ROMAN CRUCIFIXION METHODS 2: BEARING THE CROSS
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Roman Crucifixion Methods
a) Crucifixion is believed to be the worst kind of death that has ever been invented. What was it like?What did Jesus have to endure so that you and I could have eternal life?
b) Jesus died the most horrendous death ever contrived by human beings in all of history but the grave couldn’t hold Jesus. Why? It is because Jesus had never sinned and so no grave could hold a sinless God-Man. Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) death could not keep Jesus in His grave because He was sinless. It is a historical fact that “God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24).
c) This long agonizing day was after an all night vigil without sleep, an illegal trial by night, false witnesses testifying against Jesus, Pilate declaring His innocence, his scourging, and hanging on the cross from 9 A.M. until His death at 3 P.M. It is not coincidental that at the same time of Jesus’ death, the Passover sacrifice was made. He hung on that cross for some 6 hours in utter agony after being tortured all night. This shows just how much God loved us. To send His own Son to die such a horrific death is just too much to try and describe. Since He died for you, why not place your trust in Him today and then you will never die but have eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. If not, you will face Him as your Judge on that Day (Revelation 20).
2. Bearing The Cross
a) The condemned criminals had to carry their cross to the place of execution. Contrary to what is depicted by artists, Jesus likely only carried the cross-arm (called the patibulum) because the upright post (called the stipes) was generally set in the ground already and was used over and over again since there was a shortage of trees in the area and the Roman‘s did not like spending a lot of time with crucifixions.
b) Jesus carried this heavy beam, which would have been rough and splinter-laden to cause even more pain. It must have been about 7-8 feet long and around one foot wide and at least a half of a foot thick. It could have weighed around 100 pounds or more. The fact that Jesus struggled to carry it and needed help was not due to the weight but because of Jesus’ scourging by the Romans who had beaten Him to a bloody pulp. He would have lost so much blood by the time that He was carrying it that He was unable to make it the entire distance.
c) It should be noted that Jesus’ trade required great physical strength. Jesus must have been a very strong man because carpenters in those days had to cut down their own timbers, carry them some distance and cut them to size. Considering that stone masonry was part of carpentry at that time, this also meant that He must have had to quarry and cut stones, transport them, and them lift them into place. Being a carpenter in Jerusalem was the most physically demanding trade in the Roman Empire so Jesus was obviously not the effeminate figure that He appears in so many artistic works.
The End ...
1. Roman Crucifixion Methods a) Crucifixion is believed to be the worst kind of death that has ever been invented. What was it like?What did Jesus have to endure so that you and I could have eternal life?
b) Jesus died the most horrendous death ever contrived by human beings in all of history but the grave couldn’t hold Jesus. Why? It is because Jesus had never sinned and so no grave could hold a sinless God-Man. Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) death could not keep Jesus in His grave because He was sinless. It is a historical fact that “God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24).
c) This long agonizing day was after an all night vigil without sleep, an illegal trial by night, false witnesses testifying against Jesus, Pilate declaring His innocence, his scourging, and hanging on the cross from 9 A.M. until His death at 3 P.M. It is not coincidental that at the same time of Jesus’ death, the Passover sacrifice was made. He hung on that cross for some 6 hours in utter agony after being tortured all night. This shows just how much God loved us. To send His own Son to die such a horrific death is just too much to try and describe. Since He died for you, why not place your trust in Him today and then you will never die but have eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. If not, you will face Him as your Judge on that Day (Revelation 20).
2. Bearing The Cross
a) The condemned criminals had to carry their cross to the place of execution. Contrary to what is depicted by artists, Jesus likely only carried the cross-arm (called the patibulum) because the upright post (called the stipes) was generally set in the ground already and was used over and over again since there was a shortage of trees in the area and the Roman‘s did not like spending a lot of time with crucifixions.
b) Jesus carried this heavy beam, which would have been rough and splinter-laden to cause even more pain. It must have been about 7-8 feet long and around one foot wide and at least a half of a foot thick. It could have weighed around 100 pounds or more. The fact that Jesus struggled to carry it and needed help was not due to the weight but because of Jesus’ scourging by the Romans who had beaten Him to a bloody pulp. He would have lost so much blood by the time that He was carrying it that He was unable to make it the entire distance.
c) It should be noted that Jesus’ trade required great physical strength. Jesus must have been a very strong man because carpenters in those days had to cut down their own timbers, carry them some distance and cut them to size. Considering that stone masonry was part of carpentry at that time, this also meant that He must have had to quarry and cut stones, transport them, and them lift them into place. Being a carpenter in Jerusalem was the most physically demanding trade in the Roman Empire so Jesus was obviously not the effeminate figure that He appears in so many artistic works.
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