Was Jesus barefoot during His passion?

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Hi,

I watched the Passion of the Christ last night.

But I went out just now to get a book of St. Jerome’s writings that I had left in the car. I didn’t feel like putting shoes on so I just went out there barefoot. As I was walking and my feet were hurting and cold on the pavement, I thought, “Did Jesus carry His cross barefoot?” I walked only about 20 yards at most to my car to get the book and back, and if Jesus walked barefoot, then I just began to appreciate even more how much pain He suffered to save us. Do you think Jesus carried His cross through the streets of Jerusalem barefoot? What was the ground like: dirt? stone? rocks? This is something I never thought of until I walked out barefoot to my car to get a book of St. Jerome’s writings, ironically. God teaches us in interesting ways.

Joshua
 
It wasn’t just during His passion. Jesus walked everywhere during His ministry either barefoot or with sandals, slept out doors often, relied on the kindness of followers for food, clothes, and shelter. We often think of Jesus in a long white robe with a purple sash, but it was more likely a plain, dirty tunic. I’m more impressed that Jesus willingly left the glories of Heaven to live on this fallen earth. :bowdown:
 
Hm…I’d say it’s a definite possibility; it would have made piercing his feet easier for the soldiers.

However the streets of Jerusalem were not cold like your pavement, but certainly not cushiony!

I have a sort of related question about the Passion. Now my memory of the events isn’t perfect, but did Jesus not sleep at all the night before his Crucifixion? He prayed in Gethsemane at night and then was seized by the soldiers, and after that I don’t think there was ever a time he could have slept.

Doing anything for me is tough after pulling an all-nighter; imagine enduring the Passion…
 
Equites_Christi said:
Hm…I’d say it’s a definite possibility; it would have made piercing his feet easier for the soldiers.

However the streets of Jerusalem were not cold like your pavement, but certainly not cushiony!

I have a sort of related question about the Passion. Now my memory of the events isn’t perfect, but did Jesus not sleep at all the night before his Crucifixion? He prayed in Gethsemane at night and then was seized by the soldiers, and after that I don’t think there was ever a time he could have slept.

Doing anything for me is tough after pulling an all-nighter; imagine enduring the Passion…
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Similar thoughts strike me every time I pray the rosary. The mysteries aren’t just isolated, they’re chronological because they build on each other. Not only what Jesus (or Mary, respectively) experienced but also how we can imitate that in our own life and what virtue we need to do that. It all builds, intertwines and crescendos. God is SO cool! 😃
 
I don’t think so. He was stripped of his clothing. I don’t think anyone who knew they would be killed would care what was on their feet. This is my opinion.
 
Equites_Christi said:
Hm…**.I’d say it’s a definite possibility; it would have made piercing his feet easier for the soldiers. **

However the streets of Jerusalem were not cold like your pavement, but certainly not cushiony!

I have a sort of related question about the Passion. Now my memory of the events isn’t perfect, but did Jesus not sleep at all the night before his Crucifixion? He prayed in Gethsemane at night and then was seized by the soldiers, and after that I don’t think there was ever a time he could have slept.

Doing anything for me is tough after pulling an all-nighter; imagine enduring the Passion…
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Sorry but I have to ask. Why would that make it easier for the feet to be pierced? If he wore sandals they obviously would be taken off before they nailed his feet.
 
I don’t know if He was barefoot or not but I am sure that carrying a heavy cross wouldn’t have been easy. Plus He did fall several times. I can only imagine how much carrying the cross would have hurt and He went through much more than just carrying His cross.
 
