•GOSPEL
OF JOHN
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 19
•INTRODUCTION
•In
chapter 18 we saw Jesus betrayed by Judas in the garden. We read of Peter denying Jesus three times
before dawn. While Jesus was being
questioned by Ananias. Jesus was
brought before Chiapas and a select few of the Sanhedrin. Jesus having been found guilty by this
kangaroo court of blasphemy was brought before Pilot, who could find no guilt
in him and sent him back to be judged by the Jews
•In
Chapter 19 we see Pilate once again
faced with an angry crowed of Jews; faced with the dilemma of what to do to
appease this crowd. Pilate ordered Jesus
to be flogged in hopes this action would appease the blood thirsty crowd. Pilate failed to realize the depth of hatred
the authorities held towards Jesus
•THE CROWN OF THORNS
•1 Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him.
–The Romans used three types of corporal punishment
according to the crime
1.Beating (fustigatio)
–The least severe of the three punishments was given for
lesser offenses
»such as left or homosexuality among other crimes lesser
crimes
–These beating were metered out by the duty officer and
by his discretion beatings could
–Many times lead to the death of the individual•
•Flogging (Flagellatio)
–was given to those people who committed crimes against
Rome of a more serious nature
–Often used as a prelude to crucifixion.
•The third and most brutal was scourging (vergeratio)
–Also used as a prelude to crucifixion.
• 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him;
–The color purple was used to signify royalty
•Although Jesus was of royal blood; they used the cloak
to mock Him.
•It is believed that the thorns on the crown were meant
to resemble the radiant corona of a crown
•3 and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face.
–Although slaps to the face was in no way as severe as
the flogging here again it was done as an insult
•4 Pilate came out again *and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” 5 Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!”
–Some may say Pilate was acting courageous and feared
angering the crowd.
•According to Josephus (Jewish historian) Pilates very
nature was that of a vindictive person with a furious temper.
–Having been previously admonished by Tiberius; Pilate
feared further reprisals from
•6 So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him
–I believe the high priest ensured the crowd was made up
of hand selected Jews who could easily be swayed.
–The priests were not going to be satisfied with mere corporal punishment.
•Nothing short of crucifixion would satisfy them
–I believe Pilate was annoyed at what he must have
considered petty and beneath his office•
•7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself to be the Son of God.”
–In desperation the religious leaders reveal to Pilate
what they really had against Jesus.
•The selected members of the Sanhedrin agreed, Jesus had
blasphemed by saying He was the Son of God and had broken the Levitical Law
–(Lev 24:16) ‘Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall
surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he
blasphemes the Name, shall be put to
•Pilate questions Jesus a second time, concerning his identity and authority (19:8-11)
•8 Therefore
when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid:
–Why was he afraid
•There are several theories on why John though Pilate was
“even more afraid”
–Some believe Pilates wife was very superstitious and
believed Jesus had mighty powers.
–Some hold Pilate feared an uprising which would bring
about Tiberius’ wrath.
–I chose to believe that God put the fear in Pilates
heart that prophesy might be fulfilled.
•9 and he entered into the Praetorium again * and said to Jesus, “Where are You From?” But Jesus gave him no answer
–There is no mention that Pilate had Jesus returned to
the inside of the praetorium.
•We can reasonable assume that Pilate questioned Jesus
once again inside the praetorium.
–Continuing the line of questioning raised by the Jewish
claim in verse 7
•Pilate asks a logical question; where are you from?
–Jesus did not immediately answer Pilate, knowing Pilate
would not have believed Him
•10 So Pilate *said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”
–Pilate must have been indignant with Jesus’ lake of
response to what he thought a reasonable question considering the Jewish
charges against Him.
–Being insistent on getting an answer reminded Jesus of
his authority over Jesus of life or death
–Jesus response to this statement in verse 11
•11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
–Pilate may have thought Jesus meant that his power came
from Caesar.
–However Jesus was actually saying the power came from
above meaning heaven
•A place Pilate was unfamiliar with
–God is in total control causing some to rise to high
positions for His purpose
•12 As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but he Jews cried out saying, “if you release this Man, You are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.”
–Pilate still finding no capital crime in Jesus returns
to the crowd only to find the crowd had become increasingly angered appealing
to Pilates loyalty to Caesar, and his tenuous posting in Israel.
