Jesus Of Nazareth: The Crucification Of Jesus

In the years between 30 and 33 AD Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. There was nothing special about the crucifixion of Jesus, at least historically. It was common of Romans to crucify anyone who opposed them. The Romans had many methods of crucifying a person, at the time there were three. The crux simplex, was an upright pole that was occasionally used for the purpose of crucifixion. The crux decussata (X), also called the crux Andreana, because according to tradition St. Andrew was said to have suffered upon it. The crux commissa (T), or St. Anthony's cross. This type of cross was formed like a capital T. The crux immissa (t), or Latin cross, which was the kind of cross on which Jesus died. The Latin cross had a longer descending arm associated …show more content…
The Romans had been fully aware of the discontent in the country and the hope of a liberator. The Jews believed the Messiah would appear in the “End times” (The Last Days) which they believed had arrived. The belief grew even stronger when John the Baptist began preaching that all the prophesies about the Messiah would soon be fulfilled. The gospels states that the main charge against Jesus was that he had claimed to have been the “King of the Jews”. The Roman soldiers mocked the idea by dressing him in a purple robe and pressed a crown of thorns onto his head. This was also the charge written on the sign at the top of the cross. But the charge was false. The enemies of Jesus had created it by twisting the meaning of the old Jewish claim of the coming of the …show more content…
He would have then been nailed to the crossbeam. Contrary to popular belief Jesus would have been nailed through the wrists and not the hands. The hands simply weren't strong enough to hold the weight of a body and would rip if put under the weight. Within a few minutes of being placed on the Cross, Jesus’ shoulders would have become dislocated. Minutes later Jesus’ elbows and wrists followed suit. The result of these upper limb dislocations would have caused his arms to be 9 inches longer than normal, as clearly shown on the Shroud. To slow the process of death the soldiers put a small wooden seat on the Cross, which would allow Jesus the “privilege” of bearing his weight on his sacrum. The effect of this was that it could take up to nine days to die. When the Romans wanted to expedite death they would simply break the legs of the victim, causing the victim to suffocate in a matter of minutes. This was called Cruciferarum. At three o'clock in the afternoon Jesus said, “Tetelestai,” meaning, “It is finished.” At that moment, he