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12/18/01 |
 
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The
method of execution of Jesus Christ is not as important as the reason He chose
to die for us. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and it is by Him
that that we gain life eternal. The cross, however, is a symbol of the event
that took place and a reminder of God’s love for us. As such we should be
knowledgeable of those things, which pertain to this event and ever aware of the
truth and those who would corrupt it.
Monicque
Sharman
writes:
“Whatever
it was that Jesus was crucified on, is a great symbol of exactly where our sins
were forgiven. It’s not something that we worship or thank. It’s just the
place where God showed us His almighty power and justice and love and
blessing… So, it’s somewhere that the devil hates… It’s something that
Satan doesn’t want us being reminded of. It’s something that Satan wants to
deny…”
The
Jehovah Witness Organization would have us believe that Jesus was crucified on a
wooden stake (No crossbeam, just a vertical stake) with both of His hands nailed
together with a single nail above His head. ‘They
teach that the 'cross' is a pagan symbol from Babylon and make this issue one of
their central controversies with the Christian Church.’
[1] They shun the wearing of a cross considering it to
be a form of idol worship. But is it?
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. {by whom:
or, whereby}
If Paul can glory “in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”
then why not us. We should be proud of what it represents and stands for rather
than ashamed of it as the Jehovah Witnesses seem to be. Personal opinions aside
however let’s see which view the Bible supports scripturally. Is the cross a
single beam of wood driven vertically into the ground whereby Jesus was
crucified with His hands above His head and a single nail placed through them or
as traditionally believed, with a “T” like appearance and Jesus’ hands
nailed one to each side of the cross beam.
Matthew
27:37-38 And set
up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and
another on the left.
The
first thing that is obvious about this verse is that there was a sign placed
above Jesus' head. Not above His hands as would be the case
The second thing that we notice is that Matthew writes how one thief was crucified on the right hand and one on the left.
John
20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when
Jesus came.
25
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But
he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and
put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I
will not believe.
Exodus
17:10 10
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed:
and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it
under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on
the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until
the going down of the sun.
Archeological “In
Giv'at ha Mitvar, north of Jerusalem, June 1969, some workers on a housing
project unearthed an amazing discovery. Unearthed was the skeleton of a man
named Yehohanan (John), son of Chaffol, who had been CRUCIFIED between the ages
of 24-28 at about the same time as Jesus died. He was executed on a cross with a
crossbeam! Copies of the articles reporting this are found
on the following pages,
along with reports of earlier discoveries. One of these reports shows that a
family tomb was discovered in 1945 and the ossuries (coffins) bore the name
'Jesus" in Greek and CROSSES were drawn on them! These tombs are dated no
later than the middle of the first century, before the destruction of Jerusalem
in 70 A. D., which indicates that the symbol of the cross was used to identify
those who followed the 'crucified one' even at that early date.” [1]
[1] http://www.caic.org.au/zcross.htm - Lipsius' illustration of a man crucified on an upright pole is cited by the WTS as 'proof' that this is how Jesus was put to death. But we found the book they cited, De Cruce Liber Primus and Secundus, and a lot more than they wanted their readers to know!
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This site was last updated 10/21/01