In the Roman Empire, crucifixion was the cruelest way to carry out a death sentence, as it caused a slow and painful death.
The most dangerous criminals among the slaves (rebels, traitors and murderers) were executed by crucifixion.
Before the criminal was nailed to the cross, he was subjected to whipping with a whip made of leather cords, the ends of which ended with pieces of metal, bone or glass. The whipping caused great pain, deep wounds and bleeding.
In order to prevent the premature death of the condemned, flogging was limited to 40 lashes. After that, the crossbar (patibulum) was tied to the criminal's shoulders and he had to carry it to the place of execution.
The hands and feet of those condemned to death were either nailed to the wooden base or fastened to it by means of ropes. The nails were driven into the long bones of the limbs, and not into the hands and feet, because there was a danger that the nailed under the force of its own weight would "get out" of the cross.
Death occurred in a period from 3 ÷ 4 hours to 3 ÷ 4 days, most often as a result of suffocation caused by the developing pulmonary edema, impeding breathing.
Additional causes of death of the crucified were dehydration and loss of blood from the wounds.
The Roman historian Cicero wrote that crucifixion was the most cruel and abominable punishment.
Historical information about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ
Two secular historians describe events that mention the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by Pontius Pilate - governor (procurator) of the Roman province of Judea in the period from 26 to 36 during the reign of Emperor Tiberius.
The Jewish historian Josephus, born in 37 ÷ 38 AD. in Jerusalem, in his work "Jewish Antiquities" tells about Jesus Christ as a historical person:
At that time lived Jesus, a wise man, if he can be called a man at all. He performed wonderful works and was a teacher of people who eagerly received the truth. He attracted to himself many Jews and many Greeks.
He was the Messiah.
And when Pilate, on the charge of our first persons, condemned him to crucifixion, those who had loved him from the beginning remained faithful to him.
On the third day he appeared to them alive again, as divinely inspired prophets had foretold about this and many other miraculous deeds of his. And the Christian race, which received its name from Him, exists to this day.
Publius Cornelius Tacitus - a Roman historian and politician who lived around 54 ÷ 120 AD, in his works "Dialogue" and "Annals" describes the history of the Roman Empire from the death of its founder Augustus in the year 14 to the death of Emperor Domitian in the year 96.
On the occasion of the burning of Rome in the year 64 and the accusations that the emperor Nero himself was responsible for the fire, Tacitus wrote:
And so Nero, in order to disprove the rumours, sought out the guilty, and put to death those who by their abomination had drawn upon themselves the universal hatred, and whom the crowd called Christians. Christ, from whose name this name derives, was executed under Tiberius by the procurator Pilate of Pontius.
The biblical gospels about the crucifixion of Christ
The four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) describe in detail the crucifixion of the Son of God by Pontius Pilate, the crucifixion itself and the painful death on the cross.
Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the praetorium, and it was early. But they themselves did not enter the praetorium, so as not to defile themselves, so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate went out to them and said:
What do you accuse that man of?
They answered him:
If He had not been an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.
And Pilate said to them:
You take Him and judge Him according to your law.
The Jews said to him:
We are not allowed to kill anyone.
(To fulfill the word which Jesus spoke, signifying by what death he would die).
And so Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus and said to Him:
Are you a Jewish King?
Jesus answered:
Are you saying this from yourself or have others told you about Me?
Pilate answered:
That I am a Jew?
Your people and the chief priests betrayed You to me.
what have you done
Jesus answered:
My kingdom is not of this world.
If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight that I should not be handed over to the Jews.
And now My kingdom is not from here.
Therefore Pilate said to Him:
Then, art thou king?
Jesus answered:
You are right, because I am king.
This is why I was born and this is why I came into the world, to testify to the truth.
Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.
Pilate said to Him:
What is true?
And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them:
I find no fault in him.
And you have a custom to let each of you go at Easter.
Do you want me to release the king of the Jews to you?
Then they shouted again, saying:
Not Toya, but Barabbas.
And Barabbas was a robber.
Then Pilate took Jesus and beat him.
And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and having clothed Him in a green garment, approached Him and said:
Hail, king of the Jews!
And they slapped Him.
Then Pilate went out again and said to them:
Behold, I bring Him forth unto you, that ye may know that I find no fault in Him.
Jesus therefore went forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the garment of grass.
Pilate says to them:
Here's the man!
And when the chief priests and ministers saw Him, they cried out, saying:
Crucify Him!
Crucify Him!
Pilate said to them:
You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.
The Jews answered him:
We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He made Himself the Son of God.
And Pilate, hearing this word, was even more afraid. And he entered again into the praetorium and said to Jesus:
Where are you from?
And Jesus gave him no answer.
Therefore Pilate says to Him:
Aren't you talking to me?
Don't you know that I have power to release You and I have power to crucify You?
Jesus answered him:
You wouldn't have any power over Me if it wasn't given to you from above, therefore, the one who betrayed Me to you has a greater sin.
Because of this, Pilate was looking for a way to let Him go.
