The Crucifixion of Jesus: A Pivotal Point in the History of Mankind
The crucifixion of Jesus is both a historical and spiritual event. From a historical point of view, it is one of the most significant events in the history of mankind. And from the spiritual point of view, the image of Jesus on the cross reminds believers that He conquered death, bringing believers eternal hope and a reversal of the curse laid on Adam and Eve.
In this article, we will delve into the many aspects of Jesus’ crucifixion, exploring historical context, theology, and its profound spiritual significance.
Historical Context
Based on historical evidence, the crucifixion of Jesus took place around 33 AD in Judea under Pontius Pilate. Both historical records and biblical accounts provide sufficient evidence that Jesus was crucified under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Crucifixion was not only a brutal method of execution. It was also a form of humiliation that symbolized ultimate rejection and shame.
Both historical and biblical records indicate that Jesus was crucified during the Jewish Passover festival. Even though He was subjected to a cruel death by Jews and the Romans, the Gospels emphasize that the crucifixion and all the preceding events were part of a divine plan – Jesus was God’s ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Theological Significance:
From a theological standpoint, the crucifixion is a pivotal moment in the history of humanity. By sacrificing Himself, God in Jesus atoned for the sins of the world. People used to bring sacrifices to their gods since the dawn of time.
It was a common pagan practice to appease the wrath of the gods by sacrificing something precious – a pure, healthy animal or an innocent human being. People have intuitively felt that to appease the wrath of the gods, one needs to bring a sacrifice – someone or something pure enough to serve as a substitute.
Over time, a sacrificial system was developed, which prescribed what sacrifices must be brought in each case.
The Jews had a similar sacrificial system, which they practiced in the Temple. They repeatedly brought sacrifices for their sins as prescribed by the Torah. Sacrifices had to be offered repeatedly because otherwise, people would not have a clean conscience.
The New Testament presents Jesus as the Sacrificial Lamb – the perfectly pure sacrifice whose death brings redemption and reconciliation between God and man forever. Jesus accepted death on the cross willingly, and His sacrifice is sufficient because He is infinitely precious and worthy. It is the only sacrifice that doesn’t need to be repeated. It is sufficient for all.
Jesus, as the sinless Son of God in human flesh, took the sins of humanity upon Himself, offering the gift of salvation through His sacrificial death. The magnitude of this sacrifice is such that it covers all the sins of the world, and whoever partakes of His ultimate sacrifice by faith is forever redeemed.
The Journey to the Cross
Jesus’ journey to the cross is highly symbolic and theologically profound. It starts with Jesus’ agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Curiously, the fall happened in the Garden as well – the Garden of Eden. There, a long time ago, our ancestors decided they wanted to be gods. They reached out for the forbidden fruit and grasped for control.
Since then, we have gradually forgotten what it means to live in trust. We prefer to rely on ourselves and make our own decisions about what’s good and bad. The world has been plunged into chaos ever since. It is torn apart by incessant wars and conflicts.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus reverses the fundamental fault of Adam and Eve by embracing God’s will and relinquishing self-reliance. His famous words are: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” By choosing God’s will, He rectified the wrongs of the first Adam, who chose his own will. He chose to trust, while Adam chose self-reliance.
After Gethsemane, He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples. Judas epitomizes the ultimate betrayal of God by human beings who have repeatedly preferred other gods to the One and Only. It is telling that Jesus was betrayed by one of the twelve disciples, someone very close to Him.
Next, the trials before Jewish and Roman authorities are where Jesus hardly says a word in his own defense in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy:
“As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)
It underscores His perfect sacrifice in the face of human rejection.
Jesus carried His cross down the Via Dolorosa, or “The Way of Suffering.” Surprisingly, the Bible emphasizes that He “drank His bitter cup” not out of duty or obligation but for the sake of joy set before him, as it says in Hebrews 12:2,
“…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God…”
Crucifixion at Golgotha
Literally, Golgotha means the “place of the skull.” It is the site where Jesus was nailed to the cross. The Gospels provide graphic details of Jesus’ crucifixion – a haunting image of death that has become an enduring symbol of life.
What is the significance of Jesus’ public humiliation? The prophecy says,
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.” (Isaiah 53:3)
Crucifixion was not only a cruel form of execution in the Roman Empire but also a means of public humiliation. The soldiers stripped Jesus naked and put Him on the cross as a public display of shame and humiliation.
However, it says that He bore the weight of our shame so we would never be ashamed. By His wounds, we were healed. Shame is a symptom of rejection felt on the soul level. We feel ashamed when we feel worthy of rejection. It says in Genesis 3:7 that after Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit,
“Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves.”
The effect of sin was such that they immediately felt total separation from God and each other. Moreover, they felt naked and vulnerable to such a degree that they sewed fig leaves and made a covering for themselves.
On the cross, Jesus took this shame and nakedness upon Himself by being rejected in our place. All the weight of our disconnection from God that Adam and Eve experienced after eating the forbidden fruit, Jesus took upon Himself willingly. There is no more shame for those who are in Christ Jesus because there’s no more disconnection from God.
