The Fatal Blow: Answering difficult questions about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ

Jesus epitomized sacrifice. From his tireless ministry of healing, deliverance, and salvation to his disregard for the power, prestige, and privilege he unquestionably merited, he demonstrated that he came to serve, not to be served. He lived with the foreknowledge that on his shoulders would rest the eternal futures of countless billions of people—and he knew exactly what agony awaited on the cross.

But what was the nature of his suffering, and what made his brutal yet run-of-the-mill execution on Calvary “enough” to pay the penalty for God’s wrath?

Jeffrey D. Hamby, MD, explores the mystery of Christ’s passion, crucifixion, and death in this unique yet well-supported interpretation of history and scripture. Hamby assesses the medical and emotional ramifications behind Jesus not only atoning for the combined sins of humanity but also internalizing the cumulative disease, despair, and sorrow of all creation since the Fall.

In a study calling into question two millennia of hermeneutics related to Jesus’s final hours, Hamby argues that Jesus’s distress began earlier and was far greater than we could imagine. And he proves that Jesus’s last words evidenced a conversation confirming beyond a shadow of a doubt that the debt was paid—in full.