But the Jews cried out, saying,
If you let Togova go, you are not Caesar's friend.
Anyone who makes himself a king is an opponent of Caesar.
And when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judge's chair, in the place called the Stone Platform, or in Hebrew, Gabbata.
The Holy Gospel of John 18:28-40, 19:1-13
And when they were assembled, Pilate said to them:
Who do you want me to release to you: Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?
(Because he knew they betrayed him out of envy.)
At this, sitting on the judge's throne, his wife sent to him to say:
Don't cost that righteous man anything, because today I suffered a lot in my dream because of him.
And the chief priests and elders persuaded the people to beg Barabbas and to kill Jesus.
The manager answered them:
Which of the two do you want me to let go?
And they said:
Barabbas.
Pilate says to them:
Then what shall I do with Jesus called the Christ?
They all say:
Let him be crucified!
And he said:
What evil has he done?
And they shouted the more, saying:
Let him be crucified!
And when Pilate saw that he was not helping at all, but on the contrary, that a disturbance was being raised, he took water, washed his hands in front of the people, and said:
I am innocent of the blood of that righteous one, you see.
And all the people answered and said:
His blood be on us and on our children.
The Holy Gospel from Matthew 27:17-25
Therefore he handed Him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus, and He Himself, carrying His cross, went out.
The Holy Gospel from John 19:16-17
And when they had led him away, they caught a certain Simon of Cyrene, who was returning from the fields, and put the cross on him to carry after Jesus.
And a great multitude of people and women followed Him, weeping for Him.
And Jesus turned to them and said:
Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children, for behold, days are coming when they will say:
"Blessed are the barren and the wombs that have not given birth and the teats that have not nursed".
Then they will begin to say to the mountains:
"Fall on us" and on the hills:
"Cover us" because if they do that with the raw wood, what will they do with the dry one?
And with him rode two others, who were villains, to destroy them. And when they came to the place called Lobno, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.
And Jesus said:
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
And when they had divided His garments, they cast lots for them.
The Holy Gospel from Luke 23:26-34
And it was the third hour when they crucified Him.
The Holy Gospel of Mark 15:25
And the people stood and watched. The rulers also reviled Him, saying:
He has saved others, let him save Himself, if He is God's Christ, His Chosen One.
The soldiers also mocked Him, coming near and offering Him vinegar, saying,
If you are the King of the Jews, deliver yourself.
And above Him was an inscription:
He is the King of the Jews.
And one of the hanged criminals blasphemed Him, saying:
Are you the Christ?
Save Yourself and us!
And the other rebuked him in reply, saying:
Do you not even fear God, who are under the same condemnation?
And we are justly condemned, for we receive what we deserve for what we have done, and He has done nothing wrong.
And said:
Lord Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.
And Jesus said to him:
I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.
The Holy Gospel from Luke 23:35-43
At the cross of Jesus stood His mother and His mother's sister, Mary Cleopas and Mary Magdalene.
Jesus, seeing His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing near, said to His mother:
Woman, here is your son!
Then he said to the student:
There's your mother!
And from that hour the student took her home.
The Holy Gospel of John 19:25-27
And from the sixth hour darkness covered the whole earth until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice:
Or, Or, lama savachtani? in other words: My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?
The Holy Gospel from Matthew 27:45-46
After this, Jesus, knowing that everything had already been done to fulfill the scripture, said:
I'm thirsty.
And when a vessel full of vinegar was placed there, they found a sponge dipped in vinegar on a hyssop branch, and brought it to His mouth.
Jesus, taking the vinegar, said:
It's over.
The Holy Gospel of John 19:28-30
Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said:
Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.
And having said that, he breathed his last.
The Holy Gospel of Luke 23:46
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, the rocks split open, the graves were opened, and many bodies of the dead saints were raised (who, coming out of the graves after His resurrection, entered the holy city and appeared to many).
And the centurion and those who were with him guarding Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and all that happened, were greatly afraid and said:
Truly this was the Son of God.
The Holy Gospel from Matthew 27:51-54
And because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a great day), the Jews asked Pilate to break their shins and take them up from there. So the soldiers came and beat the shins of the one and the other who were crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw Him already dead, they did not beat His shins. However, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. And he who saw testifies to it, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may believe. For this was done to fulfill what was written:
A bone of His shall not be broken, and again in another place the scripture says:
They will look to Him whom they pierced.
Then Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus but secret because of the fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to allow him to take Jesus' body and Pilate allowed. He therefore came and took up His body. Nicodemus also came, who had first come to Him at night, and brought about a hundred liters of a mixture of myrrh and aloes.
And so they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in a shroud with spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
And in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new grave, in which no one had yet been laid. There, therefore, they laid Jesus because of the Jewish Preparation Day, because the tomb was nearby.
The Holy Gospel of John 19:31-42
Joseph, taking the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud, and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock, and placing a large stone at the door of the tomb, he departed.
And there were Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sitting opposite the tomb.
