In my last post I began to examine the Roman practice of crucifixion, arguing that if we want to understand why a Roman governor had Jesus crucified, we should first understand why Rome used crucifixion in general. What we discovered was that crucifixion, in addition to being an extremely horrific punishment of criminals, was thought…

God Knows Everything You Long For Psalm 38:1-22 You know what I long for, Lord;      you hear my every sigh. Psalm 38:9 Psalm 38 was written in a time of deep anguish and exhaustion. David was physically ill, believing that his suffering was a result of his own sinful choices. Moreover, his enemies were…

The fact that Jesus was crucified rather than stoned, hanged, or killed in some other way means that the Romans were ultimately responsible for his death. Of course this is clear in the biblical gospels. But even if we lacked such primary sources, the simple fact that a man was crucified in Jerusalem around A.D.…

Where should we start in our effort to discover why Jesus had to die? I propose to begin with some basic historical facts, facts that are affirmed by almost every historian and biblical scholar, even those who approach this question from a highly critical and skeptical starting point. So what are these facts: Jesus was…

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