John 19 - The Moody Bible Commentary

19:1-3 In hopes of gaining the crowd’s sympathy and Jesus’ release, Pilate ordered that Jesus be scourged, unknowingly fulfilling messianic prophecy (cf. Is 50:6; 53:5). A Roman whip was made by attaching pieces of metal to three leather straps. Scourging could repeatedly rip the victim’s flesh, causing death. A crown of thorns (v. 2) was placed on Jesus’ head, and a purple robe was thrown on Him, mocking His claim to be the King of the Jews. With the injurious thorns and the slaps in the face (v. 3), Jesus’ face would have been bloody and disfigured (cf. Is 52:14; 53:2, 3).

19:4-5 For the second time (Cf. 18:38), Pilate announced that he had found no guilt in Christ. Bringing Jesus out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe (v. 5) was Pilate’s desperate plan to humiliate Jesus and, he hoped, to change the crowd’s intentions. Pilate’s proclamation Behold, the Man! mocked Jesus as a pathetic representation of mankind. But in recording this statement, John hoped that all readers would look carefully at (behold) the One who has taken on human flesh (1:9, 14) and has represented mankind in His sacrificial death.

19:6-7 Undeterred, the Jewish authorities callously cried out, Crucify Him, crucify Him! For the third time (Cf. 18:38; 19:4) Pilate insisted, I find no guilt in Him. Pilate’s third reiteration of Jesus’ innocence indicates one of the Fourth Gospel’s emphases—that Jesus was innocent of the charges levied against Him. The Romans permitted its conquered provinces to exercise their own religious laws. So the Jewish leaders (v. 7) insisted on Jesus’ death because He violated their law against blasphemy (Lv 24:16) by making Himself out to be the Son of God in equality with God (Cf. 5:18), and Pilate crucified Jesus because he wanted to get out from under the pressure of the Jewish leaders and to save his own position. Yet it was Pilate’s responsibility to ensure justice in this case, and his opinion that he found no guilt in Him (v. 6) obligated him to release Jesus (see also the comments on 19:14-16).

19:8-9 Driven by pagan Roman beliefs (cf. Ac 14:11), Pilate became even more afraid when he heard that Jesus might be a god come to earth. His wife’s fearful dream added to his worries (cf. Mt 27:19). He again took Jesus into the Praetorium (v. 9; the Fortress of Antonia at the northwest corner of the Temple Mount) and asked him privately, Where are You from? The governor knew his earthly origin was Galilee (Lk 23:6-7). Was He a god come from heaven? Jesus gave him no answer, fulfilling messianic prophecy (Is 53:7).

19:10-12 Aggravated by Jesus’ silence, Pilate boastfully threatened, Do You not know that … I have authority to crucify You? But Pilate (v. 11) had no earthly authority to sentence Jesus to crucifixion unless it had been given to him from above (cf. Pr 8:15; Rm 13:1). Pilate wished to release Jesus. For this reason, his guilt was less than the one who delivered Jesus to Pilate. The reference is to the powerful high priest, Caiaphas, who sent Jesus to Pilate to be condemned (Jn 18:30, 35). Therefore, the high priest had the greater sin because the greater the knowledge, the greater the culpability. Nevertheless, greater sin indicates lesser sin. It is incorrect to exonerate Pilate and not include him among those guilty for the death of Jesus (cf. Ac 4:27-28). Finally, the crowd confronted Pilate’s inclination to release Jesus because he saw no guilt in Him (v. 12). If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar.

19:13 To make the proceedings official, Pilate sat down on the judgment seat, a raised platform for rendering judicial decisions. The platform was located at The Stone Pavement (cf. ESV, NIV). Now at the “Stone Pathway,” many will stumble over the Messiah, the “stone of stumbling” (Is 8:14; Rm 9:33; 1Pt 2:8).

