John 19 - NIV Application Bible

19:1–3 Roman law recognized three types of flogging, each representing ascending levels of severity. Pilate chooses to the lowest form, not only to teach Jesus to be more prudent in the future but to satisfy the crowds who are demanding his death.

Since the task of flogging generally belonged to soldiers, the same soldiers also begin to mock Jesus and hurt him. The mock crown may have been a woven circular crown of twigs and thorns, pressed down into the skin to inflict pain. The robe is likely a soldier’s robe thrown on him, completing the picture of mock royalty. With Jesus in this costume, the soldiers jeer at and strike him.

19:4–5 When Pilate escorts Jesus outside, his clear intention is to display Jesus in cruel submission, bearing the marks of his punishment, and to release him. But rather than being satisfied with Pilate’s brutality or pitying Jesus, the leaders call for his crucifixion. In disgust, Pilate calls back to them; he is trying to avoid responsibility for the death of an innocent man.

19:6–8 Pilate is unnerved. There is something about this inquiry he does not like. While Pilate may not possess spiritual insight, he undoubtedly is highly superstitious. The idea that gods could appear in the world was not uncommon in his religious tradition.

19:9–11 When Pilate escorts Jesus back into his praetorium (v. 9), his first question is terse, and it follows naturally from his worries in v. 8. This is not a question about Jesus’ birthplace; it lies deeper. But Jesus supplies no answer, knowing that to fit himself into Pilate’s religious thought process would be useless.

Jesus and Pilate talk “past” each other, responding to ideas on utterly different planes. Of course, Pilate has the power to crucify Jesus. But Pilate is powerless before God’s plan in this hour.

19:12 The verb in v. 12 is imperfect, meaning ongoing action (“Pilate kept trying to free Jesus”), but it is fruitless. Suddenly the Jewish leaders use the one bit of leverage they still have on this governor. They shout, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar.”

19:13–16a From this point, things proceed swiftly. Pilate returns to the porch outside with Jesus, where he occupies the governor’s judgment seat and prepares to render a decision. Pilate is now positioned to speak with the voice of his office.

The closing scene is filled with Pilate’s sarcasm. “Here is your king” (v. 14b) echoes “here is the man” (v. 5), and Pilate now offers to crucify this royal Jewish monarch. They crowd’s cry in v. 15 is a direct contradiction of the injunction of the Bible that God alone is Israel’s king. By rejecting Jesus, they have rejected God himself, as Jesus predicted.

✜ 18:1—19:16a John’s Passion story is like a symphony, which seems to pursue one theme: the sorrow of Jesus’ departure, his rejection by many, the dismay of the disciples, the betrayal of Judas, the denials of Peter, and Jesus’ imminent death. Each of these are a part of the “hour” that beats its way through virtually every chapter of John’s Gospel.

This scene, this hour, does not belong to Pilate or Caiaphas, it belongs to Jesus. Jesus is in complete control of the situation. John’s statement in v. 16a should be read in full realization of that deep truth.

19:16b–17 When Jesus is led away from the praetorium, he is bleeding profusely and is likely in shock. Nevertheless the Roman tradition for crucifixion was that, under Roman guard, the victim had to bear his own cross to the site of death. The crossbeam was placed over the neck, like a yoke, while the person’s arms were pulled back and hooked around it.

19:18 John keeps the story to a bare minimum. The route of Jesus’ walk would have taken him from the praetorium of Pilate to a location outside the city walls. People passing by would have seen the spectacle. Some would have spoken to Jesus or jeered at him. Public executions were designed to shock and warn the populace to stay in line, but no doubt John sees another meaning here: Jesus is being lifted up so that now Israel can see its king.

The victim was laid on the ground with his arms stretched across the beam. After he was either nailed or tied, he was hoisted up and mounted on a vertical post. Romans nailed the ankles together, forcing the feet to lay sideways on top of one another. Nailing was not the means of death on the cross. Many factors, such as hemorrhaging, asphyxia, and shock played a role.

Each of the Gospels says that Jesus was crucified with “bandits.” This word can also be translated “terrorists.” Jesus’ position between them may refer to a place of prominence or it may echo Ps 22:16.

19:19–22 It was customary for the Romans to provide a written notice of the crucified criminal’s name and activity. John is the only writer who notes that it came by Pilate’s order.

