Did Jesus really die on a cross?

Question

The Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John use the Greek word stau·ros′ when referring to the instrument of execution on which Jesus died.The word stau·ros′ refers to an upright pole, stake, or post.
At Acts 5:30, the apostle Peter used the word xy′lon, meaning “tree,” as a synonym for stau·ros′, denoting, not a two-beamed cross, but an ordinary piece of upright timber or tree.

So, if Jesus was crucified on a cross, is it still appropriate to worship a cross? Is that not a form or idolatry?

Answer 1

That Christ did not die on the traditionally shaped cross is aindicated by the testimony of the catacombs. Thus Dean Burgon, in his Letters from Rome, wrote: “I question whether a cross occurs on any Christian monument of the first four centuries.” Mons Perret, who spent fourteen years doing research in the catacombs of Rome, counted in all a total of 11,000 inscriptions among the millions of tombs. According to him, “not until the latter years of the fourth century does the sign of the cross appear.” Among the signs that do appear are the dove, a symbol of the holy spirit; the lyre, a symbol of joy; the anchor, a symbol of hope and the fish. Why the fish? Because the letters of the word “fish” in Greek are the same as the first letters of “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Saviour”

That Christ did not die on the traditionally shaped cross is also indicated by the Bible itself. It repeatedly tells of his dying on a tree, the Greek word being xylon. (See Luke 23:31; Acts 5:30;10:39.) Xylon simply means “timber,” and “by implication a stick, club or tree or other wooden article or substance.” That is why the Gospel writers all use xylon to refer to the staves or clubs that the mob carried when they came to take Jesus. (See Matthew 26:47, 55; Mark 14:43, 48; Luke 22:52.) By saying that Christ died on a xylon these indicated that Christ died on a timber, a piece of wood.

Thus the apostle Paul states that Christ became a curse to those under the law by being fastened to a xylon, since “Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake [xylon].” Paul was there quoting from the law of Moses, which required that the bodies of executed criminals be fastened to a tree or stake as a warning and which meant that they were cursed by God.—Gal. 3:13; Deut. 21:22, 23, NW.

A like example is found relative to one of the decrees of Cyrus, which warned that anyone refusing to obey, “a timber will be pulled out of his house and he will be impaled upon it.” In the Greek Septuagint Version the term for timber here is xylon. Again, not a cross but a simple straight beam.—Ezra 6:11, NW.

Some argue that Christ died on a cross because early Christians used the letter “X” as a symbol for Christ. However, the “X” used in this manner does not at all refer to the tree on which Christ died. Rather, it stands for the name “Christ,” it being the first (Greek) letter of the name “Christ,” written “X” and pronounced “ch” or “K.” Thus “X” is an abbreviation, not a symbol.

Answer 2

Definition: The device on which Jesus Christ was executed is referred to by most of Christendom as a cross. The expression is drawn from the Latin crux If you refer to the shape, that's it's a straight Pole. The Greek word rendered “cross” in many modern Bible versions (“torture stake” in NW) is stau‧ros′. In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. The Imperial Bible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: “The Greek word for cross, [stau‧ros′], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.”—Edited by P. Fairbairn (London, 1874), Vol. I, p. 376. Was that the case in connection with the execution of God’s Son? It is noteworthy that the Bible also uses the word xy′lon to identify the device used. A Greek-English Lexicon, by Liddell and Scott, defines this as meaning: “Wood cut and ready for use, firewood, timber, etc. . . . piece of wood, log, beam, post . . . cudgel, club . . . stake on which criminals were impaled . . . of live wood, tree.” It also says “in NT, of the cross,” and cites Acts 5:30 and 10:39 as examples. (Oxford, 1968, pp. 1191, 1192) However, in those verses KJ, RS, JB, and Dy translate xy′lon as “tree.” (Compare this rendering with Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:22, 23.) The book The Non-Christian Cross, by J. D. Parsons (London, 1896), says: “There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross. . . . It is not a little misleading upon the part of our teachers to translate the word stauros as ‘cross’ when rendering the Greek documents of the Church into our native tongue, and to support that action by putting ‘cross’ in our lexicons as the meaning of stauros without carefully explaining that that was at any rate not the primary meaning of the word in the days of the Apostles, did not become its primary signification till long afterwards, and became so then, if at all, only because, despite the absence of corroborative evidence, it was for some reason or other assumed that the particular stauros upon which Jesus was executed had that particular shape.”—Pp. 23, 24; see also The Companion Bible (London, 1885), Appendix No. 162. Thus the weight of the evidence indicates that Jesus died on an upright stake and not on the traditional cross. KEEP ON SEEKING THE TRUTH...

