Ancient Crucifixion
Ancient Manners and Customs, Daily Life, Cultures, Bible Lands

Crucifixion was commonly practiced among the ancient Romans

Crucifixion was not a punishment that originated with the Jews or their judicial laws. Crucifixion was a brutal form of punishment that was common among the Romans. The Romans chose this mode of capital punishment to put fear in everyone who would stand against Rome and Roman laws. Crucifixion was common in first century Israel and this fact is well documented in the writings of Josephus. The Romans would choose a popular place in clear view, lest anyone else violate Roman law.
 

What was abstract horror was the fact that scourging almost always preceded crucifixion,  where the Centurion would order his Lictors to scourge the prisoner to the point of "near death" using the brutal flagrum which was designed to speedily remove flesh, even with a single lash across bare flesh.

Crucifixion in Biblical Times

Once the condemned prisoner was scourged he was brought naked to his cross beam, which he would carry publicly to the place of execution. Nails would then be pounded into his hands and feet and he would be raised up to an upright position, usually around 10 feet above ground.

Jesus was brought outside the city gate and crucified at a place known in first century Israel as Golgotha (Calvary).

Hebrews 13:12 - Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

Crucified Victim on Ancient Amulet

History of Crucifixion

Crucifixion did not begin with the Romans, but it was a method of execution that had developed centuries earlier in the ancient near East. The Medes and the Persians practiced this gruesome torture method as well as the Carthaginians and the Egyptians, and later it was adopted among the Greeks and finally the Romans in the first century. Crucifixion was mentioned in history from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD.

In 519 BC Darius I, king of Persia, crucified 3,000 political opponents in Babylon;

The Roman Cross

The Romans called it by its Latin word crucifixus which means to "fix on a cross". The first century Roman cross consisted of two large wooden beams, a stake and a crossbeam (patibulum). The crossbeam was locked into place at the very top of the perpendicular stake, or near the top.

Extreme Torture

Since the body needed air in the lungs, and blood circulating in the heart the victim would have to push himself up with his nailed feet, and pulled himself up with his nailed hands.

Breaking the Legs

To hasten a prisoner's death the Roman soldier would break the prisoner's legs with an iron club (crurifragium). This would also assure that the prisoner was indeed dead.

The Place of Execution

The place of crucifixion was usually in a very public place where the bodies were left to rot. In Israel crucified prisoners were taken down in observance of the Sabbath.

Announcement of the Crime

As the condemned prisoner was led bearing a crossbeam to his place of execution, he would be preceded by a public crier who would announce his crime. His primary charge was written on a tablet (titulus) which also preceded him and finally fixed to the cross that he was crucified on.

Roman Crucifixion

It was indeed the Romans who practiced crucifixion as a common method of execution. According to Roman law a Roman citizen could not be crucified, crucifixion was for slaves and extreme criminals, political or religious agitators, pirates, or those who had no civil rights.

Julius Caesar and Crucifixion

Julius Caesar in his youth was captured by pirates, being held for ransom. He later found them and crucified them all, but he also slit their throats first to hasten their deaths.

Augustus Caesar and Crucifixion

The Emperor Augustus once made a boast that he had captured 30,000 runaway slaves and crucified them, or at least the ones who were not vouched for by their master. Their are many accounts of the Romans crucifying their victims, mass public crucifixions. When Spartacus led his rebellion against Rome, once they were captured over 6,000 slaves were captured by crucified on the main road to Capua (Appian Way) by the order of Crassus. Their bodies remained there is a token of Roman justice to all who would attempt to rebel.

Crucifixion in the Colosseum

It was a common sight in the Flavian Amphitheatre to crucify deserters, prisoners-of-war, and criminals from the lower classes.

Martial records one crucifixion, a version of the mime Laureolus by Catullus, in which a notorious bandit was executed by crucifixion and filleted by a wild bear for the amusement of the crowd:

"As Prometheus, bound on a Scythian crag, fed the tireless bird with his too abundant breast, so did Laureolus, hanging on no sham cross, give his naked flesh to a Caledonian bear. His lacerated limbs lived on, dripping gore, and in all his body, body there was none. Finally he met with the punishment he deserved; the guilty wretch had plunged a sword into his father�s throat or his master�s, or in his madness had robbed a temple of its secret gold, or laid a cruel torch to Rome. The criminal had outdone the misdeeds of ancient story; in him, what had been a play became an execution."