19:14-16 The day of preparation for the Passover means the day before the Sabbath (Friday) of Passover week (Cf. 19:31), and the Sabbath started at sundown. Fridays were called “preparation day,” for the Jewish people would use Friday before sundown to prepare for the Sabbath. John noted that it was now about the sixth hour (noon). At the time the Lamb of God (Cf. 1:29) was about to be sacrificed, Jewish tradition suggests the priests began to slaughter the Passover lambs in the temple. During the time of Jesus’ ministry, Jewish people calculated Nissan 14, the date of the Passover (Lv 23:5), in two different ways. Jesus, His disciples, and the Pharisees followed the Galileans method in which the day was from sunrise to sunrise.

In the year of Jesus’ crucifixion, Nissan 14 began for them on Thursday morning, and they celebrated the Passover meal early Thursday evening. The Sadducees calculated the day from sunset to sunset. Nissan 14 began at Thursday’s sunset, and the Passover lamb was sacrificed Friday afternoon. Their Passover meal was eaten before the sunset that evening. The Synoptics are written with the first method in view; John was written from the viewpoint of the second method. This explains why Jesus celebrated the Passover on Thursday evening (Jn 13:1-2), but He was crucified Friday while the Passover lamb was being slain in the temple in anticipation of the Passover meal.

To Pilate’s announcement Behold, your King! John recorded three stark replies to take Christ away and crucify Him (v. 15). Pilate mocked them in return. Shall I crucify your King? The same Jews who accused Jesus of blasphemy, now themselves blasphemed, claiming Caesar to be their only king. Pilate succumbed to the Jewish leaders’ demand (v. 16) and the crucifixion began. Pilate’s action was completely irresponsible. It was his job as governor to ensure that justice prevailed, but he abdicated his duty and allowed the Roman soldiers under his authority to crucify Jesus (see v. 23) to appease the Jewish leaders.

19:17-18 As was traditional for Roman crucifixions, Jesus carried His own cross (i.e., the crossbeam). The Synoptics record that Simon of Cyrene (a city in northeastern Africa) was soon conscripted to carry Jesus’ cross for Him (Mt 27:32; Mk 15:21; Lk 23:26). The destination was called the Place of a Skull. “Calvary” derives from the Latin word calvaria for skull. Today, the pristine garden called Gordon’s Calvary (also known as the “Garden Tomb”) outside the old city of Jerusalem is often identified as the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and tomb. But there is considerable historical and archeological evidence for locating Calvary at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and virtually none for the Garden Tomb. To add to the insult against Jesus, two other men (v. 18), both criminals (Lk 23:33), were crucified on either side of Jesus. One of them came to faith (Lk 23:39-43).

C. Crucifixion and Burial (19:17-42)

19:19-22 Pilate also wrote an inscription that was intended to ridicule the Jewish people and Jesus but inadvertently publicized the truth: JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Numerous Jews (v. 20) passing by read this inscription. This was possible because the place where Jesus was crucified was on a public roadway near the city. This testimony of Jesus’ identity was far-reaching since it was written in the three principal languages (Hebrew or Aramaic, Latin, and Greek) read by Jews and Romans (Gentiles). The Jewish leadership (v. 21) vehemently objected to Pilate’s wording, insisting that he write only that He said, I am King of the Jews. This protest aroused Pilate’s obstinacy. His response (v. 22), What I have written I have written, means in modern terms “Take it or leave it!”

19:23-25a The soldiers who had crucified Jesus divided His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier. Apparently four soldiers carried out the crucifixion—a detail John alone recorded. The tunic or undergarment, however, was seamless, woven in one piece. Since the OT high priest may have worn a seamless garment (Josephus, Ant. 3.161-62), some have seen this as symbolic of Christ’s high priestly ministry on the cross. The soldiers chose to divide Jesus’ clothing and keep the seamless garment as one piece and cast lots for it instead (v. 24). As such, they unwittingly fulfilled two statements in Ps 22:18, THEY DIVIDED … THEY CAST LOTS.

19:25b-27 Four women, not three, were standing by the cross. It is unlikely that His mother’s sister is to be identified with Mary the wife of Clopas, making Mary the name of both the mother of Jesus and her sister. For Mary Magdalene, see comments on 20:1; Lk 8:2. The sister of Jesus’ mother may be the same as “the mother of the sons of Zebedee” in Mt 27:56, making Jesus’ mother John’s aunt. If so, it is quite natural for Jesus to instruct John, the disciple whom He loved (v. 26; see Introduction: Author), to care for His mother. For Woman as a polite address, see 2:4. John obeyed the Lord’s instructions immediately (from that hour, v. 27).

