Did Jesus die on a cross, or just the traditional stake?

Question

History shows that plain old wooden poles were used to traditonally execute people in the time Jesus walked the Earth, so why use two sticks crossed together to kill him? Why waste time on a so called criminal to tie two sticks together to make a cross?

Answer 1

No, Jesus was not put to death on a cross. That is a false teaching of Christendom. He was executed on an upright pole or stake, basically a tree. God's Word the Bible even tells us this at Acts 5:30--"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree."
Acts 10:39--"And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree."
Acts 13:29--"Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb."
Galatians 3:13--"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is every one who hangeth on a tree")

The King James Translators mistranslated the Greek word Stauros to fit their own pagan ideas. Here is the origin of the cross__
"A tradition of the Church which our fathers have inherited, was the adoption of the words "cross" and "crucify." These words are nowhere to be found in the Greek of the New Testament. These words are mistranslations, a "later rendering," of the Greek words stauros and stauroo. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "STAUROS denotes, primarily, an upright pole or stake...Both the noun and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pole, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two-beamed cross. The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea (Babylon), and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name)
"In the Egyptian churches the cross was a pagan symbol of life borrowed by the Christians and interpreted in the pagan manner."
How long will people be kept in the dark by the ones they look to for spiritual guidance? Down till the end.

Answer 2

Cross: Jesus did not die on a cross. He died on a pole, or a stake. The Greek word translated "cross" in many Bibles meant just one piece of timber. The symbol of the cross comes from ancient false religions. The cross was not used or worshiped by the early Christians. Therefore, do you think it would be right to use a cross in worship?—Deuteronomy 7:26; 1 Corinthians 10:14. Christ died on a stake, not a cross Gal. 3:13; Acts 5:30

Answer 3

The Romans did use crosses though. What they used were the poles(palings) meant to be fitted together as a barricade around military camps. These make up into X shaped crosses not the tall T shaped ones pictured. They did not use nails in spite of what the religious claim.Iron was far too expensive to waste on criminals and would have damaged their palings. Everything that they used to crucify was reusable. The Romans could assemble a log line of their barricade pretty quickly and be ready for crucifixions in short order, when done they took it down just as quickly and were ready to move on in short order as well.

fromhttp://www.roman-empire.net/army/army.html
Legionary Equipment
Army Camp Layout
For the famous camp of the Roman army was set up every night, for the troops to sleep in.
Every soldier carried tools for digging as well as two stakes for a palisade.
The army surveyors travelled ahead of the main force to find the site best suited for the night's camp.
Once the army arrived, the standards were driven into the ground. Then the contruction of the camp began, every soldier having a assigned role to play. A ditch was dug, the earth was used to make a rampart behind it on which the stakes were used to form a palisade.
Following the systematic nature of the legion this camp was slavishly built in the same form every day.
The leather tents, each of which would house eight men, were carried by mules.

Answer 4

Jesus did not die on a cross. He died on a pole, or a stake. The Greek word translated "cross" in many Bibles meant just one piece of timber. The symbol of the cross comes from ancient false religions. The cross was not used or worshiped by the early Christians. Therefore, do you think it would be right to use a cross.

Answer 5

Jesus said in prayer to his Father "Sanctify them by means of the truth. Your word is truth (John 17:17) and the apostle Paul stated at Titus 1:2 that God cannot lie .(also see Numbers 23:19). Therefore, as witnesses of Jehovah and followers of Jesus Christ, they adhere to the Bible as the foremost authority on religion (the way of life). Therefore, it is important to Jehovah's Witnesses that not only the manner in which Jesus died be accurate but all things regarding Jehovah God, his purpose and his son, Jesus, be accurate according to God's word, the Holy Scriptures (the Bible).) Regarding the use of the word "cross", Vines Expository Dictionary on Words of the New Testament states that the primary translation of the word "stauros" is an upright stake or pole. The words used in the Greek Interlinear Scriptures regarding the means of Jesus' death are "stauros" (primarily an upright stake or pole) not "crux" (cross) and "stauroo" (hung on a stake) not "crucified". Also, the result of being impaled to a stake with the hands nailed above the head and the legs straight down with the feet nailed to the stake would cause the tkdiaphragm to collapse due to the lack of the expanding of the chest and lungs within a short period of time resulting in the inability to breathe, and certain death. The Jews were responsible to execute Jesus (John 19:5-7, 14-16; Luke 23:20-25; Mark 20:10-15), not the Romans. True, the Israelites under the Mosaic Law had certain requirements for offering blood sacrifices; however, the ones serving Jehovah God under his son's (Jesus Christ's) appointed rulership are not under the law of Moses--Hebrews 9:1-13, 23, 24. Hence, under the new covenant (Luke 22:19, 20) Jesus presented his ransom sacrifice to God in heaven as a propitiatory sacrifice for mankind's sins (1 John 2:2).

