By Kristy Volmert | Staff Writer
Dr. Sparky Matthews, clinical professor in the Honors Program, shared a lesson examining the scientific and historical contexts of Christ’s suffering and death on Monday at the Hurd Welcome Center.
As a board-certified physician with expertise in multiple areas including pathophysiology and medical history, Matthews brought details about Christ’s suffering and Crucifixion.
He covered the logistics of the Roman execution methods that were used on Jesus Christ preluding His Crucifixion and the brutal effects they had on Him.
Matthews said he has been researching this topic for about 15 years and put together a presentation for his classes when he started teaching at Baylor.
“I share my faith with my students, and I think they see that overflowing joy in me,” he said. “This is my opportunity to share it further.”
Matthews described the scourging, flogging and beating that Christ endured before even carrying the cross up to the place of Crucifixion in great detail. Matthews also outlined the structure of the cross and how it affected Jesus’ body.
According to Matthews, Jesus was unrecognizable as human while He carried the cross.
“The Bible states that none of His bones were broken, as prophesied in Psalm 34:20,” Matthews said.
He emphasized the significance of the lack of fractured bones in compliance with the Scriptures, as the chances of that were very slim considering the violence that He endured.
Going into depth on the pain of being hung upon the cross, Matthews described the discomfort that was caused by each breath Jesus took. According to Matthews, oftentimes those who were being crucified would become too weak to pull themselves up to breathe.
“There comes a point where there is so much pain that it overwhelms the neuromuscular system, and the muscles can no longer obey those inputs,” he said. “Obviously, this was extremely painful.”
Jesus’ quick death took the exactor mortis, the one responsible for carrying out the crucifixion act, by surprise, given it would usually take days for one to die after being hung on the cross, he said.
Matthews shared his insight on why he believes the Bible records that water was excreted alongside blood when Jesus was stabbed with a spear, a procedure executed to ensure that He had died.
“I think it was fluid that resulted from a pericardial effusion, which is a buildup of fluid around the sac surrounding the heart,” Matthews said.
Likely, according to Matthews, cardiac bruising resulted from the blows Jesus took from being beaten and falling whilst carrying the cross, which led to that pericardial effusion.
Bryant, Ark., freshman Lochlan Walsh said the lecture was passionate and intentional.
“He’s really passionate about Christ and about sharing Christ with his students and reflecting Christ in everything he does,” she said.
Walsh said she thinks that the topic is very important and “not talked about enough.”
“I think it would be good for Christians who are growing in their faith to explore this topic,” she said. “It also deepens our appreciation for what He did for us.”
“I think we forget the reality of how painfully and graphically [Jesus] died,” Walsh said. “But that also demonstrates just how deeply He loves us.”
Matthews also shared his medical opinion on the final cause of Jesus’ death, exploring a multitude of potential factors, including exhaustion.
“The scourging would have caused massive blood loss, which would likely result in kidney death,” he said. “Blunt chest trauma or a cardiac aneurysm exacerbated by cardiac stress are also potential causes.”
Matthews also mentioned hypoxia — a loss of sufficient oxygen — or hypercapnia — an excess of carbon dioxide in the body — as potential causes of death.
This carbon dioxide retention could have contributed to a multitude of dangerous consequences, such as respiratory acidosis, which exacerbates cardiac arrhythmias or abnormal heart rhythm, he said. This cascade of events is likely to cause a condition called ventricular fibrillation, a heart rhythm that often causes sudden death.
“It was not shock,” Matthews said. “Jesus had conversations while on the cross, and they made sense.”
“It was not asphyxiation — the intended cause of death for crucifixion — which we have evidence of in the Gospels,” he said. “If it was, He wouldn’t have been able to cry out to God the way that He did in His final moments.”
“In my opinion, the most likely cause of Jesus’s final death was ventricular fibrillation,” he said. “I think that the final crying out of His voice being the moment leading into His death is that key piece of evidence that excludes the other possibilities.”
Matthews said he is very passionate about using his abilities and expertise to point people toward the Gospel.
“Though this is all very interesting, at least to me, this story doesn’t end with the death of Jesus,” he said.
