When Jesus was nailed to the cross, his enemies thought they had won. And why not? After all, his very existence was a threat to the existing social and religious order. What better way to get rid of a nuisance like Jesus than to kill him painfully and shamefully through the act of crucifixion. Crucifixion was a penalty reserved for the worst and the lowest; for the scum of society. It was the preferred form of capital punishment for criminals and rebellious slaves; for traitors and rebels who promoted insurrection against the government. It was so gruesome, so painful, so disgraceful that it was more than an act of execution: it was an act of torture. Needless to say, it served as a strong form of deterrence because no one…no one…wanted to be crucified.  Crucifixion was such a cruel and degrading form of punishment that all sorts of writers and historians – both secular and sacred – quailed at describing it with any significant detail. Surely God did not intend for hi...