John 19 - Preacher's Commentary

19:1-16

“Are You a King?”

The Jewish leaders have made up their minds that Jesus must be killed. So Caiaphas has Jesus taken to the Praetorium, probably the fortress Antonia, a remodeled Hasmonean castle which was the center of civil government and served as Pilate’s residence whenever he was in Jerusalem. Here the Roman procurator, who served the emperor in Palestine from A.D. 26 to A.D. 35, is brought into the drama. He was responsible to the emperor to keep order among these troubled and restless people in Palestine and see that the taxes for Rome’s coffers were collected.

In spite of his authority, Pilate seemed to be a troubled man, trying to make the best of a difficult and very insecure position. Over the years his status had been undermined by these stubborn Jews in a number of incidents. And he had to contend with the wealth and power in the house of Annas and deal with the Sanhedrin which was a well-organized, exclusive group. There was also the constant challenge of radical groups, particularly the Zealots and the Essenes. And the feast of the Passover with thousands of pilgrims crowded into Jerusalem was always an explosive time. It must have seemed like an impossible situation. And he could not help wondering about his standing with Caesar, who had developed a special relationship with Herod. Several of his decisions over the past few years had been reversed because of Herod’s influence.

So when this strange man Jesus is brought to his quarters in the wee hours of the morning by these Jews, he must have been suspicious. They had already made up their minds that Jesus must be killed by Roman authority, but yet will not contaminate themselves by entering the unclean house of a Gentile. Surely Pilate felt the pressure of their tainted self-righteous motives. No wonder he tells them to take care of the whole affair, to judge the Man by their own laws (18:31).

But when they say that if Jesus had done no evil they would not have brought Him here and they have no authority to put Him to death for His wrong, the whole affair takes on a more serious note! Pilate now will listen, and here he becomes directly involved. In speaking of Jesus’ being put to death, the Jews have unknowingly fulfilled His prophecy of His own Crucifixion (12:32).

Then Pilate has Jesus brought into the Praetorium. As the lowly Galilean and the proud Roman face each other, we have one of the most intense and provocative encounters in all Scripture. As the certainty of Jesus’ innocence becomes increasingly clear to Pilate, the struggle in his own soul intensifies. One can feel the vacillation and uncertainty in Pilate as he moves back and forth, in and out, from the quiet, probing conversation with Jesus in the Praetorium to the angry political pressure of the Jews outside who are demanding the death of the Man he faces.

As Pilate genuinely tries to save Jesus from execution one way or another, the pressure of the scribes and chief priests for Jesus’ blood keeps building until finally he succumbs to their threats and “delivered Him to them to be crucified” (19:16). Pilate does not have the inner resources to withstand his own anxious desire to stay in the good graces of his powerful “friend,” Caesar. But do we not all struggle with our unholy compromises? Raymond Brown has put it tellingly, “Many are those who can find mirrored in Pilate their own tragic history of temporizing and indecision.”³

So we become aware throughout the dialogue that the eternal truth of an everlasting kingdom confronts the political power of Rome. And the Jews capitulate to this power, for in the end they renounce all loyalty they may have to the expected Messiah and shout, “We have no king but Caesar!” (19:15). They have thrown aside their deepest spiritual aspiration for the blood of Jesus in succumbing to the power of this world.

The central issue in this struggle is the kingship of Jesus. Pilate’s first question to Him is, “Are You the King of the Jews?” (18:33). If Jesus is a king, then maybe He is a threat to Rome. When Pilate insists this is the charge the Jews have brought against Jesus, he goes on to ask, “What have You done?” (18:35). In other words, he wonders if Jesus is making plans to launch some kind of a revolution. Jesus does not answer the question, but He speaks a simple, yet profound word about His “kingdom,” which is not centered in Jerusalem and in which there are no plans to overthrow Rome. If that were the case, Jesus’ disciples would have physically resisted arrest in the garden, which is the way of all earthly kingdoms (18:36). No, His kingdom comes from above. It is spiritual and everlasting with no geographic boundaries. Yet it challenges and judges every earthly power. Otherwise, Jesus would not be standing before Pilate.

Now when Pilate asks Jesus directly, “Are You a king then?” He answers, “You say rightly” (18:37). That is the only purpose for which He has come and has been the dominating passion of His whole ministry. Jesus has come to reveal the truth of an everlasting kingdom, to make it plain by word and deed and life that His loving Father is the gracious sovereign over all life. And everyone who hears and accepts that truth hears Jesus.

