John 19 - NKJV Study Bible

19:1 scourged Him: Scourging was part of a capital sentence. But in this case it was inflicted before formal judgment.

19:2 The crown of thorns was in mockery of a kingly crown. Placing a purple robe on Jesus made Him a caricature of a royal conqueror.

19:3 Hail, King of the Jews was probably a sarcastic echo of what the soldiers had heard at Jesus’ triumphal entry or at His trial.

19:4 I am bringing Him out to you: Perhaps Pilate was appealing to the people’s compassion so that he could release Jesus.

19:6 Crucify Him: The Jewish leaders anticipated an outburst of pity. Therefore they began demanding Jesus’ death. You . . . crucify Him: Pilate was enraged. I find no fault in Him: This was the third time Pilate declared that he could find no legal grounds for capital punishment (18:38; 19:4).

19:7 We have a law: The Jewish leaders were telling Pilate, “If you are appealing to us, we say that according to our law, He must die.” As governor, Pilate was bound by Roman custom to respect Jewish law. He made Himself the Son of God: The Jewish leaders were accusing Jesus of violating the laws against blasphemy (see Lev. 24:16).

19:8 he was the more afraid: Though not mentioned earlier, Pilate had no doubt become fearful. The claim of Jesus’ deity further excited his fears.

19:9 Jesus gave . . . no answer: Three times Pilate had publicly pronounced Jesus innocent (18:38; 19:4,6). If he had really wanted to know the truth, he would have believed what Jesus had already told him (18:37).

19:11 given you from above: Jesus acknowledged that Pilate had the power to take His life, but only because God allowed him that power. The one who delivered Me to you is a reference to Caiaphas (18:24,28), who had the greater sin because as a religious leader he had that much greater a responsibility to recognize the Messiah.

19:12 not Caesar’s friend: The Jews shifted their focus from the religious charge (v. 7) to the political charge (18:33), which they backed up with an appeal to Caesar’s own political interest. This new plea forced Pilate to choose between yielding to an indefinite sense of right or escaping the danger of an accusation at Rome.

19:13 The Pavement no doubt referred to a large paved area in the Fortress Antonia.

19:14 The Preparation Day of the Passover refers to the Friday of Passover week (v. 31), the preparation for the Sabbath of the Passover. Some have suggested that this may be the Thursday before the Passover, the same time that the Passover lamb was offered as a sacrifice. However this interpretation appears to conflict with the narrative of the three synoptic Gospels, where it seems that Jesus is described as being crucified on Friday (Matt. 27:62). The sixth hour was 6 A.M. according to the Roman system of time.

19:15,16 The Jewish leaders preferred proclaiming a heathen emperor as their king to acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah. Trapped by his own fear, Pilate handed over the innocent Jesus to endure a punishment Pilate knew He did not deserve.

19:17 The Place of a Skull probably got its name from the shape of the hill.

19:18 they crucified Him: Of all the apostles, John alone witnessed the crucifixion. However, he spares his readers the revolting details. The two others were thieves (see Matt. 27:38; Mark 15:27).

19:19 wrote a title: It was a Roman custom to write the name of the condemned person and his crime on a plaque to be placed above his head at the execution. Mark calls this title “the inscription of His accusation” (see Mark 15:26).

19:20 written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin: Multilingual inscriptions were common. The title was written in the local, common, and official languages of the day. Everyone could read the message in his or her own language.

19:21 The addition of the phrase of the Jews to the title chief priests (probably referring to Caiaphas and Annas) occurs nowhere else in the NT. The addition probably corresponds to the title given Jesus. The chief priest of the Jews objected to Jesus being called King of the Jews. They did not want a messianic designation connected with Him.

19:22 Pilate refused to change the title. As did Caiaphas, Pilate affirmed more than he ever intended. The title proclaimed to all that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah.

19:23 the soldiers: According to Roman law, the garments of a condemned criminal belonged to the executioners. Jesus had two items of clothing. The cloak was a large, loose garment. The tunic was a close-fitting garment that went from the neck to the knees.

19:24 The outer garment could be conveniently divided, but the inner garment could not. Thus the soldiers divided the outer one and cast lots for the inner one. Unknowingly, the soldiers fulfilled David’s prophecy in Ps. 22:18. This passage had long been considered a messianic prophecy.

19:26 The disciple whom He loved refers to John, the author of this Gospel.

19:27 Behold your mother: Jesus placed Mary in the care of John.

19:28 that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Everything foretold concerning the earthly life of Jesus had been accomplished.

19:29 Sour wine was not the same as the drugged wine that had been offered to Jesus earlier (“wine mingled with myrrh”; see Mark 15:23). Jesus did not take that wine because He wanted to die fully conscious. He did take a sip of this wine; one of the agonies of crucifixion was incredible thirst, added to the terrible pain.

19:30 It is finished . . . He gave up His spirit: Having fulfilled every command of the Father and every prophecy of Scripture, Jesus voluntarily died. This was not a cry of exhaustion, but of completion. Jesus had done what He had agreed to do.

19:31 The Preparation Day was Friday, the day before the Sabbath (see v. 14). bodies should not remain on the cross: It is ironic that in the midst of a deliberate judicial murder the Jews were scrupulous about keeping the ceremonial law. According to Jewish law (Deut. 21:23), it was necessary to remove the bodies of executed criminals before sunset. To avoid breaking the Law, the Jews requested that the legs of the condemned be broken so that the men would die quickly and could be removed from their crosses. Breaking the legs was not always part of crucifixion. But with his legs broken, a victim could no longer lift his body in order to breathe and would soon suffocate. High day is literally “great day.” The coming Sabbath was especially important because it was the Sabbath of the Passover Week.

19:34 To make certain that Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear. After the soldier did this, blood and water came out, indicating that Jesus was already dead. Only blood would have flowed from a living body.

19:35 he who has seen: John’s words can be trusted because he is giving an eyewitness account, so that his readers will believe that Jesus is the Savior.

19:36 One should trust Christ not only because John gives an accurate account of His death (v. 35), but also because He fulfilled Scripture (v. 37), proving that He is the Messiah. Both the lack of broken bones and the piercing of His side fulfilled prophecies recorded in the OT (see Ex. 12:46; Zech. 12:10).

19:38 Joseph, a rich member of the Jewish council (see Matt. 27:57; Mark 15:43), had not agreed with their decision (see Luke 23:50).

19:39 Nicodemus, like Joseph (v. 38), was a member of the council (3:1). At last, Nicodemus identified himself with the One who had come from above (12:42). A hundred pounds was a large amount. Nicodemus intended to cover Jesus’ entire body with spices—a common burial custom.

19:41 a new tomb: Matthew specifies that the tomb belonged to Joseph (see Matt. 27:60). This too was a fulfillment of a prophecy: The Messiah would be buried in a rich man’s grave (see Is. 53:9).