The Nativity and Crucifixion from a Medical Perspective

I recently came across an incredible article titled "A Physician's View of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ," in which the author describes what must have happened to Christ's body during His Crucifixion in medical and anatomical detail. I will be the first to admit that I've always pretty much taken this salvific and life-giving event for granted, but reading this article really made me realize how much excruciating pain Christ must have endured as His holy Body was stretched far beyond any imaginable limits.

I mean, one lesson I certainly never had in Sunday School was how exactly one dies by crucifixion - Is it from loss of blood from the nail piercings and eventual hypotensive shock? Is it from dehydration mixed with unthinkable pain and emotional agony?

Here's how the article's author describes how difficult it must have been for Christ to even draw in a breath of air while He was on the cross:

"Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen."

Intrigued? Read the rest of the article here.

If that isn't enough to set your medical mind reeling, consider also the verses from Luke that chronicle the Visitation of St. Mary with Elizabeth:

"Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth." - Luke 1:39

In fact, there is only a single verse in all the Gospels that describe the actual journey of St. Mary to Elizabeth. We know from Luke 1:26 that the Annunciation of Christ's birth to St. Mary occurred in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, and since St. Mary stayed with her cousin for three months, it is conceivable that she was with Elizabeth until the birth of St. John. This probably means that St. Mary left her house to visit Elizabeth right after the Annunciation, when she herself was in the first month of her own pregnancy with Christ.

Now, what really gets me going over this is that St. Mary voluntarily left the comfort of her house in Nazareth, went into the "hill country" (that sounds super comfortable, read: sarcasm) with "haste" to a city in Judah, a journey that has been estimated to be about 100 miles. That's about the distance from NYC to Philadelphia. These days, that would be about a 1.5 hour car ride. Two hours with that gosh-darn traffic. In the ancient world, where you're probably hitching a ride on a donkey? 3-5 days at least (donkey transportation averaged 20 miles a day, camels anywhere from 30-100 miles a day, and walking can get you 20 miles a day, but I really sincerely hope St. Mary didn't walk it).

So the point is the last thing I would want to do in the initial stages of pregnancy when my hormones are raging and morning sickness is making me nauseous and vomiting my breakfast, is take a 100-mile journey through dusty, unpaved roads to visit someone else who is even more pregnant than me, and then take care of her for three months (I get exhausted after 20 minutes with a patient!). It just highlights how utterly unselfish and loving the Virgin Mother of Christ must have been, and I can truly believe that she did all this without even the slightest thought of complaint!