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| Artist's conception |
This Easter, millions of
Christians worldwide will flock to churches to affirm their faith in Jesus and
His rising from the dead on that Sunday.
They have no doubts of what happened and why.
Historians are the ones with
the questions.
They mostly agree that Jesus died
by crucifixion as described in the New Testament. Those four books, however, were not written
by eyewitnesses and contain little actual history. Nevertheless, crucifixion seems plausible
since no one would boast of such a humiliating death for the founder of a
religion unless it had some basis in fact.
Other questions about
crucifixion are not easy to resolve.
Historians know the Romans
honed the skill of nailing criminals to wooden beams as a public
execution. They got the idea from the
Phoenicians, who may have invented that technique, but lost three wars to the Romans in the
battle for control of the Mediterranean.
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| Multiple crucifixions from a movie |
The Romans often crucified
multitudes, such as the remnants of Spartacus’ slave army. The public display served as deterrents in
case anyone else was thinking of rebelling. It was not always fatal. Jewish historian Josephus in
the first century C.E. described trying to rescue several friends he found
crucified and succeeded in saving one of them.
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| Heel bone with a nail in it |
Historians also know that due
to a shortage of wood, the upright beams were left in place while condemned
prisoners carried the crossbeams to the execution site.
So far, so good. However, no one is sure how process worked. For example, were nails used on Jesus? Three images and the lone skeleton of a crucified man found by
archaeologists provide only clues.
It’s clear that nails were
definitely used, at least, on occasion, to hold the victim’s feet in
place. Several historians have argued
Jesus was not nailed to the cross because nails were so expensive and not readily
available in ancient Judea. The evidence
from the artifacts and from the skeleton found in Israel with a nail through
its foot only demonstrates that at least some people were nailed to the cross,
but not necessarily Jesus.
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| Ancient spikes used in crucifixions |
Nails were likely used to
prevent relatives from rescuing the victim.
Ropes could be cut, but nails were very difficult to extract from a
living person. After the victim died,
nails were removed either to be reused or stolen because they were thought to
now have magical properties useful in healing.
However, palms and hands are
not strong enough to be held by nails.
They would have to be bound to the beam with ropes. People who have developed stigmata – actual
bleeding at the supposed points where nails were pounded through flesh –
invariably and erroneously include their palms.
On the other hand, the
earliest depiction of a crucified god does not show nails being used at
all. In the image dating from the 2nd
century, the feet are depicted apart, and the figure is standing on a plank of
wood. The image is crude and meant to
ridicule the belief, since the figure on the cross has a donkey’s head. Nevertheless, it does show what the artist thought
was how a person was crucified.
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| Recently found drawing of a crucifixion |
A younger, equally crude
illustration, found recently in Italy, does depict a man whose feet are nailed
to the cross. His hands seem to be holding on to the wooden crossbeam. His back also has welts, symptomatic of the
usual Roman floggings.
The nude figure is also shown
from the back. Historians believe it was
sketched by someone who witnessed a crucifixion there. There is no religious symbolism that would
connect it to Jesus.
On the other hand, it raises
the question if Jesus was nude also. The
only note in the Bible about his clothing is that Roman soldiers took them.
In a third illustration, a
gemstone from probably the 4th century contains an image of a
crucified man. In that one, the legs are
separated; arms are tied.
Without additional
information, there’s no way to know exactly how the Romans crucified Jesus.
Then there’s the question of
why Jesus was crucified. Later exegesis
argues that blood was necessary for true atonement. That idea arose only later, however, when
Christianity developed the philosophical answers to explain Jesus’ death.
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| Artist's view |
Since Romans only crucified
criminals, Jesus must have been thought of as one. His crime could not have been blasphemy
against the Jews, who had no ability to impose the death penalty. Instead, Romans must have perceived Jesus in the
same light they saw other itinerant anti-Roman preachers of the day – as enemies of the
state. Anyone speaking out against the
emperor would have been executed.
Roman and Jewish historians,
as well as the New Testament, identify other Jewish leaders who suffered the
same fate for that reason.
While it’s not clear what
Jesus said that so infuriated the Romans – none of his quoted words differs
from known Pharisee teachings --- he must have done something seriously
wrong. Perhaps the attack on
moneylenders described in all four Gospels got him arrested. The Temple, after all, was both a religious
center and a citadel with soldiers stationed nearby.
In the end, anyone studying
the death of Jesus is really left with more questions than answers. Perhaps that’s more valuable anyway on Easter. The answers then can come from belief.
Long-time
religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious
history. He also speaks at various
religious organizations throughout Florida.
You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net. He is the author of the famed Unauthorized
Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel
Writers Get Their Information; Noel:
The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative
Religion. His books are available on Amazon.com,
Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.
He can also be followed on Twitter.
You
can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at
http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1
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