Crucifixion and the Jews

In Israel a man named Judas rebelled against Rome and he captured the city of Sepphoris and made it his headquarters. The legions of Rome finally defeated them under Varus, and the Romans crucified 2,000 Jews.

In 88 BC Alexander Jannaeus, the king and high priest of Judaea, crucified 800 Pharisees.

Crucifixion and Jesus

In Judaea on Passover at about 31 AD Pontius Pilate* (Rom. Gov. of Judaea 26-36 AD) had Jesus of Nazareth crucified as a criminal of Rome. Although the death of Jesus is mentioned in ancient sources outside of the Bible, the details of the crucifixion and the events surrounding his death and resurrection are mentioned only in the Bible. The Bible reveals that Jesus ' death was planned by the Jewish authorities, and because they did not have power to put to death a condemned criminal they turned him over to the Romans for execution. Pontius Pilate the Roman governor of Judea made the final decision to have Jesus crucified. The Romans first scourged Jesus, then the Romans mocked him by placing a purple robe on his body and hailed him as the "King of the Jews", then the Roman soldiers made a crown of thorns and placed it on his head. Next the Romans led Jesus to his place of execution, he was made to bear his own cross but when he could not carry it any longer he was assisted by a man named Simon of Cyrene. When Jesus arrived to a place outside the city walls called Golgotha his place of execution, the Roman soldiers nailed his hands and his feet to the cross and a tablet was placed above his head announcing his crime of proclaiming himself King of the Jews, the tablet recorded this in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. Jesus was crucified with two other criminals and he hung there for three hours. The Roman soldiers divided his garments and cast lots for his robe, and people who passed by wagged their heads in disgust, and mocking him they stated "he saved others but he cannot save himself". When the Roman soldiers were ordered to break the prisoner's legs Jesus was already dead and his bones were never broken, but instead the soldier pierced him in the side with a spear. Jesus' body was removed and he was buried in a tomb nearby. After three days and three nights he rose from the dead.

* Pontius Pilate was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under the Emperor Tiberius from 26�36 AD

For External Sources of Jesus' Crucifixion See: Josephus on Jesus and Tacitus on Christ

Painting of Jesus Crucified

Painting Champaigne La Crucifixion

Crucifixion and the Christians

The Emperor Nero who was much younger than many people imagine, crucified an immense number of Christians for his own insane pleasure. He had actually blamed the Christians for the great fire of Rome. According to tradition (Origen) the apostle Peter was crucified upside down. Throughout the history of the Roman Empire Christians were martyred and crucified.

Constantine Abolishes Crucifixion

Crucifixion came to an end under the Emperor Constantine in 337 AD who had a supposed vision of the sign of the cross. He abolished crucifixion throughout the Roman Empire as a means of punishment.

The Symbol of the Cross

The empty cross became a symbol for Christians of Jesus conquering death once and for all.
 

Crucifixion in Smith's Bible Dictionary
Crucifixion was used among the Egyptians, Ge 40:19 the Carthaginians, the Persians, Es 7:10 the Assyrians, Scythains, Indians, Germans, and from the earliest times among the Greeks and Romans. Whether this mode of execution was known to the ancient Jews is a matter of dispute. Probably the Jews borrowed it from the Romans. It was unanimously considered the most horrible form of death. Among the Romans the degradation was also a part of the infliction, and the punishment if applied to freemen was only used in the case of the vilest criminals. The one to be crucified was stripped naked of all his clothes, and then followed the most awful moment of all. He was laid down upon the implement of torture. His arms were stretched along the cross-beams, and at the centre of the open palms the point of a huge iron nail was placed, which, by the blow of a mallet, was driven home into the wood. Then through either foot separately, or possibly through both together, as they were placed one over the other, another huge nail tore its way through the quivering flesh. Whether the sufferer was also bound to the cross we do not know; but, to prevent the hands and feet being torn away by the weight of the body, which could not "rest upon nothing but four great wounds," there was, about the centre of the cross, a wooden projection strong enough to support, at least in part, a human body, which soon became a weight of agony. Then the "accursed tree" with its living human burden was slowly heaved up and the end fixed firmly in a hole in the ground. The feet were but a little raised above the earth. The victim was in full reach of every hand that might choose to strike. A death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of the horrible and ghastly, --dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds, all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness. The unnatural position made every movement painful; the lacerated veins and crushed tendons throbbed with incessant anguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure, gradually gangrened; the arteries, especially of the head and stomach, became swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood; and, while each variety of misery went on gradually increasing, there was added to them the intolerable pang of a burning and raging thirst. Such was the death to which Christ was doomed. --Farrar's "Life of Christ." The crucified was watched, according to custom, by a party of four soldiers, Joh 19:23 with their centurion, Mt 27:66 whose express office was to prevent the stealing of the body. This was necessary from the lingering character of the death, which sometimes did not supervene even for three days, and was at last the result of gradual benumbing and starvation. But for this guard, the persons might have been taken down and recovered, as was actually done in the case of a friend of Josephus. Fracture of the legs was especially adopted by the Jews to hasten death. Joh 19:31 In most cases the body was suffered to rot on the cross by the action of sun and rain, or to be devoured by birds and beasts. Sepulture was generally therefore forbidden; but in consequence of De 21:22,23 an express national exception was made in favor of the Jews. Mt 27:58 This accursed and awful mode of punishment was happily abolished by Constantine. Read Full Article

