By Lane Rogers

The Story of Yohanan the Crucifixion Victim ___________

Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang there until dead. It is widely considered an extremely dishonorable and painful form of judicial execution in the Roman Empire, though similar methods were employed in other ancient cultures such as Persia.

Romans Mention Crucifixion in Their Own Writings.
Seneca the Younger - (4 BC–AD 65)-__Roman philosopher__
"Can anyone be found who would prefer wasting away in pain dying limb by limb, or letting out his life drop by drop, rather than expiring once for all? Can any man be found willing to be fastened to the accursed tree, long sickly, already deformed, swelling with ugly weals on shoulders and chest, and drawing the breath of life amid long-drawn-out agony? He would have many excuses for dying even before mounting the cross."
-Seneca, Epistles (to Lucilius), 101

The Bible Speaks of Crucifixion hundreds of years before Crucifixion was the accepted method of death.

Psalm 22 - The Book of Psalms dates to at least 1000 BC
This psalm is clearly the crucifixion of Christ written hundreds of years before he ever walked the earth.

Psalm 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

heel bone from crucifixion victim at Giv'at ha-Mivtar

Yohanan___Crucifixion Victim

It is in the important discovery of Yohanan that we learn many details of crucifixion as it was exercised in the 1^st Century AD. While a portion of Jerusalem was being prepared for the erection of new apartment buildings in 1968, an ancient Jewish burial site was discovered. Located about one mile north of the Old Damascus Gate this site yielded the remains of some 35 Jews that were buried in fifteen stone ossuaries, used for the reburial of human skeletons some time after the original interment.

Upon investigation, archaeologist Vasilius Tzaderis found that these remains were most probably from 70 AD (see Matthew 24) in the Jewish uprising against Rome. Several of the skeletons gave evidence of having suffered violent deaths, such as being burned, starved, or beaten to death. On person had been killed by an arrow.

In terms of our study, the most important find was the skeleton of a man named Yohanan Ben Ha'galgol. Further study by Hebrew University pathologist Dr. N. Haas revealed some data about Yohanan's skeleton. Yohanan was about five feet seven inches in height, and about twenty four years old, had a cleft palate and was a victim of crucifixion. Still piercing his feet was a large nail about seven inches long that had been driven sideways through the heel bones, which indicates the direction in which the feet and legs were twisted in order to be attached to the cross. The nail pierced an acacia beam on the cross, which was anchored in the ground. Small pieces of the beam itself was olive wood. The end of the nail was bent backwards toward the head due to either a knot in the wood or purposeful bending.

An examination disclosed the fact that nails had also been driven between the radius and ulna bones in the lower arm. The radius bone was both scratched and actually worn smooth. This latter was apparently due to repeated friction caused by the crucifixion victim pulling himself upward in order to breathe, followed by sinking back down again. As the weight of the body was repeatedly moved in order to free the pectoral and intercostal muscles, which inhibit breathing in the “down” position, the radius was worn.

Additionally, Hass discovered that Yohanan's lower leg bones were broken. The left tibia and fibula bones and the right tibia bone were crushed by a common blow, with the legs sawed off some time later.

This is very consistent with the crucifixion of Jesus as described in John 19:31-32. Death was hastened because the victim was not able to breathe by breaking of the victim's legs.

The crucifixion process as recorded in the Gospels has at minimum been partially corroborated by this discovery.

It is from Archeology that we have some facts that have bearing on the death of Jesus.

1. Victims were often nailed to the crosses through the feet or heels and through the wrist or lower arm.

2. The vast majority of medical researches agree that the positioning of the body required the victim to move upward and downward in order to alternatively breathe and rest.

3. Smashing the leg bones was used in cases where a hasty death was desired.

The Nazareth Decree

Edict of Caesar:
It satisfies me that the graves and tombs
[that] whoever, for the cult worship of ancestors,
makes, or [for the cult worship] of children or household members,
that those [graves and tombs] remain unmoved
throughout their existence. And if anyone charges that
anyone has either destroyed them, or in some other
way made off with what was buried in them, or to another
place with knavish malice
took [these things], for the purpose of doing injury to
the buried, or [had] the doorstone or
[other] stones switched, against that
man [who is accused] I order that a trial
occur, just like [a trial] concerning the [cult worship of] gods,
for the cult worship of men.
For it shall be much more necessary
to honor the buried:
[so] let no one at all move them.
Otherwise, that man I
want condemned to death for the charge
of digging through tombs

In 1878 a marble slab measuring approximately fifteen by twenty-four inches was discovered at Nazareth, describing itself as “an ordinance of Caesar.” The message was a strict prohibition against disturbing graves. Scholars generally agree that it was issued by Claudius between AD 41-54.

As noted by Maier, all previous indictments of this nature prescribe only a fine for the offender, but in this order the death penalty is due. Why such a harsh penalty at this juncture in Palestine?

This order came straight from the Emperor and most likely is the result of “claims” concerning the body of Jesus and other events during this time concerned with the spread of Christianity (see Acts 17: 1-9). Such a decree during the reign of Claudius must have also been enacted because of the riots in Rome in AD 49 which caused the Emperor to expel the Jews from

the city. Suetonius tells us that the riots and expulsion were instigated by the the Christ (Acts 18:2 and Suetonius, Claudius, 25).

Claudius may have well discovered the Christian teaching that Jesus had risen from the dead and may have also heard the report spread by the Jews that someone had stolen the body (Matthew 28:12-15). This decree becomes more important since it mentions “those who disturb tombs which are sealed.” One cannot help but think if Matthew 27:66ff.

From this decree we can glean some historical facts.

1. Apparently there were reports in Palestine during the reign of Claudius the caused him to issue a stern warning.

2. Jewish burials at least sometimes included a sealing.

3. The offense of grave robbing was now a capital offense.

Some of this material came from Gary Habermas and the Historical Jesus while other material is freely available on the Internet.

By Lane Rogers