1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!
6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;
9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 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.
21 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.
22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
23 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.
24 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.
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
31 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.
32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.
33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
1 Then G5119 Pilate G4091 therefore G3767 took G2983 Jesus, G2424 and G2532 scourged G3146 him.
2 And G2532 the soldiers G4757 platted G4120 a crown G4735 of G1537 thorns, G173 and put it on G2007 his G846 head, G2776 and G2532 they put on G4016 him G846 a purple G4210 robe, G2440
3 And G2532 said, G3004 Hail, G5463 King G935 of the Jews! G2453 and G2532 they smote G1325 him G846 with their hands. G4475
4 Pilate G4091 therefore G3767 went G1831 forth G1854 again, G3825 and G2532 saith G3004 unto them, G846 Behold, G2396 I bring G71 him G846 forth G1854 to you, G5213 that G2443 ye may know G1097 that G3754 I find G2147 no G3762 fault G156 in G1722 him. G846
5 Then G3767 came G1831 Jesus G2424 forth, G1854 wearing G5409 the crown G4735 of thorns, G174 and G2532 the purple G4210 robe. G2440 And G2532 Pilate saith G3004 unto them, G846 Behold G2396 the man! G444
6 When G3753 the chief priests G749 therefore G3767 and G2532 officers G5257 saw G1492 him, G846 they cried out, G2905 saying, G3004 Crucify G4717 him, crucify G4717 him. Pilate G4091 saith G3004 unto them, G846 Take G2983 ye G5210 him, G846 and G2532 crucify G4717 him: for G1063 I G1473 find G2147 no G3756 fault G156 in G1722 him. G846
7 The Jews G2453 answered G611 him, G846 We G2249 have G2192 a law, G3551 and G2532 by G2596 our G2257 law G3551 he ought G3784 to die, G599 because G3754 he made G4160 himself G1438 the Son G5207 of God. G2316
8 When G3753 Pilate G4091 therefore G3767 heard G191 that G5126 saying, G3056 he was G5399 the more G3123 afraid; G5399
9 And G2532 went G1525 again G3825 into G1519 the judgment hall, G4232 and G2532 saith G3004 unto Jesus, G2424 Whence G4159 art G1488 thou? G4771 But G1161 Jesus G2424 gave G1325 him G846 no G3756 answer. G612
10 Then G3767 saith G3004 Pilate G4091 unto him, G846 Speakest thou G2980 not G3756 unto me? G1698 knowest thou G1492 not G3756 that G3754 I have G2192 power G1849 to crucify G4717 thee, G4571 and G2532 have G2192 power G1849 to release G630 thee? G4571
11 Jesus G2424 answered, G611 Thou couldest have G2192 no G3756 power G1849 at all against G3762 G2596 me, G1700 except G1508 it were G2258 given G1325 thee G4671 from above: G509 therefore G5124 G1223 he that delivered G3860 me G3165 unto thee G4671 hath G2192 the greater G3187 sin. G266
12 And from G1537 thenceforth G5127 Pilate G4091 sought G2212 to release G630 him: G846 but G1161 the Jews G2453 cried out, G2896 saying, G3004 If G1437 thou let G630 this man G5126 go, G630 thou art G1488 not G3756 Caesar's G2541 friend: G5384 whosoever G3956 maketh G4160 himself G846 a king G935 speaketh against G483 Caesar. G2541
13 When Pilate G4091 therefore G3767 heard G191 that G5126 saying, G3056 he brought G71 Jesus G2424 forth, G1854 and G2532 sat down G2523 in G1909 the judgment seat G968 in G1519 a place G5117 that is called G3004 the Pavement, G3038 but G1161 in the Hebrew, G1447 Gabbatha. G1042
14 And G1161 it was G2258 the preparation G3904 of the passover, G3957 and G1161 about G5616 the sixth G1623 hour: G5610 and G2532 he saith G3004 unto the Jews, G2453 Behold G2396 your G5216 King! G935
15 But G1161 they cried out, G2905 Away with G142 him, away with G142 him, crucify G4717 him. G846 Pilate G4091 saith G3004 unto them, G846 Shall I crucify G4717 your G5216 King? G935 The chief priests G749 answered, G611 We have G2192 no G3756 king G935 but G1508 Caesar. G2541
16 Then G5119 delivered he G3860 him G846 therefore G3767 unto them G846 to G2443 be crucified. G4717 And G1161 they took G3880 Jesus, G2424 and G2532 led him away. G520
17 And G2532 he bearing G941 his G846 cross G4716 went forth G1831 into G1519 a place G5117 called G3004 the place of a skull, G2898 which G3739 is called G3004 in the Hebrew G1447 Golgotha: G1115
18 Where G3699 they crucified G4717 him, G846 and G2532 two G1417 other G243 with G3326 him, G846 on either side one, G2532 G1782 G1782 and G1161 Jesus G2424 in the midst. G3319
19 And G1161 G2532 Pilate G4091 wrote G1125 a title, G5102 and G2532 put G5087 it on G1909 the cross. G4716 And G1161 the writing G1125 was, G2258 JESUS G2424 OF NAZARETH G3480 THE KING G935 OF THE JEWS. G2453