Roman Crucifixion in Wikipedia
Crucifixion was used for slaves, pirates, and enemies of the state. It was considered a most shameful and disgraceful way to die. Condemned Roman citizens were usually exempt from crucifixion (like feudal nobles from hanging, dying more honorably by decapitation) except for major crimes against the state, such as high treason.Notorious mass crucifixions followed the Third Servile War in 73�71 BC (the slave rebellion under Spartacus), other Roman civil wars in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, and the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. To frighten other slaves from revolting, Crassus crucified 6,000 of Spartacus' men along the Appian Way from Capua to Rome.[citation needed] Josephus tells a story of the Romans crucifying people along the walls of Jerusalem. He also says that the Roman soldiers would amuse themselves by crucifying criminals in different positions. In Roman-style crucifixion, the condemned could take up to a few days to die. The dead body was left up for vultures and other birds to consume.Under ancient Roman penal practice, crucifixion was also a means of exhibiting the criminal�s low social status. It was the most dishonourable death imaginable, originally reserved for slaves, hence still called "supplicium servile" by Seneca, later extended to provincial freedmen of obscure station ('humiles').[citation needed] The citizen class of Roman society were almost never subject to capital punishments; instead, they were fined or exiled. Josephus mentions Jews of high rank who were crucified, but this was to point out that their status had been taken away from them. The Romans often broke the prisoner's legs to hasten death and usually forbade burial. A cruel prelude was occasionally scourging, which would cause the condemned to lose a large amount of blood, and approach a state of shock. The convict then usually had to carry the horizontal beam (patibulum in Latin) to the place of execution, but not necessarily the whole cross.[citation needed] Crucifixion was typically carried out by specialized teams, consisting of a commanding centurion and four soldiers.[citation needed] When it was done in an established place of execution, the vertical beam (stipes) could even be permanently embedded in the ground.[citation needed] The condemned was usually stripped naked�all the New Testament gospels describe soldiers gambling for the robes of Jesus. The 'nails' were tapered iron spikes approximately 5 to 7 inches (13 to 18 cm) long, with a square shaft 3/8 inches (10 mm) across. In some cases, the nails were gathered afterward and used as healing amulets. Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, abolished crucifixion in the Roman Empire in 337 out of veneration for Jesus Christ, its most famous victim. Read Full Article Also see: The Crucifixion of Jesus

