Lesson #23 In the Shadow of the Cross, Part 3: Crucifixion

(Matthew 27: 27 56)

In Lesson #22 we focused on Jesus trial before an executive session of the Sanhedrin at the home of Caiaphas the High Priest, where Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy. Since the Jews were not permitted to carry out capital punishment, we then followed Jesus as the Jewish leaders took him to the Antonia Fortress and presented him before the Procurator, Pontius Pilate, where they accused him of treason, of claiming to be a king, a capital offense under Roman Law.
Although Pilate found no evidence to support such an accusation, in the end he acquiesced to the High Priests demands when the riot everyone feared seemed imminent. As we laid a foundation for a character study of Judas in Lesson #20, so we laid a foundation for a character study of Pontius Pilate in Lesson #22, a study that will span all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

In Lesson #23 we witness the crucifixion, a brutal and extraordinarily painful way to die. Persian impalement was its antecedent, but the Romans practiced crucifixion from the 6th century B.C. through the 4th century A.D., the practice being abolished by the Emperor Constantine in A.D. 337, out of reverence for Christ. Crucifixion was intended to punish an offender in the most painful way possible and also to dissuade others from committing similar crimes. The historian Tacitus records that in Rome the place of crucifixion was outside the Esquiline Gate where there were upright beams permanently fixed in the ground. The convicted criminal would carry the crossbeam, which could weigh over 100 pounds. At the place of execution he would be tied or nailed to it through the wrists and the crossbeam would be raised and affixed to the upright; his feet would then be nailed to the upright.

Crosses today have been stylized in paintings, sculptures, jewelry and other forms of art. Our historian Josephus writes in his Siege of Jerusalem that the soldiers out of rage and hatred nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest, suggesting that there was no standardized way to crucify a person: whatever worked at the time and place would do. In this lesson we will examine Jesus crucifixion in detail, not just the physical act of crucifixion, but we will examine crucifixion as seen through Jesus eyes.

Peter Paul Rubens. The Flagellation of Christ (oil on panel), c. 1617. Church of St. Paul, Antwerp.

Titian. Crowning with Thorns [detail] (oil on canvas), c. 1542-1543. Muse de Louvre, Paris.

El Greco. Christ Carrying the Cross [detail] (oil on canvas), c. 1580. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

 Jerusalem Cyrene, Libya

Egypt

Cyrene to Jerusalem is a 2-week journey by ship and land of approximately 1,000 miles.

Titian. Christ and Simon of Cyrene Carrying the Cross (oil on canvas), c. 1565-1570. The Prado Museum, Madrid.

 Church of Holy Sepulcher (site of the Crucifixion)

Dome of the Rock
(Temple in Jesus Day)

Eastern Wall

Temple
(not visible from this angle) Antonia Fortress

Place of Crucifixion

The historian Tacitus records that in Rome the place of execution was in the Sessorium, outside the Esquiline Gate, which led to Romes graveyard. There, he says, upright beams were permanently fixed in the ground, suggesting that slaves who were crucified carried the crossbeam, not the entire cross.

Garden Tomb (limestone quarry & cemetery) Damascus Gate

Old Citv
Holy Sepulcher Church

Temple
(Dome of the Rock today)

Jesus was crucified near the Damascus Gate. One of seven gates leading into the Old City, it is the busiest. The road outside the gate leads to Nablus and from there to Damascus, 135 miles north. The current gate (above) was built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1537.

Golgotha, the Place of the Skull

Salvador Dali. Christ of St. John of the Cross [detail], (oil on canvas), 1951. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow.

Our historian Josephus writes in his Siege of Jerusalem that the soldiers out of rage and hatred nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest, suggesting that there was no standardized way to crucify a person: whatever worked at the time and place would do.

Caravaggio. Crucifixion of St. Peter [upside down] (oil on canvas), 1601. Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.

Jesus was likely crucified in a manner similar to this, but with his wrists nailed to the crossbeam, supporting his weight.

Heel bone of Jehohanan, a crucified man in the 1st century, whose ossuary was discovered in 1968 in east Jerusalem. Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Hortus deliciarium *Garden of Delights+ of Herrad of Landsberg (illuminated encyclopedia), c. 1167.

The first encyclopedia written by a woman, the Hortus deliciarium contained 336 illuminations. The manuscript was destroyed when the library was bombed during the Siege of Strasberg in 1870. Thankfully, the miniatures were copied by Christian Maurice Engelhardt in 1818.

Mary was an extremely popular girls name during New Testament times; the Hebrew is Miriam, the name of Moses sister. The New Testament Marys include:
1) 2) 3) 4) Mary, the mother of Jesus (at the cross, John 19: 25); Mary Magdalene (at the cross, Matthew 27: 56, Mark 15: 40, John 19: 25); Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha and Lazarus); Mary, the wife of Clopasthe other Mary, the mother of James the younger and Joseph (at the cross, Matthew 27: 56, Mark 15: 40, John 19: 25); Mary Salome, (Jesus mothers sister) and the mother of James and John, Zebedees sons (at the cross, Matthew 27: 56, Mark 15: 40, John 19: 25); Mary, the mother of John Mark (our gospel writers mother, Acts 12: 12); and Mary of Rome (a leader in the church at Rome, Romans 16: 6).

5) 6) 7)

1. 2. 3.

4.

5.

Why would the Roman soldiers mock Jesus? Why would Simon of Cyrene need to help Jesus carry the cross? From 9:00 AM until noon, Jesus first three hours on the cross, Jesus suffers tremendous physical pain. Drifting in and out of delirium, Psalm 22 flickers in and out of his mind. What are some of the verses from Psalm 22 that he hears? In Matthew 27: 45 we read: From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. What do you think happened to Jesus during that time? When Jesus died the Centurion in charge of Jesus execution said: Truly, this was the Son of God! Why did he think so?

Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy

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