The Pathophysiology of the Death of Jesus the Christ

Centuries-long speculation continues regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of the Savior. Over the past century, the Savior’s tribulations between the Last Supper and his death on the cross have been scrupulously examined from a medical viewpoint. In this article I review many of these studies and, using current medical acumen, propose additional inferences and explanations based on scriptural, medical, and historical accounts. The evidence suggests that at some point between Gethsemane and his last moments on the cross, the Lord’s body was pushed beyond the limit that a normal mortal could endure. The Lord did, however, endure and completed the Atonement. He left this mortal life and “yielded up the ghost” (Matthew 27:50) on his own terms and timeframe, not as the result of any action inflicted upon him. He always acted and was never acted upon unwillingly. His persecutors, although permitted to inflict horrific injury and pain, were powerless either to take his life or to accelerate his death.