Crucifixion in the ISBE Bible Encyclopedia
Crucifixion: As an instrument of death the cross was detested by the Jews. "Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree" (Gal 3:13; compare Dt 21:23), hence, it became a stumbling-block to them, for how could one accursed of God be their Messiah? Nor was the cross differently considered by the Romans. "Let the very name of the cross be far away not only from the body of a Roman citizen, but even from his thoughts, his eyes, his ears" (Cicero Pro Rabirio 5). The earliest mode of crucifixion seems to have been by impalation, the transfixion of the body lengthwise and crosswise by sharpened stakes, a mode of death-punishment still well known among the Mongol race. The usual mode of crucifixion was familiar to the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, Persians and Babylonians (Thuc. 1, 110; Herod. iii.125, 159). Alexander the Great executed two thousand Tyrian captives in this way, after the fall of the city. The Jews received this form of punishment from the Syrians and Romans (Ant., XII, v, 4; XX, vi, 2; BJ, I, iv, 6). The Roman citizen was exempt from this form of death, it being considered the death of a slave (Cicero In Verrem i. 5, 66; Quint. viii.4). The punishment was meted out for such crimes as treason, desertion in the face of the enemy, robbery, piracy, assassination, sedition, etc. It continued in vogue in the Roman empire till the day of Constantine, when it was abolished as an insult to Christianity. Among the Romans crucifixion was preceded by scourging, undoubtedly to hasten impending death. The victim then bore his own cross, or at least the upright beam, to the place of execution. This in itself proves that the structure was less ponderous than is commonly supposed. When he was tied to the cross nothing further was done and he was left to die from starvation. If he was nailed to the cross, at least in Judea, a stupefying drink was given him to deaden the agony. The number of nails used seems to have been indeterminate. A tablet, on which the feet rested or on which the body was partly supported, seems to have been a part of the cross to keep the wounds from tearing through the transfixed members (Iren., Adv. haer., ii.42). The suffering of death by crucifixion was intense, especially in hot climates. Severe local inflammation, coupled with an insignificant bleeding of the jagged wounds, produced traumatic fever, which was aggravated the exposure to the heat of the sun, the strained of the body and insufferable thirst. The swelled about the rough nails and the torn lacerated tendons and nerves caused excruciating agony. The arteries of the head and stomach were surcharged with blood and a terrific throbbing headache ensued. The mind was confused and filled with anxiety and dread foreboding. The victim of crucifixion literally died a thousand deaths. Tetanus not rarely supervened and the rigors of the attending convulsions would tear at the wounds and add to the burden of pain, till at last the bodily forces were exhausted and the victim sank to unconsciousness and death. The sufferings were so frightful that "even among the raging passions of war pity was sometimes excited" (BJ, V, xi, 1). The length of this agony was wholly determined by the constitution of the victim, but death rarely ensued before thirty-six hours had elapsed. Instances are on record of victims of the cross who survived their terrible injuries when taken down from the cross after many hours of suspension (Josephus, Vita, 75). Death was sometimes hastened by breaking the legs of the victims and by a hard blow delivered under the armpit before crucifixion. Crura fracta was a well-known Roman term (Cicero Phil. xiii.12). The sudden death of Christ evidently was a matter of astonishment (Mk 15:44). The peculiar symptoms mentioned by John (19:34) would seem to point to a rupture of the heart, of which the Saviour died, independent of the cross itself, or perhaps hastened by its agony.  Read Full Article

Crucifixion in Easton's Bible Dictionary
Crucifixion was a common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the Mosaic law were, by the sword (Ex. 21), strangling, fire (Lev. 20), and stoning (Deut. 21). This was regarded as the most horrible form of death, and to a Jew it would acquire greater horror from the curse in Deut. 21:23. This punishment began by subjecting the sufferer to scourging. In the case of our Lord, however, his scourging was rather before the sentence was passed upon him, and was inflicted by Pilate for the purpose, probably, of exciting pity and procuring his escape from further punishment (Luke 23:22; John 19:1). The condemned one carried his own cross to the place of execution, which was outside the city, in some conspicuous place set apart for the purpose. Before the nailing to the cross took place, a medicated cup of vinegar mixed with gall and myrrh (the sopor) was given, for the purpose of deadening the pangs of the sufferer. Our Lord refused this cup, that his senses might be clear (Matt. 27:34). The spongeful of vinegar, sour wine, posca, the common drink of the Roman soldiers, which was put on a hyssop stalk and offered to our Lord in contemptuous pity (Matt. 27:48; Luke 23:36), he tasted to allay the agonies of his thirst (John 19:29). The accounts given of the crucifixion of our Lord are in entire agreement with the customs and practices of the Roman in such cases. He was crucified between two "malefactors" (Isa. 53:12; Luke 23:32), and was watched by a party of four soldiers (John 19:23; Matt. 27:36, 54), with their centurion. The "breaking of the legs" of the malefactors was intended to hasten death, and put them out of misery (John 19:31); but the unusual rapidity of our Lord's death (19:33) was due to his previous sufferings and his great mental anguish. The omission of the breaking of his legs was the fulfilment of a type (Ex. 12:46). He literally died of a broken heart, a ruptured heart, and hence the flowing of blood and water from the wound made by the soldier's spear (John 19:34). Our Lord uttered seven memorable words from the cross, namely, (1) Luke 23:34; (2) 23:43; (3) John 19:26; (4) Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34; (5) John 19:28; (6) 19:30; (7) Luke 23:46.   Read Full Article

