• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Stephen M. Miller

Award-Winning, Bestselling Christian Author

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog Features
  • Bible
  • Contact
Painting/photo of Jerusalem Temple-Casual English Bible

Crucifixion in naked, gritty detail

Stephen M. Miller
nailing feet in crucifiction
SLOW DEATH. When Christians were telling the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, Roman writers were describing in gritty detail crucifixions they saw with their own eyes. Painting by Michael Willmann.

THE CRUCIFIXION reminds me of my dad butchering a hog.

When I was a boy, we sometimes drove down to see my grandparents on their West Virginia farm at butchering time, in the fall. I noticed that the way Dad butchered a hog didn’t look like the way Grandpa did it.

When I asked Dad why they didn’t butcher the same way, he said everyone has their own way of doing things.

That’s how Roman soldiers carried out crucifixions, too. With variety.

There were some common elements, such as carrying the cross to the execution site. But there was a lot of diversity, too, if eyewitness reports of first-century Romans are any indication.

I created a short video about this: What Romans said about crucifixion. But I thought it might be handy to have the quotes in front of you, where you can read and study them, as Good Friday approaches. Here you go.

“He was whipped until his bones showed.”
—Josephus, Roman citizen and a Jew who wrote Jewish history (AD 37-100), Wars of the Jews, 6.5.3

“Each criminal who goes to execution must carry his own cross on his back.”
—Plutarch, Roman historian (AD 46-about 120), Sera, 554

“Sixteen men . . . . were paraded out, chained together by the foot and neck, each carrying his own cross. The executioners added this grim public spectacle to the punishment as an extra deterrent to anyone thinking about committing the same crime.”
—Chariton Roman novelist (about 25 BC-AD 50), Chaereas and Callirhoe, 4.2.7

“Some hang their victims upside down. Some impale them through the private parts. Others stretch out their arms onto forked poles.”
—Seneca, philosopher, writer, and advisor to Emperor Nero (about 4 BC-65 AD), To Marcia on Consolation, 20.3

“Is there such a thing as a person who would actually prefer wasting away in pain on a cross—dying limb by limb one drop of blood at a time—rather than dying quickly? Would any human being willingly choose to be fastened to that cursed tree, especially after the beating that left him deathly weak, deformed, swelling with vicious welts on shoulders and chest, and struggling to draw every last, agonizing breath? Anyone facing such a death would plead to die rather than mount the cross.”
—Seneca, (about 4 BC-65 AD), Epistulae morales (Moral Letters), 101.14

“Reliable witnesses . . . . saw the man being dragged to the cross while crying out that he was a Roman citizen. And you, Verres, confirm that he did cry out that he was a Roman citizen, yet you sent him to a most cruel and shameful death anyhow!”
—Cicero, lawyer, politician, and philosopher, Against Verres, 70 BC, 2.5.64

“Every day Roman soldiers caught 500 Jews or more. . . . The soldiers driven by their hatred of the Jews nailed them to crosses. They nailed them in many different positions, to entertain themselves and to horrify the Jews watching this spectacle from inside the walled city of Jerusalem. In time, the soldiers ran out of wood for crosses, and room for crosses even if they had found more wood.”
—Josephus (AD 37-100), Wars of the Jews, 5.11.1

Romans didn’t just write about crucifixion. They reported the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus actually shows up in Roman history books and letters written during his own century.

“There was a wise man called Jesus, a good person who could work wonders….He attracted many followers – Jews and non-Jews. Pilate, at the request of our [Jewish] leaders, sentenced him to death by crucifixion.”
—Josephus (AD 37-100), Antiquities of the Jews

“Nero blamed the fire that destroyed much of Rome on a group of people he found so disgusting that he ordered them tortured in horrifying ways. They were Christians. They got their name from Christus [Christ], a man who suffered the ultimate penalty at the hands of a procurator, Pontius Pilate, when Tiberius was emperor of Rome.”
—Tacitus (about AD 55-120), Annals of Imperial Rome

Here’s the link to a short video: What Romans said about crucifixion

For more about crucifixion

  • Complete Guide to the Bible, pages 343-345
  • Understanding Jesus, pages 265-272
  • A Quick Guided Tour Through the Bible, pages 174-181

Blog subscribers who win books this week

  • Paul Thompson
  • James Norman

I give away free books each week.

Randomly selected subscribers to this free blog or to my free quarterly newsletter get the option of choosing my newest book: A Quick Guided Tour Through the Bible – among about half a dozen other titles.

Coming in April

One-Stop History of the Bible

Bible Gateway Blogger Grid

Share this:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...
View All Posts - Ordered by Most Recent First
« Previous
Next »

About Stephen M. Miller

STEPHEN M. MILLER is an award winning bestselling Christian author of easy-reading books about the Bible and Christianity and author of the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. His books have sold over two million copies and include The Complete Guide to the Bible and Who’s and Where’s Where in the Bible.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ken Snider

    August 5, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    We love HIM more!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

Casual English Bible Website

Featured Book

Complete Guide to the Bible

Complete Guide to the Bible
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Books-A-Million
Buy from Christian Book Distributor
Buy from Google Play

Latest Posts

  • I do one thing better than God May 27, 2025
  • When our faith glitches May 5, 2025
  • Job is the right book for me now April 16, 2025

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog Features
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2025 · Stephen M. Miller · All Rights Reserved

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Reject AllAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
%d