Jesus around the waist and lifts him up as the other two hoist their ends of the crossbeam. The fourth executioner stands atop a ladder that leans against the
staticulum
, guiding the crossbeam into the small joint that has been carved into the top of the vertical piece. The weight of Jesus’s body holds the beam inside the groove.

And so it is that Jesus of Nazareth now hangs on the cross. Another moment of agony comes when Jesus’s knees are bent slightly and his feet are lapped one over the other and nailed into place. The spike passes through the fine metatarsal bones on its way into the wood but, amazingly, none of the bones break, which is extremely unusual in a crucifixion.

Finally, in the spot directly over Jesus’s head, the sign carried by the
exactor mortis
is nailed into the cross. Their physical work done, the death squad begins mocking Jesus, throwing dice for his once-fine tunic and calling up to him, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

The Roman killers will remain on Golgotha until Jesus dies. They will drink their sour wine and even offer some to Jesus. If necessary, they will break his legs to hasten his demise. For death on the cross is a slow journey into suffocation. Each time a victim takes a breath he must fight his own body weight and push his torso upward using his legs, thus allowing his lungs to expand. In time, the victim, exhausted, can breathe neither in nor out.

Three hours pass. The Passover celebration continues inside the Temple courts, and the sounds of singing and of trumpets resound across the city to the execution site. Indeed, Jesus can see the Temple Mount quite clearly from his place on the cross. He knows that many are still waiting for him. The news of his execution has not traveled far, much to the delight of Pilate and Caiaphas, who still fear the possibility of Jesus’s supporters starting a riot when they hear news of his murder.

“I thirst,” Jesus finally says, giving in to the dehydration that has consumed him for more than twelve hours. His voice is not more than a whisper. A soldier soaks a sponge in sour wine and reaches up to place it to the Nazarene’s lips, knowing the liquid will sting.

Jesus sucks in the tart fluid. Shortly afterward, he gazes on Jerusalem one last time before the inevitable happens.

“It is finished,” he says.

Jesus bows his head. The crown of thorns hangs rigidly. He lapses into unconsciousness. His neck relaxes. His entire body rolls forward, pulling his neck and shoulders away from the cross. Only the nails in his hands hold him in place.

The man who once preached the Gospel so fearlessly, who walked far and wide to tell the world about a new faith, and whose message of love and hope reached thousands during his lifetime—and will one day reach billions more—stops breathing.

Jesus of Nazareth is dead. He is thirty-six years old.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JERUSALEM’S UPPER CITY
APRIL 7, A.D. 30
3:00 P.M.–6:00 P.M.

The race is on. The Roman death squad has had a hard day, but there is still more work to be done. It is their practice to leave a man on the cross for days after he dies, perhaps to allow his body to decompose or even be eaten by wild animals. But Jewish law dictates that a body cannot remain on a “tree”
¹
during the Sabbath, which begins at sundown today and continues throughout Saturday. So the
quaternio
must take Jesus down off the cross and throw his body into the communal grave reserved for criminals.

The
exactor mortis
now verifies Jesus’s death by thrusting a spear into his chest. The pleural and pericardial fluid that have built up around Jesus’s heart and lungs for hours now pours out, mixed with a torrent of blood. Extracting the spear tip, the captain of the guard
²
then orders his men to remove Jesus from the cross. It is a crucifixion in reverse, with the men using ladders and teamwork to bring Jesus and the crossbeam back to the ground. Once again, Jesus is laid flat. But now the death squad works hard to remove the nails—unbent. Iron is expensive, and spikes are reused as much as possible.

Most who witnessed Jesus’s crucifixion from a distance have departed. Mary, his mother, and Mary Magdalene are among those who remain. But as the soldiers now go about the hard physical labor of un-crucifying a man, a Sadducee named Joseph of Arimathea steps forth. This wealthy member of the Sanhedrin and secret disciple of Jesus was one of the few dissenting voices during the illegal trial. Another of those voices was that of Nicodemus the Pharisee, who now stands atop Golgotha with Joseph. They have received permission from Pilate to take the body, as the governor wants to put this execution to rest as soon as possible.

Somewhat shockingly, Joseph and Nicodemus are publicly declaring their allegiance to the teachings of Jesus. Joseph takes Jesus’s body to his own private family tomb, a brand-new man-made cave carved out of the soft Jerusalem rock on a nearby hillside. The Jews believe that a criminal’s presence in a tomb desecrates it. Even worse, for a member of the Sanhedrin to touch a dead body on Passover makes him unclean and disqualifies him from eating the Seder. By law, Joseph and Nicodemus will be declared impure and must undergo a seven-day cleansing ritual.
³

No matter, these two bold members of the Sanhedrin demonstrate their role as followers of Jesus by carrying his limp corpse down off Golgotha and then to the nearby tomb. There is no time to perform the ritual washing and anointing of the corpse with oil. But they do make the extravagant gesture of coating the body in expensive myrrh and aloe, to overwhelm the coming smell of decomposition. Then they wrap the body tightly in linen, making sure to keep it loose around Jesus’s face in case he is not really dead but merely unconscious. In this way, he will not suffocate. Jewish tradition dictates that all bodies be examined three days after apparent death.
⁴
Thus the tomb will be reopened and Jesus will be observed on Sunday.