The Cross in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
The Cross was the instrument of a slave's death, associated with the ideas of pain, guilt, and ignominy. "The very name," writes Cicero (Pro Rab., 5), "ought to be excluded not merely from the body, but from the thought, eyes, and ears of Roman citizens." The Hebrew, having no term for it as not being a punishment in their nation, called it "warp and woof." Scourging generally preceded crucifixion: so Jesus (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; foretold in Isaiah 50:6; Isaiah 53:5). Pilate had probably hoped the Jews would be content with this scourging, and still let Him escape crucifixion (Luke 23:22; John 19:1). Jesus bore His own cross toward Golgotha outside the city (Hebrews 13:12; so Stephen, Acts 7:58), but sinking exhausted probably He was relieved, and it was transferred to Simon of Cyrene; prefigured in Isaac carrying the wood (Genesis 22:6; contrast Isaiah 9:6, "the government shall be upon His shoulder".)
Jesus' sacred and lacerated body was raised aloft, the hands nailed to the transverse beam, the feet separately nailed to the lower part of the upright beam so as to be a foot or two above the ground (others think the two feet were pierced by one and the same nail). Stupefying drink, vinegar mixed with gall and myrrh, was first offered to Him and refused (Matthew 27:34), for He would meet suffering consciously. Near death, to fulfill Psalm 69:21, He drank of the sour wine or vinegar kindly offered Him on a sponge. His death was hastened by rupture of the heart (See BLOOD; also Mark 15:23; compare John 19:28; Matthew 27:48.)
The sour wine called posca was the common drink of the Roman soldiers. Pilate marveled at His speedy death, crucifixion often not terminating in death for days. The approach of the Passover sabbath, one of peculiar solemnity, led to his permitting the Jewish law to be carried out which forbids bodies to hang after sunset (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). His legs could not be broken, because the Passover type must be fulfilled (Exodus 12:46). Constantine when converted abolished crucifixion. The agony consisted in:
(1) the unnatural position of the body, causing pain at the least motion;
(2) the nails being driven through the hands and feet, which are full of nerves and tendons, yet without a vital part being directly injured;
(3) the wounds so long exposed bringing on acute inflammation and gangrene;
(4) the distended parts causing more blood to flow through the arteries than can be carried back through the veins;
(5) the lingering anguish and burning thirst.
After Constantine's vision of the cross in the air and the inscription, "Under this standard thou shalt conquer," a new standard was adopted, the Labarum, with a pendent cross and embroidered monogram of Christ, the first two Greek letters of His name, and Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8). The Andrew's cross is shaped like an X, through Hippolytus says he was crucified upright. The Anthony cross (embroidered on his cope) was shaped as a T. The pagan Egyptians, Copts, Indians, and Persians, all have the same sacred emblem. Tradition, and the inscription over our Lord's head, make it likely that the form of His cross was +. The pole on which the brazen serpent was lifted by Moses was the type (John 3:14; Numbers 21:8-9).
The fathers regarded its four limbs pointing above, below, and to both sides, as typifying" the height, depth, length, and breadth" of the love of Christ, extending salvation to all (Ephesians 3:18). The harmlessness of cruciform flowers is another suggested type in nature. Christ's cross transforms the curse into a blessing (Galatians 3:13-14); the inscription was written with letters of black on a white gypsum ground. By a striking retribution in kind, the Jewish people, whose cry was "crucify Him," were crucified in such numbers by Titus "that there was not room enough for the crosses, nor crosses enough for their bodies" (Joseptius, B. J., 6:28). The piercing of Jesus' hands was foretold in Psalm 22:16; Zechariah 12:10.
The story of "the invention of the cross," A.D. 326, is: Helena the empress, mother of Constantine, then nearly 80 years old, made a pilgrimage to the holy places, and there, by help of a Jew who understood her superstitious tastes, found three crosses, among which Christ's cross was recognized by its power of working miracles, at the suggestion of Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem. Bits of this real cross were distributed as relics throughout Christendom. To supply the enormous demand, they were alleged to have been miraculously multiplied! In the church of the Holy Jerusalem Cross at Rome, relics of the top of the cross with the inscription are annually exhibited to the people for veneration. The falsity of the whole story appears from the fact that the Jews' law required the cross to be burnt; Eusebius is silent as to the alleged discovery of it.
A symbol or emblem merely at first, it soon began to have the notion of spiritual and supernatural efficacy attached to it. In the 6th century the crucifix image was introduced, and worship (latria) to it was sanctioned by the Church of Rome. Figuratively, the cross and crucifixion are used for spiritually mortifying the flesh, in union spiritually by faith with Christ crucified, not self-imposed austerities (Matthew 16:24; Philemon 3:18; Galatians 6:14; Colossians 2:20-23). Our will and God's will are as two separate pieces of wood; so long as both lie side by side there is no cross; but put them across one another, then there is a cross. We must take up the cross Christ lays on us if we would be His disciples.  Read Full Article