20 This G5126 title G5102 then G3767 read G314 many G4183 of the Jews: G2453 for G3754 the place G5117 where G3699 Jesus G2424 was crucified G4717 was G2258 nigh G1451 to the city: G4172 and G2532 it was G2258 written G1125 in Hebrew, G1447 and Greek, G1676 and Latin. G4515
21 Then G3767 said G3004 the chief priests G749 of the Jews G2453 to Pilate, G4091 Write G1125 not, G3361 The King G935 of the Jews; G2453 but G235 that G3754 he G1565 said, G2036 I am G1510 King G935 of the Jews. G2453
22 Pilate G4091 answered, G611 What G3739 I have written G1125 I have written. G1125
23 Then G3767 the soldiers, G4757 when G3753 they had crucified G4717 Jesus, G2424 took G2983 his G846 garments, G2440 and G2532 made G4160 four G5064 parts, G3313 to every G1538 soldier G4757 a part; G3313 and also G2532 his coat: G5509 now G1161 the coat G5509 was G2258 without seam, G729 woven G5307 from G1537 the top G509 throughout. G1223 G3650
24 They said G2036 therefore G3767 among G4314 themselves, G240 Let us G4977 not G3361 rend G4977 it, G846 but G235 cast lots G2975 for G4012 it, G846 whose G5101 it shall be: G2071 that G2443 the scripture G1124 might be fulfilled, G4137 which G3588 saith, G3004 They parted G1266 my G3450 raiment G2440 among them, G1438 and G2532 for G1909 my G3450 vesture G2441 they did cast G906 lots. G2819 These things G5023 G3303 therefore G3767 the soldiers G4757 did. G4160
25 Now G1161 there stood G2476 by G3844 the cross G4716 of Jesus G2424 his G846 mother, G3384 and G2532 his G846 mother's G3384 sister, G79 Mary G3137 the wife G3588 of Cleophas, G2832 and G2532 Mary G3137 Magdalene. G3094
26 When Jesus G2424 therefore G3767 saw G1492 his mother, G3384 and G2532 the disciple G3101 standing by, G3936 whom G3739 he loved, G25 he saith G3004 unto his G846 mother, G3384 Woman, G1135 behold G2400 thy G4675 son! G5207
27 Then G1534 saith he G3004 to the disciple, G3101 Behold G2400 thy G4675 mother! G3384 And G2532 from G575 that G1565 hour G5610 that disciple G3101 took G2983 her G846 unto G1519 his own G2398 home.
28 After G3326 this, G5124 Jesus G2424 knowing G1492 that G3754 all things G3956 were G5055 now G2235 accomplished, G5055 that G2443 the scripture G1124 might be fulfilled, G5048 saith, G3004 I thirst. G1372
29 Now G3767 there was set G2749 a vessel G4632 full G3324 of vinegar: G3690 and G1161 they filled G4130 a spunge G4699 with vinegar, G3690 and G2532 put it upon G4060 hyssop, G5301 and put G4374 it to his G846 mouth. G4750
30 When G3753 Jesus G2424 therefore G3767 had received G2983 the vinegar, G3690 he said, G2036 It is finished: G5055 and G2532 he bowed G2827 his head, G2776 and gave up G3860 the ghost. G4151
31 The Jews G2453 therefore, G3767 because G1893 it was G2258 G2258 the preparation, G3904 that G3363 the bodies G4983 should G3306 not G3363 remain G3306 upon G1909 the cross G4716 on G1722 the sabbath day, G4521 (for G1063 that G1565 sabbath day G4521 was G2258 an high G3173 day,) G2250 besought G2065 Pilate G4091 that G2443 their G846 legs G4628 might be broken, G2608 and G2532 that they might be taken away. G142
32 Then G3767 came G2064 the soldiers, G4757 and G2532 brake G2608 the legs G4628 of the G3303 first, G4413 and G2532 of the other G243 which G3588 was crucified with G4957 him. G846
33 But G1161 when G5613 they came G2064 to G1909 Jesus, G2424 and saw G1492 that he G846 was dead G2348 already, G2235 they brake G2608 not G3756 his G846 legs: G4628
34 But G235 one G1520 of the soldiers G4757 with a spear G3057 pierced G3572 his G846 side, G4125 and G2532 forthwith G2117 came there out G1831 blood G129 and G2532 water. G5204
35 And G2532 he that saw G3708 it bare record, G3140 and G2532 his G846 record G3141 is G2076 true: G228 and he G2548 knoweth G1492 that G3754 he saith G3004 true, G227 that G2443 ye G5210 might believe. G4100
36 For G1063 these things G5023 were done, G1096 that G2443 the scripture G1124 should be fulfilled, G4137 A bone G3747 of him G846 shall G4937 not G3756 be broken. G4937
37 And G2532 again G3825 another G2087 scripture G1124 saith, G3004 They shall look G3700 on G1519 him whom G3739 they pierced. G1574
38 And G1161 after G3326 this G5023 Joseph G2501 of G575 Arimathaea, G707 being G5607 a disciple G3101 of Jesus, G2424 but G1161 secretly G2928 for G1223 fear G5401 of the Jews, G2453 besought G2065 Pilate G4091 that G2443 he might take away G142 the body G4983 of Jesus: G2424 and G2532 Pilate G4091 gave him leave. G2010 He came G2064 therefore, G3767 and G2532 took G142 the body G4983 of Jesus. G2424
39 And G1161 there came G2064 also G2532 Nicodemus, G3530 which G3588 at the first G4412 came G2064 to G4314 Jesus G2424 by night, G3571 and brought G5342 a mixture G3395 of myrrh G4666 and G2532 aloes, G250 about G5616 an hundred G1540 pound G3046 weight.
