did jesus die on the cross or on a single piece of wood?

Question

tell me how you arrived at your conclusion

Answer 1

There is evidence that the Romans used the cross with the cross piece to execute criminals as early as the 2nd century BC and also used the single pole in areas where wood was scarce. So no one really knows for sure.

Answer 2

No one really knows. I arrived at that conclusion by doing an independent study of the history of the "cross" in the writings of the early Christians, the applicable Scriptures, the meanings of Greek words used in the Scriptures, and secular writings of the first century.

The word "stauros" used in the Bible has a basic meaning of "stake", but it also was used of other "torture stakes" as well, including those with a crosspiece.

The word "xylon" used in the Bible means something made of wood (Greek word for wood is "xylo"), which includes single pieces of wood and those with wooden crosspieces.
It is sometimes translated "tree" because wood comes from a tree, obviously.

The Bible doesn't describe the stauros; it says nothing that would prove it wasn't a cross and it says nothing to indicate that it was.

The use of the cross by pagans is irrelevant as far as answering the question, Did Jesus die on a cross. The relevant question is, How did the Romans execute criminals at that time? Did they use crosses or just plain stakes? According to Seneca, a Roman writer of the 1st century, they used stauroses of various kinds. So who really knows? No one.

And really shouldn't we be more concerned with WHY he died, than the shape of the instrument he died on? The apostle Paul spoke of the "stauros" of Christ as a symbol of his sacrificial death. That's the point. The shape is irrelevant.

Answer 3

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.”
“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)
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.
Why, then, was this pagan symbol promoted? Apparently, to make it easier for pagans to accept “Christianity.” Nevertheless, devotion to any pagan symbol is clearly condemned by the Bible. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) The Scriptures also forbid all forms of idolatry. (Exodus 20:4, 5; 1 Corinthians 10:14)

Answer 4

I have read books that said he died on a pole, and some say on a cross, at the end of the day, both confirm his crucififiction. Him dying for the sin of man. That is the most important thing one should understand and beleive.

Bless You!
*H*

Answer 5

the ancient egyptian symbol of immortality was the ankh which was a cross [i think you can still see the Pope carry one.] So i don't know whether it was a cross or a pole, but a cross would make more sense from a symbolic point of view.

Answer 6

Mat 27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
Mat 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest [it] in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
Mat 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.


Pretty clear to me.

Answer 7

Depends on the local traditions of the rulling Romans at the time.

.

Answer 8

A cross, since that's simply what Roman used for crucifixions. Everybody was crucified that way.

Answer 9

On the cross!

Answer 10

Check the historical records of how the Romans killed people.
The facts are there.
He died on a cross. It's been proved.