The Crucifixion: Shame and Humiliation in Ancient Roman Culture
Crucifixion was a method of execution widely practiced by various ancient civilizations, including the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Persians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans [1]. While its use among ancient Jews is debated, it was likely adopted from the Romans [1, 2]. This form of death was universally regarded as exceptionally horrific [1, 2].
The shame and humiliation associated with crucifixion were integral to its function as a punishment, particularly in Roman culture. It was reserved for the vilest criminals and, if applied to freemen, was only for the most egregious offenses [1]. The public spectacle of crucifixion served as a powerful social deterrent [6]. Victims were typically flogged before crucifixion and then crucified naked, which significantly amplified the humiliation [6]. The cross itself was seen as an emblem of a slave's death and a murderer's punishment, evoking profound horror [5].
The suffering inflicted by crucifixion was slow, torturous, and shameful [7]. Victims could endure for days, exposed to the elements, insects, and even scavenging animals before death [7]. The physical agony often included suffocation, and a final spear thrust was sometimes used to ensure death [6]. The inscription placed above Jesus on the cross, written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, further publicized the reason for his execution to a diverse audience, including Hellenistic Jews, Roman authorities, and local inhabitants [10].
The humiliation of Christ, culminating in his crucifixion, is a significant theological concept [3]. This humiliation is understood to encompass various aspects of his life, including his birth, his humble circumstances, his reputation, the suffering of his soul, his death, and his burial [3]. The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 2:7, describes Christ "taking our nature" and becoming a servant, which is seen as an act of humility [4]. His birth in humble conditions (Luke 2:4-7), his subjection to his parents (Luke 2:51), his poverty (Luke 9:58), and his association with the despised (Matthew 9:10-11) all contribute to this understanding of his humiliation [4].
The necessity of Christ's humiliation is understood to fulfill God's purpose, to satisfy Old Testament prophecies, and to meet the requirements of the law on behalf of humanity [3]. The shame endured by Christ on the cross is contrasted with the glory he refused during his earthly ministry [4]. The concept of "glory is in their shame" (Philippians 3:19) highlights a reversal of values, where what is considered shameful by the world can be a source of glory in a spiritual sense [9].
The public nature of suffering and insult was particularly potent in ancient society. As John Chrysostom observed, the pain of an insult is not inherent in the act itself but in the perception of onlookers [8]. To suffer disgrace publicly was to be mortified, as it affected one's standing in the community [8]. Thus, the public crucifixion of Jesus, a method designed for maximum shame, was intended to utterly disgrace him in the eyes of all who witnessed it. However, after Constantine's vision, the cross, once a symbol of cursing and shame, became an emblem of honor, adorning royal regalia and standards [5].
Sources
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Crucifixion — was in used among the Egyptians, (Genesis 40:19) the Carthaginians, the Persians, (Esther 7:10) the Assyrians, Scythains, Indians, Germans, and from the earliest times among the Greeks and Romans. Whether this mode of execution was known to the ancient Jews is a matter of dispute. Probably the Jews borrowed it from the Romans. It was unanimously considered the most horrible form of death. Among the Romans the degradation was also a part of the infliction, and the punishment if applied to freemen was only used in the case of the vilest criminals. The one ”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the Mosaic law were, by the sword (Ex. 21), strangling, fire (Lev. 20), and stoning (Deut. 21). This was regarded as the most horrible form of death, and to a Jew it would acquire greater horror from the curse in Deut. 21:23. This punishment began by subjecting the sufferer to scourging. In the case of our Lord, however, his scourging was rather before the sente”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Humiliation of Christ — (Phil. 2:8), seen in (1) his birth (Gal. 4:4; Luke 2:7; John 1:46; Heb. 2:9), (2) his circumstances, (3) his reputation (Isa. 53; Matt. 26:59, 67; Ps. 22:6; Matt. 26:68), (4) his soul (Ps. 22:1; Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 