Pilate surprised to learn that Jesus had passed away so soon ; His testimony is extremely important and revealing

Short Duration:


Death on the cross is meant to take days, not hours.

Death by Crucifixion Takes Days

When the news of the supposed death of Jesus reached Pilate, he was surprised to learn that Jesus had passed away so soon (Mark 15:44). His testimony is extremely important and revealing. Here was the man who probably had the most knowledge in his time of the nature of the punishment of crucifixion and likely officiated over many such crucifixions.

Though many details of the crucifixion have been lost with the end of the Roman Empire, there are ample records to show this particular punishment took at least two to three days to kill a person. For example, good testimony comes from historian Flavius Josephus in the first century A.D who described survivors of crucifixions. The writer Plutarch (c 75 A.D) mentions some individuals surviving some ten days on the cross.

The New Bible Dictionary also concluded based on the historical facts of crucifixion that “death by this method was usually quite protracted, rarely supervening before thirty-six hours, and on occasion taking as long as nine days” (1962 ed, Intervarsity Press, Page 282).

Pilate’s Plot:

Having sympathy for Jesus, he planned to save him.

Convinced of His Innocence

It is notable in the New Testament testimony that Pontius Pilate believed Jesus to be innocent and did not want him executed. One of the influences was a dream Pilate’s wife convincing her of Jesus’ innocence, and the message she passed on to Pilate was “leave that innocent man alone” (Matthew 27:19).

Pilate eventually acquiesced to the demand of the Jews that Jesus be crucified, as a riot was developing. However he then asked for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd and exclaimed “I am innocent of the blood of this man. The responsibility is yours!” (Matthew 27:24) .

The Plan to Save Jesus

An analysis of the Gospels clearly reveals Pilate had an interest in saving Jesus’ life to the best of this ability while trying to maintain official execution procedure as mandated by Roman law. Three key points may be noted:

He set the crucifixion day just before the Sabbath, as Jewish law specifically prohibits bodies to hang on the cross by the start of Sabbath. Death would be unlikely to ensue within 6 hours (see “Short Duration”)

When the time came to remove Jesus and the two others on the cross, the Jews asked Pilate to break the legs of Jesus (John 19:31). However the centurions acting on Pilate’s command did not break the legs of Jesus (John 19:33). It was because he had taken these precautionary measures that Pilate was surprised when he was told that Jesus was “already dead” (Mark 15:44).

Roman protocol was that body would lie on the crucifixion grounds and be subjected to the elements and animals. However Pilate allowed something quite interesting to take place by deviating from standard practice. He allowed Jesus to be given to Jesus’ friends not his enemies.

Healing Herbs:

Used for healing the living — not embalming the dead.

Aloe and Myrrh

After the crucifixion, the body of Jesus came into the hands of his disciples Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus

The Gospel of John records that Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes ‘about a seventy-five pounds in weight’ (John 19:39). These plants, particularly aloe plants, are considered medicinal and applied to wounds. It was used extensively in many ancient cultures is used even today to soothe open wounds. The Roman physician Pedanius Dioscrorides (c 75 B.C) recommended aloe for wounds and skin conditions. Alexander the Great’s mentor, Aristotle, persuaded him to capture the island of Socotra to harvest the aloe plants for treating wounded soldiers.

Interestingly, the medieval near eastern classic textbook of medicine entitled Canon of Medicine by Avicenna mentioned an ointment termed Marhami Isa (Ointment of Jesus).

Unbroken Legs:

This would have prevented death by respiratory distress.

Saved from a Fatal Blow

After Jesus supposedly ‘died’ on the cross a Roman soldier made a decision not to break the legs of Jesus while on the cross. The episode fulfilled a prophecy and was not without meaning.

The Gospel of John (19:36) tells us that the Scripture was fulfilled (based on Psalms 34:20) - a bone of his shall not be broken. The Roman soldier did not bother to break the legs of Jesus to hasten death since he thought he was already dead. Breaking the legs would have been devastating due to the severe trauma of blood loss and consequential hypovolemic shock by breaking one of the larger bones in the body, the tibia, in each leg.

The Scriptural attention to not breaking the legs can only be meaningful if the body was alive - it is a meaningless issue for a corpse. A fuller reading of Psalm 34, verses 19 and 20 underscores it:

“The righteous face many troubles but the Lord rescues them from each and every one. For the Lord protects them from harm - not one of their bones will be broken.”

http://www.alislam.org/topics/jesus/

Paarsurrey says:

Please read the above Ahmadia view-point and accept the truth only if it satisfies your heart and soul, your mind and conscience;absolutely no compulsion.

My Christian friends should feel free to make any peaceful comments; even if they differ with me.

I love Jesus , Mary and Muhammad.

Thanks

I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim



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