19:28-30 Only John recorded that to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus cried, I am thirsty. He was physically thirsty (Pss 22:15; 69:21). Profuse bleeding, like profuse perspiration, dehydrates the body and causes intense thirst. Hyssop (v. 29) was used in the Passover (Ex 12:22) to spread the blood of the lambs on the doorposts, and may underscore Jesus as the true Passover Lamb. Jesus had earlier refused a pain-killing wine-myrrh mixture (cf. Mk 15:23; but see also the comments on Mt 27:33-37), but now took the simple sour wine (v. 30). His final announcement in John, It is finished! confirmed that the atonement had now been completed. Since He Himself gave up His spirit, Christ fulfilled His prophecy that no one would take His life from Him (Jn 10:11, 15, 17, 18).

19:31 For the day of preparation, see comment on 19:14. Crucifixion was often prolonged for days as the crucified person excruciatingly pushed upward on his nailed feet to relieve his outstretched arms and prevent asphyxiation. Breaking the legs of the victim hastened death.

19:32-34 That the soldiers broke the legs of the two men who were crucified along with Jesus sets in contrast Christ’s unique death. The soldiers observed (v. 33) that Christ was already dead, and therefore did not need to break His legs to hasten His death. To be absolutely sure, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear (v. 34). The blood and water that came out indicated that Jesus’ heart no longer functioned. John may have included these details for symbolic purposes too. The water flowing from Christ’s side symbolized the promise of the Spirit prophesied in 7:37-39, and the blood recalled the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. According to later rabbinic tradition (see m. Pesahim 5:3, 5), blood from a sacrificed animal was required to run freely from its body at the time of death. Another tradition required the priest to pierce the heart of the animal and thereby cause it to bleed to death (see m. Tamid 4:2; for these references, see NET note on Jn 19:34). It is possible that what John recorded here reflects an early form of these traditions.

19:35-37 At the climax of the death of Christ, John interjected a personal testimony to the truth of his report (Cf. 20:31-32). The readers are addressed with the words so that you [emphatic in Greek] also may believe. As further proof of the truth of Christ’s death, John cited the fulfillment of two messianic prophecies (v. 36). First, Scripture predicted that the Messiah’s bones would not be BROKEN (Ps 34:20), as typified in the Passover lamb (Ex 12:46; Nm 9:12). Second (v. 37), Israel will one day call for the Messiah to return to them and they will see Him as the One who was pierced. Thus, Zch 12:10 indicates that the Messiah, at His first coming, would be pierced. But at His second coming, THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM in faith WHOM THEY PIERCED (cf. the quote of Zch 12:10 in Rv 1:7, and the comments on Zch 12:10).

19:38-40 Joseph of Arimathea, mentioned in all four Gospels (Mt 27:57; Mk 15:43; Lk 23:50-51) was a secret disciple (see comments on Jn 3:9; 7:47-51; 12:42-43). Fear of the Jewish leadership had previously prevented him from boldly confessing his faith, though he did not stay that way for long. Joseph began to conquer this fear (“he gathered up courage,” Mk 14:43) when he asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. The association of Nicodemus (v. 39) with Joseph implies that Nicodemus was also a secret disciple—but now took a bold, open stand before Pilate. The reminder that Nicodemus was the one who had first come to Jesus by night underscores the hidden nature of his faith. His faith did, however, lead him now to act openly with Joseph against the sentiment of his fellow Sanhedrin members. Nicodemus brought myrrh for simple embalming and aloes for perfume. The hundred pounds (litra) is better translated “seventy-five pounds” (ESV, NIV), as a Roman litra was about 12 oz, not 16.

19:41-42 Joseph of Arimathea was the wealthy owner (Mt 27:57, 60) of a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. This demonstrates that after the resurrection, Jesus’ body could not be mistaken for another lying in the same tomb. Christ’s burial fulfilled prophecy: “They intended to bury him [the Messiah] with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb” (NET, Is 53:9). For the day of preparation (v. 42), see comment on v. 14.