Lesson #18

The Crucifixion
(Mark 15: 21-47)

In Lesson #17 we examined Marks terse rendering of Jesus trial

before Pontius Pilate. Found guilty of blasphemy by the Sanhedrin, a
capital offence under Mosaic Law, Roman law forbade the Jews from
executing Jesus; hence, he was taken to the Roman Procurator,
Pontius Pilate. There the Jewish leadership accused Jesus not of
blasphemy, but of treason, a capital offence under Roman law.
We examined Pontius Pilate carefully, learning of his identity as the
5th Prefect of Judea, serving under the Emperor Tiberias from A.D. 2636. We also placed his actions under the microscope, learning that
Pilate wanted to avoid having Jesus crucified, relenting only when the
riot that everyone feared was imminent.
Reflecting a very insightful reading of the Gospels, Dante places
Pontius Pilate not in the deepest pit of Hell with Judas Iscariot, but in
the vestibule of Hell with those who lacked the courage to make a
proper decision.

In Lesson #18 we examine Jesus crucifixion, a method of capital

punishment introduced by the Persians as early as the 6th century B.C.
and employed by the Carthaginians, Macedonians and Romans until the
Emperor Constantine outlawed crucifixion in A.D. 337, out of deference
to Christ.
The Greeks had an aversion to crucifixion, although the historian
Herodotus tells of the crucifixion of the Persian General Artayctes, who
commanded forces in the 2nd Persian invasion of Greece under, Xerxes
(a main character in the Book of Esther), 480-479 B.C.
The Romans used crucifixion frequently, however; indeed, Crassus, the
Roman General who defeated Spartacus in the slave revolt of 73-71 B.C.
crucified 6,000 captive slaves, lining the Via Appia with them, and the
historian Tacitus tells us that during the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 no
fewer than 600,000 Jews fought the Romans and those captured were
crucified, up to 500 per day.

Crucifixion involved a prolonged, excruciatingly painful death by being

nailed to a cross with tapered iron spikes, 7-9 long, generally taking
three or more days for a person to die.
Jesus died in six hours, having been beaten nearly to death prior to
being crucified.

Carl Heinrich Bloch. Christ on the Cross (oil on copper), 1870.

Museum of Natural History, Denmark.

Dramatis Personae
(In order of appearance)
Jesus

Chief priests and Scribes

Son of God, Savior

Jesus adversaries and accusers

Simon of Cyrene

Mary Magdalene

Helps Jesus carry his cross

Jesus disciple from Migdal in Galilee

Alexander and Rufus

Mary, mother of James and Joses

Sons of Simon of Cyrene

Disciple from Galilee

Roman soldiers

Salome

Jesus executioners

Apostle Johns mother, Marys sister (or sister-in-law)

Two revolutionaries

Joseph of Arimathea

Crucified with Jesus

Receives Jesus body from Pilate, buries Jesus in his tomb

Passers by

Pontius Pilate

The mocking crowd

Roman Prefect and Jesus judge

The Crucifixion
They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a
Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the
father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
(15: 21)

The Trial

 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.

James Tissot. Simon of Cyrene and His Two Sons, Alexander and Rufus
(opaque watercolor over graphite on gray woven paper), c. 1896.
Brooklyn Museum, New York.

Greet Rufus, chosen in

the Lord, and his
mother [who has been
like a mother to me+.
(Romans 16: 13)

Bartolomeo Montagna. St. Paul (oil on panel), 1482.

[image reversed]
Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan.

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
those who were crucified carried the crossbeam, not the entire cross.

The Crucifixion
They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is
translated Place of the Skull). They gave him wine
drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they
crucified him and divided his garments by casting
lots for them to see what each should take. It was
nine oclock in the morning when they crucified him.
The inscription of the charge against him read, The
King of the Jews. With him they crucified two
revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left.
(15: 22-28)

The Trial

13

Peter Gertner. Crucifixion (oil on panel), 1537.

Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland.
[This is the portraitist Gertners only known religious painting. Note the detailed facial expressions.]

Caravaggio. Crucifixion of St. Peter

[upside down] (oil on canvas), 1601.
Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.

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.

Jesus was likely crucified in a manner similar to this, not tied by the arms, but with his
wrists nailed to the crossbeam, supporting his weight. Notice, too, that his heels
would have been nailed to the sides of the upright through the heel bones.

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

Temple
(not visible from this angle)
Antonia Fortress

Place of Crucifixion

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.

