Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

Christ's crucifixion occurred about 2000 years ago. This is documented by Roman, Jewish, and Greek historians. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His resurrection are the two most important events in human history. Why is this so? Because of Jesus' death, the human race has the opportunity for eternal salvation.

Within the first decades after the death of Jesus, Christians began to affirm that Jesus was the "only" Son of God. The gospel of John goes even further, suggesting that Jesus was not born, but rather was present with God at the Creation. Over time it became more common to affirm that "Jesus is God."

The Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ was a horrible affair. He had been tortured, mocked and spat upon through the night and hours proceeding His grueling trek to Calvary where nails were driven through His hands and feet, where the opened, bloody flesh of His back was placed against a wooden cross, where the people mocked Him and told Him to come down if He were the Son of God. Jesus died from many different problems, one was the actual crucifixion. But before the crucifixion, Jesus was beaten and flogged. He was so exhausted that another man had to carry his cross.

Here are some main points in the crucifixion timeline:

•	Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
•	Jesus endured six trials - three by Jewish leaders and three by the Romans. Jesus survived painful beating, whipping, and mocking.
•	Pilate tried to compromise with the religious leaders by having Jesus beaten, but this act didn't satisfy them. Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.
•	Jesus was mocked by the soldiers as they dressed Him in a purple robe and a crown of thorns.
•	Jesus was crucified on Golgatha, which means the Place of the Skull. The sky turned dark for three hours.
•	Jesus cried, "Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit!" and He died.

The reasons for crucifixion of Jesus

As far as the Roman authorities were concerned, Jesus was executed as a rebel against Rome, but matters were complicated by the political situation:

1. Pilate recognized that Jesus was not the ordinary sort of revolutionary leader, a lestes or brigand. If he was a would-be Messiah, he was a highly unusual one.

2. Pilate therefore realized that the Jewish leaders had their own reasons for wanting Jesus executed, and were using the charge of sedition as a convenient excuse.

3. This gave him the opening to do what he would normally expect to do, which was to refuse their request; he tried this, but failed.

4. Because it was pointed out to him in no uncertain terms that if he did not execute a would-be rebel king he would stand accused, himself, of disloyalty to Caesar.

The Jewish authorities condemned Jesus as a false-prophet and would-be Messiah who had committed the further outrage of claiming that he would eventually be indicated and rule at the right hand of God. He was sent to the Roman governor, therefore, on a capital charge:

1. Because many saw him as 'a false prophet, leading Israel astray';

2. He was clearly not leading a real or organized military revolt, he saw himself as in some sense Messiah, and could thus become a focus of serious revolutionary activity.

3. As the pragmatic focus of these three points, they saw him as a dangerous political nuisance, whose actions might well call down the wrath of Rome upon Temple and nation alike