18. the crucifixion

8/10/2019 18. the Crucifixion

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Lesson #18The Crucifixion

(Mark 15: 21-47)


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In Lesson #18 we examine Jesus crucifixion, a method of capital

punishment introduced by the Persians as early as the 6thcentury B.C.and employed by the Carthaginians, Macedonians and Romans until the

Emperor Constantine outlawed crucifixion in A.D. 337, out of deference

to Christ.

The Greeks had an aversion to crucifixion, although the historianHerodotus tells of the crucifixion of the Persian General Artayctes, who

commanded forces in the 2ndPersian invasion of Greece under, Xerxes

(a main character in the Book of Esther), 480-479 B.C.

The Romans used crucifixion frequently, however; indeed, Crassus, the

Roman General who defeated Spartacus in the slave revolt of 73-71 B.C.crucified 6,000 captive slaves, lining the Via Appia with them, and the

historian Tacitus tells us that during the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 no

fewer than 600,000 Jews fought the Romans and those captured were

crucified, up to 500 per day.


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Crucifixion involved a prolonged, excruciatingly painful death by being

nailed to a cross with tapered iron spikes, 7-9 long, generally takingthree or more days for a person to die.

Jesus died in six hours, having been beaten nearly to death prior to

being crucified.


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Carl Heinrich Bloch. Christ on the Cross (oil on copper), 1870.

Museum of Natural History, Denmark.


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Jesus Chief priests and Scribes

Son of God, Savior Jesus adversaries and accusers

Simon of Cyrene Mary Magdalene

Helps Jesus carry his cross Jesus disciple from Migdal in Galilee

Alexander and Rufus Mary, mother of James and Joses

Sons of Simon of Cyrene Disciple from Galilee

Roman soldiers Salome

Jesus executioners Apostle Johns mother, Marys sister (or sister-in-law)

Two revolutionaries Joseph of Arimathea

Crucified with Jesus Receives Jesus body from Pilate, buries Jesus in his tomb

Passers by Pontius Pilate

The mocking crowd Roman Prefect and Jesus judge

Dramatis Personae(In order of appearance)


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Cyrene, LibyaCyrene to Jerusalem is a 2-week journey by ship

and land of approximately 1,000 miles.

Jerusalem

Egypt


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Titian. Christ and Simon of Cyrene Carrying the Cross(oil on canvas), c. 1565-1570.

The Prado Museum, Madrid.


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James Tissot. Simon of Cyrene and His Two Sons, Alexander and Rufus

(opaque watercolor over graphite on gray woven paper), c. 1896.

Brooklyn Museum, New York.


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Bartolomeo Montagna. St. Paul (oil on panel), 1482.

[image reversed]

Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan.

Greet Rufus, chosen in

the Lord, and hismother [who has been

like a mother to me+.(Romans 16: 13)


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13The Trial

The Crucifixion

They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is

translated Place of the Skull). They gave him wine

drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they

crucified him and divided his garments by casting

lots for them to see what each should take. It wasnine oclock in the morning when they crucified him.

The inscription of the charge against him read, The

King of the Jews. With him they crucified two

revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left.

(15: 22-28)


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Peter Gertner. Crucifixion (oil on panel), 1537.

Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland.[This is the portraitist Gertnersonly known religious painting. Note the detailed facial expressions.]


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Our historian Josephus

writes in his Siege of

Jerusalemthat the soldiers

out of rage and hatred

nailed those they caught,

one after one way, andanother after another, to the

crosses, by way of jest,

suggesting that there was no

standardized way to crucifya person: whatever worked

at the time and place would

do.Caravaggio. Crucifixion of St. Peter[upside down] (oil on canvas), 1601.

Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.


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Heel bone of Jehohanan, a crucified man in the 1stcentury, whose ossuary

was discovered in 1968 in east Jerusalem. Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas


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Antonia Fortress

Place of Crucifixion

Temple(not visible from this angle)


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Temple(Dome of the Rock today)

Damascus Gate

Holy Sepulcher Church

Old Citv


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Jesus was crucified near the Damascus Gate. One of seven gates leading into the Old City, it is

the busiest. The road outside the gate leads to Nablus and from there to Damascus, 135 miles

north. The current gate (above) was built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1537.


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Eastern Wall

Dome of the Rock(Temple in Jesus Day)

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

(site of the Crucifixion)


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Approaching the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the Via Dolorosa.



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Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at Golgotha.


Jesus on the Cross


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Jesus tomb beneath the rotunda in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Aedicule was originally

built in 1555 by the Franciscans, rebuilt in 1810 after a fire destroyed the original,

and reinforced by iron scaffolding since 1947.