•13 Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavemen, but in Hebrew Babbatha.
–Pilate had the judgment seat brought out on what I
believe to be the landing of the steps leading to the praetorium.
•Pilate fearing that he would be reported to Caesar as
not being loyal to Rome had no choice but to pronounce the death sentence.
•15 So they cried out, away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “shall I crucify your King?” The chief priest answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
–Now this transpired on the day of Sabbath preparation
which is believed to be a Friday (Matt 27:62, Mark 15:42, & Luke 23:54)
•John also identifies this day as the day of preparation
of the Passover (cf. 19:31)
•THE CRUCIFIXION
•16 So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.
–Verses 15-16 Most of the *Jewish leaders hated the
*Romans. They wanted to be free from *Roman rule. But they hated Jesus even
more.
•Although he was
their real king and their *Messiah, they *rejected him. They pretended instead
that they were loyal to the *Emperor. So, at last, Pilate made his decision. He
ordered Jesus’ death.
•17 They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a skull, which is called is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.
•The actual sentence was carried out by the Roman
soldiers (JN 19:32)
•Golgotha was very close to the city gates and all who
entered or left by that gate saw the three crosses (JN 19:20)
•It was common for the condemned to carry their own cross
–Most likely just the cross beam which in Latin is called
Patibulum.
»For expedience sake the upright portion of the cross was
left standing awaiting the next execution
•18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.
–We don’t know anything about the other two men except
one was repentant and admonished the other who insolent and not repentant
–John does not go into the gruesome details of the actual
crucifixion.
•19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
–There two styles of cross used by Rome
•Crux immissa which would look like the traditional cross
we see in artists renderings
•Crux commissa with the cross beam on top of the upright
•By these descriptions we can safely assume the artists
renditions are accurate
•As for why Pilate had this sign made is conjecture
–Some would believe it was to mock the Jews charge of “we
have no king but Caesar”
–Some would say that it was an insult to Jesus as being a
rightful king of the Jews but was denied by the Jews.
–The point here is that Pilate had the plaque in three
languages so all who saw it knew what it said.
•20 Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek.
– In my opinion this would make this placard the ultimate
mockery and insult to the Jewish leaders
–Interesting to note that John was the only gospel writer
to mention the sign was written in three languages.
•21 So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “what I have written I have written.”
–The Jewish leaders did there best to have Pilate change
what he wrote in an attempt to validate their actions
•Pilate could not be moved.
•I believe when Pilate washed his hands he was finished
with the Jewish dirty work
•I believe God spoke to Pilate and caused him to write
what he wrote.
•23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless , woven in one piece
–It was common practice for the soldiers who performed
the crucifixion to divide up the positions of the crucified person.
–The tunic was an undergarment woven so there would be no
seam.
•Why the soldiers would want these blood soaked garments
is beyond my comprehension.
•24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots
–We can see that God is in charge
–The symbolism may be the representation of a priestly
garment left intact demonstrating Jesus as a high priest then, now, and forever
never to be torn from His position at the right hand of the Father
• 25 Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
–How many women were at the cross?
•By Johns description it sounds as though there were 4
women at the cross.
•Jesus’ mother (not named here)
•Jesus’ mother’s sister (unamed)
•Mary the wife of Clopas (possibly Jesus’ mothers sister)
•Mary Magdalene
–No mention here of any of the 11 chosen at the cross
•26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”
–Which disciple was Jesus talking to?
•Now up to this point only three or four women were
mentioned as being at the cross.
•Now Jesus is addressing a disciple (a follower not
necessarily an apostle)
•The clue here is when John said “the one He loved”
–Most Bible scholars believe this to be John himself
•To understand what is happening we must make some
assumptions based in fact
–We must assume at this point that Joseph husband to Mary
was no longer living
–We know of no other family members were at the
crucifixion
–Because women were not allowed to own or hold property
we see Jesus concerned over His mothers well being turned to one he trusted
John
•27 Then *He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
– It was customary for a sibling or other close relative
to care for Mary; why then did Jesus relegate this responsibility of John?
•From that point on Mary (mother to Jesus) lived with
John.
–There is no mention of John not believed to have
property the word household refers to Johns family.
»I believe this family to mean his brothers and sisters
in Christ, as there is no mention of Johns worldly family members
•28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished , to fulfill the Scriptures, said* “I am thirsty.”
