......, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. Deuteronomy 21 v23

The Cross - The Tree

why is it a problem to the Jews?  -  what does it mean?

 

The symbol of the cross is offensive to Jews because of its use by evil men acting in the name of Christianity.  The Crusaders proudly carried the cross emblem whilst slaughtering innocent Jews and Muslims.  (men, women and children)  The Nazis used variations of cross emblems.

Paul  (Rabbi Sha'ul) says, "..... but we preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified; a stumbling-block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles".   (1 Cor 1 v23)    IVP New Bible Commentary says, "    A crucified Messiah  was to Jews unthinkable, while for God to take human form and then be put to death was incomprehensible to the Greeks."   The Messiah was expected to come in victory.  

Peter had this problem, soon after he had made his amazing statement of faith to Jesus;  "You are the Christ (the Messiah)".   When Jesus explained what was about to happen to him Peter said, "Never Lord!   This shall never happen to you!" and he received a stunning rebuke.  (Matt 16 v21-23)  He was sure that the Messiah was about to come as conquering hero.  He was probably also aware of Deuteronomy 21 v23,  "anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse".    (In Hebrew there is no distinction between a living tree and a reconstructed structure such as the Roman crucifixion cross - to the Hebrew speakers Jesus really was "hung on a tree".)

The Jewish religious leaders had failed to see in scripture, that the Messiah would come first as the suffering servant and take the curse for our sin and make atonement.   See Isaiah  53 and Psalm 22.    (His assumption of the throne of David was to await his second coming.)   However, we Christians should not feel superior to them, as Paul explains in Romans 11, that they have been temporarily blinded to the truth, for our benefit, but their eyes will be opened in due time.

Death by Crucifixion

The following account is drawn from articles explaining how and why a human being actually died after being crucified.   The author is indebted to Dr. Peter Rowan and Dr C Truman Davis, who acknowledged the work of Dr Pierre Barbet .   One of the aims of crucifixion was to make the coming of death as long and as agonizing as possible.  An Arab crucified in Damascus in 1247 took two days to die.

There were variations to both the form of the cross and the manner of fixing the victim.  The cross was formed of two parts; the upright ( stipes ) and the cross arm ( patibulum ).  The type usually referred to as the Latin cross had the patibulum fixed two or three feet from the top of the stipes, whilst the Tau cross in which the patibulum fitted into a notch on top of the stipes.  Thus the shape was a letter "T" (or Tau in the old Hebrew alphabet).  It is more likely that Jesus died on a "T" cross, but the "cross" shape was formed once the titulus was in position above the victim's head.  The Titulus was the small sign which stated the victim's crime, which was fixed to a short staff and carried ahead of the execution procession.  It was then nailed to the top of the cross above the victim's head.  The victim would have carried the patibulum which would have weighed around 110 pounds,  not the whole cross as is often depicted.

It must be remembered that Jesus' suffering on the cross was preceded by his suffering in the garden and before he was condemned to death.  His emotional suffering in Gethsemane caused Hematidrosis (when tiny capillaries in the sweat glands break during great emotional stress giving blood mixed with sweat.)  After his arrest, Jesus was subjected to mocking and being struck about the face before Pilate had him scourged.  Many believe that Pilate hoped the scourging, which could be fatal if prolonged enough, would have been sufficient to satisfy the mob. Jewish law forbade more than forty lashes but there is no reason to assume the Romans felt bound by that. Jesus would have been stripped and had his hands tied to a post above his head.  The Roman soldier would then have started using his flagrum (or flagellum) which was a short whip of several heavy leather thongs which had two small lead balls near the end of each.  Eventually, when the back was in ribbons of torn and bleeding tissue and the victim was nearly dead the beating was stopped and the victim untied and dropped into a pool of his own blood.  Then there was the crown of thorns and the beating about the head which would drive the thorns in deeper, and then the putting on and removing the "regal robe" from his back, which would have reopened the wounds caused by the flagellation.  Thus it can be appreciated that Jesus was much closer to death at the start of his crucifixion than was normal.

Jesus refused the offered wine with myrrh, which was a mild analgesic, in order to die with an unclouded mind.  This enabled him to make his  profoundly significant, seven last sayings.

