Stoning was an early method of execution in which a group of people, usually peers of the guilty party, threw stones at the condemned person until he or she died. Stoning was obviously a horrible way to die, and because it was so lengthy and gruesome, it must have served as a strong deterrent against committing the sins deemed offensive enough to merit it.

Death by stoning was prescribed in the Old Testament Law as a punishment for various sins such as murder, idolatry, blasphemy, sorcery, and various types of sexual sins. However, Mosaic Law specified that, before anyone could be put to death by stoning, there had to be a trial, and at least two witnesses had to testify. In addition, those two witnesses had to be the first to cast stones.

Another mode of execution that was also considered “stoning” involved throwing the guilty party headlong down a steep cliff and then rolling a large stone onto the body. This is exactly what a mob in Nazareth tried to do to Jesus after His speech in their synagogue (Luke 4:29).