Reference: Crucifixion
Easton
a common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the Mosaic law were, by the sword (Ex 21), strangling, fire (Le 20), and stoning (De 21).
This was regarded as the most horrible form of death, and to a Jew it would acquire greater horror from the curse in De 21:23.
This punishment began by subjecting the sufferer to scourging. In the case of our Lord, however, his scourging was rather before the sentence was passed upon him, and was inflicted by Pilate for the purpose, probably, of exciting pity and procuring his escape from further punishment (Lu 23:22; Joh 19:1).
The condemned one carried his own cross to the place of execution, which was outside the city, in some conspicuous place set apart for the purpose. Before the nailing to the cross took place, a medicated cup of vinegar mixed with gall and myrrh (the sopor) was given, for the purpose of deadening the pangs of the sufferer. Our Lord refused this cup, that his senses might be clear (Mt 27:34). The spongeful of vinegar, sour wine, posca, the common drink of the Roman soldiers, which was put on a hyssop stalk and offered to our Lord in contemptuous pity (Mt 27:48; Lu 23:36), he tasted to allay the agonies of his thirst (Joh 19:29). The accounts given of the crucifixion of our Lord are in entire agreement with the customs and practices of the Roman in such cases. He was crucified between two "malefactors" (Isa 53:12; Lu 23:32), and was watched by a party of four soldiers (Joh 19:23; Mt 27:36,54), with their centurion. The "breaking of the legs" of the malefactors was intended to hasten death, and put them out of misery (Joh 19:31); but the unusual rapidity of our Lord's death (Joh 19:33) was due to his previous sufferings and his great mental anguish. The omission of the breaking of his legs was the fulfilment of a type (Ex 12:46). He literally died of a broken heart, a ruptured heart, and hence the flowing of blood and water from the wound made by the soldier's spear (Joh 19:34). Our Lord uttered seven memorable words from the cross, namely, (1) Lu 23:34; (2) Lu 23:43; (3) Joh 19:26; (4) Mt 27:46; Mr 15:34; (5) Joh 19:28; (6) Joh 19:30; (7) Lu 23:46.
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It must be eaten in one house; you must not bring any of the meat outside the house, and you must not break a bone of it.
his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels."
and offered Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink. But after tasting it, he would not drink it.
Then they sat down and kept guard over him there.
At about three o'clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink.
Now when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were extremely terrified and said, "Truly this one was God's Son!"
Around three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
A third time he said to them, "Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty of no crime deserving death. I will therefore flog him and release him."
Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him.
[But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes.
The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,
And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And after he said this he breathed his last.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely.
Now when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, and the tunic remained. (Now the tunic was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.)
So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, "Woman, look, here is your son!"
After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty!" A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth. read more. When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, "It is completed!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was an especially important one), the Jewish leaders asked Pilate to have the victims' legs broken and the bodies taken down.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out immediately.
Hastings
CRUCIFIXION
1. Its nature.
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If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse on a tree,
If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse on a tree, his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Then Joshua executed them and hung them on five trees. They were left hanging on the trees until evening.
They placed Saul's armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan.
"I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled on it, and his house is to be reduced to a rubbish heap for this indiscretion.
So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king's rage then abated.
As they were going out, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced to carry his cross.
and offered Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink. But after tasting it, he would not drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided his clothes by throwing dice.
Above his head they put the charge against him, which read: "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews."
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink.
Now when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.
The inscription of the charge against him read, "The king of the Jews."
A third time he said to them, "Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty of no crime deserving death. I will therefore flog him and release him."
There was also an inscription over him, "This is the king of the Jews."
Look at my hands and my feet; it's me! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones like you see I have."
Look at my hands and my feet; it's me! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones like you see I have."
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely.
Pilate also had a notice written and fastened to the cross, which read: "Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews."
Pilate also had a notice written and fastened to the cross, which read: "Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews."
Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was an especially important one), the Jewish leaders asked Pilate to have the victims' legs broken and the bodies taken down.
Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was an especially important one), the Jewish leaders asked Pilate to have the victims' legs broken and the bodies taken down.
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out immediately.
The other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!"
The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree.
We are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
When they had accomplished everything that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree")
He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.
Jesus Christ is the one who came by water and blood -- not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three are in agreement.
