How long was the cross Jesus was on?

Answer 1

From the third hour to the ninth hour is 6 hours. Therefore it would seem that the Lord Jesus was on the Cross for a total of 6 hours.

AnswerThere are a number of different indications of the time in the different Gospel accounts, which can give a reasonable idea of how long it was. What must be remembered is that the Gospel writers were not primarily interested in certain issues which were for them only incidental. This would probably be one of them since they only wished to convey the fact that Jesus suffered and died. The details of the time and what happened on the cross are different according to the emphasis or knowledge of the particular writer concerned.

Mark 15:25 records the actual time of the beginning of the crucifixion process. The execution, for those unfamiliar with its cruelty, could take days, each breath being torture for the victim.

Mark records that the crucifixion began at the third hour. This refers to the Jewish reckoning of the the third hour after sunrise. John 19:14 records that Jesus was before Pilate at 'about the sixth hour.' This, using the Roman time system would have been about 6 AM. Thus the trials and the mocking (degradation process), the leading out and preparations took around 3 hours. From the verses below (Mark and Luke have similar accounts right up to the time of death) it would seem that Jesus died around the ninth hour, at the end of the period of darkness.

Matthew 27:45-46 (King James Version)45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

50Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Mark 15:25 (King James Version)25And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

33And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Luke 23:44 (King James Version)44And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. John 19:14 (King James Version)14And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

The death of Jesus occurred at the ninth hour, which would have been around 3pm. Therefore, if we carefully consider the above Scriptures, we will discover how many hours Jesus was on the Cross atoning for the sins of mankind.

So then, the third hour, according to first century Jewish thinking, is hour #1; the fourth hour is hour #2; the fifth hour is hour #3; the sixth hour is hour #4; the seventh hour is hour #5; the eighth hour is hour #6; and, finally, the ninth hour is hour #7. It would seem then that the Lord Jesus was on the Cross for a total of seven hours altogether, an entire "week" of hours, as it were.

Answer 2

There are no measurements in The Bible on how long the cross was. But it has to be long enough to hold him off the ground and still go into the ground deep enough to keep from falling over. The average ma is 6 feet but much shorter back then. plus lets say 4 feet underground. Id say 10 to 12 feet long, but that is just a guess.