Crucifixion is an extremely cruel means of putting a person to death by affixing him to a cross (of various shapes and forms) and letting the stresses of physical pain, physiological damage from being hung in such a manner, and exposure to the elements, bring a slow withering death. While the death of Jesus on the cross makes the Romans the most infamous of its practioners, crucifixion was a common form of capital punishment among many peoples in ancient Europe and Asia. The Persians seems to have invented the practice, which was then picked up by the Greeks and Carthaginians, from whom the Romans adopted the practice.
Jesus's death on the cross (together with his resurrection) is, from both a narrative as well as theological point of view, the critical and climactic highpoint of the four gospels. It is the foundational event by which the earliest apostles of the Christian church understood what happened and changed them and explain why then they were doing what they did (“then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed” Acts 4:10). It is also the heart that drove Paul's theology and missions (“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” 1 Cor. 2:2). Simply put, nothing makes sense for the Christian faith except for the cross and the resurrection that accompanied Jesus's death on it. The importance of the cross for, both the understanding and the practice, of the Christian faith cannot be overstated, and justice cannot be done it by a mere summary. A fuller article is planned. Meanwhile we hope the resources here will help.
Further Reading & Resources:
Gerald Bray, "The Crucifixion," Evangel 1:3 (1983): 6-7. Pdf N 5 (Open on Phone)
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