22:44; Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:15), (5) his death (Luke 23; John 19; Mark 15:24, 25), (6) and his burial (Isa. 53:9; Matt. 27:57, 58, 60). His humiliation was necessary (1) to execute the purpose of God (Acts 2:23, 24; Ps. 40:6-8), (2) fulfil the Old Testament types and prophecies, (3) satisfy the law in the room of the guilty (Isa. 53; Heb”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Humility of Christ, The — Declared by himself -- Mt 11:29. Exhibited in his Taking our nature. -- Php 2:7; Heb 2:16. Birth. -- Lu 2:4-7. Subjection to his parents. -- Lu 2:51. Station in life. -- Mt 13:55; Joh 9:29. Poverty. -- Lu 9:58; 2Co 8:9. Partaking of our infirmities. -- Heb 4:15; 5:7. Submitting to ordinances. -- Mt 3:13-15. Becoming a servant. -- Mt 20:28; Lu 22:27; Php 2:7. Associating with the despised. -- Mt 9:10,11; Lu 15:1,2. Refusing honours. -- Joh 5:41; 6:15. Entry into Jerusalem. -- Zec 9:9; Mt 21:5,7. Washing his disciples' feet. -- Joh 13:5. Obedi”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Cross — As the emblem of a slave's death and a murderer's punishment, the cross was naturally looked upon with the profoundest horror. But after the celebrated vision of Constantine, he ordered his friends to make a cross of gold and gems, such as he had seen, and "the towering eagles resigned the flags unto the cross," and "the tree of cursing and shame" "sat upon the sceptres and was engraved and signed on the foreheads of kings." (Jer. Taylor, "Life of Christ," iii., xv. 1.) The new standards were called by the name Labarum, and may be seen on the coins of Constant”
- Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 27:35: 27:35 they . . . nailed him to the cross: Crucifixion, though not generally practiced by Jews, was a widespread Roman punishment for military and political offenders, particularly slaves, rebels, and insurrectionists. The sheer cruelty and the public spectacle of crucifixion worked as a powerful social deterrent. Victims were flogged and then crucified naked, adding to the humiliation. It was seen as the most painful of all possible deaths; it involved intense suffering, exposure to weather and insects, suffocation, and often a final violent thrust of a spear to”
- Mark (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Mark 15:24: 15:24 Crucifixion goes back to the Medes and Persians in the 600s BC. It spread to the eastern Mediterranean world in the 300s BC through Alexander the Great and became the dominant form of capital punishment in the Roman Empire until AD 337, when it was banned by Constantine. It was slow, shameful, and torturous. The victim sometimes lived for days, and crows and dogs would feed on the victims even before they died. A person could be fixed to the cross by ropes or, as with Jesus (Luke 24:39; John 20:25, 27; see Col 2:14), by nails between the bones of the victim’s”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Acts & Romans: or know of them. So true is it that it is not the insult, as it is in itself, that mortifies us, but the having to suffer it in the sight of all men: since if one should do us honor in the sight of all men, and insult us in private, we shall notwithstanding even feel obliged to him. The pain then is not in the nature of the insult, but in the opinion of the beholders; that one may not seem to be contemptible. What then, if this opinion should be in our favor? Is not the man attempting to disgrace us himself more disgraced, when men give their opinion”
- Philippians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Philippians 3:19: destruction--everlasting at Christ's coming. Phi 1:28, "perdition"; the opposite word is "Saviour" (Phi 3:20). end--fixed doom. whose god is their belly-- (Rom 16:18); hereafter to be destroyed by God (Co1 6:13). In contrast to our "body" (Phi 3:21), which our God, the Lord Jesus, shall "fashion like unto His glorious body." Their belly is now pampered, our body now wasted; then the respective states of both shall be reversed. glory is in their shame--As "glory" is often used in the Old Testament for God (Psa 106:20), so here it answers to "”
- Luke (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Luke 23:38: A superscription - See Mat 27:37. In letters of Greek, and Latin and Hebrew - The inscription was written in all these languages, which were the most common, that all might see the reason why he was put to death. The inscription was written in Greek, on account of the Hellenistic Jews, who were then at Jerusalem because of the passover; it was written in Latin, that being the language of the government under which he was crucified; and it was written in Hebrew, that being the language of the place in which this deed of darkness was committed. But, by the good provide”