Program / Course 16: Historical Defense / Lesson 4.1
What you will learn
- Describe how crucifixion was carried out and who was crucified.
- Explain why Romans and others viewed it as shameful.
- Summarize the archaeological and literary evidence for the practice.
- Explain how this background helps in assessing the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death.
The big idea
Crucifixion was a public form of execution used by the Romans mainly on slaves, rebels and non-citizens of low status. It was meant to be slow, painful and humiliating, and to warn the onlookers. Writers of the time speak of it with horror, and educated Romans did not mention it in polite company. The evidence comes from several ancient authors and from a single skeletal find of a crucified man in Jerusalem. This background shows that the Gospel descriptions of Jesus’ death fit what is known of the punishment, and also why the early claim that a crucified man was the Messiah would have seemed absurd.
Key terms
- Crucifixion
- Execution by fastening a person to a stake, cross or similar frame, by nailing or tying, and leaving him to die.
- Patibulum
- The crossbeam, which a condemned man was often made to carry to the place of execution.
- Titulus
- The sign stating the crime of the condemned man, placed on or near the cross. The Gospels say that Jesus’ read King of the Jews.
- Crurifragium
- The breaking of the legs of a crucified person to hasten death. John 19:31-33 mentions it.
- Prefect
- The Roman governor of Judea in Jesus’ time. Pontius Pilate held the office from about AD 26 to 36.
- Asphyxia debate
- A scholarly discussion of the exact medical cause of death in crucifixion, which may have been several causes in combination.
Background
Crucifixion was used by several ancient peoples, including the Persians and Carthaginians, and by the Greeks in some cases. The Romans adopted it and applied it widely in the late Republic and the Empire. It was used to punish slaves, bandits, rebels and others considered a threat to order. Roman citizens were normally spared, though not always.
The Romans made no single rule about the method. Practice varied by place, by the official in charge and by the mood of the soldiers. For this reason historians describe the common features and avoid claiming that every execution followed one pattern. Writers of the period say little about the technical details, as the subject was considered unpleasant.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The procedure
Crucifixion was often preceded by flogging. The condemned man might carry the crossbeam to the site, where the upright post was already fixed. He was then fastened to the beam and raised, by nails, by ropes, or both. A titulus could be displayed. Victims might hang for hours or days. The soldiers, as in the Gospels, might guard the site and divide his clothing.
Methods varied greatly. Josephus describes Roman soldiers during the siege of Jerusalem nailing prisoners in different postures for sport, and says that so many were crucified that there was no room for crosses and no crosses for the bodies (War 5.449-451).
Step 2: Purpose and shame
Crucifixion was meant to deter. It was carried out in public, at crossroads or places of passage, so that others would see it. Cicero called it the most cruel and terrible punishment and said that the very word should be far from the thoughts of a Roman citizen (Against Verres 2.5.165, compare In Defense of Rabirius 16). The body was often left to rot or to be eaten by animals, a final dishonor, though in Judea the Romans sometimes allowed burial, and Philo mentions bodies being taken down for the emperor’s birthday (Flaccus 83).
Jewish law treated a hanged man as accursed (Deuteronomy 21:23), and Paul cites it in Galatians 3:13. The mention of the cross in 1 Corinthians 1:23 as a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles shows how shocking the message was.
Step 3: Archaeological evidence
Only one first century skeleton of a crucified man has been found so far. In 1968, in a tomb at Giv’at ha-Mivtar, north of Jerusalem, archaeologists found the heel bone of a man named Yehohanan with an iron nail still in it. The first analysis suggested other details, including broken shin bones, but later re-examination by Joe Zias and Eliezer Sekeles in 1985 revised several of those claims and left the nail through the heel bone as the firm point.
The find shows that a crucified Jew could receive a family burial in Jerusalem in the first century, and that nails were used. It also shows how rare physical evidence is: crucified bodies were usually left or discarded. A graffito in Rome from about the second or third century, the so-called Alexamenos graffito, mocks a Christian worshiping a crucified figure, and it shows later how absurd the idea seemed.
Step 4: Cause of death
The medical cause of death has been discussed at length. Older theories held that victims died of suffocation as the weight of the body made breathing difficult. More recent studies point to a combination of factors, including blood loss from flogging, shock, dehydration, exhaustion and cardiac failure. The honest answer is that no single cause is certain, and death could take hours or days.
Crurifragium, the breaking of the legs, would hasten death by preventing the victim from lifting himself to breathe. John 19 reports that the soldiers broke the legs of the others but found that Jesus was already dead.
Step 5: What this shows for the Gospels
The Gospels agree with other sources about the main features: public execution under the prefect’s authority, flogging beforehand, carrying the beam, a notice of the charge, soldiers dividing clothes, and a short time on the cross compared with some victims. These details were not obvious for writers to invent. They fit a well-known Roman practice.
The Gospels also show that Jesus’ burial was exceptional, since the body was usually left on the cross. The next lessons examine this. A broader point is that the early Christian preaching of a crucified Messiah was a reversal of the shame of the cross, and a historian must ask why anyone would adopt that message unless the event was real.
