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Crucifixion of Jesus

 

Data

(1) 1Cor 15:3b
(2a) GPet 4:10-5:16,18-20; 6:22
(2b) Mark 15:22-38 = Matt 27:33-51a = Luke 23:32-46
(2c) John 19:17b-25a,28-36
(3) Barn 7:3-5
(4a) 1Clem 16:3-4 (= Isa 53:1-12)
(4b) 1Clem 16:15-16 (= Ps 22:6-8)
(5a) IgnMag 11
(5b) IgnTrall 9:1b
(5c) IgnSmyr 1:2

 

 

Texts

(1) 1Cor 15:3b

/3/ For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,

 

(2) Passion Narrative

(2a) GPet 4:10-5:16,18-20; 6:22

/4.1/ And they brought two criminals and crucified the Lord between them. But he himself remained silent, as if in no pain. /2/ And when they set up the cross, they put an inscription on it, "This is the king of Israel." /3/ And they piled his clothing in front of him; then they divided it among themselves, and gambled for it. /4/ But one of those criminals reproached them and said, "We're suffering for the evil that we've done, but this fellow, who has become a savior of humanity, what wrong as he done to you?" /5/ And they got angry at him and ordered that his legs not be broken so he would die in agony.
/5.1/ It was midday and darkness covered the whole of Judea. They were confused and anxious for fear the sun had set since he was still alive. <For> it is written that, "The sun must not set upon one who has been executed." /2/ And one of them said, "Give him vinegar mixed with something bitter to drink." And they mixed it and gave it to him to drink. /3/ And they fulfilled all things and brought to completion the sins on their head. /4/ Now many went about with lamps, and, thinking that it was night, they laid down. /5/ And the Lord cried out, saying, "My power, <my> power, you have abandoned me." When he said this, he was taken up. /6/ And at that moment, the veil of the Jerusalem temple was torn in two.
/6.1/ And then they pulled the nails from the Lord's hands and set him on the ground. And the whole earth shook and there was great fear. /2/ Then the sun came out and it was found to be the ninth hour. [Complete Gospels
]


(2b) Mark 15:22-38 = Matt 27:33-51a = Luke 23:32-46

/22/ Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). /23/ And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. /24/ And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. /25/ It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. /26/ The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." /27/ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. /29/ Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, /30/ save yourself, and come down from the cross!" /31/ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. /32/ Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also taunted him. /33/ When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. /34/ At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" /35/ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he is calling for Elijah." /36/ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down." /37/Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. /38/ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

=Matt 27:33-51a
/33/ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), /34/ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. /35/ And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; /36/ then they sat down there and kept watch over him. /37/ Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." /38/ Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. /39/ Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads /40/ and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." /41/ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, /42/ "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. /43/ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, 'I am God's Son.' " /44/ The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way. /45/ From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. /46/ And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" /47/ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah." /48/ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. /49/ But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." /50/ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. /51/ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

=Luke 23:32-46
/32/ Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. /33/ When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. /34/ [Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. /3/ And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" /36/ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, /37/ and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" /38/ There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." /39/ One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" /40/ But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? /41/ And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." /42/ Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." /43/ He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." /44/ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, /45/ while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. /46/ Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last.


(2c) John 19:17b-25a,28-36

/17/ he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. /18/ There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. /1/ Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." /20/ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. /21/ Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.' " /22/ Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." /23/ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. /24/ So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." /25/ And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. /26/ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." /27/ Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. /28/ After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." /29/ A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. /30/ When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. /31/ Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. /32/ Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. /33/ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. /3/ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. /3/ (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) /36/ These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken."

 

(3) Barn 7:3-5

Moreover, when fixed to the cross, He had given Him to drink vinegar and gall. Hearken how the priests of the people84 gave previous indications of this. His commandment having been written, the Lord enjoined, that whosoever did not keep the fast should be put to death, because He also Himself was to offer in sacrifice for our sins the vessel of the Spirit, in order that the type established in Isaac when he was offered upon the altar might be fully accomplished. [ANF]

 

