Where did jesus christ die cross or torture stake?

Answer 1

Jesus was put to death on the cross.

There are some groups who believe that Jesus was executed on a stake. However, there is compelling evidence from the early church, historical, archaeological, and scriptural that all confirm Our Lord's execution on a Cross, whereas there is little, if any, real and reliable evidence from any historical or archaeological - or scriptural - source that even remotely suggests his execution on a 'stake'.

The evidence includes:

1. The symbolism of the Cross in the early Church.The cross symbol was already associated with Christians in the second century, as is indicated in the (anti-Christian, so not biased towards Christianity by any means!) arguments cited in the Octavius of Minucius Felix, chapters IX and XXIX, written at the end of that century or, possibly the very beginning of the next. Minucius Felix speaks of the cross of Jesus in its familiar form, likening it to objects with a crossbeam or to a man with arms outstretched in prayer. Also, Clement of Alexandria, who died between 211 and 216, frequently used the phrase τὸ κυριακὸν σημεῖον (the Lord's sign) to mean the cross. In his writings he describes the Cross as a symbol of the Christian - a Cross that was made by a vertical line crossed by a horizontal one. His contemporary, the great theologian Tertullian called the body of Christian believers as crucis religiosi, i.e. "devotees of the Cross". In his book De Corona, Chapter 3, written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the sign of the cross as a mark of their devotion to Christ. Another early Church father, who lived from 130-202, the great Irenaeus, wrote Adversus Haereses where in section II, xxiv, 4 said these words: ."The very form of the cross, too, has five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle, on which the person rests who is fixed by the nails". Irenaeus was a pupil of Polycarp, who was, in turn, a pupil of St John the Apostle, the only disciple cited in scripture that was actually present at the crucifixion. Hence, Irenaeus would hardly have made an error in the cross shape and therefore, the cross , as described by him, must be given serious thought.

2. Historical and archaeological evidence of the Roman Empire. The term 'crucifixion' comes from the Latin crucifixio ("fixed to a cross", from the prefix cruci-, "cross", + verb ficere, "fix or do") and not 'fixed to a stake'. Very occasionally, the gibbet was only one vertical stake, called in Latin crux simplex or palus, or in Greek μόνος σταυρός (monos stauros, i.e. isolated stake). This was the simplest available construction for torturing and killing the criminals. More often, however, there was a cross-piece attached either at the top to give the shape of a T (crux commissa) or just below the top, as in the form most familiar in Christian symbolism (crux immissa).Other forms were in the shape of the letters X and Y. Shapes of cross tended to be local, so that, say a stake would be favoured in one part of the Empire, whilst a cross would be used in another.The earliest writings that speak specifically of the shape of the cross on which Jesus died describe it as shaped like the letter T (the Greek letter tau), or, morfe likely, composed of an upright and a transverse beam, together with a small ledge in the upright.The apochryphal Epistle of Barnabas, Chapter 9 mentions this, and, although not a canonical gospel, still undoubtedly belongs to the end of the first or beginning of the second century and contains a great deal of contemporary information that has to be taken seriously.

Archaeologically, the Cross, as well as the fish, the star, the Chi-Rho sign, the anchor and the plough, are to be found on second century ossuaries of the Judaeo-Christian community in Judae which put any doubt as to the nature of the Cross shape beyond all reasonable doubt. Michael Green, an expert on the early church, confirms this in "Evangelism in the Early Church" pp. 214-215. In June of 1968, some 1st century tombs were accidentally unearthed by bulldozers working north of Jerusalem. Archaeologist, Vasilius Tzaferis excavated the tombs and unearthed the skeletal remains of a young man who had been crucified. Mr Tzaferis, who is not a Christian, wrote an article on his findings in the Biblical Archaeological Review. The crucified man was crucified on a cross-shaped cross, suggesting that that was the preferred local method for crucifixion in those parts - ie Jerusalem. Also, in local contemporary graffiti, there is an anti-Christian picture that shows a Christian believer worshipping an ass-headed god on a cross. The figure of Christ is crucified with his arms outstretched - graffiti drawn by a contemporary figure. Finally, within the catacombs in Rome, the Cross symbol is seen frequently as a symbol for Christianity, many of which date from the earliest Christian church there. I saw these symbols scratched onto walls, on tombs and even a stone altar myself whilst on a visit there a few years ago. All of the Cross symbols were of the standard Christian Cross as an upright and cross beam. Nowhere was there any hint of a 'stake' being used symbolically for an event which, along with the resurrection and ascension, was the pivotal belief of the early Church and the one to which Paul referred time and time again.