The victim of crucifixion was usually nailed to the patibulum of his cross, although some were tied.  The nails for the hands needed to go through the bones, just past the wrist joint, near the base of the thumb.  If they went into the palm they would tear the flesh, and the victim would not stay up on the cross.  Also, the nails were first driven through discs of wood, to prevent any chance of the head pulling through.   There is space between the eight small bones of the hand close to the wrist, which will support the body's weight when nailed.    The nails were carefully placed to avoid any major blood vessels so the victim could not bleed to death, and to avoid the nerves to preserve sensation and muscle function.   It is agreed by anatomists, ancient and modern, that the wrist is part of the hand  (Jesus told Thomas to "observe my hands", meaning his wrists; not his palms)  The patibulum was then lifted onto the stipes and the titulus affixed.

Then the left foot was pressed onto the right and a nail was driven through the arch of both feet, between the second and 'third long foot bones.   (one archaeological find has a nail driven through the heel bone.  ( see [www.centuryone.org/crucifixion2.html] )  Having the feet fixed enabled the victim to push down and take some weight off the hands.   This only made things worse because it prolonged the execution.

The victim then began to die.   He had a choice: either to support his weight with the feet or hands, or both.  The hands were generally much more painful than the feet.  Every stage of crucifixion was a slow one.   Victims took longer to die when their arms were outstretched than if they were above the head;

The cause of death  was largely asphyxia.   (If you are suspended by the hands, it becomes very difficult to move the rib cage and to breathe)   Air can be drawn in but cannot be exhaled, oxygen gradually failed to arrive in the tissues and waste products (carbonic acid) began to build up in the muscles, making the blood more acid, producing a muscle spasm called tetany.   As death approached, the victim's head was held rigid by the spasm of the muscles of the neck.   These cramps would spread to the arms and legs.    When the arm muscles went into spasm they pulled the body up the cross and made breathing slightly easier for a while.  Later on there would be a terrible crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium slowly filled with serum which compressed the heart

Eventually the victim found it more and more exhausting to support the body, causing  breathing to become weaker and weaker, and the heart to begin to fail under the strain until death, mercifully, arrived.

This is why the soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus.   Once their legs were broken they could no longer take the weight off their arms and breathing became impossible.  Thus they would die in time be removed before the holy day started at sunset.

Jesus survived on the cross a remarkably short time - only a few hours. "Pilate marveled if he were already dead." ( Mark, 15, 44.)  Although he had allowed men to take him and crucify him, he remained in control.   He said, "It is finished" and gave up his spirit.  (Knowledge of Temple procedures and careful calculation of times recorded in the gospels reveals that Jesus uttered these words at the same time as the High Priest uttered the same words announcing the end of the sacrificing of Passover lambs!)

Crucifixion  would not have caused Jesus to lose very much blood; he certainly did not bleed to death.  When Passover lambs or other animals were sacrificed, their throats were cut and their blood was poured out.  (In Torah it is said "the life is in the blood", and that meat was to be drained so that the people did not eat the blood)     For some reason known to himself but not recorded, one of the soldiers sent to speed the deaths of the victims, seeing Jesus was already dead, thrust a spear into his side, causing blood and water to flow out.   He thus fulfilled the necessary shedding of blood, without which there is no remission of sins.  The flow of blood and water is explained by the collection of serum mentioned above, which had caused his heart to fail.  Jesus died of a broken heart, caused by trauma and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.

"It is Finished"

Tam ve’nishlam - "It is finished", are the first two words of the Hebrew phrase, "Tam ve’nishlam Shevach La’el Boreh Olam", which means, "It is completed and fulfilled, blessed be God, the Creator of the world." The acronym for this phrase,  is written at the end of sacred Jewish writings such as books of the Bible.  

Thus Jesus declared that he had completed and fulfilled everything God had purposed since the creation of the world.

For more medical detail and archaeological evidence see     www.centuryone.org/crucifixion2.html  and www.geocities.com/bramlett2000/lovestory.html

Click below to understand the spiritual reasons for the Cross;  why Jesus died for you and me. 

 The exchange at The Cross - The transaction made for us

A final thought.   Have you ever associated the darkness at the crucifixion with Amos chapter 8 v 9-11 ?     

"In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping.  I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads.  I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.  "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

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