{"id":24820,"date":"2026-01-05T15:20:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/?p=24820"},"modified":"2026-01-05T15:44:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:44:54","slug":"gal-313-was-jesus-crucified-on-a-tree-or-a-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/gal-313-was-jesus-crucified-on-a-tree-or-a-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"Gal 3:13 – Was Jesus crucified on a tree, cross or a stake?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Problem: <\/strong>The word xylon<\/i> denoted both a tree and a cross figuratively (being made out of wood). This is clearly the case here with Paul, who in Galatians 3:13 refers to the cross as a xylon<\/i>, yet in other places obviously acknowledges a belief that Jesus was crucified on a cross (stauros<\/i>) and not a physical tree (e.g. Galatians 5:11, 6:12, Philippians 2:8, 3:18, etc).<\/span>
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Solution:<\/strong> Jesus was crucified on a cross by the Romans. However, since a cross is obviously made of wood, looks like a tree, and probably in historical development shares affinities with lynchings (both are methods of execution which remove the dead body from the surface of the ground, which many societies considered something of a curse), this forced early Christ-followers to grapple with statements in the OT that one “hung on a tree” is cursed by God (Deut 21:22-23, Leviticus 18:24-27, Numbers 35:3-34; cf. Galatians 3:13, Acts 10:39). This was part of the skandalon, the “stumbling block” of the crucifixion – how could the Messiah have been killed in this way? The fact that early-Christ followers took this paradoxical and very problematic fact head-on and made it the core of their message, rather than pretending Jesus was not crucified, is a strong indication of its historicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross, typically a T-shaped structure with an upright post and a horizontal crossbeam, but biblical passages refer to it as a “tree” because crucifixion involved hanging a body on wood, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about being “hanged on a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). <\/span>The Greek word (stauros)<\/span> can mean a stake, post, or cross, so translators use “tree” to link to scripture, while the historical method was a wooden cross<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross is arguably the most beloved symbol in all of Christianity. It adorns our churches and cathedrals, our jewelry, our books and music, and is used in numerous marketing logos. The empty cross symbolizes the work performed there by our Savior who went to death willingly to pay the penalty for our sins. Among Jesus\u2019 last words before He died were \u201cIt is finished\u201d (John 19:30). The Law was fulfilled, the Messianic prophecies pertaining to His first advent were accomplished, and redemption was complete. It is no wonder that the cross has come to symbolize all that is the greatest story ever told\u2014the story of the sacrificial death of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may come as a surprise to many, but the precise shape of the object on which Jesus was crucified cannot be proved explicitly from the Bible. The Greek word translated \u201ccross\u201d is stauros<\/i>, meaning \u201ca pole or a cross used as an instrument of capital punishment.\u201d The Greek word stauroo<\/i>, which is translated \u201ccrucify,\u201d means \u201cto be attached to a pole or cross.\u201d Outside of the Bible, the same verb was also used in the context of putting up a fence with stakes. Though stauros<\/i> can mean either \u201cpole\u201d or \u201cstake,\u201d many scholars argue that Jesus most likely died on a cross in which the upright beam projected above the shorter crosspiece. But a biblical, airtight case cannot be made for either a cross or a pole\/stake. The Romans were not picky in regards to how they would crucify people. Historically, we know the Romans crucified people on crosses, poles, stakes, upside-down crosses, X-shaped crosses (such as the apostle Andrew is said to have been martyred on), walls, roofs, etc. Jesus could have been crucified on any of these objects, and it would not have affected the perfection or sufficiency of His sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain cults, most notably the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, are adamant that Jesus did not die on a cross and that the cross is in fact a pagan symbol. Their insistence on this point is curious, given the ambiguity of the Greek word. But they have worded their New World Translation to say that Jesus died on a \u201ctorture stake\u201d rather than a cross. Given that the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses also deny the deity of Christ and His bodily resurrection, it stands to reason that they should object to other details of traditional Christianity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arguing against the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u2019 teaching that Jesus died on a \u201ctorture stake\u201d are some indirect clues in the New Testament. One of these is found in John 21. Jesus gives Peter a glimpse of the manner of his death: \u201c\u2018When you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.\u2019 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God\u201d (verses 18\u201319). The fact that Peter (who tradition says was crucified) would \u201cstretch out\u201d his hands indicates that Roman crucifixion usually involved outspread arms such as would be positioned on a crosspiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other clue that Jesus was crucified on a cross is found in John 20. Thomas, in his famous moment of doubt, said, \u201cUnless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe\u201d (verse 25). Note Thomas\u2019s mention of the nails<\/i> (plural) that had scarred Jesus\u2019 hands. If Jesus had been crucified on a stake or a pole, only one nail would have been used. The fact of two nails in the hands suggests a traditional cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completely lost in arguments over the shape of the cross is its significance to us. Jesus said, \u201cIf anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it\u201d (Matthew 16:24\u201325). The cross\/stake\/pole was an instrument of death. By telling us to take up our cross and follow Him, Jesus says that, in order to be His true followers, we must die to self. If we call ourselves \u201cChristians,\u201d then we must deny ourselves and give up our lives for His sake. This may take the extreme form of being martyred for our faith, but even in the most peaceful political settings, we must be willing to lose the self\u2014crucifying self-righteousness, self-promotion, selfish ambitions\u2014in order to be His followers. Those who are not willing to do so are \u201cnot worthy\u201d of Him (Matthew 10:38).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, did Jesus die on a cross? We believe He did. Could it have been a pole or stake instead? Possibly, if we ignore Thomas\u2019s words in John 20:25. But even more important than the shape of the object on which Jesus was crucified is that Jesus shed His blood for our sins and that His death purchased for us eternal life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Problem: The word xylon denoted both a tree and a cross figuratively (being made out of wood). This is clearly the case here with Paul, who in Galatians 3:13 refers to the cross as a xylon, yet in other places obviously acknowledges a belief that Jesus was crucified on a cross (stauros) and not aContinue reading →<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22,8,27],"tags":[218,221,219,220],"class_list":["post-24820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-errors","category-bible-study","category-bible-teaching","tag-cross","tag-stake","tag-tree","tag-wood","has-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}