Fact #1: Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution that caused extreme pain as the body was tortured to death. The Romans perfected this technique, which was used only upon the most hideous criminals. One foot would be pressed backwards against the other while a nail would be driven through the arches. Iron nails were also driven deep into the skin near the person's wrists. With each breath, the body would painfully flex up and down upon the nails. This motion created excruciating agony as the weight of the body was pressed upon the muscles and nerve endings. Cramps, fatigue, and knotting would lead to the pectoral muscles being paralyzed. The victim's heart would eventually stop due to a loss of blood and the buildup of carbon dioxide in the lungs.
Fact #2: The crucifixion of the Messiah is prophesied throughout the Old Testament. Many verses speak vividly about His passion. For example, Psalm 22:16 read, "For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet."
Fact #3: The Roman method of crucifixion used during the time of Jesus was not upon a cross but a straight stake or tree. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree," Galatians 3:13. History records that the few times a cross shaped beam was used for an execution, the shape resembled the capitalized letter T and not the lower case t shape.
Most English Bibles poorly translate the term "cross" to continue this error. In the New Testament, the word translated for "cross" is the Greek phrase "stauros." According to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, this term literally means "stake" or "upright beam." The popular cross shape was imported by the Catholic Church from neighboring pagan religions. This fact renders the cross as an incorrect symbol and virtually insignificant during Biblical worship.
Fact #4: The hands of the Savior were not nail scarred. The Romans could not have placed the nails into the hands of a criminal as the palms were not strong enough to support the weight of the body. Instead, nine to twelve inch nails were driven deep into the arms of the sufferer. The space between the small bones of the wrists, radial and ulna, were strong enough to allow the body to hang for hours in agony. A nail in the hand would have broken many bones. Psalm 34:20 and John 19:36 state that not a single bone was broken in His body; therefore He could not have nail scarred hands.
Fact #5: The Jews did not kill the Messiah. Nor did the Romans. No one took the Savior's life from Him. The Bible clearly shows that He gave up His life freely for all mankind. "I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again," John 10:17-18. Because the wages of sin is death, the Savior gave His life upon a tree. He became cursed to pay the penalty of sin. The death and eventual resurrection of the Savior provided hope for all mankind. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever beliefeth in Him would not perish but have everlasting life," John 3:16 KJV.
By Daniel Rendelman
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