John 19:17-37 The Cross
Introduction – The Crucifixion (John 19:17-18)
John does not give some of the details surrounding the Lord’s crucifixion that are mentioned by the Synoptics. For example, he does not mention the fact of Simon of Cyrene bearing the cross (Matthew 27:32).
Rather, he says briefly, “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.” One of the primary designs of death by crucifixion was the visible humiliation.
The victim’s nakedness was exposed to all onlookers in a public place. Just outside of Jerusalem, on one of the main roads leading into the city, was a place called in the Hebrew or Aramaic language, “Golgotha.” The Latin translation is “Calvary.” The word means “place of the skull,” and was probably so named because of its regular use by the Romans as a spot for punishing common criminals by crucifixion. William Hull gives a brief description of the Roman custom of punishment by crucifixion (p. 358).
Crucifixion was designed not only to expose the naked victim to public shame but to induce death by slow physical torture. Since no vital organs were damaged when the body was nailed or tied to the tree, death usually came only after several days as the result of excruciating hunger, thirst, muscle cramping, and shock. So repulsive was the ordeal that Rome reserved it only for slaves and foreigners. In Palestine it was commonly used to punish robbery and sedition. Therefore, when “they crucified” Jesus “and with him two others,” this was to all outward appearances just another grim reminder of the power of Rome. No description is given in John of the “two others” (cf. Luke 23:39-43), attention focusing entirely on Jesus in the middle “between them.”
A. The Inscription on Top of the Cross
John 19:19-22
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews: but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. 2
1. The Inscription
The “title” was “a placard listing the crimes of the condemned, and attached to the cross” (Morris, p. 806). Pilate insisted here, as he had throughout the trial proceedings, that there was really no cause for putting this man to death. Some scholars feel that the inscription saying, “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews,” was a type of “grim revenge against those who had hounded him into consenting to Jesus’ execution” (Morris, p. 807)
2. The Setting of the Inscription
Since Golgotha was located alongside a heavily traveled road close to the city of Jerusalem, many people witnessed the gruesome event. Pilate wanted to make sure that all who could read would be able to understand the words of the inscription. Therefore, it was written in the three languages that would have been prevalent in that part of the world at that time – Hebrew or Aramaic was the language of Palestine; Latin was the official language of the Roman government; and Greek was the common language spoken throughout the Roman empire.
The Jews were incensed that the sign actually called Jesus a king and insisted that Pilate change the wording so that it would say, “HE SAID” that He was king of the Jews. However, Pilate was adamant concerning what he had written. So throughout the whole area both citizens and travelers came to know about the “crucifixion of the King of the Jews.”
3. The Meaning of the Inscription
Regardless of the reason for Pilate’s writing the inscription, John uses the message to force the readers of his Gospel to consider the royalty of Christ even in His death. How marvelous are the ways of God! Even those who conspired together to crucify Him found themselves proclaiming that Jesus was their King.
B. The Soldiers at the Foot of the Cross
John 19:23-24
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
1. The Dividing of the Clothes
It was customary for those soldiers who fulfilled the morbid task of a crucifixion to be able to lay claim to the clothes of the victim. After the initial dividing of the separate articles among them one piece of clothing remained. The “coat” or CHITON was “a tunic, an undergarment, usually worn next to the skin” (Thayer, p. 669). The one worn by Christ was seamless and “woven from the top throughout” in a manner similar to the one worn by the high priest (see Josephus, Antiquities, III, 161). In order not to cut the tunic the soldiers cast lots to determine which one would receive it. 3
2. The Fulfillment of Scripture
John carefully points out that this action by the soldiers was more than just a simple daily happening in history. It was in fact prophesied by the Psalmist when he himself had been in such dire straits that under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he penned the words of the twenty-second Psalm. John and the Synoptic writers see in these actions a fulfillment of David’s plaintive words, “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Psalms 22: 18).
