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Bible Q

Tag: crucifixion

Was the “cross” at the crucifixion a crucifix-shape, a T-shape, or a stake?

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Although the Greek word “cross” (stauros) originally meant just a stake, and the Romans kept large stakes permanently planted at places of execution, the available textual evidence from the Roman period points strongly to the use on the stake of a patibulum or crossbeam in crucifixions to spread and suspend the victim’s arms. Although the basic shape […]

Which parts of the Bible talk about Peter’s death?

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Peter’s death occurred around 66 AD. It is not recorded in the book of Acts, whose narrative only continues into 50s of the first century. It is also not explicitly mentioned in any of the New Testament letters, which were probably all written before 66 AD. There are, however, two allusions to Peter’s death. One […]

Did Jesus sweat blood and what did it mean?

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You also say: When it says and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground, do you think it was blood and if so what was the meaning or symbol did this represent? I think that this description, is referring to blood pigment in sweat, which very occasionally […]

How many soldiers were at the crucifixion?

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Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. Matthew 27:27, see also Mark 15:16 A whole band of soldiers mocked and assaulted Jesus at the residence of Pilate during his trial. We are not told exactly how many soldiers were in this band, […]

Was it normal for someone to carry their own cross to their crucifixion?

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Crucifixion was used by Romans for punishing non-Romans from the end of the first century BC. By the time of Jesus, the regulations governing a crucifixion had become relatively standard in the Roman world. The following description is taken from Vassilios Tzaferis (1985), the archaeologist whose excavations in Jerusalem in 1968 discovered the only known physical […]

How many people witnessed the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus?

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Hundreds of people witnessed each of these events. Witnesses of the crucifixion of Jesus Chief priests, scribes and elders (Matthew 27:41) Centurion and Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:54) Simon of Cyrene (Mark 15:21) Two criminals crucified with Jesus (Luke 23:33) Crowds of bystanders (Matthew 27:37; Luke 23:48; John 19:20) Many women including Mary Magdalene, Mary the […]

Who carried the cross — Jesus or Simon of Cyrene?

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In John 19:17, Jesus is described as carrying his own cross, but in the other gospels we are told that Simon of Cyrene carried the cross for Jesus (Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). It was customary in Roman crucifixions for the prisoner to carry his own cross. Most likely, he had to carry only […]