The word stauros is the Greek word for cross.

Strong’s Greek: 4716. σταυρός –

stauros

an upright stake.

In regular use a

stauros/σταυρός is a beam.

The word for a cross is διασταύρωση which is the equivalent of σταυρός that means thru beam or perhaps a cross beam; a stake or post (as set upright), i.e. (specially), a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figuratively, exposure to death.

Definition of Greek cross : a cross having an upright and a transverse shaft equal in length and intersecting at their middles.

The Hebrew word for

a cross is

צלב  tselev

this word does not appear in the Tenakh/Old Testament, however it’s used in Modern Hebrew translations of the Brit Chadashah/New Testament for the

cross of the crucifixion.

A tselev/cross is often used as a mark,

as we say

in X marks the spot.

There are 2 words meaning mark in Biblical Hebrew.

1 is the Hebrew word

אות

ot,

Strong’s #226

and the 2nd is the word

תו

tav,

Strong’s #8420.

The 2nd word is also the name of the

last letter in the Hebrew alphabet,

which is the

ת  tav.

In Ancient Hebrew writing, the letter tav is written as,

a picture of a mark.

It is interesting to note that both the Hebrew words meaning mark have the letter tav as part of their construction.

Secondly, what was written on

the sign was known as a

titilum, or title,

and was used to

describe the crime of the accused.

So we then understand it was not unusual to place a sign over the one being crucified.

However we know Messiah Yeshua/Jesus was without sin and died an innocent death so what was written?

Wasn’t it just His name?

What does the scripture say?

The gospel of Luke lists three charges that the religious leaders accused Yeshua/Jesus of before Pilate. Luke 23:2.

The trial before the religious court of the Jews, which took place in the dead of night, was illegal and every requirement of the Mosaic Law was broken by the High Priest and his co-conspirators. Before the dawn, these evil men found Yeshua/Jesus guilty and marched Him to the governor’s residence with three political accusations against Him.

First, He was charged with perverting the people and stirring up strife. They accused Him of being a revolutionary agitator inciting the people to riot, but nothing was further from the truth. He was meek and lowly and came to save His people from their sin. Yeshua/Jesus came to give them:

rest from their labor,

spiritual nourishment for their soul,

forgiveness of sin,

and life everlasting.

He came to re-establish the nation of Israel’s

covenant with God,

so they would return/teshuvah,

to being His chosen people/am segulah, 

who would tell the world of God’s goodness and grace.

(Matthew 14:22; 16:20; Mark 1:45; 6:42; John 6:15).

The Jewish leaders actually hoped that the Messiah would bring about an uprising against the Romans and free them from pagan rule, but they had misinterpreted the scriptures and therefore did not recognize Yeshua/Jesus as the Messiah..

WHY?

because He came to

free them from sin,

and not the Romans.

(Luke 4:19)

In truth, they were guilty

of the charge that they accused Him of.

Second, He was accused of being an anarchist who was turning the people against the Roman constitution,The Jewish authorities also accused him of incitement to oppose the government by withholding taxes from Rome. The Jewish leaders had attempted to trick Him by asking whether or not it was lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar.

Yeshua/Jesus realizing their evil intent said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s. And His wise answer exposed their trickery, when He said to them  “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Matt. 22:18–22.

and finally

they accused Him of challenging Caesar because He claimed He was a king!

Yeshua/Jesus had never made such a claim directly. In fact, it was the religious leaders themselves that hoped that the Messiah would come to set up a temporal kingdom to overthrow the Romans freeing them from their tyrannical control and establish His earthly rule.

The final accusation was perhaps the most shocking. Yeshua/Jesus, the anointed Messiah of God was their rightful King. He had been sent from the Father to set up His kingdom of Righteousness – not a worldly kingdom but the kingdom of heaven, but FIRST His people had to repent of their sin and believe on the Messiah Yeshua/Jesus for the forgiveness of sin.