While Pilate cannot understand the truth of Jesus’ talk about an everlasting kingdom, he does seem to relax a bit. This Man is not the threat the Jews are trying to make Him out to be. But there is no point in discussing harmless philosophical abstractions about truth. That is simply a waste of time. In the world of politics and armies and power it is results that count.

So since Pilate finds no fault in Jesus he goes out to the Jews and makes a proposal which he hopes will free Him. He appeals to a little-known custom that someone be released at the time of the Passover. So there is a choice to be made between Barabbas, a robber and a man of revolution, and Jesus, the Man of peace. Are we not always choosing between Jesus and Barabbas? But they “all cried,” as we do so often, for the blood of the innocent Man, and Barabbas is released. One wonders if Pilate was surprised by this response. He had been so sure his offer would be a way out.

Pilate now subjects Jesus to the physical cruelty and sarcastic taunts of his soldiers, thinking this may satisfy the accusers. While the scourging and the twisted crown of thorns, the purple robe and the shouts of derision are all a mockery of Jesus’ kingship, yet at a deeper level, the kingdom level, He is being proclaimed King. It is part of John’s inspired genius that he makes it clear here that this humiliation in Pilate’s court is Jesus’ hour of glory. He is a King suffering for the salvation of His people.

Pilate may have sensed something of the regal majesty of Jesus in the midst of this degrading sport, for he again says, “I find no fault in Him” (19:4). Then Jesus “came out,” truly a King appearing before His subjects. Pilate may have referred to the bruised, bleeding Man scoffingly, “Behold the Man!” I vividly recall my first visit to the Louvre in Paris and being drawn to a stirring, yet simple, painting of the face of Jesus, the crown of thorns pressed down on His brow and the streaks of blood coursing down His cheeks—all so realistic. But it was the compassionate, pain-filled eyes that held me. The words Ecce Homo below, Latin for “Behold the Man!”, still haunt me from time to time. The suffering Lamb of God stands before us.

A beloved friend comes to mind. Clarence Jordan is the founding father of Koinonia, an interracial farm near Americus, Georgia. He was a strong, gentle, and big man who suffered much abuse because he was utterly convinced that Jesus had called him to a life of non-violence and peace-making. That is what reading the New Testament had done for him. When I once asked him how he had gotten along with people of the surrounding community during the Second World War with his pacifist style of life, Clarence said quietly, “Well, when I went to town to buy groceries I would get pushed in the gutter once in awhile. But I’d walk there for a spell and then get up on the sidewalk again.” Clarence was a servant of the King!

But this is not enough for the “chief priests and officers” (19:6). Their strident cry, “Crucify Him!” only becomes louder. Now Pilate tries again to push Jesus off on the Jews, “You take Him and crucify Him.” Now they get to the heart of their charge, saying Jesus is a blasphemer. “He made Himself the Son of God” (v. 7). This is why He ought to die according to Jewish law. Of course, Jesus never “made” Himself to be anything. He is the Son of God!

Now Pilate is afraid. He is superstitious and naive about spiritual matters. “King” is one thing, but this “Son of God” business sounds like something he can’t explain. But now when he anxiously asks Jesus, “Where are You from?” he is raising the central question of Jesus’ whole ministry. Who is He and what is the source of His authority? In every encounter, in every teaching, as the “Word became flesh,” the question of Jesus’ identity is the issue.

But Jesus “gave him no answer” (v. 9). There is no way He can make this spiritually darkened man understand. There is a veiled threat in Pilate’s impatient response to Jesus’ silence. Isn’t this strange Man aware that His fate—to live or to die—is in Pilate’s hands? Oh, if Pilate only knew how limited his authority is. The only power he has comes from above. But Pilate is ignorant. It is the one who has “delivered” Jesus to Pilate, who has talked about God and studied the prophecies of the Messiah’s coming and presumes to be a spiritual leader, that has been guilty of the greater sin (v. 11).

There is now a kind of desperation in Pilate’s trying to release Jesus. He is being cornered by the insistent pressure of these Jews. They are aware of Pilate’s hunger for power, his desire to be identified with Caesar’s “in crowd,” even though the emperor may have barely known Pilate’s name. The Jews then say, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar” (19:12). The charge against Jesus then is political insurrection. “There was a brief and terrifying moment for Pilate when the people thought he was a friend of Jesus.”⁴

This cannot be, for then he will lose all face with Rome. So now Pilate has been forced to action. He sits down in his place of judgment—both the Aramaic and Hebrew names are given for the platform or bench in v. 13. And at the sixth hour, late morning, when the sheep were being killed for the Passover on this day of Preparation, Pilate announces, “Behold your King!”