C. The Disciples in Front of the Cross
John 19:25-27
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
1. The Women and the Beloved Disciple
While John only specifically mentions the four women standing by the cross, Mark adds that there were “many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem” (Mark 15:41). Probably, Jesus’ “mother’s sister” is the same as “Salome” and “Mary the wife of Cleophas” the same as “Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses,” as these were referred to by Mark (Mk. 15:40). Since, while on the one hand only one male disciple is mentioned by the gospel writers as being present at the crucifixion while two different writers name at least four women who were present, it would be only conjecture to say that other male disciples were present at that time. It seems more likely that because of their fear of the Jews the men were already in some secret place hiding from the officials. This makes the presence of the “beloved disciple” even more remarkable.
The identity of the “disciple whom Jesus loved” has been debated by scholars for centuries. However, there seems to be many good reasons for saying that in all likelihood this beloved disciple was none other than the author John himself.
2. Mary Entrusted to John
Even though by now Jesus’ body was wracked by intolerable pain He did not fail to make provisions for His mother in the same faithful manner that He had assured that His disciples would not be arrested. In a poignant and paradoxical scene of both hideous sin and tender mercy the Lord commended His mother to the care of the disciple who drew from Him the most affectionate love and compassion. Furthermore, He then charged the disciple of love with the responsibility of providing for the woman who now was losing her firstborn Son through a cruel execution. He was to accept her as his own mother and she was to accept him as her own son. From that time John took Mary into his own household and evidently provided for her until her death. 4
D. The Lord’s Death on the Cross
John 19:28-30
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.
1. "Knowing That All Things Were Now Accomplished"
The fact that Jesus “knew” certain things in an unusual manner is a theme that runs throughout John’s Gospel. Jesus “knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him” (6:64). In referring to the Father Who sent Him Jesus said, “I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me” (7:28,29). When He later accused the Jews of not knowing the Father He strongly asserted, “But I know him: and if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying” (8:55).
However, in chapter 13 John begins to focus our attention on the Lord’s knowledge as it relates to His death. Jesus “knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father” (v. 1); He knew that “the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God” (v. 3); “He knew who should betray him” (v. 11); and He said, “I know whom I have chosen” (v. 17). As Judas and the multitude came to arrest the Lord John says, “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth” (18:4). Now as the Lord hangs from the cross with death lurking in the shadows, John reminds us one more time that the happenings of that fateful day were not merely the chance events in the course of human history. Rather, Jesus, “knowing that all things were now accomplished” prepares to give Himself over into the hands of the Father.
2. "I Thirst"
Having accomplished the purpose for which He had come into the world and having made proper provision for His mother, the Lord finally allows His humanity to express one passionate desire as He exclaims, “I thirst.” But even in this most natural expression of human desire His voiced words are in perfect harmony with that eternal Word “which has been written.” His own thirst is the Messianic fulfillment of that prophetic experience of the Psalmist who cried, “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:21). Having earlier refused the drugged wine which would have eased the pain (Mark 15:23; Matt. 27:34), He now does not hesitate to sip a few drops of the OXUS (“mixture of vinegar and water,” Thayer, p. 449) from the sponge which had been dipped in a nearby container and lifted up to him on the end of a piece of hyssop. The moisture will prepare His lips for His final cry from the cross. 5
3. "It Is Finished
This is the moment for which the Lord had been born and the cause for which the King of Glory had come unto the world (John 18:37). Now the LOGOS Word which was “in the beginning with God” and “was God” is “made flesh” (John 1:1,14) in its ultimate destiny with death.
Now the life which was the “light of men” (1:4) that “lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (1:9) is shining forth in the darkness of man’s most dismal moment of misery (1:5). Now the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) is being “lifted up” even as “Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness” (John 3:14; Nu. 21:8,9).
Now the seed of woman is to bruise the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Now the Edenic sacrifice is slain in order to cover the disobedient Adamic man with the righteous clothing of the Son of Man (Gen. 3:21). Now the “ram caught in a thicket” on Mount Moriah is slain instead of Isaac (Gen 22:8-13). Now the Passover Lamb is killed (Gen 12:1-13) in order that the “blood of the new testament” may be “shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mt. 26:28).
