Short answer
Slowly, over hours or days, as the body gave out. Rome used crucifixion to make death last. Cicero, a Roman statesman, called it the cruellest of punishments. Seneca, a Roman philosopher, asked who would choose to be fastened to the accursed tree and let out his life drop by drop. Doctors describe a slow collapse, as breathing, blood loss and exhaustion wore the body down. It was nothing like the quick bleeding of an animal at the altar. It did not always kill: Josephus, a Jewish historian, had three friends taken down, and one of them lived. Mark's Gospel, a New Testament account of Jesus' life, says the Roman governor Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. So the quick death the Gospels describe was unusual for a cross. Islam does not teach that Jesus survived a cross. The Qur'an says Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, and that Allah (﷾) raised him to Himself.
Full explanation
What Roman writers said
Crucifixion was kept for slaves, rebels and violent criminals. It was meant to frighten others. Cicero, a Roman statesman of the first century BC, called it the cruellest and most horrible punishment. Seneca, a Roman philosopher of the first century AD, asked who would choose to be fastened to the accursed tree. He said the victim let out his life drop by drop, drawing breath through long agony. Augustine was a Christian bishop of the fourth and fifth centuries, writing after the punishment had ended. He said death on the cross was drawn out on purpose, so that the pain would last.
Prosecuting a Roman governor who had crucified a Roman citizen, Cicero calls crucifixion "the cruellest and most horrible punishment" and "the extreme and ultimate punishment of slaves".
Seneca asks whether anyone would choose to waste away in pain, dying limb by limb and letting out his life drop by drop, rather than die at once. He then asks who would choose to be fastened to "the accursed tree", already broken and deformed, and draw breath through long-drawn-out agony.
Augustine writes that those hanging on the cross, nailed to the wood, were killed by a slow, lingering death. The crucified lived long on the cross, not because they chose to, but because death itself was drawn out so that the pain would not end too quickly.
Gathers the ancient Greek and Latin evidence on crucifixion and shows that it was a deliberately cruel and drawn-out way to die, used above all for slaves, rebels and violent criminals.
What doctors say
Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon, argued in 1950 that a man hanging by his arms can breathe out only by pushing himself up. He held that the crucified died of asphyxia (being unable to breathe) as cramps and exhaustion set in. A 1986 review in the Journal of the American Medical Association agrees on the main effect. It was interference with breathing. The review names two causes of death. One is shock from blood and fluid loss after the scourging (a flogging with a whip). The other is exhaustion asphyxia.
A French surgeon's study of crucifixion. Barbet argued that a man hanging by his arms can breathe out only by pushing himself up, and that the crucified died of asphyxia as cramps and exhaustion took hold.
A medical review written from the Gospel accounts. It says the main effect of crucifixion was to interfere with normal breathing, that the scourging caused heavy blood loss and set the stage for shock, and that death resulted mainly from hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. The authors conclude that Jesus was dead when taken down.
It did not always kill
Josephus was a Jewish historian of the first century. During the Roman war he saw many captives crucified, and he recognised three men he knew. He asked the Roman commander Titus for them, and they were taken down and given the best care. Two died, but the third recovered. A man taken down in time could live. This is about crucifixion in general. Islam does not teach that Jesus survived a cross: the Qur'an says he was not crucified at all.
Josephus writes that, sent by Titus to a village called Thekoa, he saw many captives crucified on his way back and recognised three men he knew. He asked Titus for them, and Titus ordered them taken down and given the greatest care. Two died under the physicians' hands; the third recovered.
“That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-”
How long the Gospels say it lasted
Mark says Jesus was crucified at the third hour and cried out at the ninth, about six hours later. Mark also says Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. He asked the centurion (a Roman army officer) whether Jesus had been dead long. The two men crucified with him were still alive, so the soldiers broke their legs to hasten their deaths. On the Gospels' own account, the death came from the cross itself, not from blood shed at an altar.
“And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.”
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
“And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.”
“The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:”
- The third hour
Crucified
Mark gives the hour.