Crucifixion in Naves Topical Bible

-The reproach of
Ga 3:13; 5:11

-Of Jesus
See JESUS, HISTORY OF

-Of two criminals
Mt 27:38

-Of disciples, foretold
Mt 23:34

-See CROSS

-FIGURATIVE
Ro 6:6; Ga 2:20; 5:24; 6:14
See CROSS, FIGURATIVE


The Bible Mentions Crucifixion:

John 19:10 - Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

Matthew 23:34 - Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some] of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute [them] from city to city:

Hebrews 6:6 - If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.

Matthew 20:19 - And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify [him]: and the third day he shall rise again.

Mark 15:14 - Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.

Matthew 27:31 - And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify [him].

Mark 15:20 - And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

Mark 15:27 - And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.

Mark 15:13 - And they cried out again, Crucify him.

Luke 23:21 - But they cried, saying, Crucify [him], crucify him.

John 19:15 - But they cried out, Away with [him], away with [him], crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

John 19:6 - When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify [him], crucify [him]. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify [him]: for I find no fault in him.

Matthew 27:35 - And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

John 19:41 - Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

1 Corinthians 1:13 - Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

John 19:23 - Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also [his] coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

Galatians 3:1 - O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

2 Corinthians 13:4 - For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

Galatians 6:14 - But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Luke 23:23 - And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.

John 19:20 - This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, [and] Greek, [and] Latin.

Revelation 11:8 - And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Mark 16:6 - And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

Acts 4:10 - Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Mark 15:15 - And [so] Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged [him], to be crucified.

Acts 2:36 - Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Acts 2:23 - Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Matthew 28:5 - And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

Mark 15:32 - Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

Luke 23:33 - And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

Luke 24:20 - And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

1 Corinthians 1:23 - But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

Matthew 27:22 - Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? [They] all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

Matthew 27:26 - Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered [him] to be crucified.

Romans 6:6 - Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

1 Corinthians 2:2 - For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1 Corinthians 2:8 - Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Matthew 26:2 - Ye know that after two days is [the feast of] the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Matthew 27:23 - And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

Mark 15:24 - And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.

Luke 24:7 - Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
 

The Bible Mentions The Cross:

John 19:17 - And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called [the place] of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

Mark 10:21 - Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Colossians 1:20 - And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven.

John 19:31 - The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and [that] they might be taken away.

Philippians 2:8 - And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

John 19:25 - Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the [wife] of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

Luke 23:26 - And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear [it] after Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:17 - For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Galatians 6:14 - But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Matthew 27:40 - And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest [it] in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Mark 15:21 - And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

Galatians 6:12 - As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

Hebrews 12:2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

John 19:19 - And Pilate wrote a title, and put [it] on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Galatians 5:11 - And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

Mark 8:34 - And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mark 15:32 - Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

Matthew 27:32 - And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Philippians 3:18 - (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Colossians 2:14 - Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Matthew 16:24 - Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

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.

Luke 14:27 - And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Ephesians 2:16 - And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Matthew 10:38 - And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Luke 9:23 - And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Mark 15:30 - Save thyself, and come down from the cross.
 

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Bible Study and Faith

"The Bible is the most priceless possession of the human race." - Henry H. Halley

"This handbook is dedicated to the proposition that every Christian should be a constant and devoted reader of the Bible, and that the primary business of the church and ministry is to lead, foster, and encourage their people in the habit."

"The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts."

"Great has been the blessing from consecutive, diligent, daily study. I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the word of God." - George Muller

"I prayed for faith, and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the 10th chapter of Romans, 'Now faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' I had closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since." - D. L. Moody

-H. H. Halley "Halley's Bible Handbook" (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1960) p. 4, 6


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Archaeological Study of the Bible

"A substantial proof for the accuracy of the Old Testament text has come from archaeology. Numerous discoveries have confirmed the historical accuracy of the biblical documents, even down to the obsolete names of foreign kings... Rather than a manifestation of complete ignorance of the facts of its day, the biblical record thus reflects a great knowledge by the writer of his day, as well as precision in textual transmission."

-Norman L. Geisler, William Nix "A General Introduction to the Bible" 5th Edition (Chicago: Moody Press 1983) p. 253


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