And when the Jews cry out again for blood, Pilate very shrewdly makes his last move. “Shall I crucify your King?” he asks, which forces these people to openly declare their allegiance. How tragic it is that they cry, “We have no king but Caesar!” (v. 15).

With powerful understatement John writes, “So he delivered Him to them to be crucified.” The Jews had not received Jesus as He came offering Himself, teaching and healing, but now they “take” Him to crucify Him. In these last strange, dark happenings, God has prepared the way to reveal His greatest glory.

19:17-24

The Crucifixion: The King on His Throne

John uses remarkable restraint in giving us his account of Jesus’ Crucifixion. His language is lean. The facts are simply stated without embellishment. Words here can in no way add to the meaning of God’s gracious and costly deed!

Jesus, “bearing His cross, went out,” as Isaac bore the wood for the burnt offering (Gen. 22:6). We catch here again the initiative of the Lamb of God as He moves out to offer Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of the world. He went to “the Place”—this is His mone¯ that we may be made secure in Him—“of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.” Our word “calvary” is from the Latin calveria, which also means “skull.”⁵

The King is between two others that are being crucified with Him. The Cross is His only earthly throne.

Every criminal was identified by a placard over his head on the cross listing the crimes for which he was being executed. How ironic that the procurator, a pagan, should proclaim the kingship of Jesus to the many Jews who passed. Jesus was a King so universal that it was announced in the three major languages of that day. This is surely a sign that this “grain of wheat” which was falling into the ground would “bear much fruit.” And what Pilate had written he refused to change in spite of the protests of the chief priests. In a strange way, Pilate has had the last say.

It was the custom that the soldiers involved in a crucifixion would get the garments of the one put to death. John is very specific in pointing out that each soldier involved got one of Jesus’ four garments and that lots were then cast for His seamless tunic. Even in this gambling, Scripture is fulfilled. This tunic was a priestly garment worn next to the body like that which Aaron had been instructed to wear when he went into the holy place to make sacrifice (Lev. 16:4). The early Christians were quick to point out that there was rich symbolism in John’s statement, “Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.” This seemed to mean that “Jesus’ death will not destroy the unity of the people whom He has gathered together.”⁶

19:25-27

Care for His Mother

As there were four unbelieving soldiers at the cross, so there were four believing women standing by with fear and sorrow—the mother of Jesus, whose name is never mentioned in this Gospel; His mother’s sister, who was undoubtedly Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Mary the wife of Clopas—this could have been the Cleopas on the Emmaus road (Luke 24:18)—and Mary of Magdala. These friends did not leave in Jesus’ hour of desolation. Surely strength and comfort were shared with Jesus in this act of faithful companionship. Most people do not wish to be alone in the moment of death.

Jesus now reaches out in His hour of death and cares for His mother as she cared for Him in His boyhood years. How tenderly the “word made flesh” in family life is revealed here. When Jesus calls her “woman” He is not using a cold, formal word, but a warm term of respect. It is to John the disciple, and his mother’s nephew, that He gives the responsibility for her care. This act may also be saying that God’s chosen people must find their home with those who have come to believe through the ministry of Jesus, that the true destiny of Israel is to be found in the fellowship of the church.

19:28-30

All Things are Accomplished

Here is the heart of the Gospel. Jesus has completed all the work His Father has given Him. He has left nothing undone. And every detail of His ministry has been the fulfillment of Scripture, even His cry of thirst. Both the work and the word come from His Father. Jesus is a man of flesh. And in this hour of need, He voices the physical thirst of every man. And the soldiers show some spark of kindness by sharing some of their sour wine with Him.

But there is also a rich symbolism beyond the physical cry. Jesus had told Peter earlier in the Garden that He must drink the cup which His Father had given Him (John 18:11). Drink every dreg of suffering to the bottom of the cup. And in this cry of weakness, as the psalmist had prophesied, Jesus has come to the lowest point of His descent—but also to the moment of His being lifted up. In both of the psalms which speak so eloquently and specifically of the anguish of Jesus’ thirst (22:15; 69:3, 21b) there is also joyful praise for the Lord has triumphed (22:31; 69:30, 34).

