Why Was Jesus Crucified?

Near the midpoint of my freshman year in high school, my mom and I made a pilgrimage to Israel with a small group from our church. I still remember the experience vividly — even though it was over ten years ago now —  and the way that I imagine biblical events will be forever changed.

Perhaps the most extraordinary part of the trip (for me personally) was our walk down the Via Dolorosa and subsequent time at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which marks the site of the crucifixion.

I remember so much about that day. Each group of pilgrims were provided a large, wooden cross to carry along the walk. I volunteered to carry it with one of the other girls in our group. I remember the weight of that cross on my shoulders. I remember the prayers we spoke in the crowded streets as we paused along the way to recite the Stations of the Cross. I remember weaving through Jerusalem, up that historical and holy path, all the way to Calvary. I remember kissing Jesus’s burial stone and reaching through a fist-sized hole, enameled and covered in gold, to touch the cold rock upon which it was believed that Christ’s cross had been erected.

Reflecting on that experience reminds me, on this holiest of days, that the Passion and Crucifixion of our God was real. Knowing that my feet have touched the ground in the same spot as Christ reminds me in a tangible way that Jesus wasn’t some abstract figure in a storybook. He was a person, just like me. And today, on Good Friday, I am reminded of his death, and of the incredible suffering that he endured.

“It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’; and when he had said this he breathed his last.”

Most of us know the basics. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross to save us from our sins. But why did he have to die at all? Couldn’t God have saved us another way?

A Quick History Lesson

First, let’s take some time to reflect a little bit on crucifixion itself. Crucifixion was a common method for execution in the early Roman Empire. In general, it was used in two main situations: for slaves or other low-life criminals and for enemies of the state. Crucifixion was used as a way to humiliate and make an example of someone.

How exactly does one die when being crucified?

During a time when people were executed by being stoned, burned, or even boiled, crucifixion was still considered one of the worst ways to go. It was incredibly brutal, painful, and humiliating. According to the biblical accounts, we can estimate that Jesus died after about six hours on the cross, but for some, death by crucifixion took days.

Death occurred through a number of causes, but most commonly, crucified victims died of asphyxiation — a fancy way of saying suffocation. Try it. Hold your arms above your head and take a deep breath. It isn’t easy, is it? The position in which crucifixion places the body makes it incredibly difficult to breathe. To take a full breath, the crucified person would have to lift themselves into a better position — either by pushing up with their legs or pulling with their arms. Now imagine trying to stand on feet that have been nailed to a board or lifting yourself up by the nail holes in your hands or wrists. That is just a small insight into the horrors that crucified victims had to endure.

Why did Jesus Have to Die?

Being crucified was clearly a particularly gruesome way to die. Which begs the question, why crucifixion? Couldn’t God, in his infinite power and wisdom, have saved us another way?

There are two main objections people tend to have when faced with the idea of Christ’s death, and his death by crucifixion specifically.

1) If the Crucifixion was the only way, then God must be limited in power.

God is capable of anything, so he could have saved us through another means.

The Crucifixion was, however, the way that God chose to save us. From the very beginning of time itself, the Crucifixion was part of the plan. 

We see this when we look at Jewish culture and when we look at the Old Testament. Prophesies, symbols and foreshadowing point towards the Passion and death of Christ long before Jesus was born. This shows not that God is limited in power, but just how very powerful he is! 

God chose to save us through Jesus’s Passion, not because it was the only way, but because it was the best way.

2) If the Crucifixion is not the only way, then God must be wicked for willing His own son to die such a gruesome death when there were other options.

God could have saved us from our sins in a less gruesome manner. He could have saved us simply through his mercy — or any number of other ways. But purchasing our salvation through the Crucifixion was the best option because of what it teaches us.

The Passion and death of Jesus shows us definitively just how much God loves us. In the most vivid way possible, it illustrates that God loves us enough not only to die for us, but to suffer incredibly for us as well. 

“By this, man knows how much God loves him,” said Thomas Aquinas, “and is thus stirred to love him in return. In this loving response lies the perfection of human salvation. That is why the apostle says, ‘God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’”

Jesus’s passion and death teaches us not only to love God and those around us, but also how to love them. Love is costly, and in this broken, sin-filled world, it often comes with suffering. But, by providing the crucifixion as the ultimate example, God asks us to love anyway.

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