Answer 3

Although I always knew that Jesus was really executed on an upright pole and not a cross, I used to think "what does it matter? The important thing is that he did sacrifice himself for us and not so much whether it was a pole or a cross." I was wrong. It matters because this is a way that Satan perpetuates idolatry of a symbol that was in use long before Christ and was a symbol for the false God Tammuz.
The torture stake was not meant to kill quickly but to prolong suffering.

Answer 4

The word stauros stands for stake which planted in the ground. This much is true. The method in which a person would be crucified is the key to understanding the events of that time. It is true that a person could be nailed to a stake and hung at eye level and there is archaological evidence showing this but its rare because bodies were most likely left to rot or thrown into the trash heap and burned. Some families were allowed to retrieve their dead and bury them according to custom and that is where the evidence to the different methods of crucifixtion come. As I said..some where hanged by nailed as impaled to a stake at eye level with both hands gathered overhead and nailed in by one nail. Others were hoisted by a cross beam to a much taller stake and literally hung one hand nailed to one side of the beam and the other to the other side then a single nail to the feet. Most likely then the beam was pulled up to the top of the stake by ropes which were then lashed securely. This is the method that was used to crucify Jesus and for good reason..but first here is some scriptural evidence.

John 20:25
25The 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.

Nails to the hands is plural...where it would be stated "nail" if only one were used. Also, remember that Jesus had to carry His cross, with the help of another. Some where crucified on trees but these stakes as they were permanent fixtures as Golgotha was the established place for "hanging" (drop hanging by noose was not utilized this early) when using an individual to set an example as this hill could be seen from various areas of Jerusalem. So there it could be symbolized as a tree...the Tree of Life perhaps. Symbolically. The reason why this method is significant in its use for the crucifixtion of Christ is as well because of what the cross symbolized at that time. The cross had its origins in pagan worship long before Jesus or Christianity came along and as with the symbolic use of the plagues at the time of Moses were used to defeat the Egyptian King due to the association of gods to those things...so now was pagan worship defeated by the blood of the Lamb of God. So, in effect..that symbol is now religiously applied to Him almost exclusively and pagan worship has never been the brutal, human sacrificial predominant religion since that time or shortly after. Just as Egypt fell after the Hebrews were set free...so Rome fell as the Jew and gentile nations were set free. Sorry for the long winded preachy answer...I'm incapable of brevity. Love in Christ, ~J~

Answer 5

Yes the Greek word means pole or tree.
This was Just like the gallows was always in place, and the victim carried a cross piece to the place of execution that is were the confusion comes in.
The tree or pole was always there for people to see

Answer 6

"Barnabas 9:7
For the scripture saith; And Abraham circumcised of his household eighteen males and three hundred. What then was the knowledge given unto him? Understand ye that He saith the eighteen first, and then after an interval three hundred In the eighteen 'I' stands for ten, 'H' for eight. Here thou hast JESUS (IHSOYS). And because the cross in the 'T' was to have grace, He saith also three hundred. So He revealeth Jesus in the two letters, and in the remaining one the cross."

There had to be a crossbeam, because the stake would have been too heavy for a single person to carry. As it is, Jesus was too weak to carry it all the way.

On the second question (idolatry), the answer is rather simple. Christians don't worship a cross per se, they worship what it stands for. I know the Bible is ambiguous on the matter, but it seems unreasonable to condemn an image (the cross), but allow a word (god). They both refer to an idea, and do not form separate objects of worship. The Ark was a much dicier proposition, as the Israelites clearly worshipped it for itself, not as an abstract representation of the divine.

Answer 7

Yes

Answer 8

It was suposed by 11 disciples who were not present there but lateron they amended the story and said " He raised from the dead "! Human interventions always create doubts and confusions!

As an another source and evidance on the event is the word of God in Quran. It says that " They did not kill him nor they cruscified him (Jesus). It is all based on their doubts" I think God's word is final.

However if you read Bible carefully you may reach to the same conclusion. NOT DIED ON CROSS!

Who & Why the stone was removed?
Do spirit need doors?

Why his legs and arms were not broken?
Because he was still alive!

Why the windings were left in the tomb?
Because he was not spirit. He changed!

Why he cried "Touch me not" ??
Because he was hurt and feeling pain!

Why he asked for food at uper room?
Because he was hungry. Do spirits need fish!

Why he showed his hands with holes?
To prove that he was not a spirit and accordingly he said " I am not asended as yet to my father".

Hope you understand my point. Read Quran for further detail.

Peace & Blessings!

Answer 9

No he died on a stake or a pole.

The cross is pagan

Answer 10

Um, Roman records indicate that the method of crucifixion was a cross. A single pole would not be effective in killing anyone quickly. The stretching of the arms to the side is important to the process of crucifixion.