The Virtual Kingdom Hall

We were so intrigued by this dilemma that we created this detail page. The issue is critical to our ability to share the Truth with the world and answer their questions. So lets get into the question:

How Did The Romans Expect Jesus To Die?

To understand the problem we must first look at the Vietnam war. POW's were tortured by tying their arms behind there back and then lifted by there wrists into the air. This would cause their chest to constrict so they could not breath. Their lungs could not expand and they would pass out. Before they would suffocate to death the Vietnamese solder would let go of the rope and they would drop to the ground. As soon as the prisoner would wake up the solder would lift him back up. The pain was unbearable.

Now read very carefully so you can know the answer this question. What the Vietnamese did to the POW's is a lot like how the Roman cross works. A mans arms are away from his body. The man is forced to put all his weight on his legs. After a wile his legs give out and his arms are carrying all his weight. His arms are out on his sides and he must lean forward which causes his chest to constrict and he slowly suffocates.

Now study a picture of Christ Jesus on a torture stick very carefully. You will see that his hands are nailed over his head and his feet are nailed below him. This is very painful way to die because it would take days to die from exposure to the hot sun. The Romans placed two other men on the hill with Jesus with the intention that they would suffer terribly and finally die. The two men with Jesus that day were criminals (Luke 23:32). Then the Jews asked the Romans break their legs because they wanted them to die before the Sabbath (John 19:32,33).

The question we must now ask is this: "How would breaking the man's legs when he is on a torture stick cause him to die quickly?" This would cause all his weight to be on his arms. The nail in his hands would cause his hand to tare but this would not speed up his death. Now lets look at a picture of a cross.

We can see that if a man could not use his legs then he would lean forward. The weight of his body would pull him forward and therefore cause his chest to constrict. He would not be able to breath and would slowly suffocate. This is how the cross was designed to torture and kill a man. The man would have to use his legs to pick his body up so he could breath. Over time his back and legs muscles would start to weaken and spasm. He could no longer pick himself up and he would suffocate.

This could take days but he would eventually die of suffocation. To speed this process up the Romans would break the man's legs so he could not lift his body up and he would suffocate. (John 19:32,33) Try it yourself on a wall by putting your hands on the wall away from your body and then over our head.

No matter how you try to reason it, breaking Jesus' legs if he were on a torture stick would not have killed him quicker. There must be another answer. We invite you to go to the next page to learn more about this issue.