Jesus Carried The Cross-beam To Golgotha.

Jesus Carried The Cross-beam To Golgotha

The Cross used during Christ's time was a "Low Tau Cross" made of two parts:

1. The Patibulum, the Cross-Bar, which the prisoner carried to the place of execution.

2. The Stipes Crucis which was already in place, an upright heavy beam inserted into the ground.

The Shroud shows a wide area of bruises over each anatomical shoulder area. The patibulum weighed approximately 80 pounds, and Jesus carried this on His shoulders to Golgotha. It may be clearly seen on the Shroud that the wounds from the Scourging have been opened up in the process. There is also widespread bruising over both scapular regions.

Jesus fell three times whilst carrying the heavy patibulum, tied to his arms. The Shroud shows that he sustained fractured nasal cartilages, and a laceration to His left knee. Matching dirt (Travertine Aragonite) from Jerusalem is also found on the Shroud, at these two sites. For full details please see The Shroud of Turin Proves the Resurrection on this web site.

The Crown Of Thorns, And The Mocking Of Jesus.

In Matthew 27:27-30 we read,

"Then the soldiers of the procurator took Jesus into the praetorium, and gathered together about him the whole cohort. And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet cloak; and plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed into his right hand; and bending the knee they mocked him, saying "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat on him, and took the reed and kept striking him on the head." 

The crown of thorns was not a crown at all. It was probably a bush roughly applied, and tied on with rope. The beating with the rods to the head covered with this crown would have caused severe bleeding to this very vascular area.

The thorns probably came from the Lote Tree, the Zizyphus Spina Christi. This wild bush still grows freely all over the Holy Land, and was probably used by the Roman soldiers as firewood.

This bush had thorns between one to two inches long. There are over 70 scalp wounds visible on the Shroud. It is probable that the clump of thorns was removed before Jesus' seamless tunic was put back onto His body, and then reapplied during the Crucifixion. The blood trickling down from the newly opened head wounds suggest that the thorns were reapplied before the Crucifixion.

Following the scourging and mocking, Jesus had sustained the following injuries, clearly visible on the Shroud:

1. His beard had been ripped off (See Isaiah 50:6), with severe bleeding from His face.

2. He had severe bleeding from His scalp from the crown of thorns.

3. He had lacerations over His right orbit, from punching and beating with rods.

4. He had fractured nasal cartilages, from beating with rods.

5. He had sustained bruising of both cheeks from punches.

This was all in complete fulfilment of the following prophecy in Isaiah 52:14, "Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men."

Jesus was virtually unrecognisable on the Cross.

The Roman Scourging.

The Roman Scourging

We read, in John 19:1, that "Pilate, then took Jesus and had him scourged." 

Scourging of criminals prior to Crucifixion to weaken the criminal was standard practice by the Romans. The Shroud of Turin reveals the use of a Roman scourge with 3 bar-bells. There were two soldiers. The Roman instrument used is called a flagrum, which is a short whip with 3 separate leather thongs, each terminating in a metal dumb-bell. Thus one lash would cause 3 separate wounds.

On the Shroud the scourging leaves circular dumb-bell shaped wounds all over the body. Jesus was draped over a pillar, and His naked body exposed to the flagrum. His arms were stretched and his back bent.

The Turin Shroud reveals wounds all over the body. Wounds are found on the back, the chest, the abdomen, the arms, the legs, and the pelvis.

Two Soldiers administered the Scourging

Early researchers on the Shroud realised that the marks on the Shroud came from two separate sources. They concluded this because the angles of the marks fan out from two points. One set of marks came from Jesus' left side, while another set came from Jesus' right side. The only requirement for soldiers administering a Roman scourging prior to Crucifixion was that the victim survived.

The number of lashes on the Shroud is excessive - about 120 lashes. Crucified victims commonly took up to 3 days to die, but Jesus took 6 hours to die - an indication of the severity of the scourging. This is possibly why Jesus was too weak to carry the Patibulum, which weighed 80 - 100 pounds

The Pulling Off Of Jesus' Beard 


According to Isaiah 50:6, "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting."In fulfilment of prophecy, Jesus' beard was pulled off.

The early Dehydration of Jesus

Jesus had not drunk any fluids since the night before, at the Last Supper. Following the Scourging,

- His body was shredded, with muscle and subcutaneous tissue exposed.

- His beard had been pulled out.

- He would already have been severely dehydrated, in the early stages of cardio-respiratory collapse.

Jesus Did Not Have A Legal Trial.

Jesus Did Not Have A Legal Trial

It is recorded in Matthew 27:22-26,

"Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!" Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done? "But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it." And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children." Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. 

Pilate never condemned Jesus for doing anything wrong. Pilate simply asked the crowd what they wanted to do with Jesus Christ, and the crowd, inspired by the Sanhedrin, cried out for Him to be crucified. Pontius Pilate washed his hands, and said that he was innocent of Jesus' Blood. The Roman Legal System had failed, and Pontius Pilate said to the crowd, "You see to it". 

Everyone has to make a decision in their lives about what to do with Jesus Christ

The Crowd Choose Barabbas Rather Than Jesus. This Is A Perfect Picture Of The Gospel.

The Crowd Choose Barabbas Rather Than Jesus. This Is A Perfect Picture Of The Gospel

We read in Matthew 27:15-21,

"Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" 

The word "Barabbas" literally means in Hebrew, "son of the father". Which spiritual father did Barabbas belong to? Jesus said, in John 8:44, "You are of your father the devil". According to Mark 15:7, Barabbas was a murderer, and therefore a son of the Devil.

As far as Barabbas was concerned, there was the perfect exchange. Barabbas went free, and Jesus died in his place. This is a perfect picture of the Gospel. The Son of God died in the place of a son of the Devil.