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The Emperor Constantine and his mother St. Helena built the original Church of the Holy Sepulcher

in A.D. 326. It has been destroyed/damaged and rebuilt many times throughout history.


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26The Trial

The Crucifixion

Those passing by reviled him, shaking their headsand saying, Aha! You who would destroy the temple

and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming

down from the cross. Likewise the chief priests ,

with the scribes, mocked him among themselves andsaid, He saved others; he cannot save himself Let

the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from

the cross that we may see and believe. Those who

were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

(15: 29-32)


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Hieronymus Bosch. Christ Carrying the Cross (oil on panel), between 1510 and 1535.

Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent.


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28The Trial

The Crucifixion

At noon darkness came over the whole land untilthree in the afternoon. And at three oclock Jesus

cried out in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema

sabachthani? which is translated, My God, my

God, why have you forsaken me? Some of thebystanders who heard it said, Look, he is calling

Elijah. One of them ran, soaked a sponge with

wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink,

saying, Wait, lets see if Elijah comes to take him

down. Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to

bottom.

(15: 33-38)


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Syriac Rabbula Gospels (illuminated manuscript), c. 586.

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence.[Earliest crucifixion in an illuminated manuscript. The sun and moon together, suggest darkness.]


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30The Trial

Darkness over the Land There is a full moon at Passover, so

an eclipse cannot happen.

The great Jesuit scholar Joseph

Fitzmyer views the darkness as a

literary device, one that recalls the

9thPlague of Darkness in Exodus

preceding the 10thplague, the

Death of the First Born and the

Israelites redemption from

slavery in Egypt.


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The Tabernacle

.

Holy of Holies and the presence of God

Veil separating the

Holy Place from the Holy of Holies

Holy Place


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32The Trial

When the veil in the

Temple was torn in two

from top to bottom it

provided open access to

God, once and for all

through Christs death on

the cross.


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Matthew and Mark mention three women by name at the cross and

refer to many *other+ women. Luke mentions none individually. Johnmentions four, including Jesus mother Mary.

1) Mary, the mother of Jesus (at the cross, John 19: 25);

2) Mary Magdalene (at the cross, Matthew 27: 56, Mark 15: 40, John 19: 25);

3) Mary, the wife of Clopasthe other Mary, the mother of James theyounger and Joseph (at the cross, Matthew 27: 56, Mark 15: 40, John 19:

25);

4) Mary Salome, (Jesus mothers sister) and the mother of James and John,

Zebedees sons (at the cross, Matthew 27: 56, Mark 15: 40, John 19: 25);


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Simon Vouet. Crucifixion (oil on panel), 1622.

Museum of Fine Arts, Lyon, France.

Mary Magdalene Jesus mother Mary

Apostle John

Other MarysNotice the darkness


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36The Trial

The Crucifixion

When it was already evening, since it was the day ofpreparation, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of

Arimathea, a distinguished member of the council,

who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, came

and courageously went to Pilate and asked for thebody of Jesus. Pilate was amazed that he was

already dead. He summoned the centurion and

asked him if Jesus had already died. And when he

learned of it from the centurion, he gave the body to

Joseph.


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37The Trial

The Crucifixion

Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down,wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb

that had been hewn out of the rock. Then he rolled a

stone against the entrance to the tomb. Mary

Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watchedwhere he was laid.

(15: 42-47)


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Rogier van der Weyden. The Descent from the Cross, (oil on panel), c. 1435-1438.Prado Museum, Madrid.


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Tomb of Jesus inside the Aedicule at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem.


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Garden Tomb in Jerusalem

Although the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has a greater claim to authenticityas the tomb of Jesus, the Garden Tomb (seen here) makes a much better visual

aid!Photography by Ana Maria Vargas


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Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, opposite the Garden Tomb, Jerusalem


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A rolling stone, sealed the tomb.



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Empty Garden Tomb: He is not here for he is risen.



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Salvador Dali. Christ of St. John of the Cross [detail], (oil on canvas), 1951.Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow.


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1. Jesus was nailed to the cross for six hours, 9:00 AM to3:00 PM. Typically it would take 3-5 days for a person

to die of crucifixion. Why did Jesus die so quickly?

2. What crime did the other two men commit who were

crucified with Jesus?

3. Who should have been on the center cross?

4. Just prior to dying Jesus says, My God, my God, why

have you forsaken me. What did Jesus mean by this?

5. Who was responsible for Jesus crucifixion and death?


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Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy

All rights reserved. No part of this courseaudio, video,

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18. the crucifixion

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