- The ninth hour
The cry
About six hours later.
- That evening
Pilate surprised
He asks the centurion whether Jesus has been dead long.
- The same day
The other two still alive
The soldiers break their legs to hasten their deaths.
Does the cross match a blood sacrifice?
Christians teach that Christ's shed blood takes away sin. Hebrews, a letter in the New Testament, says that without shedding of blood there is no remission (forgiveness). In the Law of Moses the offering was slaughtered before the LORD. Its blood was sprinkled on the altar, for the life is in the blood. Crucifixion did draw blood, from the scourging and the nails. But it did not kill the way the altar did. It was built to kill slowly, over hours or days, as the body gave out. Islam needs no blood for forgiveness. The Qur'an says it is not the meat or the blood of an offering that reaches Allah (﷾), but piety. The death Christians describe does not match the sacrifice they compare it with.
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
“And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.”
“It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him: He has thus made them subject to you, that ye may glorify Allah for His Guidance to you and proclaim the good news to all who do right.”
| Point | A sacrifice at the altar | Crucifixion |
|---|---|---|
| How it killed | Slaughtered before the LORD, its blood sprinkled on the altar | As breathing, blood loss and exhaustion wore the body down |
| How long | Quickly | Hours or days |
| What it was for | An offering | A punishment for slaves, rebels and violent criminals, meant to frighten others |
What the Qur'an says
The Qur'an says they did not kill Jesus and did not crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them. Those who dispute it follow only conjecture. Allah (﷾) raised him up to Himself.
“That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-”
“Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-”
Verse by verse
John 19:34 — Gospel of John, chapter 19, verse 34
“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”
Cited for
Christians say the spear thrust shows that Jesus was dead, and that the blood and water show his heart had failed.
The response
The Qur'an says he was not crucified at all. Even if we accept the Gospels' story for argument's sake, the spear came after the soldiers had already judged him dead. It was the day before the sabbath (the Jewish day of rest), and the bodies had to be off the crosses. Mark says Pilate was surprised and had to ask the centurion. Crucifixion was designed to be slow, often lasting far longer than this. That is why the governor was surprised.
Where it lands — Even the Gospels' own story is less certain than Christians claim. Islam's answer does not rest on it: the Qur'an says Jesus was not crucified at all.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Christians say Jesus died on the cross after a few hours. They say the scourging had already weakened him, and the spear thrust made his death certain.
A 1986 medical review argued that the scourging (a flogging with a whip) caused heavy blood loss. It said Jesus died of shock and exhaustion asphyxia (being unable to breathe from exhaustion).
Rebuttal
The review is real, and it describes how crucifixion kills. But it cannot know what happened to one man on one day, and its claim about Jesus rests on the Gospels' story. Even in that story Pilate was surprised, and the Qur'an says Jesus was not killed or crucified.
John records that a soldier pierced his side with a spear and blood and water came out.
Rebuttal
John does tell this, but he gives no medical reason for the blood and water. On his telling the soldiers had already judged the man dead, while Mark gives about six hours and says Pilate was surprised. And the Qur'an says Jesus was not crucified at all.
What the evidence shows
Crucifixion was a slow death, designed to last, as the body gave out. It could be survived if the victim was taken down in time. Islam does not teach that Jesus survived a cross: the Qur'an says he was not crucified at all.
Roman and Christian writers describe crucifixion as the cruellest punishment and a deliberately lingering death.
The surgeon Pierre Barbet (1950) and a 1986 JAMA review describe interference with breathing as its main effect.
Josephus records a man who survived crucifixion after being taken down and treated.
Mark reports that Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead.
The Islamic perspective
The Qur'an says Jesus was neither killed nor crucified. It was made to appear so, and Allah (﷾) raised him to Himself. Even on the Christians' own account, a slow death by exhaustion on a cross is not the blood sacrifice their belief requires.
The Qur'an states that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, and that Allah (﷾) raised him to Himself.
A slow death on a cross does not fit the offerings of the Law. They were slaughtered before the LORD, with their blood sprinkled on the altar.