(4) 1Clement 16:3-4 and 16:15-16

For Christ is of those who are humble-minded, and not of those who exalt themselves over His flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sceptre of the majesty of God, did not come in the pomp of pride or arrogance, although He might have done so, but in a lowly condition, as the Holy Spirit had declared regarding Him. For He says, "Lord, who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have declared [our message] in His presence: He is, as it were, a child, and like a root in thirsty ground; He has no form nor glory, yea, we saw Him, and He had no form nor comeliness; but His form was without eminence, yea, deficient in comparison with the [ordinary] form of men. He is a man exposed to stripes and suffering, anti acquainted with the endurance of grief: for His countenance was turned away; He was despised, and not esteemed. He bears our iniquities, and is in sorrow for our sakes; yet we supposed that [on His own account] He was exposed to labour, and stripes, and affliction. But He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; [every] man has wandered in his own way; and the Lord has delivered Him up for our sins, while He in the midst of His sufferings openeth not His mouth. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before her shearer is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall declare His generation? for His life is taken from the earth. For the transgressions of my people was He brought down to death. And I will give the wicked for His sepulchre, and the rich for His death,65 because He did no iniquity, neither was guile found in His mouth. And the Lord is pleased to purify Him by stripes.66 If ye make67 an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed. And the Lord is pleased to relieve Him of the affliction of His soul, to show Him light, and to form Him with understanding,68 to justify the Just One who ministereth well to many; and the Himself shall carry their sins. On this account He shall inherit many, and shall divide the spoil of the strong; because His soul was delivered to death, and He was reckoned among the transgressors, and He bare the sins of many, and for their sins was He delivered."69 And again He saith, "I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All that see Me have derided Me; they have spoken with their lips; they have wagged their head, [saying] He hoped in God, let Him deliver Him, let Him save Him, since He delighteth in Him."70 Ye see, beloved, what is the example which has been given us; for if the Lord thus humbled Himself, what shall we do who have through Him come under the yoke of His grace? [ANF]

 

(5) Ignatius

(5a) To the Magnesians, 11

These things [I address to you], my beloved, not that I know any of you to be in such a state;75 but, as less than any of you, I desire to guard you beforehand, that ye fall not upon the hooks of vain doctrine, but that ye attain to full assurance in regard to the birth, and passion, and resurrection which took place in the time of the government of Pontius Pilate, being truly and certainly accomplished by Jesus Christ, who is our hope,76 from which may no one of you ever be turned aside. [ANF]

(5b) To the Trallians, 9:1b

Stop your ears, therefore, when any one speaks to you at variance with60 Jesus Christ, who was descended from David, and was also of Mary; who was truly born, and did eat and drink. He was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate; He was truly crucified, and [truly] died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. [ANF]

(5c) To the Smyrnaeans, 1:2

I Glorify God, even Jesus Christ, who has given you such wisdom. For I have observed that ye are perfected in an immoveable faith, as if ye were nailed to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit, and are established in love through the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded with respect to our Lord, that He was truly of the seed of David according to the flesh,3 and the Son of God according to the will and power4 of God; that He was truly born of a virgin, was baptized by John, in order that all righteousness might be fulfilled5 by Him; and was truly, under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch, nailed [to the cross] for us in His flesh. Of this fruit6 we are by His divinely-blessed passion, that He might set up a standard7 for all ages, through His resurrection, to all His holy and faithful [followers], whether among Jews or Gentiles, in the one body of His Church. [ANF]

 

 

Notes

PASSION PARALLELS WORKBOOK

This workbook (available as a MS Word document in RTF format) gives the full text (using the SV translation) of the 21 episodes of the Passion Narrative. It was prepared for an introductory class at The University of Queensland in 2001.

 

John Dominic Crossan

Item: 5
Stratum: I (30-60 CE)
Attestation: Multiple
Historicity: +

Jesus Seminar

There were almost 100 Seminar ballots on issues relating to the crucifixion tradition, including the historicity of the Passion Narrative and many of its component elements. The following table will present simply the data for the core historical items. For complete voting details see "The Jesus Seminar Voting Records: Passsion Narrative" Forum (new series) 1.1 (Spring 1998) 227-233.
Item

%Red

%Pink

%Gray

%Black

W Avg

Color
Jesus was crucified

88

6

0

8

0.92

Red
Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate

79

18

0

3

0.91

Red
Jesus was crucified with the participation of the highest Jewish authorities

 61

24

9

6

0.80

Red
Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem

67

24

9

0

0.86

Red
Jesus was crucified in some conjunction with Passover

12

39

30

18

0.48

Grey
Jesus was crucified at Golgotha

53

38

6

3

0.80

Red

 

Reflection

This poem originated as a contribution to the HODOS online community by Gene Stecher. It is published with Gene's consent but he explicitly retains full rights as the creative author. You welcome to use it for personal study and worship, but it should not be published in any other form without the author's prior consent. Index to Gene Stecher's poems

 

Indirect admission

to being the Judean King,

probably not such a wise move?

Jewish insurrectionism

was popular, and Jesus

didn't fit the mold. Crucify him!

The soldiers had a

little fun mocking,

stripping, dressing,

spitting, and striking the king,

twisting on his crown of thorns.

On the way to Golgatha

they conscripted Simon, you

know, Alexander"s and Rufus' dad.

He was crucified around 9AM,

a bandit on the left and on the right,

the inscription read "Judean King."

Many threw taunts at him:

destroying and building a temple,

three days? He can't even save himself.

The sky turned dark, and

by 3PM Jesus was screaming

that God had abandoned him;

and though expected by some,

Elijah did not make a showing.

Jesus' screams finally ceased.

The holy of holies was opened to all.

The nations had access to the son of God.

Caesar met his match

in this embodiment of

his non-violent polar opposite.

Women who had followed Jesus

and provided for him during his itinerancy

observed the world change from a distance.

 

 

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