Theology of Death
Jesus’ willing sacrifice on the cross is the crucial point of Christian theology. The idea of a dying god existed in many pagan religions, but in Christ, this human intuition became a historical fact. What people have always felt intuitively and imagined in their dreams has become a historically verifiable event in Jesus Christ.
“Now the story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us the same way as the others, but with this tremendous difference that it really happened.”
In Jesus, all the hopes and dreams of humankind since the fall have been fulfilled. By dying, He achieved what people have been dreaming of for millennia: victory over death. By dying, Jesus triumphed over death itself, which is called “the final enemy” in the Bible.
The final enemy has been destroyed. That’s why the apostle Paul refers to those who died in Christ as “those who have fallen asleep.”
“But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
In Christ, there’s no death. There’s sleep, which ends in bodily resurrection when the morning comes.
The final words of Christ in the Gospels, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is a powerful expression of the profound separation Jesus experienced on our behalf.
Some Christian traditions also speak of Jesus’ descent into hell and call this doctrine “the harrowing of hell.” It symbolizes Christ’s final victory over death and the liberation of souls awaiting redemption. Christ not only destroyed death; He gave us hope that we, too, will experience eternal life with Him.
Resurrection: A Beacon of Hope
According to the apostle Paul, our faith is meaningless unless Jesus rose from the dead. There’s no point in believing if Jesus didn’t triumph over death. In fact, if this is the case, all the believers are to be pitied above all men because they are wasting their lives for nothing.
That’s why the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection has been the cornerstone of Christianity since 33 AD, when Jesus died. Starting with the apostles and early martyrs, people have testified about Christ’s resurrection by willingly embracing suffering and death. Early Christians accepted persecution with staunch perseverance and patience, loving their persecutors to the end.
This has become a powerful witness for many non-believers who were drawn to God by this self-sacrifice. Such self-denial would have been unthinkable if those people were not 100% sure that Christ rose from the dead. No amount of self-deception would have sufficed. Those people were convinced that Jesus rose from the dead because they saw Him alive or trusted those who saw Him alive.
Moreover, they watched the life and death of those who had witnessed His resurrection firsthand. This witness spread around the 1st-century world like wildfire. Jesus’ resurrection is a beacon of hope for the world plunged into darkness.
The empty tomb, the encounters with the risen Christ, and His subsequent ascension are integral components of the post-crucifixion narrative.
Enduring Impact and Symbolism
The crucifixion of Jesus has been a source of inspiration throughout history. It influenced art, education, theology, and the spiritual lives of millions. The symbol of the cross, once an emblem of humiliation and rejection, has become an icon of God’s love.
Christ blazed a spiritual path for all those who want to follow in His footsteps. All His followers carry their crosses daily. Following the example of Jesus, they crucify their flesh and die to their desires to receive them back from God’s hand in resurrection, just as it says,
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)
All true art, literature, and movies are centered around the three Gospel themes of self-sacrifice, death, and resurrection. All captivating stories follow the same tripartite pattern – the hero sacrifices himself to save something worth saving, he dies, and finally, he has some form of resurrection.
Spiritual Implications of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
There are many spiritual implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In a certain sense, these two events represent two main psychological truths upon which all human lives are hinged. The first one is learning to let go and let God. And the second one is being renewed after the experience of letting go.
Even though Jesus was God, He:
“existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:6-7)
Jesus was God, but He didn’t cling to His divine status. He let it go, descended to earth, and gave up His life for us. This reverses the pattern set by Adam, who grasped the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil to become a god.
To reverse the curse of Adam in our lives, we must consciously identify with Christ, who relinquished control by trusting the Father. He let go of His divine status and embraced humanity and limitations. That’s why God gave it all back to Him. His Father restored His life and divine status and took Jesus to heaven to sit at His right hand.
As we learn to let go and let God, we follow Jesus’ example. We relinquish the desire to control our destiny and entrust our lives to the care of the loving God. We agree to go without. We lose our lives because we know we cannot truly lose them when we trust in God. We know we will receive it back from His hand.
Christ’s willing death is a pattern for all who want to reverse the curse of Adam in their lives. Adam grasped for control, and we let go of all control, following Jesus’ example. Just as He gave up His divine status to become one of us, we give up our desire to be “little gods.”
The apostle Paul said,
“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)
When we relinquish control of our lives, we go through some personal “death” by dying to our desires. We give them up into God’s hand, so He gives them back to us in good time. We willingly lay down this life, knowing that the moment we let go of our self-determination, Christ starts living in us.
This spiritual death, the surrender of our self-will, is not a descent into oblivion but a profound awakening. It is the precursor to a resurrection of the Spirit, where the relinquishing control paves the way for Christ to dwell in us richly.
Through this act of surrender, we allow Christ’s life to unfold within us, guiding our thoughts, actions, and desires. It is true rebirth—birth from above, an emergence from the cocoon of self-determination into the liberating reality of a life infused with the transformative power of God.
