He is led to the Cross (Mark 15:20; Luke 23:26; John 19:16). The cross was regarded as the most horrible and most degrading form of punishment, fit only for slaves. 'It is an outrage for a Roman citizen to be bound; a crime for him to be scourged. It is almost parricide to have him put to death. What can I call having him crucified? No word can be found adequate to describe so monstrous a proceeding '(Cicero). Crucifixion was not a Jewish punishment. It originated among the Phœnicians, from whom it passed to the Greeks and Romans. Alexander the Great once crucified 2,000 Tyrians. After the death of Herod the Great, Varus crucified 2,000 rioters. The crucifixion of Jesus was unconsciously avenged by the Romans, who, after the fall of Jerusalem, crucified so many Jews that there was neither wood for the crosses nor room to set them up. The cross consisted of two parts, a strong stake or pole 8 or 9 ft. high, which was fixed in the ground, and a movable cross-piece (patibulum), which was carried by the criminal to the place of execution. Sometimes the patibulum was a single beam of wood, but more often it consisted of two parallel beams fastened together, between which the neck of the criminal was inserted. Before him went a herald bearing a tablet on which the offence was inscribed, or the criminal himself bore it suspended by a cord round his neck. At the place of execution the criminal was stripped and laid on his back, and his hands were nailed to the patibulum. The patibulum, with the criminal hanging from it, was then hoisted into position and fastened by nails or ropes to the upright pole. The victim's body was supported not only by the nails through the hands, but by a small piece of wood projecting at right angles (sedile), on which he sat as on a saddle. Sometimes there was also a support for the feet, to which the feet were nailed. The protracted agony of crucifixion sometimes lasted for days, death being caused by pain, hunger, and thirst. Jesus was crucified on a cross with four arms (crux immissa), as is proved by a title being placed over His head.
The Seven Words from the Cross
1.
'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34).
2.
'Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise' (Luke 23:43).
3.
'Woman, behold thy son! Behold thy mother!' (John 19:26-27).
4.
'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? '(Matthew 27:46; Psalms 22:1).
5.
'I thirst' (John 19:28).
6.
'It is finished' (John 19:30).
7.
'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit' (Luke 23:46; Psalms 31:5).