3. The evidence in scripture. In their representations of Christ on what they call a torture stake, the Watchtower society of Jehovah's Witnesses always show 'one nail' through both of Christ's hands. However, in contrast to this, The Bible clearly states that Christ's crucifixion bore the marks of two nails in his hands and not one. This is seen in John 20:25 which records Thomas as saying: "...Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." Note that the plurality of the nails refers to the hands only and not the hands and feet. This is evident both in the English account and the original Greek. In addition to this text, further biblical evidence that Christ was crucified on a cross, rather than a torture stake, can be gleaned from Matthew 27:37, which describes the charge placed "above" Christ's "head": "This is Jesus The King of the Jews". Again, the Greek is specific - the charge was placed above Christ's head. If Christ had been crucified on a torture stake, the charge would have been unreadable, as His hands would have obstructed the words. If it was placed higher up the pole, it may have been more appropriate for Matthew, normally a stickler for detail, to have written that the charge was placed above His hands. However, the traditional historic view of Christ being crucified on a cross, would both make the charge easier for all to have seen, and, as the text says, been placed above His head. In addition to this, all four gospels record Jesus carrying his Cross. In, e.g. John 19:17, the word used admittedly is stauros "και βασταζων εαυτω τον σταυρονεξηλθεν εις τον λεγομενον κρανιου τοπον ο λεγεται εβραιστι γολγοθα" But this does not mean that the word 'stauros means a stake in this context or else it would be described as 'monos stauros' instead. Certainly the earliest original Greek-to-Latin Bible translators knew the Cross as just that - so that the word 'Crucis' was used rather than anything else. The reasons for the misconception about the word stauros are too many and complex to go into, but there is an excellent inbiassed article that examines the original Greek etymology of the word and the Jehovah's Witness claims. The address is http://www.freeminds.org/doctrine/jesus/the-facts-on-crucifixion-stauros-and-the-torture-stake.html. Finally, Paul, in many of his letters, refers to Jesus being crucified on a Cross (stauros) and never, ever a stake (monos stauros).

Answer:There are many Christian faiths that believe it was a cross. And they have tons of citations to back that up, citations that primarily are convincing to themselves.

There are some Christian faiths that believe it was a stake. And they have tons of citations to back that up, citations that primarily are convincing to themselves.

Secularly speaking, the Romans were not such slaves to detail as to do things exactly the same every time. There were executions by what would look to us like a cross. Others were executed by two beams that were in a capitol "T" shape. And some were executed on what could be called a stake.

As the writers of the various gospels do not perfectly well agree on the last words of Jesus, it is doubtful that any agreement as to the exact shape of the wood he was executed on will be had.

Nor, from a theological standpoint, should it matter. The theological point is in Jesus sacrificing himself for our sins, not the exact manner of his execution. One nail causing holes in both hands, two nails causing holes in both hands, or let it be three nails that all fell out and they tied him to a hook on a wall.

The point is, believing in his divinity or not, it is the story of a man who did no wrong, and died trying to assist others. For those who follow this "Prince of Peace" to have hot debates over his execution is unseemly.

AnswerJesus was nailed to a cross.

The notion of Jesus being nailed to a stake frequently comes from the New World Translation.

The NWT is commonly recognized among both Catholic and Reformed exegetes as having highly controversial translations of passages due to religious bias. This translation is read primarily among Jehovah's witnesses, and their Watchtower magazines frequently illustrate Christ nailed to the stipes, or vertical beam with a singular nail through both hands.

However, the idea of a single vertical stake with a singular nail through both hands is exceedingly difficult to reconcile with the gospel of John:

But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called The Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. Consequently the other disciples would say to him: "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them: "Unless I see in his hands (plural) the print of the nails (plural) and stick my finger into the print of the nails (plural) and stick my hand into his side, I will certainly not believe." (John 20:24-25 NWT)

Here, even the New World Translation has a pluraluse of nails corresponding to Jesus' hands, of which St. Thomas wanted both visual and tactile confirmation, and which corresponds to the ancient Roman tradition of having the condemned carry a patibulum, or crossbeam.

Answer 2

Answer # 1

Scripture tells us that Christ was made to carry the cross piece of the cross he was to be nailed to, suggesting that He was nailed to a cross and not a single stake.

Answer # 2

Jesus was nailed to a cross.

The notion of Jesus being nailed to a stake comes from the New World Translation.

The NWT is commonly recognized among both Catholic and Reformed exegetes as having a serious lack of scholarship in translation. This translation is read primarily among Jehovah's witnesses, and their Watchtower magazines frequently illustrate Christ nailed to the stipes, or vertical beam with a singular nail through both hands.

However, the idea of a single vertical stake with a singular nail through both hands is exceedingly difficult to reconcile with the gospel of John:

But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called The Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. Consequently the other disciples would say to him: "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them: "Unless I see in his hands (plural) the print of the nails (plural) and stick my finger into the print of the nails (plural) and stick my hand into his side, I will certainly not believe." (John 20:24-25 NWT)

Thus, even the New World Translation has a pluraluse of nails corresponding to Jesus' hands, of which St. Thomas wanted both visual and tactile confirmation, and which corresponds to the ancient Roman tradition of having the condemned carry a patibulum, or crossbeam.

