Lexical Summary sustauroó: To crucify with Original Word: συσταυρόω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance crucify with. From sun and stauroo; to impale in company with (literally or figuratively) -- crucify with. see GREEK sun see GREEK stauroo NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom sun and stauroó Definition to crucify together with NASB Translation crucified (5). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4957: συσταυρόωσυσταυρόω (L T Tr WH συνσταυρόω (cf. σύν, II. at the end)), συσταύρω: passive, perfect συνεσταύρωμαι; 1 aorist συνεσταυρωθην; to crucify along with; τινα τίνι, one with another; properly: Matthew 27:44 (σύν αὐτῷ L T Tr WH); Mark 15:32 (σύν αὐτῷ L T WH); John 19:32; metaphorically: ὁ παλαιός ὑμῶν ἄνθρωπος συνεσταυρώθη namely, τῷ Χριστῷ, i. e. (dropping the figure) the death of Christ upon the cross has wrought the extinction of our former corruption, Romans 6:6; Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι, by the death of Christ upon the cross I have become utterly estranged from (dead to) my former habit of feeling and action, Galatians 2:19 (20). Topical Lexicon Overview and Theological Core Strong’s Greek 4957 conveys the idea of being crucified in company with another. In Scripture it functions on two complementary planes: the historical plane, where literal companions of Jesus are executed on adjacent crosses, and the spiritual plane, where believers are said to share in Messiah’s crucifixion so that His death becomes theirs. In both cases the term underscores identification—either in suffering or in redemptive union. Occurrences in the New Testament Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:32; John 19:32 record the literal companions in crucifixion—men whose physical nearness to Jesus did not guarantee salvation, yet whose destinies were forever shaped by their responses to Him. Romans 6:6 and Galatians 2:20 apply the word to every believer’s union with Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). This shared crucifixion is positional, ethical, and experiential. Union with Christ in Death Romans 6:6 highlights the judicial dimension of salvation: “We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless”. Here the verb points to a decisive event accomplished at Calvary and applied to the believer at conversion. The “old self” is not rehabilitated but executed; its dominion is terminated because it has already died with Christ. This truth forms the basis for practical holiness: believers are commanded to “consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). Participation in the Cross for the Old Self Galatians 2:20 shifts the focus from the historical past to the present life of faith. The continuous result of being crucified with Christ is “the life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God.” Faith is not meritorious effort but the ongoing embrace of an accomplished crucifixion. Ministry that flows out of this reality resists both legalism and license, for the Cross simultaneously condemns human merit and liberates from bondage to sin. Corporate Identification of the Body of Christ Because every believer shares the same crucifixion, the term undergirds the New Testament vision of a unified church. Ethnic, social, and gender distinctions lose their ability to divide at the foot of the Cross (Galatians 3:28). The historical co-crucifixion of thieves on either side of Jesus foreshadows this inclusivity: one criminal receives paradise, the other rejects it, illustrating that proximity to the Cross demands a personal response. Historical Context of Roman Crucifixion First-century audiences recognized crucifixion as the empire’s most shameful death. When the Gospels repeatedly note that Jesus was crucified “with” robbers (Mark 15:27), they emphasize His willing embrace of ultimate disgrace, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy that the Servant would be “numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). The vocabulary of shared crucifixion therefore magnifies substitution: the Sinless One takes the place of sinners, that sinners might share His righteousness. Pastoral and Missional Implications 1. Identity: Disciples counseling new believers anchor assurance in the completed co-crucifixion with Christ, not in fluctuating feelings. Doctrinal Connections • Justification: The believer’s legal guilt is removed because the penalty has already been borne. Liturgical and Devotional Use Hymnody often echoes the term’s truth: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” invites personal identification, while “When I survey the wondrous Cross” calls worshipers to count the world “dead” to them through the Cross. In baptismal liturgy, immersion dramatizes burial with Christ, and emergence pictures resurrection life (Romans 6:4). Summary Strong’s Greek 4957 weaves together the historical narrative of Calvary and the believer’s ongoing spiritual reality. Whether describing condemned criminals beside Jesus or redeemed saints within Him, the term proclaims that life comes only through shared crucifixion, and that every dimension of Christian faith and practice is rooted in that once-for-all, ever-applicable event. Forms and Transliterations συνεσταυρωθη συνεσταυρώθη συνεσταυρωμαι συνεσταύρωμαι συνεσταυρωμενοι συνεσταυρωμένοι συνσταυρωθεντες συνσταυρωθέντες συνσταυρωθεντος συνσταυρωθέντος συσταυρωθέντες συσταυρωθέντος sunestauromai sunestaurōmai sunestauromenoi sunestaurōmenoi sunestaurothe sunestaurōthē sustaurothentes sustaurōthentes sustaurothentos sustaurōthentos synestauromai synestaurōmai synestaúromai synestaúrōmai synestauromenoi synestauroménoi synestaurōmenoi synestaurōménoi synestaurothe synestaurōthē synestaurṓthe synestaurṓthē systaurothentes systaurothéntes systaurōthentes systaurōthéntes systaurothentos systaurothéntos systaurōthentos systaurōthéntosLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Matthew 27:44 V-APP-NMPGRK: λῃσταὶ οἱ συσταυρωθέντες σὺν αὐτῷ NAS: The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also KJV: which were crucified with him, INT: robbers the [ones] having been crucified with him Mark 15:32 V-RPM/P-NMP John 19:32 V-APP-GMS Romans 6:6 V-AIP-3S Galatians 2:20 V-RIM/P-1S Strong's Greek 4957 |
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