Answer 6

The King James Bible says Jesus was put to death on a tree.

Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Acts 10:39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Acts 13:29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Michelangelo and the Cross

Italian government art experts are said to be “90 percent sure” that a sculpture recently found in a monastery in Lebanon is the work of the famous Italian artist Michelangelo. The small wooden carving is said to be worth $2.5 million (U.S.) if it actually is Michelangelo’s work. According to an Associated Press report, “the figure is unusual because it represents Christ with his hands stretched out above his head instead of to the side, as he usually is depicted on the cross.”

Whether the wooden sculpture is the work of the 16th-century artist Michelangelo or not, it illustrates that the impalement of Christ on a cross frame has not always been so certain as Christendom’s leaders today would have people believe. For example, the 16th-century Roman Catholic scholar Justus Lipsius illustrated impalement on an upright stake in his book “De Cruce Liber Primus.” This fits the meaning of the Greek word used in the Bible to describe the impalement of Christ—“stauros”—which “denotes, primarily, an upright pale or stake.”—“An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.

Jesus Christ did not die on a cross. The Greek word generally translated “cross” is stau·ros'. It basically means “an upright pale or stake.” The Companion Bible points out: “[Stau·ros'] never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle . . . There is nothing in the Greek of the [New Testament] even to imply two pieces of timber.”

In several texts, Bible writers use another word for the instrument of Jesus’ death. It is the Greek word xy'lon. (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) This word simply means “timber” or “a stick, club, or tree.”

Explaining why a simple stake was often used for executions, the book Das Kreuz und die Kreuzigung (The Cross and the Crucifixion), by Hermann Fulda, states: “Trees were not everywhere available at the places chosen for public execution. So a simple beam was sunk into the ground. On this the outlaws, with hands raised upward and often also with their feet, were bound or nailed.”

The most convincing proof of all, however, comes from God’s Word. The apostle Paul says: “Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: ‘Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake [“a tree,” King James Version].’” (Galatians 3:13) Here Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:22, 23, which clearly refers to a stake, not a cross. Since such a means of execution made the person “a curse,” it would not be proper for Christians to decorate their homes with images of Christ impaled.

There is no evidence that for the first 300 years after Christ’s death, those claiming to be Christians used the cross in worship. In the fourth century, however, pagan Emperor Constantine became a convert to apostate Christianity and promoted the cross as its symbol. Whatever Constantine’s motives, the cross had nothing to do with Jesus Christ. The cross is, in fact, pagan in origin. The New Catholic Encyclopedia admits: “The cross is found in both pre-Christian and non-Christian cultures.” Various other authorities have linked the cross with nature worship and pagan sex rites.

Answer 7

Jesus died on a cross.

Any speculation to the contrary is nonsense.

Any references to a "tree" in scripture are usually done only to draw a parallel between Adam's eating the fruit of the "tree" and Christ's redemption, which made use of one.

The Church, and particularly St. John, was there at the foot of the cross, when Jesus died.

They not only recorded the pertinent details in their letters, but also passed along the correct information to their disciples and successors.

In the 4th century, St. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, went to the Holy Land, excavated all the critical historical sites, and located the true cross, as well as the nails which fastened Jesus to it.

Today, parts of it can still be viewed in various churches around the world.

For more information, go here:

http://www.answers.com/topic/true-cross

Answer 8

Cross

Answer 9

Jehovah's Witnesses are the ones who started the "Torture Stake" myth, denying that Jesus died on a cross. Beware of false teachers from "The Watchtower Society" (aka Jehovah's Witnesses). They are heretics who deny the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and other essential Christian doctrines. They have to have they own special "translation" of the Bible to twist God's word to defend their lies. Do not trust the "New World Translation".

Answer 10

Jesus wasn't a god nor a son of god
he is just 100% human born by a virgin mother without a father
he lived as a human
& when it was time he was lifted to god in heaven & never crossed or die
& he will come back again