Answer 3

On a stake, every one says a cross because their culture teaches them that but there's not a Bible text that backs it up, sorry. This is a common belief for Jehovah's Witnesses. The Greek word 'stauros' means a stake with a cross-member on which to attach a person. The Roman word which the term crucify derives from is cross.

Answer 4

Perhaps this verse will answer your question taken from Matthew 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

Answer

Jesus died on a cross. The confusion arises from the 'stauros' which is the Greek for both cross and stake. However, the common usage of 'stauros' means 'cross'; if a stake is specified then the Greek would always be 'monos stauros' or 'simple cross' to distnguish between the two. Nowhere in scripture is this term used.

Romans invariably used cross or T-shaped structures for crucifixion, onl rarely using a stake. Archaeology has confirmed that the cross-shape was the preferred method in Jerusalem for execution after the remains of crucified victims were discovered recently in a tomb near Jerusalem..

In addition to this, accounts of the crucifixion suggest strongly a cross shape - as Jesus carried the crossbar to the place of execution, a sign outlining his 'crime' was placed above him on the cross, and a drink lifted up on a reed. Other references by Paul and others all point to a Cross and not a stake.

Finally the early Church members all remember Christ being crucified on a cross, and grafitti in the Roman catacombs of the late first and early 2nd century all confirm that Jesus was crucified on a cross.

There are some groups - notably the Jehovah's Witnesses - who insist that Jesus was executed oon a stake, but their evidence is very flimsy compared wth the wealth of evidence, historical, scriptural and archaeological that confirm Jesus being executed on a cross.

Answer 5

• The word 'cross' indicates at least 2 pieces of timber.
• The word 'stake' refers to just 1 piece of timber positioned upright.
• The Greek word used in the Bible is 'stau-ros'. Stau-ros refers to only 1 piece of timber.

This is not new information.

• Back in 1896 the book The Non-ChristianCross, by John Denham Parsons, states: "There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross. . . .

Then it remarks about how misleading the religious teachers and translators have been in this regard. They have allowed religious bias into their translation work.

• The book continues: ". . . it is not a little misleading upon the part of our teachers to translate the word stauros as 'cross' when rendering the Greek documents of the Church into our native tongue, and to support that action by putting 'cross' in our lexicons as the meaning of stauros without carefully explaining that that was at any rate not the primary meaning of the word in the days of the Apostles, did not become its primary signification till long afterwards, and became so then, if at all, only because, despite the absence of corroborative evidence, it was for some reason or other assumed that the particular stauros upon which Jesus was executed had that particular shape."- London, 1896, pp. 23, 24.
• Now to 1985; says Douglas' New BibleDictionary of 1985 under "Cross," page 253: "The Gk. word for 'cross' (stauros; verb stauroo . . . ) means primarily an upright stake or beam, and secondarily a stake used as an instrument for punishment and execution."

• The Companion Bible Part V.The Gospels, published by the Oxford University Press, Appendix No. 162 entitled "The Cross and Crucifixion" (page 186). After a lengthy discussion of considerable evidence the article concludes: "The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle."
• Regarding the use of the cross as a 'christian' symbol - - some theologians are questioning the propriety of the cross as a symbol of Christianity because of its violent associations, reports TheDallas Morning News. The theologians are encouraging the use of symbols reflecting Jesus' life rather than his death. The cross "feeds a death worship," said theologian Catherine Keller of Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey, U.S.A. "Nobody would want an electric chair or noose as a key symbol of faith, but that's what we would be using if Jesus were put to death by the state today."

Answer 6

Answer:

The Romans who controlled Palestine at the time of Jesus' life and death executed capital prisoners by crucifixion, so he was almost certainly executed on a cross.

Answer 7

Definition: The device on which Jesus Christ was executed is to by most of Christendom as a cross. The expression is drawn from the Latin crux.

Why do Watch Tower publications show Jesus on a stake with hands over his head instead of on the traditional cross?

The Greek word rendered"cross" in many modern Bible versions("torture stake" in NW) is stau-ro' . In classical Greek, this word meant an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for execution stake having a crosspiece. The Imperial Bible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: The Greek word for cross,(stau-ro'),properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling ( fencing in) a piece of ground...Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to be originally an upright pole."--Edited by P. Fairbairn(London, 1874), Vol. I, p. 376

Questions we can and should ask ourselves: Is veneration of the cross a Scriptural practice?( 1 Corinthians 10:14) Does it really make any difference if a person cherishes a cross, as long as he does not worship it? ( Ezekiel 8:13,14 and verse 17).

Answer 8

Mt:27:33: And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

Answer 9

The place where Jesus died on the cross , is called Calvary , or Golgotha , which means place of the skull.