The Crucifixion of Jesus (1,000 Word Summary)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

“Even if death is set before us,” Cicero wrote, “we may die in freedom. But the executioner, the veiling of heads, and the very word ‘cross,’ let them all be far removed from not only the bodies of Roman citizens but even from their thoughts, their eyes, and their ears.”

In the Roman world, crucifixion wasn’t merely a form of execution; it was a spectacle of shame, a punishment so degrading that even its mention was considered offensive. 

And yet, decades later, the apostle Paul would write about the crucifixion of Jesus, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles”. For Paul, this event wasn’t a mark of failure but of divine power and victory. 

What happened in between? How did an instrument of torture and disgrace become the central symbol of a faith that would spread across the Roman Empire and beyond? The crucifixion of Jesus, one of the most well-documented events in the early Christian tradition, stands at the heart of this paradox.

In this article, we’ll describe the final hours of Jesus’ life, reconstructing a historical narrative of his arrest, trial, and execution based on the Gospel accounts. 

We’ll also consider what historians say about this pivotal event, reflecting on why Jesus’ crucifixion is widely regarded as one of the most historically certain details of his life.

However, before we begin I want to tell you about a great opportunity to learn more about the origins of Christianity!

Join Bart D. Ehrman’s excellent course “The Genius of Mark: Jesus the Secret Messiah”. In it Dr. Ehrman provides a scholarly analysis of our earliest Gospel, shedding light on the way Jesus was envisioned and remembered by a mysterious author who compiled his work a couple of decades after Jesus’ death.

A Summary of Crucifixion Story Details

Jesus’ death by crucifixion is mentioned in all four Gospels. Since the specifics vary between accounts, we’ll sketch the story by drawing from all four, capturing the central narrative without analyzing the historical accuracy of specific scenes — that will come in the next section. 

For now, we’ll simply recount the story of the most famous crucified victim in the history of mankind. To put it bluntly, we’ll present the summary of the crucifixion story! 

It all began with betrayal after Jesus entered Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with his disciples.  After the Last Supper, Judas, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, conspired with the religious authorities to hand him over. How exactly Judas betrayed Jesus remains an open scholarly question. 

In any case, as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas arrived with an armed crowd sent by the chief priests. He identified Jesus with a kiss, leading to his immediate arrest. Taken before the Jewish council, Jesus was accused of blasphemy and condemned.

By morning, he was brought to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, who, despite questioning Jesus and finding no clear charge against him, ultimately handed him over to be crucified.

The Gospels actually depict Pilate’s role in different ways. In the Synoptic Gospels, he is increasingly reluctant but ultimately yields to the demands of the crowd, washing his hands as a symbolic act of distancing himself from the execution. 

In Luke’s Gospel, for instance, Pilate even sends Jesus to Herod Antipas, who mocks him but doesn’t issue a sentence and turns Jesus back to Pilate. In John’s Gospel, Pilate engages in a philosophical exchange with Jesus about the truth and kingship. 

However, all four accounts agree that, in the end, Plate authorized the execution. Consequently, Jesus was beaten, mocked by Roman soldiers, and forced to carry his cross to the execution site.

There, in Golgotha, he was nailed to the cross alongside two criminals. The Gospel accounts, as Bart D. Ehrman notes in his book Jesus Interrupted, describe various figures at the scene — his mother, a group of women followers, and some onlookers who jeered at him.

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Above his head, a sign read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” As he suffered, he spoke different words (depending on which Gospel you read) that would be remembered for centuries. He pleaded with God to forgive his executioners, cried out in despair, and finally, commend his spirit to God.

After hours of agony, Jesus breathed his last. According to the Synoptic Gospels, the sky darkened, the earth shook, and the temple curtain was torn in two – a symbolic moment that later Christian tradition saw as the end of the old covenant.

As Richard T. France notes in his Commentary on Matthew:

With his death, the crucifixion of Jesus was complete. His body was taken down and placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea before the Sabbath began. In the eyes of the Roman and Jewish authorities, his story had come to an end.

Yet for his followers, this was only the beginning of a new faith. We do not know exactly when, but sometime after Jesus’ death — days, weeks, or even months — some of his closest disciples became convinced that God had raised him.