It comes as no surprise that the chief priests understand that the sign implies a kind of sarcastic endorsement of Jesus’ royal identity. They do not like it. Pilate, for the first time in the story, stands up to them.

19:23–24 Roman guards take Jesus’ “clothes” and divide them into four parts. They gamble for the one-piece undergarment, a fulfillment of Ps 22:18.

19:25–27 John records several people at the foot of the cross. Jesus calls the Beloved Disciple to take Mary into his family, and he does this obediently.

19:28–29 Jesus’ second statement on the cross is a cry of thirst, which John alone records. The next action fulfills Ps 69:21, “They . . . gave me vinegar for my thirst.” The soldiers provide him with diluted wine drunk by soldiers and peasants. We must not confuse this drink with the offer of wine mixed with narcotic substances that Jesus refused earlier. The detail of hyssop is important here since the plant was used at the Passover to brush lamb’s blood on the lintels and doorposts of Israelite homes.

19:30 What Jesus knows about the finality of his work (v. 28) he now utters aloud (v. 30a). Jesus is accomplishing what he intends. He is not a victim but a servant doing God’s bidding.

19:31–32 John reminds us that it is the “day of Preparation” (v. 31). The Jews wished to remove the bodies from the crosses because of the onset of dusk and the beginning of the Sabbath. We can assume that the same group of Jews who asked for a change to the title on the cross (v. 21) now request that the three men be taken down from their crosses.

19:33–34 The squad of soldiers breaks the legs of the two men next to Jesus (v. 32), but when they come to him, they do not break Jesus’ legs since he is already dead. When Jesus’ side is pierced, blood and water flow from the wound (v. 34).

19:35–37 John’s primary intention is to let his readers know that Jesus is most certainly dead. Theologically this is important for a couple of reasons. John is working to affirm the full humanity of Jesus, whose life was dependent on his flesh. Moreover, already in John’s time false teachers were doubting the true incarnation of Christ. It is likely that he may be alluding to this event in 1Jn 5:6–9.

John no doubt sees symbolism that goes beyond the surface meaning of piercing. John may be making the point that the crucified Jesus qualifies as a Passover victim. He notes, for instance, that Jesus’ legs are not broken. It was illegal for any Passover sacrifice to have broken bones (Ex 12:46). The lamb had to be a perfect sacrifice.

As John stands at the foot of the cross—an eyewitness to Jesus’ remarkable work—he contemplates the symbolism of Israel now gazing at the very messenger, God’s Son, sent to redeem the world.

19:38–39 Joseph is one of Jesus’ disciples and comes secretly because he fears the Sanhedrin leadership (v. 38). This may be explained by his disagreement with the Sanhedrin’s prosecution of Jesus (Lk 23:51). Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin, joins Joseph. They both risk ceremonial uncleanness by touching a dead body, not to mention challenges to their political and religious careers: To place Jesus in a tomb of prestige implies endorsement.

19:40–42 Together these men bury Jesus in a garden tomb near the site of crucifixion “in accordance with Jewish burial customs” (v. 40). In the first century, bodies were prepared for burial by wrapping them tightly with cloth and spices. Nicodemus brings a considerable number of burial spices (v. 39) to this event.

✜ 19:16b–42 The cross of Christ is the great sign we have awaited throughout the entire course of this Gospel. In his death, Jesus provides the gift that every other sign promised. The bread of Galilee pointed to heavenly bread, consumed when Jesus gave his flesh for the life of the world. The water of Samaria or Tabernacles is truly the Holy Spirit, which must look toward the hour for distribution. The new temple will only discover its true meaning when Christ has died and been raised to life. Lazarus’s story is not that one man in a village is now alive, but that the man is present who reigns over death and life. The cross is therefore the great sign, the reality against which every other sign becomes like a shadow.

It was common among the earliest Christians to look at Jesus as a sacrificial lamb, even a Passover lamb, slain for their benefit. We too should reflect on the benefits of his death for our lives. Re-creating this story for people today requires that we must both dramatically relive the Passover story and Jesus’ participation in it, and must generate modern stories that help us experience again the meaning of costly sacrifice.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are not merely historical figures but symbols. John is setting before us a sterling example of two men who used their considerable resources to glorify Jesus—and who, in so doing, chose to become genuine followers of Christ.