Now He that grew up as a “tender plant” and as “a root out of dry ground” is “despised and rejected of Men” (Isaiah 53:2,3). Now He “bears our griefs” and “carries our sorrows” even as man “esteem(s) him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (v. 4). Now He is “wounded for our transgressions,” “bruised for our iniquities,” “the chastisement of our peace” is “upon him” and “with his stripes we are healed” (v. 5). Now the “sheep have gone astray” and “turned every one to his own way” and “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (v. 6). Now He is “oppressed” and “afflicted” (v. 7) and “cut off out of the land of the living” because of “the transgression” of the people (v.8). Now He “hath poured out his soul unto death” and is “numbered with the transgressors” (v. 12). Now all is fulfilled as He cries to Heaven and Hell, “It is finished!”
4. "He Bowed His Head and Gave Up the Ghost"
Even though death, like a specter, had hovered by the side of Jesus from the moment He had been taken by the multitude, mortality could not conquer Him by its own force. In a final act of His own Divine will He “bowed his head” even in the midst of the excruciating pain. The expression “gave up the ghost” (PAREDOKEN TO PNEUMA, literally, “delivered over His Spirit”) is never used of the death of another man or woman. Only the Christ Who “had come from God” and now would “go to God” was able to truly “lay down His own life.” No man could take it from Him.
E. The Witness From the Cross
John 19:31-37
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other 6 which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced
1. The Soldiers Do Not Break His Legs
Ordinarily death by crucifixion was a very long and torturous ordeal that sometimes would last two or three days. Since the Jews did not want to defile the holy day by leaving a body on the cross (see Deut. 21:23) they asked Pilate permission for the victims’ legs to be broken so that death would come quickly and the bodies could be removed. However, after having broken the legs of the two criminals, when they came to Jesus, seeing “that He was dead already” they “brake not his legs.”
2. His Side Is Pierced
When one of the soldiers saw that Jesus was dead already, possibly simply because of some type of morbid pleasure, he thrust a spear into the side of Jesus and as John records, “forthwith came there out blood and water.” John reinforces the actuality of this phenomenon by assuring, “And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true.”
3. "That Ye Might Believe"
John now gives a cursory indication of something he will expand on further in the next chapter – that is, that his main purpose for saying these things is in order the reader might believe. Even after the Lord’s death there comes forth a twofold witness from the cross. First, even though the Jews had been granted permission to do so, the soldiers did not break Jesus’ legs in order that it would come to pass even as it had been prophesied, “A bone of him shall not be broken” (see Psalm 34:2). Second, even though Jesus was already dead one of the soldiers plunged his spear into the Lord’s side in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “They shall look on him whom they pierced” (Zech. 12:10). John sees in this twofold witness a testimony, strengthened by prophetic truth, which is given in order that we might believe
Conclusion
Nowhere is it more evident that the Lord reigns through His passion than it is from the very cross which lifted up Jesus.
First, even though the Jews brought accusations of treason against Caesar and Pilate mocked the very thought of His royalty, nevertheless the inscription on top of the cross proclaimed to all the world, in the three languages of the Palestinian countryside, the Roman courts, and the Roman world of commerce, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. 7
Second, while the Roman soldiers casually played and gambled at the foot of the cross, nevertheless it came to pass as had been prophesied, “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Psalm 22:18).
Third, while Jesus’ body was wracked with the awful agony of the cross and while the mob taunted and mocked, nevertheless He looked with love and compassion upon His own natural mother and insured that she would be properly cared for by the beloved disciple throughout the rest of her life.
Fourth, even while death was hovering over its certain prey the Lord of eternity, knowing that He had accomplished the purpose for which He had come into the world, strengthened Himself with a few drops of vinegar and water, cried, “It is finished,” and then bowed His own head and commended His Spirit back to the Father.
Fifth, even after death clamped its cold fingers around the naked body of the Christ, the soldiers did not follow the directive of their superior by breaking His legs. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy that not a bone would be broken. And, even though the one soldier knew He was dead he impelled his spear into His side so that they looked upon the one they had pierced.
Even in His condemnation He proved Himself to be merciful. Even on a criminal cross He reigned in righteousness. Even while men played for His clothes He paid for their sins. Even when He had been forsaken by His own disciples He made sure His mother would never be forsaken. Even when His own nakedness had been exposed to the whole world He bowed His head in reverence before He died. Even after mortality lay hold on His body He insured that not one bone would be broken and that it would give testimony through its pierced side.
Even in His own death the Lord reigned as King both in this world and in the world to come!