Crushed: A Physician Analyzes the Agony of Jesus

J. Shan Young. Nashville: Glass Road Media, 2013. 403 pp. (Kindle Version).

I refused to go see Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” I cringe every year when, reading through the Bible, I get near the end of the four gospels. I just have a hard time dealing with the details of Jesus’ suffering. So when I got “Crushed” in the mail, I was less than enthusiastic about reading it. I can’t say that it made me any more eager to read about what Jesus experienced leading up to and during His crucifixion but I learned some amazing things from the book.

Did you know there is a name for sweating blood as Jesus did? It is “hematidrosis” and there is a lot more to it than just a few bloody drops of sweat. It likely made the nerve endings in Jesus skin much more sensitive to the beatings and other cruelty that followed the agony in Gethsemane. 

The author goes into great detail in explaining many specifics surrounding the death of Jesus and not just the physical aspects. Besides being a medical doctor Young also is an accomplished theologian and biblical scholar. The book carefully describes the need for Jesus’ substitutionary atonement, drawing on both Old and New Testament writings. At the end of each chapter are pages of references for the author’s assertions. 

This book would be instructive for any Christian but I think it would be especially helpful on the bookshelves of pastors and Bible scholars. 

“Crushed” is an enhanced e-book. It has embedded videos and links that add to the experience of reading the book. It worked better on my Kindle than on the Kindle app on my iPad.