Woodrow Michael Kroll

What if you could transport yourself back to the first century, walking the dusty streets of Jerusalem, late on Thursday night before Passover? And what if you were tagging along behind eleven men led by Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane? You'd leave the Upper Room and go deep into the Kidron Valley to the garden. There the temple police and a half-crazed crowd arrive brandishing torches. Jesus is taken to the palace of Annas and then to the High Priest Caiaphas. What insight do we gain from history, archaeology, and most importantly the New Testament about where they lived? In the morning Jesus would be sent to the Chamber of Hewn Stone. What was this place and why is it important to the Passion narratives? On to Pilate's Judgment Hall where new archaeological evidence questions its traditional location. You pick up the trail again on the Via Dolorosa and follow Jesus to Jerusalem's killing field. There you find the Savior dying on a Roman cross. In just a few hours you have followed him from the Upper Room to Joseph's tomb and have gained valuable insight into each stopover to help you on your own journey to Calvary.

What if you could transport yourself back to the first century, walking the dusty streets of Jerusalem, late on Thursday night before Passover? And what if you were tagging along behind eleven men led by Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane? You'd leave the Upper Room and go deep into the Kidron Valley to the garden. There the temple police and a half-crazed crowd arrive brandishing torches. Jesus is taken to the palace of Annas and then to the High Priest Caiaphas. What insight do we gain from history, archaeology, and most importantly the New Testament about where they lived? In the morning Jesus would be sent to the Chamber of Hewn Stone. What was this place and why is it important to the Passion narratives? On to Pilate's Judgment Hall where new archaeological evidence questions its traditional location. You pick up the trail again on the Via Dolorosa and follow Jesus to Jerusalem's killing field. There you find the Savior dying on a Roman cross. In just a few hours you have followed him from the Upper Room to Joseph's tomb and have gained valuable insight into each stopover to help you on your own journey to Calvary.

The Roman practice of crucifixion was so abhorrent that even the Romans didn't talk about it. Yet their government practiced crucifixion for centuries. What drew the crowds to the killing fields to watch people die such torturous deaths? What enabled those elite soldiers in the Roman killing squads to crucify their victims with the precision and skill of a hospital surgeon? These and many other questions are answered in this book. Of the thousands of people who fell victim to "the most pitiable of deaths," one is much better known than all the others--Jesus of Nazareth. Most Christians know something of Jesus' crucifixion because of the Gospel narratives, but to enhance our appreciation of the Savior's death, we benefit by knowing more about Roman crucifixion. Roman Crucifixion and the Death of Jesus provides a deeper understanding of how, where, and why someone could be crucified and helps to inform us of Jesus' crucifixion. Armed with a better grasp of Roman crucifixion, we can more fully appreciate Jesus' pain, his purpose, and his prayers from Calvary's cross.

The Roman practice of crucifixion was so abhorrent that even the Romans didn't talk about it. Yet their government practiced crucifixion for centuries. What drew the crowds to the killing fields to watch people die such torturous deaths? What enabled those elite soldiers in the Roman killing squads to crucify their victims with the precision and skill of a hospital surgeon? These and many other questions are answered in this book. Of the thousands of people who fell victim to "the most pitiable of deaths," one is much better known than all the others--Jesus of Nazareth. Most Christians know something of Jesus' crucifixion because of the Gospel narratives, but to enhance our appreciation of the Savior's death, we benefit by knowing more about Roman crucifixion. Roman Crucifixion and the Death of Jesus provides a deeper understanding of how, where, and why someone could be crucified and helps to inform us of Jesus' crucifixion. Armed with a better grasp of Roman crucifixion, we can more fully appreciate Jesus' pain, his purpose, and his prayers from Calvary's cross.