We read in this verse,

“and they began to accuse Him, saying, ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying He Himself is Christ, a King.'”

Later stating, we have no king but Caesar.

12 But when the chief priests and the elders brought charges against him, he did not answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the charges they are bringing against you?” 

Matthew 27:12-14

When Pilate directly asked Yeshua/Jesus if He was a king, Messiah responded that His kingdom is not of this world. John 18:33-38.

To all these accusations, Pilate found no fault in Yeshua/Jesus.

The religious leaders wanted to get rid of Yeshua/Jesus because they were fearful and jealous of His ever increasing popularity with the people.

Their misgivings were further inflated, especially after Lazarus was resurrected form the dead.

They had admitted to one another that…

the world is gone after him. John 12:19.

After this they made a decision and set out to destroy Him by any means; even if it meant that they would bear false witness against Him. In so doing, they were moved by the devil himself, who is a liar and the father of lies. Luke 8:44.

Mark 15:61 records the conversation between the cohen hagadol/high priest and Yeshua/Jesus; who asked Him…

Are you the Mashaich Ben HaM’vorakh?

Yeshua replies, I AM /Anochi.

In reply to this direct question, He does not hesitate and precisely identifies Himself with the ONE Who spoke to Moshe/Moses at the burning bush. Ex.3:14. Here He not only affirms that He is the Messiah, the son of God/YHVH, but indicates that He is to be identified with Adonai Himself.

In Judaism the tearing of ones clothes is a sign of grief and shock. As we read on, the High Priest/Cohen haGadols’ reaction seals the situation that they were seeking and they condemn Him to death for their perception of Him blaspheming.

 

The indictments against Yeshua/Jesus

in Luke 23:2

were false and illegitimate.

Indict – meaning: to charge with a crime.

It comes from the Latin indicere, meaning:

to make known formally

or

to proclaim,

which in turn comes from

in plus dicere,

meaning:

to say to bring a formal accusation against, as a means of bringing to trial.

to charge with an offense or crime; accuse of wrongdoing; castigate; criticize.

The three false accusations made against Messiah escalated further when they cried,

“We have no king but Caesar.” 

“Let His blood be on us and on our children.” 

“Crucify Him!”

Matthew 27:37-38  tells us that they had a tablet (σανίς)

put over the cross containing a statement of the crime

(τὴν αἰτίαν αὐτοῦ)

for which the offender was being executed,

And set over His head, His accusation —

That is, a superscription, containing the substance of his pretended crime, written in capital letters, and in these remarkable words,

THIS IS JESUS/YESHUA, (John adds, OF NAZARETH,)

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

The other gospels do not express the title so fully.

 

This was what He was accused of and charged with.

This was His crime and this is what they killed Him for.

Murdered Him for He was innocent.

They crucified Him without cause.

He was sinless and died

for you,

for me,

for everyone who

will accept His sacrificial death on their behalf!

The charge against Him was..

He said He was King of theJews.

This is recorded in

John 19:21-22, “Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘

The King of the Jews,’

but, that ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”

‘Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written….”

Yohanan/John 19:19

reads as follows:

“Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the Cross.

And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

Pontius Pilate wrote the words

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS

on a sign in Hebrew, Latin and Greek,

and placed it on the cross above the head of Messiah.

The Bible says it was written in three languages.

Why in 3 languages?

because

Latin was the native tongue of the Romans,

Hebrew was for the Jews,

and for anyone else,

Greek, was the common everyday language of the time.

It was probably a very large sign, if not three of them,

which could be easily read from the busy road.

Yeshua/Jesus/ישוע

was the featured criminal

and was sentenced to death under Roman law for

sedition against the Roman state,

and under Jewish law for

the sin of blasphemy.

