(Updated February 10, 2021)

It’s true.  As I mentioned in a previous post, Yahshua had 100% control over the timing of his death, the day of his death and the method of his execution.  While it’s absolutely true that he WAS crucified, HOW he died was the result of something else, and this explanation can be clearly discovered in the Bible.

The day that he sealed his own fate, the high priest found him guilty of two separate “crimes”.  One, he told the high priest that he would be sitting at the right hand of Yahweh in heaven–which was blasphemy.  Two, he used a word that was illegal to use when he spoke the father’s name–which was also blasphemy.  Both of these acts were thought to have been violations of the law and both were punishable by death.  But, were each of these “crimes” subject to death by crucifixion?

No.  These “crimes” (even though they weren’t crimes) “broke” both Jewish law AND Roman law.  The punishment of crucifixion only existed under Roman law.  Yahshua was found guilty of breaking BOTH Jewish AND Roman laws simultaneously.  What other kind of “crime” did he commit in order for the punishment of crucifixion to have occurred?  To understand, we need to examine what kind of political environment existed in Israel in the 1st century A.D.

Luke 20:25–“And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto Yahweh the things which are Yahweh’s.”  The citizens living in Israel in the first century were subjects of Caesar and were in the easternmost region of the Roman Empire.  Each region of the Roman Empire had a governor–a political position–to rule the region.  The governor in Israel at that time was Pontius Pilate.  As Yahshua just confirmed, if you were a citizen of Israel and were of legal age that required you to pay taxes, you had to pay those taxes to Rome.  So, we can be certain that every citizen in all of the Roman Empire was required to obey all Roman law, regardless of which region of the empire from which you reside.

On the other hand, the vast majority of citizens of Israel were Jews, which meant that they had to be obedient to all Jewish law.  This was different from secular law from Rome.  Jewish law was fully understood to mean all of the existing Law, Writings and Prophets–the three distinct sections of today’s “Old Testament”, but back then was generally referred to as just “the law”.  And, of course, Yahshua was a Jew, so he was subject to Jewish law as well as Roman law.

There were two key moments in the events that resulted in his execution.  The first was his discussion with the high priest.  The second was his meeting with Pilate.  From my earlier post (here), I fully explained that the high priest knew immediately that Yahshua had committed the “crime” of blasphemy and this meant he was to be executed.  But, did the high priest convict him to be “crucified”?  What does scripture say?

Matt. 26:65-66–“The high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.  What think  ye?  They [the mob] answered and said HE IS GUILTY OF DEATH [emphasis mine].”

Mark 14:63-64–“Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?  ⁶⁴ Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.”

Even the gospel of Luke, which also describes this meeting with the high priest, concludes the same thing–that Yahshua is to be put to death for the “crime” of blasphemy.  But at the moment that he was convicted of his “first” crime, there is no mention of the method of his execution.  This does not occur until he is convicted of his “second” crime when me meets with Pilate.

Both Matthew and Mark describe the moment, but it’s given greater detail in Luke.  After getting the death sentence  from the high priest, he was taken to Pilate.  As the governor, Pilate was the highest legal authority about Roman law, not Jewish law.  What happened when Yahshua was brought before him?

Luke 23:^{2 –“}And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is the Anointed, a King. ³ And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.”

It was against Roman law to say that you are a king, as this would place yourself in a position equal to Caesar.  Anyone convicted of this particular crime must be put to death and the method of that execution is through crucifixion.  But Pilate wasn’t buying the people’s argument.

Pilate did not automatically conclude that Yahshua had committed any crimes at all, let alone one which would demand that he be put to death and he felt compelled to release him.  But when he made an offer of releasing a known criminal or Yahshua, the people demanded that Pilate release the criminal and execute Yahshua.

Luke 23:^20–“Pilate therefore, willing to release Yahshua, spake again to them. ²¹ But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.” Why did the people demand that he be crucified?  It was because THIS is the punishment of which Pilate had authority, based on the nature of the “crime”. Therefore, since the people accused him of saying that he was King of the Jews (v. 2, above), Pilate sentenced him according to their wishes: v. 24–“And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.” This was the moment that Yahshua’s fate was sealed and crucifixion was the method of execution for breaking this Roman law.

Prior to this climax with Pilate, you’ll note that nobody demanded that the high priest “crucify” Yahshua; they only demanded that he be put to death.  Why didn’t they demand that he be crucified for the other crime of blasphemy?