–If all things had been accomplished; why did Jesus say
He was thirsty?
•Also as Jesus took on the sins of the world His Father
could not look upon Him and Jesus thirsted for His Father
•29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.
–Jesus had completed all the father had asked of Him,
however the Scripture Ps 69:21 which reads “They also gave me gall for my food and for
my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” had not been satisfied
–The wine was of poor quality and tasted like
vinegar. Relegated to lower classes and
soldiers
•30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “it is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
–Jesus received the sourness of the sin of the world.
–Having fulfilled all scripture concerning the Messiah, Jesus
voluntarily gave
up His mortal life.
•This is important because Jesus was in total control
even on the cross
–
•JESUS’ BODY WAS TAKEN AWAY
•31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
–Now the Sabbath begins at 6PM and according to the law (Deut 21:22-23 and Josh 8:29) states the bodies of the executed must be removed.
•It was customary for the Romans to leave the bodies
hanging on the cross as a warning to those who might go against Rome.
–The bodies were left for the scavengers
»This practice also showed the absolute disregard Rome
had for the Jewish people.
•32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
–Breaking the legs would have caused the entire bodies
weight to be supported by the arms forcing the arms to severely restrict
breathing this coupled with shock would have hastened the death of the
condemned
–Jesus had already given up His spirit and His legs were
not broken fulfilling scripture as we will see in verse 36
•34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
–If it was obvious to the soldiers that Jesus was dead
ref JN 19:31; why did they pierce His side?
•The probability here is that the soldier did not to
leave any doubt as to the death of Jesus
•Now if the spear was thrust upward from the right side
upward below the rib cage into the pericardium sack
–The stomach would certainly be punctured and it’s liquid
contents would have been mixed with the blood from the heart itself.
–Had Jesus not already been dead this act would have
killed Him
–John felt this to be important with a spiritual
significance; what are we to gather from the blood and water
•We know from our past studies
•A blood sacrifice was the only offering suitable for the
forgiveness of sin
•We also know that there are several references to Jesus
being the water of life.
•That the shedding of Jesus blood before the Passover was
not accident
–Lambs blood was smeared on the door post and lentils of
each home so the angle of death would
pass over that house and all within would be saved
–And so also Jesus’ blood was shed for all who would
claim Him as their Christ
•35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
–This account was an eye witness testimony of John and
the women also who were there.
•This account can be attested as a true account because
of the witness of John and the women thus satisfying the law regarding the
death of another
•36 For
these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not
a bone of Him shall be broken.” 37 And again another
Scripture says, “they shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
–Both these prophesies were fulfilled
• The first, “Not a bone of him shall be broken,” may be
quoted from a number of different OT passages: Exod
12:10 LXX, Exod 12:46, Num 9:12, or Ps 34:20.
–The parallel between the Passover lamb and the Lamb of
God is unmistakable
–“The second quotation, “They shall look upon the One
whom they have pierced,” is easier to locate; it is a citation of Zech 12:10. Here a single phrase is quoted from Zech 12, but the entire context is associated with the events
surrounding the crucifixion.”
»“The “Spirit of grace and of supplication” is poured out
on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the first part of
verse 10. A few verses later in 13:1 Yahweh says “In that day a fountain will
be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin
and for impurity.” The blood which flowed from Jesus’ pierced side may well be
what John sees as the connection here, since as the shedding of the blood of
the sacrificial victim it represents cleansing from sin.”
•38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission, So he came and took away His body.
–Both Joseph and Nicodemus were secret followers of Jesus
for fear of their respective important positions
•Although this is the first mention of Joseph we have
read of the discourse between Nicodemus and Jesus about being born again
•40So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews
–Expensive spices
were wrapped in the linen with the body
•The graves were most often a gave or small hewn cave
with a small entrance sealed usually with just a stone
•The purpose of the spices were to mask the odor of
decomposing bodies
•41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
–The reason for use of this particular tomb is explained
•This may have been a tomb set aside for Nicodemus
Himself as he was advanced in years
•The cost of the spices and the use of the new tomb was a
significant offering of Nicodemus.
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS AND CITATIONS
This study contains quotes from Ryrie Study Bible, Bible.org commentaries, and Matthew Henry
