[piusv]

That last Bible verse is interesting indeed. Were beheadings commonplace at the time of the early Church?

[redleghunter]

Christian tradition records (not the Bible) that the apostle Paul was beheaded instead of crucified or fed to wild beasts. Paul was a Roman citizen and beheading was the capital punishment for citizens of Rome.

I would focus on reason of the beheading rather than the execution technique.