The Significance Of The Nails

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A recent article from Christianity Today caused a bit of a firestorm when it was released. So much so that the magazine had to issue a correction and apology. The title of the article is “Was Jesus Crucified By Nails?” with a social media post stating, “The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was nailed to a cross. One evangelical Bible scholar thinks the crucifixion may have been done with ropes.” As you could imagine, this caused quite the reaction as they published this just a day before Easter.

Looking at the article itself it starts off right away by saying, “The Bible doesn’t describe Jesus being nailed to a cross. Telling the story of Christ’s death, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John simply say that Roman soldiers crucified him. They don’t say how. Each of the Gospels include specific detail about the soldiers’ method of dividing Jesus’ clothes—a lottery—but none describe the way the soldiers put him on the cross. There are no nails mentioned in any of the four accounts of Christ’s death.” This right here is a complete lie. Not only are there multiple passages that state Jesus was nailed to the cross, one of them is actually in the Gospels! John’s gospel mentions how Thomas would only be convinced Jesus rose from the dead by seeing the holes that the nails caused! “So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)

Why would someone believe otherwise? The article continues, “Jeffrey P. Arroyo García, an evangelical Bible scholar who teaches at Gordon College, thinks maybe there weren’t any nails. “The word used there, stauroo, just means ‘to hang on a cross,’” García told Christianity Today. “But it doesn’t give the method of how they hang, right? Maybe the reticence is telling. Closely reading the Bible, looking at the long historical record of Roman crucifixion, and examining the archaeological evidence, García has come to the conclusion that the Crucifixion might have been done with ropes. While Christians from Emperor Constantine’s mother to documentary filmmakers today have searched for relics of the “true nails” and many have meditated on the iron piercing flesh, the nails might just be the stuff of legend.” Now to be fair Romans did at times secure people to the crosses by ropes. Not everyone who was crucified was crucified by nails. But the bible clearly states that He was nailed. Yet, this then begs the question: does it matter? Does it matter how Jesus was crucified? Are we just being nit-picky? Is all that matters is that He did die and came back to life? As long as blood was shed, is it such a big deal if he was tied or nailed?

The short answer is “Yes”, Jesus being nailed to the cross is significant and important for three reasons. First is the symbolism that it brings. In Colossians chapter two, Paul is talking about Jesus paying the debt we owe God. In so doing, he mentions the fact that Jesus was nailed to the cross to get his point across. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13–14) By referencing the nails, Paul is illustrating the permanency about our debt being paid to God. If Jesus was just tied to the cross how would that correlate? “Our debt was paid as long as the knots don’t get loose on the ropes”. Doesn’t exactly alleviate our concerns that we are all settled before God. Theologian Benjamin Gladd stated, “Of course, Paul is speaking symbolically of the believer’s spiritual debt being “nailed” to the cross, but the symbol’s power rests in the reality of Christ being physically nailed to the cross.”

The next reason being nailed is important is due to prophecy. The Old Testament has numerous prophecies that mention Jesus being “pierced” while on the cross. For instance: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) or “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10) So another important reason that Jesus was to be nailed and not tied was to fulfill the prophecies about his death.

Just like the fact that no bones were broken on His body was another prophecy that was fulfilled. When someone was crucified what was basically happening to them was they were drowning in their own blood. Asphyxiation was basically what would kill them. To give them help to breathe, the person on the cross would push up on their feet to bring their head up to breathe a little better. So a common practice by the soldiers to speed things along was to take a hammer and break the legs of the person so they couldn't be lifted up by them. But that never happened with Jesus. And why? To fulfill the prophecy in Psalm 34, “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:20) It is the same with Jesus being nailed; it is fulfilling a prophecy. Now some may think, maybe the piercing being referenced in the prophecies is the piercing of his side by the spear. But in Psalm 22 is specifically mentions his hands and feet: “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—” (Psalm 22:16) So it is important for Him to be nailed to the cross as this will fulfill the prophecies about His death.

The other importance of Jesus being nailed to the cross is the redemptive significance. In the Old Testament we see that it was a common practice to punish an enemy by piercing them. For instance, “and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped.” (Numbers 25:8) (see also Judges. 9:54; Job 26:13; Isa. 51:9; Zech. 13:3) And this is precisely the point; Jesus became the enemy of God on our behalf, thus being pierced. We hear it in Jesus’ cry “My God, my God why have you forsaken me.” He that was perfect and God’s son, became an enemy of God on our behalf. And enemies were pierced.  Benjamin Gladd again gives us insight: “By preserving the details about nails that pierced Jesus’s hands and feet, we’re reminded that at the gospel’s heart lies One who is pierced, One who bore God’s wrath, so you and I can enjoy God’s favor.” This article from Christianity today is wrong on many levels. It is clearly referenced in the bible that Jesus was nailed to the cross. And the reason it is, is because of its significance in the Gospel. Praise Him for being nailed to the cross in our place!