 Church of the Holy Sepulcher

(site of the Crucifixion)
Dome of the Rock
(Temple in Jesus Day)

Eastern Wall

Approaching the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the Via Dolorosa.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Jesus on the Cross

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at Golgotha.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Jesus tomb beneath the rotunda in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Aedicule was originally
built in 1555 by the Franciscans, rebuilt in 1810 after a fire destroyed the original,
and reinforced by iron scaffolding since 1947.

The Emperor Constantine and his mother St. Helena built the original Church of the Holy Sepulcher
in A.D. 326. It has been destroyed/damaged and rebuilt many times throughout history.

The Crucifixion
Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads
and saying, Aha! You who would destroy the temple
and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming
down from the cross. Likewise the chief priests ,
with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and
said, He saved others; he cannot save himself Let
the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from
the cross that we may see and believe. Those who
were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

(15: 29-32)

The Trial

26

Hieronymus Bosch. Christ Carrying the Cross (oil on panel), between 1510 and 1535.
Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.

The Crucifixion
At noon darkness came over the whole land until
three in the afternoon. And at three oclock Jesus
cried out in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema
sabachthani? which is translated, My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me? Some of the
bystanders who heard it said, Look, he is calling
Elijah. One of them ran, soaked a sponge with
wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink,
saying, Wait, lets see if Elijah comes to take him
down. Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to
bottom.
(15: 33-38)
The Trial

28

Syriac Rabbula Gospels (illuminated manuscript), c. 586.

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence.
[Earliest crucifixion in an illuminated manuscript. The sun and moon together, suggest darkness.]

Darkness over the Land

There is a full moon at Passover, so
an eclipse cannot happen.
The great Jesuit scholar Joseph
Fitzmyer views the darkness as a
literary device, one that recalls the
9th Plague of Darkness in Exodus
preceding the 10th plague, the
Death of the First Born and the
Israelites redemption from
slavery in Egypt.

The Trial

30

The Tabernacle
Holy of Holies and the presence of God
Veil separating the
Holy Place from the Holy of Holies
Holy Place

When the veil in the

Temple was torn in two
from top to bottom it
provided open access to
God, once and for all
through Christs death on
the cross.

The Trial

32

The Crucifixion
When the centurion who stood facing him saw how
he breathed his last he said, Truly this man was the
Son of God! There were also women looking on
from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses,
and Salome. These women had followed him when
he was in Galilee and ministered to him. There were
also many other women who had come up with him
to Jerusalem.

(15: 39-41)

The Trial

33

Matthew and Mark mention three women by name at the cross and
refer to many *other+ women. Luke mentions none individually. John
mentions four, including Jesus mother Mary.
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, 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);

Notice the darkness

Mary Magdalene

Other Marys

Apostle John
Jesus mother Mary

Simon Vouet. Crucifixion (oil on panel), 1622.

Museum of Fine Arts, Lyon, France.

The Crucifixion
When it was already evening, since it was the day of
preparation, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of
Arimathea, a distinguished member of the council,
who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, came
and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the
body of Jesus. Pilate was amazed that he was
already dead. He summoned the centurion and
asked him if Jesus had already died. And when he
learned of it from the centurion, he gave the body to
Joseph.

The Trial

36

The Crucifixion
Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down,
wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb
that had been hewn out of the rock. Then he rolled a
stone against the entrance to the tomb. Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched
where he was laid.
(15: 42-47)

The Trial

37

Rogier van der Weyden. The Descent from the Cross, (oil on panel), c. 1435-1438.
Prado Museum, Madrid.

Tomb of Jesus inside the Aedicule at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem.

Garden Tomb in Jerusalem

Although the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has a greater claim to authenticity
as the tomb of Jesus, the Garden Tomb (seen here) makes a much better visual
aid!
Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, opposite the Garden Tomb, Jerusalem
Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

A rolling stone, sealed the tomb.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Interior of the Garden Tomb, where Jesus body would be placed.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Empty Garden Tomb: He is not here for he is risen.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

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

1.

2.
3.
4.
5.

Jesus was nailed to the cross for six hours, 9:00 AM to

3:00 PM. Typically it would take 3-5 days for a person
to die of crucifixion. Why did Jesus die so quickly?
What crime did the other two men commit who were
crucified with Jesus?
Who should have been on the center cross?
Just prior to dying Jesus says, My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me. What did Jesus mean by this?
Who was responsible for Jesus crucifixion and death?

Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy

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