Morish
The most painful and the most degrading capital punishment, reserved for the worst crimes and for the lowest class of people. The Romans used a short beam fastened to a long upright one, on which was placed a piece of wood for the feet to rest on. Nails were driven through the hands and feet; but historians say that sometimes the feet were only tied. The torture was dreadful, and the thirst great; but in some cases life lasted three days, none of the vital parts being reached. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and of the two malefactors are the only cases named in scripture: crucifixion was not practised by the Jews. A stupefying draught was given to the prisoners, but the Lord refused it. He would drink the bitter cup to the dregs. It is clear from scripture, by His crying with a loud voice just before His death, that as stated in John's gospel (Joh 10:18) He gave up His life. Lu 23:46; Joh 19:30. The Lord referred to the manner of His death as being lifted up out of the earth, so that death by stoning would not have answered to this. Joh 3:14; 8:28; 12:32. We also read that He was made a curse for us; for "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Ga 3:13; De 21:23. Thus did the blessed Lord in saving rebellious man go down to the very lowest form of death.
The crucifixion is used metaphorically to instruct those who are associated with Christ: of believers it is said their 'old man' is crucified with Him. Ro 6:6. Paul could say that he was crucified with Christ; and that by Christ the world was crucified to him, and he to the world. Ga 2:20; 6:14. He accepted the judgement of himself in the cross, and he was cut off from the world by the same means.
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his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And after he said this he breathed his last.
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
Then Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak just what the Father taught me.
No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father."
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, "It is completed!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree")
But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Smith
was in used among the Egyptians,
the Carthaginians, the Persians,
the Assyrians, Scythains, Indians, Germans, and from the earliest times among the Greeks and Romans. Whether this mode of execution was known to the ancient Jews is a matter of dispute. Probably the Jews borrowed it from the Romans. It was unanimously considered the most horrible form of death. Among the Romans the degradation was also a part of the infliction, and the punishment if applied to freemen was only used in the case of the vilest criminals. The one to be crucified was stripped naked of all his clothes, and then followed the most awful moment of all. He was laid down upon the implement of torture. His arms were stretched along the cross-beams, and at the centre of the open palms the point of a huge iron nail was placed, which, by the blow of a mallet, was driven home into the wood. Then through either foot separately, or possibly through both together, as they were placed one over the other, another huge nail tore its way through the quivering flesh. Whether the sufferer was also bound to the cross we do not know; but, to prevent the hands and feet being torn away by the weight of the body, which could not "rest upon nothing but four great wounds," there was, about the centre of the cross, a wooden projection strong enough to support, at least in part, a human body, which soon became a weight of agony. Then the "accursed tree" with its living human burden was slowly heaved up and the end fixed firmly in a hole in the ground. The feet were but a little raised above the earth. The victim was in full reach of every hand that might choose to strike. A death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of the horrible and ghastly, --dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds, all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness. The unnatural position made every movement painful; the lacerated veins and crushed tendons throbbed with incessant anguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure, gradually gangrened; the arteries, especially of the head and stomach, became swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood; and, while each variety of misery went on gradually increasing, there was added to them the intolerable pang of a burning and raging thirst. Such was the death to which Christ was doomed. --Farrar's "Life of Christ." The crucified was watched, according to custom, by a party of four soldiers,
Joh 19:23
with their centurion,
whose express office was to prevent the stealing of the body. This was necessary from the lingering character of the death, which sometimes did not supervene even for three days, and was at last the result of gradual benumbing and starvation. But for this guard, the persons might have been taken down and recovered, as was actually done in the case of a friend of Josephus. Fracture of the legs was especially adopted by the Jews to hasten death.
Joh 19:31
In most cases the body was suffered to rot on the cross by the action of sun and rain, or to be devoured by birds and beasts. Sepulture was generally therefore forbidden; but in consequence of
De 21:22-23
an express national exception was made in favor of the Jews.
This accursed and awful mode of punishment was happily abolished by Constantine.
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In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you."
So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king's rage then abated.
He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him.
So they went with the soldiers of the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
Now when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, and the tunic remained. (Now the tunic was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.)
Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was an especially important one), the Jewish leaders asked Pilate to have the victims' legs broken and the bodies taken down.