Crucifixion of Jesus

The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being nailed to a cross. It occurred in 1st-century Judaea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. The event is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, and later attested to by other ancient sources. Scholars nearly universally accept the historicity of Jesus' crucifixion, although there is no consensus on the details. According to the canonical gospels, Jesus was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin, and then sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally crucified by the Romans.

Jesus was stripped of his clothing and offered vinegar mixed with myrrh or gall (likely posca) to drink. At Golgotha, he was then hung between two convicted thieves and, according to the Gospel of Mark, was crucified at the third hour (9 a.m.), and died by the ninth hour of the day (at around 3:00 p.m.). During this time, the soldiers affixed a sign to the top of the cross stating "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" which, according to the Gospel of John, was written in three languages (Hebrew, Latin, and Greek). They then divided his garments among themselves and cast lots for his seamless robe, according to the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John also states that, after Jesus' death, one soldier (named in extra-Biblical tradition as Longinus) pierced his side with a spear to be certain that he had died, then blood and water gushed from the wound. The Bible describes seven statements that Jesus made while he was on the cross, as well as several supernatural events that occurred.

Collectively referred to as the Passion, Jesus' suffering and redemptive death by crucifixion are the central aspects of Christian theology concerning the doctrines of salvation and atonement.

Paul is the earliest surviving source (apart from the gospels) to document Jesus' crucifixion. Scholars have used Paul's chronology as evidence for the date of the crucifixion. However, the earliest detailed accounts of the death of Jesus are contained in the four canonical gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus predicts his death in three separate places. All four gospel accounts conclude with an extended narrative of Jesus' arrest, initial trial at the Sanhedrin and final trial at Pilate's court, where Jesus is flogged, condemned to death, is led to the place of crucifixion initially carrying his cross before Roman soldiers induce Simon of Cyrene to carry it, and then Jesus is crucified, entombed, and resurrected from the dead. In each gospel account these five events in the life of Jesus are treated with more intense detail than any other portion of that Gospel's narrative. Scholars note that the reader receives an almost hour-by-hour account of what is happening.

After arriving at Golgotha, Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh or gall to drink. Both the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew record that he refused this. He was then crucified and hanged between two convicts. According to some translations of the original Greek, the convicts may have been bandits or Jewish rebels. According to the Gospel of Mark, he endured the torment of crucifixion from the third hour (between approximately 9 a.m. and noon), until his death at the ninth hour, corresponding to about 3 p.m. The soldiers affixed a sign above his head stating "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" which, according to the Gospel of John, was in three languages (Hebrew, Latin, and Greek), and then divided his garments and cast lots for his seamless robe. According to the Gospel of John, the Roman soldiers did not break Jesus' legs, as they did to the two crucified convicts (breaking the legs hastened the onset of death), as Jesus was dead already. Each gospel has its own account of Jesus' last words, seven statements altogether.

All four gospel accounts state that, following Jesus' death, Joseph of Arimathea requested Jesus' body and buried it in a rock-cut tomb. The Gospel of Matthew alone suggests that Joseph provided his own tomb for this purpose.

The three Synoptic Gospels describe Simon of Cyrene bearing the cross, a crowd of people mocking Jesus along with the other two crucified men, darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour, and the temple veil being torn from top to bottom. The Synoptic Gospels also mention several witnesses, including a centurion, and several women who watched from a distance, two of whom were present during the burial.

The Gospel of Luke is the only gospel to omit the detail of the sour wine mix that was offered to Jesus on a reed, while only Mark and John describe Joseph actually taking the body down off the cross.