The title above sounds so simple, you may wonder if I’m insulting your intelligence; but bear with me as I try to tie up some verbal loose ends over which certain people seem to be tripping. Let’s begin with some verses giving the literal translations of the words rendered “cross” in the King James Version.

1 Peter 2:24 says of Yeshua, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the (stake/ wood/ pole) so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness…”  It’s amazing that anyone would want to undervalue or understate the importance of this stake/ wood/ pole, cut from a tree, on which Messiah paid the ultimate price for sin on our behalf. Paul, in Galatians 6:12-14 offered his analysis of the motives of some Judaisers who were apparently guilty of this attitude: “It is those who want to look good outwardly who are trying to get you to be circumcised. The only reason they are doing it is to escape persecution for preaching about the Messiah’s (execution-stake/ upright stake/ post) … But as for me, heaven forbid that I should boast about anything except the (execution-stake/ upright stake/ post) of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah!”

Admittedly, there is great debate 2,000 years later about the original shape of Yeshua’s execution-stake and how he was attached to it, but consider this insight from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrument_of_Jesus%27_crucifixion#cite_note-52:

“Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who lived at the time of the birth of Jesus, described how those condemned to crucifixion were led to the place of execution:

“A Roman citizen of no obscure station, having ordered one of his slaves to be put to death, delivered him to his fellow-slaves to be led away, and in order that his punishment might be witnessed by all, directed them to drag him through the Forum and every other conspicuous part of the city as they whipped him, and that he should go ahead of the procession which the Romans were at that time conducting in honour of the god. The men ordered to lead the slave to his punishment, having stretched out both his arms and fastened them to a piece of wood which extended across his breast and shoulders as far as his wrists, followed him, tearing his naked body with whips.”^[51] Roman Antiquities, VII, 69:1-2

Dionysius here uses the Greek word xylon for the horizontal crossbeam (the ‘patibulum’) used in Roman crucifixions; he describes how the hands of the condemned man were tied to it … for him to be whipped while being led to the place of execution.”

Many scholars have concluded that this piece of wood to which the arms were fastened as described above, was the crossbeam (Latin – patibulum)  and that this is what Yeshua (and/or Simon of Cyrene) had to carry on the way to Golgotha, as described in the Synoptic Gospels at Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21 and Luke 23:26. This crossbeam would finally have been attached to the pole at Golgotha to become the “execution-stake” that has traditionally been rendered “cross”. (John 19:17 skipped the detail of Simon’s involvement. Since I believe in the inerrancy of scripture I am left to wonder if Yeshua carried one plank and Simon carried another; but that’s a detail we can easily ask God about when we get to heaven.)

In the meantime, suppose we of the above opinion are wrong about the shape of Yeshua’s execution-stake … does that make it any less sacred? Suppose we still call it a “cross” based on our belief that it was indeed an upright piece of wood with a crossbeam attached … does that detract from the essence of those wonderful scriptures explaining the significance of that particular piece (or those particular pieces) of wood cut from a particular tree (or trees) for the purpose of the redemption of mankind? My next post will simply list some of those scriptures and invite you to meditate on them to your heart’s content. Shalom!