But all this is merely adherence to ritual. For Jesus is clearly dead. The spear rupturing the pericardial sac around his heart left no doubt.

Nonetheless, the tomb will be reopened on Sunday. When death is formally pronounced, his body will rest inside the tomb for a full year. Then the bones will be removed from his decomposed body and placed in a small stone jar known as an ossuary, to be either stored in a niche carved into the tomb wall or removed to a new location.

The tomb of Jesus is in a garden outside the city walls. The stone that will cover its entrance weighs hundreds of pounds. It is already in position, resting atop a track that makes it easier to roll. The track, however, is engineered at a slightly downhill angle. Sealing the tomb today will be much easier than rolling away the heavy stone on Sunday.

Joseph and Nicodemus carry the body into the tomb and lay it down on the carved rock ledge. The air is dusty and laden with the smell of heavy perfume. The men say a formal good-bye to Jesus, then step outside the tomb.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, watches as the two men strain to roll the stone across the tomb entrance. Mary Magdalene also looks on. The shaft of daylight penetrating the tomb grows smaller and smaller as the rock rolls into position.

Jesus of Nazareth predicted his death and even prayed that God take the cup of sorrow from his lips. But now it is done. The silence of the grave is complete. Alone in the darkness of the tomb, Jesus of Nazareth finally rests in peace.

CHAPTER TWENTY

PILATE’S PALACE, JERUSALEM
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, A.D. 30
DAY

Pontius Pilate has visitors. Once again, Caiaphas and the Pharisees stand before him. But now they are inside the palace, no longer fearful of being made unclean by the governor’s presence, for Passover is done.

For the first time, Pilate notices that Caiaphas is actually terrified of Jesus’s power. What was not so obvious in the Nazarene’s lifetime is now quite apparent in death, for the chief priest is making an unheard-of request. Caiaphas tells Pilate directly, “That deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples might come, steal the body, and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead.”

There is a certain logic to the request, for the disappearance of Jesus’s body might lead to an uprising against the Temple priests as his followers convince people that this man who claims to be the Christ has actually proven himself to be immortal. The presence of a Roman guard will deter any attempt to break into the tomb to steal the corpse.

Pilate consents to Caiaphas’s request.

“Take a guard,” he orders. “Make the tomb secure.”

And so it is that a Roman guard is placed at the tomb of Jesus, just in case the dead man tries to escape.

*   *   *

That should have been the end of it. The troublemaker and blasphemer is dead. The Sanhedrin and Rome no longer have any cause for concern. If the Nazarene’s followers had any plans for trouble, there is no sign of it. The disciples have proven themselves timid, still stunned that their messiah is dead. They have gone into hiding and pose no threat to Rome.

Pilate is relieved. Soon he will be on his way back to Caesarea, there once again to govern without the constant interference of the Temple priests.

But Caiaphas will not go away. Wearing his expensive robes and linen, he postures before Pilate, not knowing how the Roman governor will report back to Rome. Caiaphas has much at stake and he is uneasy over Pilate’s hand-washing display, which makes it clear that the governor is trying to distance himself from this proceeding. He will lose everything if Emperor Tiberius blames him for the death of Jesus. So Caiaphas stands firm, looking for any sign of approval from Pilate. But the Roman governor has had enough of this arrogant priest. Without a word, he stands and walks away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

JESUS’S TOMB
SUNDAY, APRIL 9, A.D. 30
DAWN

The morning is dark. Dawn will soon break over Jerusalem, marking the third day since Jesus’s death. Mary Magdalene now takes it upon herself to perform the traditional task of examining the dead body. She travels with another woman named Mary, though not the mother of Jesus. Just as on the day the Nazarene was executed, the streets of the Upper City are quiet as the two women pass through. They exit the city walls at the Gennath Gate and now travel in the Nazarene’s last footsteps as they walk toward Golgotha.

The vertical pole on which Jesus was crucified still stands atop the hill, awaiting the next crucifixion. The two Marys look away from the gruesome image and walk around the hill to Jesus’s tomb.

They have practical matters on their minds. Mary Magdalene has never forgotten the many kindnesses Jesus showed her during his lifetime. And just as she once anointed him with perfume and washed his feet with her tears, she now plans to anoint the body with spices. It is unconscionable to her that Jesus’s corpse might molder and emit a foul smell. Perhaps a year from now, when she returns for Passover and is among those who roll away the stone in front of Jesus’s tomb to collect his bones, the smell of sweet perfume will pour forth from the cave entrance instead of the stench of death.