We don’t know for sure, though many paintings show a barefooted Jesus. Hey, footwear was after all not as commonplace as it is today: while most people did wear shoes or sandals of some sort (and I expect Jesus probably did so too), there are some folks - especially those who are so dirt poor they could not buy even a pair of sandals - who went around with feet uncovered.
 
the bible is silent on this matter, well all of divine revelation is silent on this matter.

so while it is a fun issue to discuss and something interesting to talk about your guess is about as good as mine. I think we could easily use common sense to figure it out but who knows. I would say yes he did simply by the fact that the romans may have used this as a way to punish those who broke the law. But also if he was clothed while carrying the cross which scripture tells he was there is a possibly that he also had shoes on.

you could argue for both sides which side is correct, we will never know on this earth because Divine revelation is silent. I guess it should be one of those things we ask Christ when we get to heaven.
 
stevekehl said:
It wasn’t just during His passion. Jesus walked everywhere during His ministry either barefoot or with sandals, slept out doors often, relied on the kindness of followers for food, clothes, and shelter. We often think of Jesus in a long white robe with a purple sash, but it was more likely a plain, dirty tunic. I’m more impressed that Jesus willingly left the glories of Heaven to live on this fallen earth. :bowdown:
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Indeed. One thing I often complain about is how in popular portrayals, Jesus does not get dirty - His clothes are always clean and He always looks fresh from the shower, unless if it’s a portrayal of the Passion, and even then some people seem to be content with a trickle of blood here and there and perhaps a bruise or two (if you’re not a Spanish religious painter or Lucas Cranach or Matthias Gruenewald or Mel Gibson, that is :D).
 
There is nothing about whether Jesus wore sandals during the passion, but since they took all His clothes, I would presume they took His sandals as well. When they were doling out His clothes among them at the foot of the Cross, there is no mention of sandals.
 
When I was young, at the end of the school year, each summer. We would take off our shoes and not put them on (except on Sunday) till school started again. We lived in the national forests.

All the roads were gravel. There were lots of blackberrys (it was the Northwest). But after a week, we could run and play on the gravel without pain. You build up calluses.

My dad never wore shoes till he was in the Navy, winter and summer, rain-shine-snow. Barefoot through high school. And that was the 1st thing my mom heard whenever she was introduced to someone from his hometown.

If Jesus was barefoot carrying the cross, he was probably callused.

🙂 My wife is a discalced carmelite (they say it means without sandels, I think it means with calluses)
 
Evan said:
When I was young, at the end of the school year, each summer. We would take off our shoes and not put them on (except on Sunday) till school started again. We lived in the national forests.

All the roads were gravel. There were lots of blackberrys (it was the Northwest). But after a week, we could run and play on the gravel without pain. You build up calluses.

My dad never wore shoes till he was in the Navy, winter and summer, rain-shine-snow. Barefoot through high school. And that was the 1st thing my mom heard whenever she was introduced to someone from his hometown.

If Jesus was barefoot carrying the cross, he was probably callused.
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Not unlikely. He wasn’t pampered in a high-class family after all.

Hey, in fact I go barefoot indoors!
🙂 My wife is a discalced carmelite (they say it means without sandels, I think it means with calluses)
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😃 Dis- + calcea (sandals) = discalced. 🙂
 
Jerome_Fan said:
There is nothing about whether Jesus wore sandals during the passion, but since they took all His clothes, I would presume they took His sandals as well. When they were doling out His clothes among them at the foot of the Cross, there is no mention of sandals.
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Could be, but then again perhaps the reason why John specifically mentions only His ‘garment’ (i.e. mantle, the outer garment) and His tunic is because he wishes to focus on them, but not necessarily to the exclusion of other articles of clothing that may or may not be present.
 
It was normal for even poor Jewish people to have sandals, because if you walked anywhere on the road, you would have to deal with things a lot worse than just dust. Parasites, animal waste products, etc… Religious law assumed that you wore sandals a lot.

However, it seems pretty likely that the Romans would have taken Jesus’ sandals away along with the rest of his clothes. It would make it harder for a capital criminal to kill himself or escape or beat on the Romans’ heads or kick them. (Especially since some common Roman sandal styles had treads or platforms of hard material. Roman soldiers’ sandals had hobnails for gripping the road.)

(But it wasn’t a common practice in Roman prisons, because generally prisoners were allowed to keep their own clothes, at least until execution time came.)
 
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