Crucifixion was a form of capital punishment used in heathen nations in early times. Generally a person died from suffocation, due to the weight of the body compressing on the lungs. But in Jesus' case He literally died of a broken heart, a ruptured heart, and hence the flowing of blood and water from the wound made by the soldier's spear (see ). This was regarded as the most horrible form of death because the person would usually suffer for hours before death would finally overtake them. The soldiers would break the victim's legs in order to hasten death, but this was not done to Jesus because of the unusual rapidity of His death (see ), due to His previous sufferings and His great mental anguish.

Many aspects of the crucifixion of the Messiah were foretold by the prophets and I've listed a number of them here.

Prophecy - "So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.'" (Genesis 22:14)

Fulfillment - "When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left" (Luke 23:33)

Prophecy - "Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:12)

Fulfillment - "Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed." (Luke 23:32)

Prophecies -

• "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." (Psalms 22:8)
• "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet." (Psalms 22:16)
• "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted." (Isaiah 53:4)

Fulfillment -

• "The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar" (Luke 23:36)
• "In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 'He saved others,' they said, 'but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.''" (Matthew 27:41-43)
• "Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left." (Matthew 27:38)

Prophecy - "In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer." (Psalms 109:4)

Fulfillment - "Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' And they divided up his clothes by casting lots." (Luke 23:34)

Prophecy - "Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst." (Psalms 69:20-21)

Fulfillment - "There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it." (Matthew 27:34)

Prophecy - "They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." (Psalms 22:18)

Fulfillment - "When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 'Let's not tear it,' they said to one another. 'Let's decide by lot who will get it.'

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, 'They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.' So this is what the soldiers did." (John 19:23-24)

Prophecy - "I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me." (Psalms22: 17)

Fulfillment - "The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, 'He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.'" (Luke 23:35)

Prophecy - "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:" (Psalms 22:7)

Fulfillment - "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads" (Matthew 27:39)

Prophecy - "I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads." (Psalms 109:25)

Fulfillment - "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!'" (Mark 15:29-30)

Prophecies -

• "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me." (Psalms 22:14)
• "By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken." (Isaiah 53:8)
• "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." (Daniel 9:26)
• "'Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!' declares the LORD Almighty. 'Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.'" (Zechariah 13:7)

Fulfillment - "And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him." (Mark 15:20)

Prophecy - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?" (Psalms 22:1)

Fulfillment -

• "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?'--which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" (Matthew 27:46)
• "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?'--which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" (Mark 15:34)

Prophecy - "Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me." (Psalms 22:12-13)

Fulfillment - "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Colossians 2:15)

Prophecies -

• "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death." (Psalms 22:15)
• "Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst." (Psalms 69:20-21)

Fulfillment -

• "Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.'" (John 19:28)
• "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:30)

Prophecies -

• "I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me." (Psalms 22:17)
• "he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken." (Psalms 34:20)

Fulfillment - "The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs." (John 19:32-33)

Prophecies -

• "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." (Zechariah 12:10)
• "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me." (Psalms 22:14)

Fulfillment - "Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken,' and, as another scripture says, 'They will look on the one they have pierced.'" (John 19:34-37)

Prophecy - "He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." (Isaiah 53:9)

Fulfillment - "As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away." (Matthew 27:57-60)

�Prophecy - "If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance." (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)

Fulfillment - "Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin." (Luke 23:52-54)

Crucifixion is one of the most horrible forms of death ever conceived by man, and yet at the same time He was suffering this horror Jesus took all the sins of the world upon Him. Since God can not look upon sin, He had to turn away when Jesus took our sins upon Him. This was the first and only time in Jesus' life that He was separated from the Father, and the first time that He was totally alone. Hell can be defined as an eternal separation from God, and this is what Jesus faced at His weakest and most painful moments just before death.

Jesus uttered seven memorable statements from the cross, namely:

• "Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' (Luke 23:34)
• "Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'" (Luke 23:43)
• "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son,'" (John 19:26)
• "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?'--which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" (Matthew 27:46)
• "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?'--which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" (Mark 15:34)
• "Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.'" (John 19:28)
• "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:30)
• "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last." (Luke 23:46)

Jesus died this horrible death so that you and I could have our sins forgiven, and re-establish our relationship with God which was lost when Adam sinned. Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with you, but He will not force himself upon you. He put himself in your place, and now He stands at the door and knocks. Won't you open that door and let Him in?

If you have never accepted this gift of salvation please click HERE and follow the 5 steps to salvation. Then go to the 'Next' page and see the prophecies regarding the Messiah's resurrection and victory over death.