In Hebrew, the sign read as follows:

“Yahuwshuwa Ha’Nazarei W’Melech Ha’Yahuwdiym”

In many places around the world on certain depictions of the crucifix, both sculpted and pictorial, especially as related to the Catholic religion, a stylized plaque or parchment with the letters

INRI

can be seen painted on the sign attached to Jesus/Yeshua’s cross; either just above or below the figure and in some cases, these letters may be carved into the cross. This is an example of the Vatican highlighting Latin instead of the Hebrew language. 

In the Gospel of John 19:19-20, the inscription is explained: 

 

INRI is an acronym /abbreviation for the Latin:

Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum.

In English: Jesus the Nazarene/Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, which was posted on the cross by order of the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate.

The letters SPQR sometimes seen stand for:

Senatus Populus Que Romanus –

(The Roman Senate and People),

designating the civil authority that presided over the scene.

Latin uses the letter “I”

instead of the English “J”,

and “V” instead of “U”

e.g., Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum.

The English translation is then

“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

Pilate was reticent to crucify Yeshua/Jesus without some strong justification especially after his wifes’ dream. The one he used was the standing Roman treaty with the Jews which allowed them self-government. When they complained that Yeshua/Jesus was interfering with that self-rule by holding Himself to possess authority that He lacked, Pilate challenged him to deny that he was called “King of Jews.” He did not deny the accusation. 



Some believe that the justification for His crucifixion was that He claimed an illegitimate title. However John 19:21-22 states that Pilate rejected the charge that Yeshua/Jesus was crucified because He falsely claimed to be king and instead stated that the reason He was crucified was because, He was the King of the Jews.

It seems that Pilate was personally convinced that He was the Jewish Messiah. This appears to be further corroborated by the Eastern Orthodox Feast of Saint Pontius Pilate on June 25 since early church histories state that after converting to Christianity, Pilate himself was martyred by double crucifixion. 

 

However John specifies that the inscription was also in Hebrew.

Hebrew: יֵשׁוּעַ הַנָּצְרִי מֶלֶךְ הַיְּהוּדִים –

Common to each of these is the specific declaration:

מֶלֶךְ הַיְּהוּדִים , the King of the Jews.

The name יֵשׁוּעַ Yeshua means The Lord’s Salvation,

or Cry Out to the Lord for Help.

It is the short version of Yehoshua (Joshua),

which means The Lord Saves (or turns) Us.

In comparison, prior to being transliterated FROM the Hebrew Bible, the name Ἰησοῦς (Iesous) did not exist in Greek. Through multiple translations and changes in pronunciation, a tradition of saying Jesus has obscured His name, Yeshua. It has shifted His perceived message and identity from Hebrew to Greek.

 John 12:23-32 is a reference to the

Sfirat HaOmer – Firstfruits

and the prophetic fulfillment of this appointed time of the Lord. The traditional observance of these days points us to the resurrection of Messiah. It’s a harvest festival and barley sheaves are waved before the Lord. The grain that had come from the earth was now lifted up high for all to see. Yeshua/Jesus Himself referred to His resurrection when He said.

 

The time has come for the son of man to be glorified and I tell you that unless a grain of wheat that falls to the ground dies, it stays just a grain but if it dies it produces a big harvest. When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men unto Me.

 

This parable was told to his Jewish disciples/talmidim as they had come to celebrate Passover/Pesach just before Sfirat HaOmer Firstfruits. John 12:1,20. We in the western Christianity calendar dates of festivals, miss the significance of the whole week, as it holds so much more in revealing Messiahs completed work as His Father had planned.

The resurrection of Messiah from the dead

is perfectly symbolized in

the wave offering of the first fruits

which the Christianity of the west does not even mention.

Because of the set appointed days from the time of Moses it was

imperative for Him to die exactly on Pesach/Passover

in order to fulfill the prophecies.

So too

He must rise from the dead

on Sfirat HaOmer – Firstfruits..

1Cor. 15:20 20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 

The firstfruits were the first of the season’s crops given by faithful Jewish people to God. Paul’s use of the term here means that Yeshua/Jesus was the first of the crop of “the dead” to be resurrected. His was the pattern for what is in all believers’ future. 

