John 19 - Amplified Study Bible

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

19:7 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 out to be the Son of God. The Jewish leaders were accusing Jesus of violating the laws against blasphemy (Lev 24:16).

19:9 Jesus did not answer him. Three times Pilate had publicly pronounced Jesus innocent (18:38; 19:4,6).

19:12 you are no friend of Caesar. 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 from Rome.

19:19 wrote an inscription. 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 execution.

19:20 written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 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.

19:23 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 cast lots. 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 Psalm 22:18.

19:30 It is finished! 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 day of Preparation. This day was Friday, the day before the Sabbath Day. 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 (Dt 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. With his legs broken, a victim could no longer lift his body in order to breathe and would soon suffocate.

19:34 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 (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it. John’s words can be trusted because he is giving an eyewitness account, so that his readers will believe that Jesus is the Savior.