Was Jesus nailed to the cross and where in the bible does it say so?

Answer 1

Great question.

All four gospels give an account of Jesus being nailed to the cross, or crucified:

Matthew

And when they had mocked him, theystripped him of the cloak,dressed him in his own clothes, andled him off to crucify him. As they were going out, they met aCyrenian named Simon; this manthey pressed into service tocarry his cross. And when theycame to a place called Golgotha(which means Place of theSkull), they gave Jesus wineto drink mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refusedto drink. After they hadcrucified him, they divided hisgarments by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watchover him there. (Mt 27: 31-36 NAB)

Mark

And when they had mocked him, theystripped him of the purplecloak, dressed him in his ownclothes, and led him out tocrucify him. They pressed intoservice a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father ofAlexander and Rufus, to carryhis cross. They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which istranslated Place of the Skull). They gave him wine druggedwith myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they crucified him and dividedhis garments by casting lotsfor them to see what each shouldtake. It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucifiedhim. (Mk 15: 20-25 NAB)

Luke

Now two others, both criminals, were led away with him to be executed. When they came to the place calledthe Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on hisright, the other on his left. [ThenJesus said, "Father,forgive them, they know not what they do."] They divided his garments bycasting lots. (Lk 23:32-34 NAB)

John

So they took Jesus, andcarrying the cross himself hewent out to what is called thePlace of the Skull, inHebrew, Golgotha. There theycrucified him, and with him twoothers, one on either side, with Jesusin the middle...When the soldiershad crucified Jesus, theytook his clothes and dividedthem into four shares, a sharefor each soldier. They also tookhis tunic, but the tunic wasseamless, woven in one piecefrom the top down. So they said to one another, "Let's not tear it, but castlots for it to see whose it will be," in order that the passage ofscripture might be fulfilled (thatsays): "They divided my garmentsamong them, and for my vesture theycast lots." This is what the soldiersdid. (Jn 19:16-18, 23-24 NAB)

After the resurrection, St. Thomas even makes reference to the nails and the wounds they made in Jesus' hands on the cross:

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesuscame. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see themark of the nails in hishands and put my fingerinto the nailmarks and putmy hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later hisdisciples were again inside andThomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, andstood in their midst andsaid, "Peace be with you." Then hesaid to Thomas, "Put yourfinger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and putit into my side, and do not beunbelieving, but believe."Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesussaid to him, "Have you come tobelieve because you have seen me?Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." (Jn 20:24-29 NAB)

REFERENCES

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. The New American Bible, (Iowa Falls: IA, World Bible Publishers, Inc. 1991).

Answer 2

Yes, we get information about nails, from two places. One is from history Matthew 27:35 says that the crucified him. When the Romans crucified someone they always used nail. Second is John 20:24-29, where doubting Thomas finally believes because Jesus showed him the nail holes in his hands.

Answer 3

Information about the curcifixion is recorded in all four Gospels. (Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:33, and John 19:23)