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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
the place of a skull, they gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: but when He had tasted it, He would not drink.
And they sat down and watched Him there: and put up over his head his accusation in writing,
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani," that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
and immediately one of them ran, and took a spunge, and having filled it with vinegar put it upon a reed, and offered it Him to drink;
And when the centurion, and they that were with him guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake, and what was done, they were sore afraid, and said, This was indeed the Son of God.
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani," which is being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
And he said to them a third time, what evil hath He done? I have found nothing in Him deserving death: I will therefore chastise Him, and let Him go.
And there were also two other malefactors led with Him to be put to death.
And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his garments, and cast lots for them.
And the soldiers too insulted Him, coming to Him and offering Him vinegar, saying,
And Jesus answered him, I assure thee, thou shalt be with me this day in paradise.
And Jesus cried with a loud voice and said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. And when He had said thus, He expired.
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged Him.
And the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, (and made four parts, to each soldier a part,) and his coat. Now the coat had no seam in it, being woven from the top throughout:
Jesus therefore seeing his mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, saith to his mother, Woman, behold thy son:
After this Jesus knowing that all things were now finished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel there full of vinegar: so they filled a spunge with the vinegar, and putting it upon hyssop, held it up to his mouth. read more. And when Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished. And reclining his head, He yielded up the ghost. The Jews therefore, that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day, because it was now the preparation, (for that sabbath-day was an high-day) desired Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
as they saw He was dead already, they did not break his legs: but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.
Hastings
CRUCIFIXION
1. Its nature.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And as they were going along they met with a man of Cyrene, whose name was Simon; and forced him to carry the cross.
the place of a skull, they gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: but when He had tasted it, He would not drink. And after they had fixed Him to the cross, they parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
and immediately one of them ran, and took a spunge, and having filled it with vinegar put it upon a reed, and offered it Him to drink;
And in the evening, there came a rich man of Arimathea, whose name was Joseph, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus, and went to Pilate,
and the title of his charge was written over Him, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
And he said to them a third time, what evil hath He done? I have found nothing in Him deserving death: I will therefore chastise Him, and let Him go.
And there was a superscription written over Him in Greek, and Latin and Hebrew letters, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged Him.
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross: and there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross: and there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
The Jews therefore, that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day, because it was now the preparation, (for that sabbath-day was an high-day) desired Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
The Jews therefore, that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day, because it was now the preparation, (for that sabbath-day was an high-day) desired Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.
The other disciples therefore told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and my hand into his side, I will not believe.
The God of our fathers hath raised up Jesus whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
And we are witnesses of all things that He did, both in the country of Judea, and in the city of Jerusalem: whom notwithstanding they put to death, hanging Him on a tree.
And when they had finished all things that were written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
and cancelled the obligation we were under by ritual decrees, which was grievous to us, and hath taken it quite away, even nailing it to his cross.
This is He that came by water and by blood, even Jesus the Messiah; not with water only, but with water and blood: and of this the Spirit beareth witness, for the Spirit is truth.
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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Jesus cried with a loud voice and said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. And when He had said thus, He expired.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Jesus therefore said unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then ye shall know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath instructed me, I speak these things.
None taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received from my Father.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, shall draw all men unto me.
And when Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished. And reclining his head, He yielded up the ghost.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we might no longer be inslaved to sin:
I am crucified with Christ; yet I live, though no longer I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave up himself for me.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
But God forbid that I should glory, unless in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is 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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered the body to be delivered to him;
So they went and made the sepulchre safe, sealing the stone, and setting a guard to watch it.
And the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, (and made four parts, to each soldier a part,) and his coat. Now the coat had no seam in it, being woven from the top throughout:
The Jews therefore, that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day, because it was now the preparation, (for that sabbath-day was an high-day) desired Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.