With this belief in Jesus’ resurrection, a small sect within Judaism set out on a path that would eventually lead to the formation of a new religion: Christianity.

Scholarly Insights Into the Crucifixion of Jesus

“Jesus’ death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate,” John D. Crossan writes, “is as sure as anything historical can ever be. For if no follower of Jesus had written anything for one hundred years after his crucifixion, we would still know about him from two authors, not among his supporters.”

Yet, while the crucifixion of Jesus is one of the most historically certain aspects of his life, that doesn’t mean all the details surrounding his final days, as recorded in the Gospels, are historically reliable.

The Gospels aren’t biographies in the modern sense but theologically driven narratives written between 35 and 65 years after Jesus' death. Their authors didn’t personally know Jesus; they were later Christians who compiled stories about his life and death, relying primarily on oral traditions that had circulated for decades.

As a result, discrepancies and contradictions exist among the accounts, making it impossible for historians to take them at face value. Instead, scholars apply rigorous historical methodologies to discern which aspects of the Gospel narratives may reflect genuine historical events.

One of the key moments leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus was his arrival in Jerusalem. As Bart D. Ehrman argues in Jesus Before the Gospels, the Gospel accounts of his so-called “triumphal entry” are filled with dramatic embellishments.

While it is likely that Jesus did travel to Jerusalem for Passover, as many Jewish pilgrims did, his arrival was almost certainly more modest than the Gospels describe. His actions in the Temple may also have been exaggerated. Scholars (e.g. E.P. Sanders) generally agree that, at most, Jesus may have caused a minor disturbance — often interpreted as “enacted parable.”

However, his proclamation of the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of God likely alarmed Jewish religious authorities (Sadducees), who were intent on preserving stability and avoiding any potential revolt against Roman rule.

The precise reasons for Jesus’ arrest remain uncertain. The Gospel accounts claim that Judas Iscariot betrayed him to the Jewish authorities, but the motives behind this act are debated.

Regardless, Jesus was handed over to the Jewish high priest Caiaphas, though what transpired in that meeting is impossible to verify. The accounts claim that only Jesus and the Jewish leaders were present, making it unclear how any details of their exchange would have been preserved.

What is certain, however, is that the Jewish authorities deemed Jesus a threat and transferred him to Pontius Pilate.

Christopher M. Tuckett’s book Crucified: The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus demonstrates how Pilate is progressively depicted as more innocent in the Christian tradition. Historically, however, there is little reason to believe Pilate would have struggled with condemning Jesus.

If Jesus had proclaimed the coming of a different “Kingdom,” this would have been perceived by Rome as a form of sedition — an offense punishable by death. As such, after what was likely a brief trial, Pilate sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion, a punishment typically preceded by severe flogging.

What happened after the crucifixion of Jesus remains a subject of debate among scholars. 

John D. Crossan and Bart Ehrman argue that the traditional burial story is a later invention, suggesting that Jesus’ body was likely left on the cross or thrown into a shallow pit to be scavenged by animals — a fate common for crucified victims in the Roman world.

On the other hand, scholars such as Dale C. Allison and Craig A. Evans contend that the account of Joseph of Arimathea securing Jesus’ body for burial holds credibility under historical scrutiny.

The debate remains unresolved, and rather than drawing definitive conclusions, the best approach is to engage with both perspectives and evaluate the arguments for yourself.

Conclusion

The crucifixion of Jesus is one of the most historically certain events of his life, yet the Gospel accounts tell the story in different ways. They describe his betrayal by Judas, his trial before the Jewish authorities and Pontius Pilate, and his eventual execution at Golgotha.

Historians broadly agree that Jesus was executed under Pilate but view many elements of the Gospel accounts as later theological interpretations rather than strict historical records. 

Scholars debate whether Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his actions in the Temple were as dramatic as described, and they question how much influence the Jewish authorities actually had in his condemnation.

The fate of his body after death also remains uncertain, with some arguing he was left unburied while others see the burial story as plausible. Finally, as with much of ancient history, the crucifixion of Jesus raises as many questions as it answers, leaving scholars and readers to weigh the evidence for themselves.