Jesus was crucified. The crucifixion of Jesus is a central fact of the Christian faith, documented in all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). The Gospel of Matthew, for example, states, “And they crucified him” (Matthew 27:35). Similarly, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:33, and John 19:18 all describe Jesus being crucified.

Crucifixion was a method of execution practiced by the Romans, known for its brutality and designed for maximum pain and public humiliation. It involved nailing or binding the victim’s hands and feet to a large wooden cross and leaving them to hang until death, which could take hours or even days.

The confusion between crucifixion and hanging might arise from some translations of the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul. For example, Galatians 3:13 mentions, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’” This reference to being “hung on a pole” or “tree” in some translations is understood to refer metaphorically to the crucifixion, drawing on Old Testament language (as in Deuteronomy 21:22-23) to explain how Jesus took upon himself the curse meant for humanity. The term does not contradict the historical fact of crucifixion but rather emphasizes the curse of sin that Jesus took upon Himself by being crucified.

Thus, the Scriptures make it clear that Jesus was crucified, not hung by a noose as the term “hung” might imply to contemporary readers.