And on the next day, which was the day after the preparation for the feast, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered to Pilate and said:
Lord, we have remembered that That impostor in his lifetime said:
In three days I will rise again.
Command, therefore, that the tomb be guarded securely until the third day, lest His disciples come and steal Him away, and say to the people:
Risen from the dead.
So the last scam will be worse than the first.
Pilate said to them:
Take the guard, go, guard Him as you know.
So they went and opened the tomb, sealing the tomb with the help of the guard.
The Holy Gospel of Matthew 27:59-66
God thus fulfilled that which He had foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer.
Acts 3:18
Prophecies in the Old Testament about the death of Christ
King David lived in about 1039 ÷ 969 BC.
In Psalm 22 he writes:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why dost thou stand afar off, and help me not, nor heed the words of my groaning?
I am a worm, not a man, reproached by men and despised by men. Everyone who looks at me curses me. They open their lips, nod their heads and say:
He trusted in the Lord, let him deliver. Let him deliver him, for there is favor in him.
They opened their mouths against me like a roaring lion.
I spilled like water and all my bones came apart.
My heart became like wax.
It melts inside me.
My strength dried up like a shard and my tongue clung to my jaws.
You brought me down to the dust of death.
Because dogs surrounded me.
A crowd of villains surrounded me.
They pierced my arms and legs.
I can count all my bones.
People stare at me and look at me.
They divided my clothes and cast lots for my clothing.
Psalm 22:1, 6-8, 13-18
Psalm 31:5 says:
Into Your hand I commit my spirit.
Prophet Isaiah lived in about 766 ÷ 686 before Christ.
In Isaiah 53 the prophet writes:
He was despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and accustomed to sorrow. And as a man from whom men turn their faces, He was despised, and we considered Him nothing. He truly bore our sorrows and carried our sorrows. And we considered Him smitten, struck by God, and grieved. But He was wounded for our transgressions, beaten for our iniquities. To Him came the chastisement that brings our peace, and by His stripes we are healed.
We have all gone astray like sheep, we have turned aside each in our own way. And the Lord laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, but humbled Himself and did not open His mouth, like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep before its shearers does not utter a voice, so He did not open His mouth. Through an oppressive court he was seized.
And who of His race reasoned that He was cut off from the midst of the land of the living because of the transgression of My people, upon whom the blow was to fall?
And they determined His grave among the wicked, but after His death with the rich. For He had done no iniquity, nor was there deceit in His mouth.
But the Lord pleased Him to be beaten, delivered Him to sorrow. When you make His soul a sin offering, He will see posterity, He will prolong His days, and that in which the Lord pleases will succeed in His hand. He will see the fruits of His soul's labor and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many through their knowledge of Him, and He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will assign Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the favor with the mighty, because He exposed His soul to death and was numbered with transgressors, and because He took upon Himself the sins of many and interceded for transgressors.
Isaiah 53:3-12
Why did Jesus Christ - the Son of God willingly suffer all the suffering, mockery, humiliation and the most painful death without having committed a sin and without having any guilt?
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from this present impure world according to the will of our God and Father.
The letter of the apostle Paul to the Galatians 1:4
Because the Father was pleased to instill in Him the perfect fullness and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, both earthly and heavenly, by making peace through Him with the blood shed on His cross.
Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians 1:19-20
The Lord looked down from the heavens upon the children of men to see if there was any man of understanding who sought God. They all went astray, depraved together.
There is no one who does good, not even one.
Psalms 14:2-3
There is not one righteous.
There is no one sane.
There is no one to seek God.
Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans 3:10
Because all have sinned and do not deserve to be glorified by God, but by His goodness they are justified freely through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set up as a propitiation through His blood through faith.
He did this to show His righteousness in forgiving the sins committed before when God was longsuffering.
Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans 3:23-25
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans 6:23
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Holy Gospel of John 3:16
God's love for us was manifested in this, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through him.
This is Love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as propitiation for our sins.
The First Epistle of the Apostle John 4:9-10
He made Him who knew no sin to be sinful for us, so that through Him we might become righteous before God.
The Second Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians 5:21
John (the Baptist) sees Jesus coming towards him and says:
Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!
The Holy Gospel of John 1:29
He appeared to bear sins. There is no sin in Him.
First Epistle of the Apostle John 3:5
At the end of the ages He appeared once to take away sin by offering Himself as a sacrifice.
Hebrews 9:26
Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness.
The First Epistle of the Apostle Peter 2:24
For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us.
The First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians 5:9
For it will scarcely be found that any one will die even for a righteous man (though it is possible that he dares any one to die for the good), but God commends His love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans 5:7
Who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people for His possession, zealous for good works.
The Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Titus 2:14
Knowing that it was not with perishable things - silver or gold - that you were redeemed from the vain life handed down to you by your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and pure.
The First Epistle of the Apostle Peter 1:18-19
In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.
The letter of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians 1:7
Christ once suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit.
The First Epistle of the Apostle Peter 3:18