The method of crucifixion is not mentioned directly in the Old Testament, but several details are mentioned prophetically that apply only to crucifixion, such as: For example, in Psalm 22:17: “They have dug in my hands and in my feet. Paul relates the Old Testament statement “The man who is hanged, accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:23) to the crucified Jesus (Galatians 3:13). ). The method of execution adopted from the Persians was considered by the Romans as the “cruel, the most horrendous” ( Cicero ) and the “most shameful” ( Tacitus ). The cross was in God’s plan; Jesus “endured the cross and despised the shame” (Hebrews 12:2). “He became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Whether another method of death would also be conceivable, e.g. stoning, beheading, poisoning, drowning, can be ruled out by the analogy of the fall and redemption: sin was born in a tree ( Genesis 2:17: tree of knowledge). World; it had to be erased from a tree : the cross of Golgotha is the tree of the curse (Gal 3,13): Jesus dies dishonored and excluded from every human community: he is cursed.
The Law of Moses pronounces a curse upon the sinner. This has been upon all people since the Fall. Jesus took God’s curse of sin upon Himself in our place. The word of the cross is now the liberating message for all people who are fundamentally broken by their sin.
Pope John Paul II once described Auschwitz as the Golgotha of the 20th century. In this sense, there is a theological trend today that sees Jesus in solidarity with other suffering, tortured and murdered people who suffered like him and died a cruel death. But: Christ’s death on the cross should never be compared with the death of other people, nor should his cross be compared with the many other crosses that were around Jerusalem or Rome. Because it is the cross of Christ, the Son of God, it has a “quality” different from all other crosses. He suffered not only the injustice of the powerful of this world, but also the wrath of God for sin. He alone was the sacrificial lamb who bore the judgment of God “on behalf of many.” “The word of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18) has been the center of all Christian preaching ever since. Therefore, Paul has only one thing to say: “Jesus Christ alone, crucified” (1 Cor 2:2).
AL Coghill shows us the meaning of the cross in a well-known revival song: “He who by faith sees Jesus on the cross, shall be saved in that very hour; Look, then, only to him whom the Father sent, who also once was wounded for you.”