Cross or Torture Stake
If you have ever encountered a Jehovah’s Witness, you may have been told that Jesus was not crucified on a cross, but rather nailed to an upright torture stake with no horizontal crossbeam. They say this is because of a mistranslation from the Greek to English language. Is this actually the case? And either way, why is this such an important issue? In this article, we will examine the claims of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and explain why this is such a big deal to them.
First, let’s tackle the Greek. The word translated as “cross” is stauros, and can be used to refer to an upright pole, stake, or cross, although originally, it seems the root of the word only referred to a pole or stake. It is important to remember that the original meaning of a word is not the only meaning that word can ever have for all time. To suggest that it is would be to commit the etymological fallacy. That is, to assert that someone is incorrect in their definition of a word on the sole basis that their definition does not align with the original meaning of said word. While the original word from which the Greeks got stauros m eant simply an upright pole or stake, the word did come to be used to refer to crosses and similar devices used to execute capital punishment in the Roman world.
You can look in multiple Greek lexicons for more information about the word itself, including the famed BDAG Lexicon, to see why virtually all scholars in the relevant field believe Jesus to have been crucified on a cross resembling a lowercase “t”. But perhaps one of the best evidences for the traditional view of the cross is found in a piece of ancient artwork.
Around the end of the second century, there was a man named Alexamenos who became a Christian to the disdain of his acquaintances. One such peer expressed his (or her) feelings in ink. This has been known by The Alexamenos Graffito, and The Graffito Blasfemo (The blasphemous graffito). In the picture that was drawn, Alexamenos is depicted worshiping Jesus on the cross with Jesus’ head replaced with that of a donkey as an insult to Alex’s God. The caption in the image says in Greek, “Alexamenos worships [his] God”. Interestingly, for the sake of the focus of this article, Jesus is depicted in this image on a cross with His arms stretched out like a lowercase “t”. Take a look:
This is early attestation to the “t” shape of the cross. Now let’s answer the question you are probably thinking if you’ve made it this far: why does any of this matter?
The truth is, for Christians, the shape of the “stauros” has no real consequence whatsoever. It means nothing. It doesn’t change the fact of Christ’s sacrifice for us. But Jehovah’s Witnesses will try to make this a much bigger deal. They will try to shake the confidence of believers in the reliability of their translations of the Bible. The JW’s will then attempt to come to their rescue saying, “Don’t worry, we fixed it! As well as all of the other mistranslations in your Bible. Here’s a copy of our New World Translation!” And they will also say that the only true exegesis of scripture is that of their governing body; the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. This is one way they try to convert Christians to their beliefs. It can be very effective for the uninformed. It is my goal that you will be informed and be equipped to inform your family and friends and congregations of the truth so that you and they will be bolstered in the faith and not be shaken by deceptions like this one. It may not seem like a big deal, but you may be surprised by the things the enemy will use to deceive.
Recommended Resources:
Did Jesus Die on a Cross or a Stake? Here’s the Evidence