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     The singular fact and the core foundation undergirding Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  Of course, this necessarily means that Jesus died before being resurrected.  In an effort to deny the resurrection, many skeptics claim Jesus did not die on the cross, but was merely in a trance or coma.  So, they view His resurrection as recovering from the coma.  Yet, there is no death in ancient history that is documented in such detail as Jesus’ death.
     Close examination of the New Testament shows conclusively that Jesus died.  His suffering actually began in the garden of Gethsemane on the evening before he was tortured and crucified.  While Jesus was praying, He sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44).  This very rare occurrence is called hematidrosis which is a result of a high degree of psychological stress.  This stress causes the release of chemicals in the flesh, that, in-turn, cause the blood capillaries to break down and bleed into the sweat glands.  Thus, the sweat appears similar to blood.  Although the blood loss is negligible, the skin becomes very sensitive, thus the flogging Jesus endured eight to ten hours later would have been excruciating.
     After being denied sleep all night, Jesus was flogged near the conclusion of His trial conducted by the Roman governor Pilate (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1).  Flogging was prosecuted with a whip made of leather thongs with metal balls and sharp pieces of bone woven into the leather.  As the flogging began, the flesh was bruised, then it was torn.  Sometimes the cuts were so deep, even the spine was exposed.  From the shoulders down to the back of the legs, the flesh and underlying skeletal muscles were cut into ribbons of bleeding flesh.
     Flogging caused a great loss of blood which in-turn caused hypovolemic shock.  First, the heart raced to pump blood that was not there.  Second, the victim’s blood pressure dropped, causing the person to faint or collapse.  Third, in order to preserve the body’s fluid level, the kidneys stopped producing urine.  Fourth, the person became extremely thirsty as the body desires to replenish the lost fluids.  That Jesus was in hypovolemic shock is evident by His collapse on the road as He carried the cross (John 19:6-17; Luke 23:26) and when He said “I thirst” after He was nailed to the cross (John 19:28).  By the time Jesus reached Calvary, He must have been exhausted.  All of this suffering...and Jesus had not been crucified yet.

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