1 Cor. 15:51; 1 John 3:2.

In 1 Corinthians 15:20-34 he confirms that Yeshua/Jesus did indeed rise from the dead, and became the firstfruits of them that slept. This means He is the first to rise from the dead, Him being the firstfruits shows he is a representative of the future ‘harvest’. Paul is making a connection to Leviticus 23:9-14 which is the third and final part of the spring feast of the Pesach/Passover, which is the offering of the firstfruits of the barley harvest/ Sfirat HaOmer.

Yeshua/Jesus fulfilled the Passover/Pesach by

shedding His blood on the tree,

and the

feast of unleavened bread

by

giving His flesh for the world;

being buried, and He rose from the dead

on the waving of the sheaf of the firstfruits ,

fulfilling it by being

the firstfruits of the resurrection.

It is understood that the first fruits are from the barley harvest which is also going to produce the same kind of barley as the firstfruits did, indicating that our resurrection will be exactly like His resurrection!

The Wave Offering:

The Israelites offered wave offerings 

as a sign of peace and service to God.

For more https://www.minimannamoments.com/first-fruits/

Was there one more ת tav in the צלב tselev ?

One to ponder, let the reader decide… We know Yeshua/Jesus was crucified on a very important day in the Jewish calendar, Pesach/Passover. This means that Yerushalayim/Jerusalem, where He died, would have been filled with Jews who had come to celebrate Passover/Pesach as one of the 3 festivals they were obligated to attend annually. The following is interesting to note:

When a Jewish family arrived in Yerushalayim/Jerusalem for the Pesach/Passover, they would either purchase or bring with them a special bronze name tag. This name tag would have the family name written on it. They would tie a rope or thread to the tag and hang it around the neck of a lamb they were going to sacrifice. Each father desired that God would know their family was observing the Pesach/Passover, and that the lamb that bore the family name was being sacrificed for them.

All of the events of the week of the Pesach/Passover feast deal deeply in types and foreshadows that point directly to Yeshua/Jesus as being the Passover Lamb for the world.

Was Pilate used to put the Fathers title name on His lamb for the entire world to see?

Did Pilate’s inscription, became the Father’s name tag? The Jews had been bringing Pesach/Passover lambs to the Temple with their bronze name tags and by this, were saying,

‘YHVH see our name. This lamb is for our family.’

Did our Heavenly Father hang His Son on the highest hill in Yerusalayim/Jerusalem where He also put His Name, to tell all of humanity… ??? inferring something similar to saying…

…Look here, My name, this is My Lamb and it’s Pesach/Passover, you are taking your lambs to the Temple; and when the blood is flowing in the Temple from the Pesach/Passover lambs of the people, My Son’s sinless Blood will be flowing for the redemption of mankind, so that you can once again have access and fellowship with Me.

Yeshua ha Notzri Melech ha Yehoodim

One thing we do know for certain the cross is

EMPTY

And so is the

TOMB

And we serve a resurrected savior

Who is alive forevermore

He is our High Priest

and

He left behind Him the crown of thorns

because

He IS not only

(what Pilate wrote on the stauros/tselev title,)

King of the Jews…

He IS

King of All Kings…

As He hung on Calvary’s

stauros/tselev

Cross,

shedding His blood

for every one of His bitter accusers

and for each of us,

He was heard to pray,

Hallelujah!

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם‎,

Shalom aleikhem

chaverim and mishpachah!

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week,

chag sameach – happy holiday

chag Pesach sameach –

have a happy Passover

you are greatly loved and prayed for daily. Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation Remember…

you are one of His Am Segulah – Treasured People,

and you Have Passover Faith

Pesach  Emunah

Let the deep inner knowing that you are sealed to the day of redemption by the Blood of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua bring you His shalom right now!

Not sure ..you can be…

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord, Your Passover Lamb

and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.