It is because the Jewish people were well aware of the only punishment that is permissible under Jewish law, for the crime of blasphemy.  What was it? The Jewish people certainly knew about it and they reminded Pilate of their law prior to him convicting Yahshua of the Roman crime:

John 19:7–“The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of Yahweh.“  The “LAW” that they were referring to is identified in the Old Testament, and here are a few passages that will shed a whole new light on this gruesome execution in a way that very few people know about.

Lev. 24:16–“And he that blasphemeth the name of Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of Yahweh, shall be put to death.”

1 Kings 21:10–“And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme Yahweh and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die…. 13–“And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme Yahweh and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.“

Remember, the primary “crime” that was the cause of Yahshua’s conviction was the crime of blasphemy.  When Yahshua spoke those words to the high priest, which caused him to rend his clothes, each person knew instantly that Yahshua had just committed a crime so egregious that he would be stoned to death.  Every Jewish person, living in Jerusalem in the 1st century, knew what kind of execution would occur after the crime was declared “blasphemy”.  This would have been common knowledge to every man, woman and child.  And, since this punishment under Jewish law is so well documented in scripture, it was not necessary to specify the nature of that execution for breaking the Jewish portion of the law.

Both punishments occurred simultaneously.  Yahshua was indeed crucified, but he died from being STONED TO DEATH.  THIS is the full meaning of what Yahshua was expressing when he talked about his body being “broken” and his “blood being shed” for all mankind.  IT WAS NOT A METAPHOR.

1 Cor. 11:24–“And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is BROKEN FOR YOU: this do in remembrance of me.”  He was describing the breaking and the tearing apart of his flesh.

Matt. 26:28–“For this is MY BLOOD of the new testament, which IS SHED for many for the remission of sins.”  These descriptions of what was about to occur to his body were not just figures of speech.  He was telling the Apostles–and US!–exactly what would be the method of his death.

If the only method of execution was through crucifixion, he would not have died as rapidly as he did.  That method of death was agonizingly slow and could sometimes take days.  If they didn’t want to wait for days, the Roman officer would break the legs of the person, which would speed up the process.  Yahshua’s ordeal was over in a mere six hours.

Mark 15:25–“And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.”  V. 34–“And at the ninth hour, Yahshua cried with a loud voice saying El-oi, El-oi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My Elohim, my Elohim, why hast thou forsaken me?” V. 37–“and Yahshua cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.”

Pilate was the final authority who sentenced Yahshua to death and when he did, the people all demanded that he be crucified, which is what Pilate authorized.  Knowing that this method of execution will take a very long time, he was shocked when he learned that it was already over and that Yahshua had already died so soon.  He was so shocked, he had to double-check with a Roman officer.  It was almost the sabbath, so Joseph of Arimathaea rushed in to urgently speak to Pilate to request Yahshua’s body.  If it was left up to the Roman officers overseeing this execution, after the death was successful, they would have followed Roman law and burned the body.

Mark 15:43-45–“Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of Yahweh, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Yahshua. ⁴⁴ And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. ⁴⁵ And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.”

Yahshua not only succeeded in his purpose of dying for the forgiveness of our sins, he also did it in fulfillment of prophecy.  As a result of him being stoned to death, it did not require that the soldier break his legs, as told in Psalms–

Psalm 34:20–“He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.“

It was THIS gruesome death that he knew he was facing when he “blasphemed” face to face in front of the high priest, which forced the high priest to have him put to death by STONING.  His skin would be so shredded that it would look like a person who had none.  He knew that THIS prophecy was also about to be fulfilled too:

Psalm 22:17–“I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. ¹⁸ They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” …which is exactly what happened and exactly what caused his death.

Now, perhaps people will have a better understanding of how he was able to pray so hard that blood came from his pores the night before this painful execution.

Update, February 10, 2021:

A recent discovery in the book of Luke provides insight into the mind of Yahshua and his confidence of achieving his goal of dying for our sins.  It’s found in these 4 verses:

Luke 13:31–“The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.  ³² And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.  ³³ Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.  ³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”

Not only had Yahshua been warned that Herod was looking for an excuse to kill him, he poured salt in the wound with his use of the word “fox” as a pejorative in talking about Herod! In this instance, the word fox comes from the Greek word αλεπού, which is a FEMININE WORD and an insult to the high priest! This clearly would have been known by Herod and gotten under his skin. It also added to his immediate response to have him put to death the moment Yahshua chose to blaspheme right to his face.

But, there’s more–not only did he mock Herod with his less than manly description, he foretold the exact method of his execution: “…which kills the prophets and stones them that are sent unto you….” He was not talking about a historic precedent. He was describing the method that would be used to execute himself.

And, for over 2,000 years, almost nobody recognized the magnitude of those words.