According to the Christian doctrine, the Son of God Jesus Christ played the role of the messiah, by his own great self-sacrifice convincing people of the possibility of salvation of the soul and eternal life beyond the grave. Jesus, who took upon himself the sins of mankind, was condemned by people to a painful execution, after which he was resurrected.
Why was Jesus sentenced to death?
Jesus' sermons, the miracles he performed, condemnation of greed (suffice it to recall how he expelled the merchants from the temple) - all this turned against the Savior the members of the Sanhedrin, the highest religious and judicial body of ancient Judea. In addition, they were agitated by rumors that this man calls himself the Messiah, the king of the Jews, threatens to destroy the Jerusalem temple - the main shrine of the Jews.
Jesus was arrested, after interrogation, sentenced to death and brought before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, since, since Judea was conquered by Rome, according to the law, the consent of the Roman authorities was required for the execution of the death sentence.
The viceroy, convinced of Jesus' innocence, nevertheless was afraid to come into conflict with influential members of the Sanhedrin and with a raging crowd that loudly demanded the death of the “criminal”. Pilate demonstratively washed his hands with the words: "I don't have his blood on me!" and approved the death sentence.
How did the execution take place?
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, John and Luke, the tragic process of execution is described in great detail, albeit with minor differences. The execution took place outside the city, on the top of a hill called Golgotha (literally translated as "Skull", or "Place of Execution").
Subsequently, Golgotha found itself inside the city limits, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was erected on it - one of the main shrines of Christianity.
Beaten with a scourge, Jesus, on whose head in mockery (they say, he was called a king - get a king's crown) a crown of thorns was placed, he himself carried a cross to the top of the hill, on which he was to be crucified. Therefore, the road along which the Son of God walked to the place of execution began to be called the Way of the Cross.
At the top of Calvary, Jesus' clothes were taken off, which were then divided among themselves by the executioners by lot. The hands and feet of the Savior were nailed to a cross with a sign: "This is the King of the Jews." On the right and left sides of the Savior, two more crosses were installed, with crucified robbers. One of them began to blaspheme and curse the Son of God, while the other humbly admitted that he was suffering for his atrocities, and asked Jesus: "Remember me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom!"
After a few hours, the suffering of the condemned was terminated by the merciful blow of the guard's spear. Jesus' body was taken down from the cross by his disciples at night and buried in a cave. And then he was resurrected, triumphing over death and giving all people the hope of eternal salvation.
