Crucifixion of Jesus

c. 30 or 33 CE (approximate)

The execution of Jesus of Nazareth by Roman crucifixion outside Jerusalem, the central event of Christian faith understood as God’s sacrifice for human sin. Though a brutal historical execution, Christians see the cross as the axis of salvation history—where divine justice and mercy meet, where death is defeated, where humanity is reconciled to God.

Historical Context

Roman Crucifixion

Method of Execution:

Reserved for slaves, rebels, and worst criminals
Designed for maximum pain and public shame
Could take hours or days to die
Victims often left on display as warning
Considered so shameful Romans rarely discussed it

Political Tool:

Rome crucified thousands
Suppressed rebellion through terror
Jesus died as political criminal: “King of the Jews”
Crucifixion demonstrated Roman power absolutely

Dating

Possible Years:

Most scholars: 30 CE or 33 CE
During Passover season
Pontius Pilate as prefect (26-36 CE)
Tiberius Caesar as emperor
Caiaphas as high priest

Day of Week:

Friday (Preparation Day before Sabbath)
Died around 3 PM (“the ninth hour”)
Buried before sundown (Sabbath begins)

The Passion Narrative

Condemned by Pilate

Trial:

Jewish leaders brought Jesus to Pilate
Charge: Claiming to be King of Jews (treason)
Pilate found no basis for death penalty
But yielded to crowd pressure
Symbolic hand-washing: “I am innocent of this man’s blood”

Scourging:

Flogging with whip embedded with bone/metal
Designed to weaken victim before crucifixion
Often caused death itself
Fulfills Isaiah 53: “by his stripes we are healed”

Mockery:

Soldiers dressed Jesus in purple robe
Crown of thorns pressed onto head
Reed as mock scepter
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
Spat on and struck him

The Way to Golgotha

Simon of Cyrene:

Forced to carry Jesus’s cross
Jesus too weak from scourging
Simon becomes model disciple: bearing the cross

Women of Jerusalem:

Mourned and lamented
Jesus: “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves”
Prophecy of coming destruction

Location:

Golgotha (“place of the skull”)
Calvary (Latin: Calvaria)
Outside city walls
Visible to passersby
Traditional site: Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Crucifixion

Nailed to Cross:

Nails through wrists/forearms and feet
“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (Psalm 22:18)
Crucified between two criminals/rebels

The Inscription:

Titulus: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”
Written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin
Pilate’s mockery of Jewish leaders
Unintended truth: Jesus truly is King

Seven Last Words:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke)
“Today you will be with me in Paradise” (to repentant thief, Luke)
“Woman, behold your son / Behold your mother” (to Mary and John, John)
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew/Mark, Psalm 22:1)
“I thirst” (John)
“It is finished” (John)
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke)

Supernatural Signs

Darkness:

From noon to 3 PM
Over whole land
Nature mourning Creator’s death

Temple Veil Torn:

Curtain separating Holy of Holies torn top to bottom
Symbolic: Access to God now open through Christ’s death
Old covenant ended, new covenant inaugurated

Earthquake and Resurrection (Matthew):

Earth quaked, rocks split
Tombs opened, saints raised
Centurion: “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Death and Burial

Confirming Death:

Soldiers broke legs of thieves (hastening death)
Jesus already dead
Soldier pierced side with spear
Blood and water flowed out

Joseph of Arimathea:

Secret disciple, member of Sanhedrin
Asked Pilate for body
Wrapped in linen with spices (Nicodemus helped)
Buried in Joseph’s new tomb
Stone rolled across entrance
Sealed and guarded

Theological Significance

Atonement

Substitutionary Sacrifice:

Jesus bore humanity’s sin
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us” (2 Cor 5:21)
Wrath of God against sin poured out on Christ
Justice satisfied, mercy extended

Ransom:

“The Son of Man came…to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45)
Payment to free slaves from sin and death
Price of redemption: God’s own blood

Reconciliation:

Enmity between God and humanity ended
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ” (2 Cor 5:19)
Peace made through cross

Victory:

Paradox: Defeat is victory
“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col 2:15)
Death defeated by dying

Fulfillment of Scripture

Psalm 22:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
“They have pierced my hands and feet”
“They divide my garments among them”
Entire psalm prophetically describes crucifixion

Isaiah 53 (Suffering Servant):

“He was wounded for our transgressions”
“By his stripes we are healed”
“Like a lamb led to slaughter”
“He bore the sins of many”

Passover Lamb:

Died during Passover
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”
No bones broken (Exodus 12:46, John 19:36)
Blood saves from judgment

The Scandal of the Cross

Foolishness to Greeks:

Wise don’t die shamefully
Power, not weakness, saves
Cross seemed absurd

Stumbling Block to Jews:

Messiah should conquer, not die
Deuteronomy 21:23: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”
How can cursed one be Messiah?

Paul’s Response:

“We preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1:23)
God’s foolishness wiser than human wisdom
God’s weakness stronger than human strength
The cross IS God’s power and wisdom

Christian Traditions

Good Friday

Solemn commemoration of crucifixion
Part of Holy Week
Fasting and prayer
Veneration of cross
Stations of the Cross devotion
No celebration (Eucharist), only reading of Passion

The Symbol of the Cross

Early Christians:

Initially avoided cross symbol (too shameful)
Used fish, anchor, Chi-Rho

After Constantine:

Cross became primary Christian symbol
Sign of victory, not shame
Crosses on churches, jewelry, art
Sign of the cross gesture

Crucifix:

Cross with Jesus’s body
Catholic/Orthodox emphasis
Remembers suffering
Protestants often prefer empty cross (resurrection emphasis)

Theological Developments

Atonement Theories:

Ransom theory (early church)
Satisfaction theory (Anselm)
Penal substitution (Reformation)
Moral influence (Abelard)
Christus Victor (reclaimed 20th century)

All agree: The cross is central to salvation

Islamic Perspective

Quranic Teaching (Surah 4:157-158):

“They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them”
Jesus was not crucified; someone else died in his place
God raised Jesus to himself
Jesus did not die for sins (no original sin in Islam)

Theological Difference:

Islam affirms Jesus as prophet
Denies crucifixion and resurrection
God would not allow prophet to die shamefully
No need for atonement sacrifice

Jewish Perspective

Traditional Judaism:

Jesus’s death not salvifically significant
Not the Messiah
Crucifixion a historical execution, not cosmic event
Awaits Messiah still

Historical Evidence

Non-Christian Sources:

Tacitus (Roman historian): Christians named for “Christus…executed by Pontius Pilate”
Josephus (probable reference): Jesus crucified by Pilate
Lucian, Mara bar Serapion: Mention execution

Criterion of Embarrassment:

Early Christians wouldn’t invent crucified Messiah
Too shameful, too contradictory
Must be historical core
Church had to explain scandal, not create it

Significance

The crucifixion is Christianity’s defining moment—the place where eternity intersected time, where love met justice, where the innocent died for the guilty. On that Roman cross outside Jerusalem, Christians see God suffering, humanity redeemed, death defeated.

The cross transforms everything: Shame becomes glory, weakness becomes power, defeat becomes victory, death becomes life. What Rome meant as crushing humiliation became history’s pivot point. The instrument of torture became the symbol of salvation.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is the cross: love poured out, justice satisfied, mercy extended, humanity restored.

As Paul declared: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). The scandal became the gospel. The curse became the blessing. The death became the way to life.

On a skull-shaped hill, on a Friday afternoon, on a wooden cross, the Creator died for creation. And nothing—absolutely nothing—has ever been the same.