John 19 - CSB Study Bible for Women

19:1-16 Pilate had Jesus flogged (Gk emastigōsen, “whip, scourge, punish”), a cruel and inhumane punishment in which the victim was bound to a post with the skin of his back fully exposed and then whipped 39 times (13 blows to the victim’s chest and 26 to his back) by a soldier or some man of strength. The leather whip had pieces of bone and lead interwoven. The flesh was torn, and the ordeal served to hasten death. (For a timeline of Jesus’s final week, see note on Mk 15:21-39.)

The Roman governor Pontius Pilate (AD 26–36) was procurator of Judea during Jesus’s public ministry and at the time of His arrest, trial, and crucifixion (Mt 27:11-26; Lk 3:1; 15:21-39; 23:1-25). He was directly accountable to the emperor Tiberius Caesar for all Roman governance in Judea. If the Jews filed a formal complaint against him, he could lose his position and perhaps his life (Jn 19:12). John recorded Pilate’s verdict of “not guilty”—he found no grounds for charging Jesus, v. 4)—proving that Jesus was not condemned for any crime against Rome. Jesus did make clear that Pilate’s power was temporal and limited, while Jesus’s power was eternal and without limit (v. 11). Jesus also made clear the degrees of culpability. Judas, one of His inner circle, had greater knowledge and thus would bear greater guilt. There are degrees to the offensiveness of sin, and the more one knows the truth, the greater is her accountability before God.

Pilate pronounced his official decision to turn Jesus over to the Jews in a place called the Stone Pavement (Gk lithostrōton, “paved with stones”; Hb Gabbatha) from a raised platform outside in front of the Praetorium (v. 13). The response of the Jewish chief priests was astounding. They expressed their allegiance to the pagan emperor they hated and under whose governance they had long chafed (v. 15). The depth of their spiritual degradation was nowhere any more clear than in the hypocrisy of this act of betrayal (see 1:11).

19:17-42 Pilate’s contempt for the Jews was evident in the title he placed over Jesus on the cross. Ironically, that title was exactly right (v. 19). The fact that its message was in Aramaic [Gk Hebraisti, “in Hebrew”], Latin, and Greek only enhanced the importance of Jesus’s death as having universal influence (v. 20). Hebrew was the language of the Jews and the common tongue for the people of Judea. Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire, and Greek was the language of the marketplace as well as the eastern provinces of the empire.

Several women remained at the cross along with the disciple Jesus loved, probably John. Jesus’s tender affection and sense of responsibility to His mother is nowhere more apparent than here (vv. 25-27). Jesus took seriously the responsibility of the firstborn son to provide for His mother. He assigned John to be her provider and protector.

Roman law required that criminals being crucified remain on the cross until dead, however long that might be. The bodies were then left to the vultures. Breaking the legs often hastened death (v. 31). Jewish law complicated this crucifixion scene because it required that the body be removed the same day and buried before evening, especially when the Sabbath was approaching (v. 31). Since Jesus was already dead, His legs were not broken, fulfilling another prophecy (vv. 33,36; Ps 34:20).

John is the only Gospel writer who records that Jesus’s side was pierced while He was on the cross (vv. 31-37) and describes the significance of this piercing (i.e., that Scripture would be fulfilled, v. 36; see Ps 34:20). John states quite clearly that he witnessed these things and testifies about them so that his readers might believe. Perhaps there is no better witness to the significance of the crucifixion than Jesus’s words, which are contained in seven statements—three from the Gospel of John—as He hung on the cross:

• “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34);

• “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:43);

• First to Mary, “Woman, here is your son,” and then to John, “Here is your mother” (vv. 26-27);

• “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mk 15:34);

• “I’m thirsty” (v. 28);

• “It is finished” (v. 30); and

• “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit” (Lk 23:46).

In Greek, the last saying of Jesus on the cross, It is finished (Gk tetelestai, “accomplished, completed, fulfilled,” v. 30) is one word. The verb is in the perfect tense, signifying something accomplished in the past with continuing results in the present and future. With this word Jesus did not simply pronounce the end of His life but rather proclaimed the completion of His mission from the Father. Most important about the crucifixion is not the cause of death but rather the fact that Jesus did die a physical death as the substitute for all mankind (vv. 33-34).

Joseph of Arimathea is mentioned in all the Gospels (v. 38; Mt 27:57-60; Mk 15:42-46; Lk 23:50-56). He was wealthy, a member of the Sanhedrin, a God-fearing man, and in the end a follower of Christ. His daring request became a public confession of his faith in Christ (Jn 19:38). Joseph and Nicodemus (v. 39), as members of the Jewish “supreme court,” had much more to lose than most of the other followers of Jesus. With the Jews’ hostility toward Jesus, even their lives, not to mention livelihoods and reputations, were on the line.