Jesus Christ and Wounds

Jesus Christ is the most controversial and famous figure in human history. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of my life and I am humbled to be able to learn about Him daily, wake up everyday to follow His ways, and learn to walk in my identity in Christ.

Jesus' ministry had a heavy focus on healing in many different aspects, but in the context of what we are focusing on, he healed physical wounds. Wounds were (and still are) such a burden on the quality of life of those who are dealing with them. This gives such a humbling and rewarding frame around caring for wounds because of the relief that is experienced during care and healing, and the empowerment given to one that is healed. While many people may not understand the intricacies of specializing in wound care, it says so much that healing wounds was such a large part of Jesus' work during his short time on Earth.

Wound care requires the heart to want to do it, the understanding of the specialized education and science, and the skill to perform what was learned. This is no small feat, which means it is not for everyone and it certainly is not for the faint of heart.

Romans 11:29 in The Bible says "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable", meaning God has given us each gifts, talents and abilities to carry out the purpose He created us for. So for all of the nurses that provide wound care and the specialized wound nurses (WOCN, WON, OCN, WN), remember that those suffering with wounds were on the heart of Jesus so much so that his ministry cared for those suffering. A great thank you and honor for your gift and heart to provide amazing care and to advocate for your patients.

The actual death of Jesus is sometimes argued despite evidence presented from the ultimate source, The Bible, and non-biblical, historical accounts of his crucifixion. Dr. Edwards et al. writes a concrete objective paper titled "On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ" where he presents medical, logical evidence that Jesus did in fact die on the cross (before he rose again and ascended into Heaven). He details the events of the crucifixion noting the key medical and physiological indicators that would result in the death of Jesus' natural body. Even though the focus of this post is not debating the existence of Christ or if His death occurred, I wanted to include his abstract because it was so well written. His abstract writes:

Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged,

and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep

stripelike lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the

stage for hypovolemic shock, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too

weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of

crucifixion, his wrists were nailed to the patibulum and, after the patibulum

was lifted onto the upright post (stipes), his feet were nailed to the stipes.

The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with

normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily from hypovolemic

shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Jesus' death was ensured by the thrust of a

soldier's spear into his side. Modern medical interpretation of the historical

evidence indicates that Jesus was dead when taken down from the cross.

What amazes me and inspired this blog was at the end of Jesus Christ's life on Earth, The Bible shows us in Mark 15:42-44, John 19:38-42, and Matthew 27:57, where two prominent Jewish leaders, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, requested and took His body down from the cross and prepared it for burial. We learn about the wealth of Joseph of Arimethea (in Matthew 27:57; 60) which details that he was a "rich man" and that he provided the linens to wrap Jesus' body and buried Jesus' body in "his own tomb". Linen was often seen as a sign of wealth and status due to its laborious process to produce. Linen was also a mark of "purity" and being "set apart", which depicts Joseph Arimathea's reverence for Jesus' body. Nicodemus provided 75 pounds of Aloes and Myrrh, which in todays cost would be approximately $200,000 to prepare.

This is so important to note because even in Jesus' death, the importance of wound care shows up again.

Both Aloe Vera and Myrrh have medicinal benefits of delaying the breakdown of skin that include, but are not limited to, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory benefits (Hekmatpou et al, 2019; Suliman et al, 2022). Knowing this about these two plants gives insight that although they could not heal the wounds of a deceased body, they could slow down the decaying process of the inflicted wounds that would speed up decomposition of the body (Presnell, 2025).

In Summary:

• Wound care givers rock! Thank you for all that you do

• The importance of wound care to Jesus during His ministry as He exemplified

• The importance of wound care after the death of Jesus as demonstrated by the reverence Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had for Jesus' postmortem body

Resources

William D. Edwards, MD; Wesley J. Gabel, MDiv; Floyd E. Hosmer, MS, AMI. Death of Christ. JAMA. March 21, 1986; (255):11

Hekmatpou D, Mehrabi F, Rahzani K, Aminiyan A. The Effect of Aloe Vera Clinical Trials on Prevention and Healing of Skin Wound: A Systematic Review. Iran J Med Sci. 2019 Jan;44(1):1-9. PMID: 30666070; PMCID: PMC6330525.

Presnell, S. E. (2025, July 3). Postmortem changes. Overview, Definitions, Scene Findings. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1680032-overview

Suliman RS, Alghamdi SS, Ali R, Aljatli D, Aljammaz NA, Huwaizi S, Suliman R, Kahtani KM, Albadrani GM, Barhoumi T, Altolayyan A, Rahman I. The Role of Myrrh Metabolites in Cancer, Inflammation, and Wound Healing: Prospects for a Multi-Targeted Drug Therapy. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2022 Jul 29;15(8):944. doi: 10.3390/ph15080944. PMID: 36015092; PMCID: PMC9416713.