- What did crucifixion say to the people who watched it?
- Which details in the Gospel accounts match what other sources describe?
- What evidence exists outside the Gospels?
- Why would early Christians have disliked mentioning that their founder was crucified?
- How strong is the archaeological evidence, and what does it show?
- What can historians say about cause of death, and what remains uncertain?
Examples
Varus in Judea
Josephus reports that after a revolt following the death of Herod in 4 BC, the Roman legate Varus crucified about two thousand rebels (Antiquities 17.295). The figure may be exaggerated, but it shows that mass crucifixion was a known Roman response to rebellion in Judea.
Yehohanan
The heel bone from Giv’at ha-Mivtar still held an iron nail, with traces of wood reported between the nail head and the bone. Interpretation of the position of his legs has been disputed, but the nail remains the only direct physical evidence of crucifixion from the period.
The Alexamenos graffito
A scratched drawing in Rome shows a figure with a donkey’s head on a cross, and a man standing by, with the words Alexamenos worships his god. It dates from perhaps the third century and shows that outsiders found the Christian worship of a crucified man ridiculous.
Different perspectives
Historians of the Roman world
They describe crucifixion as a variable but consistent practice, brutal and public, applied chiefly to the lower orders. They stress that the sources are fragmentary and that no uniform rule existed.
Catholic and Orthodox Christians
Both traditions honor the cross as the instrument of redemption, venerating it in worship. They interpret the shame of crucifixion as the setting for the love of God shown in Christ, and the Orthodox liturgy speaks of the cross as the tree of life.
Protestant Christians
Protestants emphasize the cross as the place of atonement, with variations in doctrine about how it saves. The Reformation stress on the cross and the gospel of grace has made the cross central in Protestant preaching.
Medical and forensic researchers
Researchers have offered competing explanations of cause of death and have criticized popular accounts. They agree that the punishment was agonizing and that no single mechanism explains all cases.
Skeptical scholars
Some note that most details come from the Gospels, since outside evidence is scanty, and warn against filling gaps with confident reconstruction. They also point out that the Gospel accounts of the cross are shaped by the Psalms and prophets.
Why it matters
To judge the death of Jesus as a historical event, a student has to know what crucifixion was. The background removes romantic images and shows the Gospel descriptions in their real setting. It also explains why the early message that a crucified man was Lord was so unlikely a thing for followers to invent.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: Crucifixion was a rare punishment.
Correction: It was common in the Roman world, particularly for slaves and rebels, and was used in large numbers during revolts.
Misunderstanding: Crucifixion always followed the pattern seen in church art.
Correction: Methods varied. Church art often shows a tidy cross, while the sources describe varied postures and improvised methods.
Misunderstanding: Victims always died quickly or always died slowly.
Correction: The time varied from hours to days, depending on the treatment and the condition of the victim.
Misunderstanding: Because only one crucified skeleton has been found, crucifixion is doubtful.
Correction: Crucified bodies were usually not buried, so few remains are expected. Written evidence from several authors is abundant.
Knowledge check
Who was usually crucified by the Romans, and why?
Slaves, rebels, bandits and low-status non-citizens were typical victims. The punishment was public, slow and shameful, intended to deter others from crime and rebellion. Roman citizens were normally spared, though not always, and officials sometimes crucified people in large numbers during revolts.
What does the Giv’at ha-Mivtar find show?
A first century heel bone with an iron nail through it shows that nails were used and that a crucified Jew could be buried in a family tomb in Jerusalem. Other early claims about the skeleton were revised, and it remains the only direct physical evidence of crucifixion from the period.
Why did crucifixion make the early Christian message so surprising?
Romans saw crucifixion as a degrading punishment for the lowest, and the Jewish law spoke of a hanged man as accursed. To proclaim a crucified man as Messiah and Lord was therefore offensive to Jews and foolish to Gentiles, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:23. The shame makes invention of the story less likely.
What can historians say about the cause of death?
No single cause is certain. Older theories pointed to suffocation. Newer discussion stresses a combination of blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion and heart failure, varying by case. Death might come in hours or take days, and breaking the legs hastened it.
Think it through
- How do the images of the cross you grew up with compare with the historical picture?
- Why do you think Cicero would not speak of crucifixion in polite company?
- What does it mean to follow a leader who was executed in this way?
- Does knowing the historical practice change how you read the Gospel accounts?
Independent assignment
A background note on crucifixion
In your own notebook, write about 400 words as a briefing for a reader who knows only the church images of the cross. Describe the practice, give two ancient sources, say what the Giv’at ha-Mivtar find shows and not, and explain why the shame of the cross matters for the origin of Christianity. Do not send this to anyone.
Further study
- Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ Read selectively on crucifixion in the ancient world and its meaning in Christian theology.
- Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word Read his reflection on why the Word accepted death on a cross.
- Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Use for the Roman setting.
- Justin Martyr, The First Apology See how Justin answers the charge that Christians worship a crucified man.
- Deuteronomy 21:23 He that is hanged is accursed of God.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23 Christ crucified, a stumblingblock to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks.
- John 19:31 The breaking of legs and the removal of bodies.