Hyssop was used to lift the wine to Jesus’ parched mouth, as hyssop was used by God’s people to sprinkle blood on the doors of their homes the night in which they were delivered from captivity (Ex. 12:22). Jesus is the Lamb of God whose blood is shed and the one door by which we must enter. “The Jewish Passover is fulfilled in the sacrifice of the true Paschal Lamb.”⁷

Jesus’ last word, “It is finished!” is a cry of victory, not of defeat. He is really in charge! He willingly accepts death because it is the completion of God’s plan. The work of the Incarnate Word has been accomplished. This is the moment of His glory, not His enemies’. The verbs are active, “bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (v. 30). Did Jesus give His spirit to those at the foot of the Cross who now symbolize the new people of God?

19:31-37

His Side Pierced

It was the Roman custom to leave the bodies of the crucified victims on the cross as a warning to others. But according to Jewish law, a dead body was not to remain “overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deut. 21:22–23). This was particularly true the day before the Sabbath. And on this day of Preparation before the Passover Sabbath, which was a “high day”—here is an explanatory note for the Greeks again—the Jews are particularly eager that the legs of the men be broken and the bodies be removed. Pilate grants their request, and the soldiers break the legs of the other two who were “crucified with Him,” who must have shown some signs of life.

“But when they came to Jesus,” they did not break His legs because He was obviously dead. Yet a soldier “pierced His side” (v. 34). Are we able to explain this? Was this done casually as soldiers’ sport? Men who live with death can become brutal. Or was he thinking, “Well, the Man is dead but I’ll make doubly certain,” as he cut Him open? Whatever the motive, the thrust of the spear brought forth blood and water which has become a symbol of God’s mysterious dealings with us.

Whether blood and water coming forth so shortly after death is miracle or natural occurrence, Jesus is really dead. In the face of those who would argue that the death of Jesus is an illusion, John is saying this Man of flesh has died! The sacrifice is complete, and now life is offered. Jesus’ blood has been shed and now gushes forth a cleansing stream of forgiveness. Likewise the water of the Spirit flows forth as a river of life. The Spirit will now come forth from the depths of Jesus, “rivers of water,” as He had earlier promised! (John 7:37–38).

The writer has used two Old Testament prophecies to illuminate the meaning of this event. On the first night of the Passover the most perfect animal from the flock was to be chosen as the Paschal Lamb. And not one of its bones was to be broken when it was sacrificed and its blood was poured as a sign of grace on this night of death (Ex. 12:46). Jesus now has become the perfect Paschal Lamb, shedding His blood to save His people, and none of His bones has been broken.

And as in life, so in death. At the Cross Jesus becomes the focal point for those non-believers—the vengeful chief priests, hardened soldiers, and that curious crowd—but also for that handful of believing women and disciples. Some mourn as for the loss of a first-born son. But in the midst of this grief “the Spirit of grace and supplication” is poured out on the “house of David” (Zech. 12:10). From Jesus’ opened side flows the blood of forgiveness and the water of His spirit.

And this one who stands by becomes a faithful witness to these happenings through the Spirit. “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6). The Spirit through the writer is testifying to the truth of all those events. As John the Baptist bore witness at the outset of this Gospel to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29), so now John the beloved bears witness to the completion of the sacrifice of Jesus that men may believe. And he does not make this confession alone, but with the whole company of believers (John 21:24) a testimony which is confirmed by the Lord.

19:38-42

A Last Gift

Sometimes what is not given in life is given in death. Here two disciples who have been “secret believers,” “closet disciples,” emerge and publicly ask Pilate for the body of Jesus. Judged and inspired by the “glory” of the Cross, they openly confess they are followers of Jesus. By a courageous act, they may have done in death for Jesus what they had not done in life. And Pilate may have been eager to get rid of the body. This has been a troublesome case for him.

These are men of status and wealth, both of them members of the Sanhedrin. Joseph came originally from Arimathea, a Judean town sixty miles from Jerusalem, and Nicodemus, a “ruler of the Jews,” had heard of the new birth in a visit with Jesus at night (John 3:1–21).

And they may have been among those rulers who “believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees … did not confess Him” (John 12:42). But now, after a long time of silence and fear, they come forth to announce their allegiance.

Every “secret disciple,” especially Hebrew believers, who had not yet confessed Jesus openly, being intimidated by those who seemed more powerful, would be encouraged when reading this Gospel by the stand that Joseph and Nicodemus had taken.

Their gift to Jesus was a “new tomb” and a dignified, but hasty, burial. After all, they were very much aware that at six o’clock the “high day” of Passover began. The extremely generous mixture of myrrh and aloes, wrapped in the clothes in which the body was buried, underlined again Jesus’kingship. Jesus was buried as a King. In a garden “nearby”! The proximity of Calvary to the garden of resurrection seems to symbolize the small step we take from accepting the death of Jesus to entering into His life.