40 Then G3767 took they G2983 the body G4983 of Jesus, G2424 and G2532 wound G1210 it G846 in linen clothes G3608 with G3326 the spices, G759 as G2531 the manner G1485 of the Jews G2453 is G2076 to bury. G1779
41 Now G1161 in G1722 the place G5117 where G3699 he was crucified G4717 there was G2258 a garden; G2779 and G2532 in G1722 the garden G2779 a new G2537 sepulchre, G3419 wherein G1722 G3739 was G5087 never G3764 man G3762 yet G3764 laid. G5087
42 There G1563 laid they G5087 Jesus G2424 therefore G3767 because G1223 of the Jews' G2453 preparation G3904 day; for G3754 the sepulchre G3419 was G2258 nigh at hand. G1451
1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple garment;
3 and they came unto him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck him with their hands.
4 And Pilate went out again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find no crime in him.
5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And `Pilate' saith unto them, Behold, the man!
6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify `him', crucify `him'! Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no crime in him.
7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
8 When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid;
9 and he entered into the Praetorium again, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Pilate therefore saith unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee?
11 Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin.
12 Upon this Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
13 When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
14 Now it was the Preparation of the passover: it was about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your King!
15 They therefore cried out, Away with `him', away with `him', crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then therefore he delivered him unto them to be crucified.
17 They took Jesus therefore: and he went out, bearing the cross for himself, unto the place called The place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha:
18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
19 And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. And there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, `and' in Latin, `and' in Greek.
21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, 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.
23 The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
24 They said therefore one to another, 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 garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots.
25 These things therefore the soldiers did. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the `wife' of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold, thy mother! And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own `home'.
28 After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that the scripture might be accomplished, saith, I thirst.
29 There was set there a vessel full of vinegar: so they put a sponge full of the vinegar upon hyssop, and brought it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.
31 The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross upon the sabbath (for the day of that sabbath was a high `day'), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and `that' they might be taken away.
32 The soldiers therefore came, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him:
33 but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
34 howbeit one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and straightway there came out blood and water.
35 And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe.
36 For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
38 And after these things Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave `him' leave. He came therefore, and took away his body.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, he who at the first came to him by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
40 So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was never man yet laid.
42 There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand) they laid Jesus.
1 Then, therefore, did Pilate take Jesus and scourge `him',
2 and the soldiers having plaited a crown of thorns, did place `it' on his head, and a purple garment they put around him,
3 and said, `Hail! the king of the Jews;' and they were giving him slaps.
4 Pilate, therefore, again went forth without, and saith to them, `Lo, I do bring him to you without, that ye may know that in him I find no fault;'
5 Jesus, therefore, came forth without, bearing the thorny crown and the purple garment; and he saith to them, `Lo, the man!'
6 When, therefore, the chief priests and the officers did see him, they cried out, saying, `Crucify, crucify;' Pilate saith to them, `Take ye him -- ye, and crucify; for I find no fault in him;'
7 the Jews answered him, `We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die, for he made himself Son of God.'
8 When, therefore, Pilate heard this word, he was the more afraid,
9 and entered again to the praetorium, and saith to Jesus, `Whence art thou?' and Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Pilate, therefore, saith to him, `To me dost thou not speak? hast thou not known that I have authority to crucify thee, and I have authority to release thee?'
11 Jesus answered, `Thou wouldst have no authority against me, if it were not having been given thee from above; because of this, he who is delivering me up to thee hath greater sin.'
12 From this `time' was Pilate seeking to release him, and the Jews were crying out, saying, `If this one thou mayest release, thou art not a friend of Caesar; every one making himself a king, doth speak against Caesar.'
13 Pilate, therefore, having heard this word, brought Jesus without -- and he sat down upon the tribunal -- to a place called, `Pavement,' and in Hebrew, Gabbatha;
14 and it was the preparation of the passover, and as it were the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews, `Lo, your king!'
15 and they cried out, `Take away, take away, crucify him;' Pilate saith to them, `Your king shall I crucify?' the chief priests answered, `We have no king except Caesar.'
16 Then, therefore, he delivered him up to them, that he may be crucified, and they took Jesus and led `him' away,
17 and bearing his cross, he went forth to the place called `Place' of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha;
18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on this side, and on that side, and Jesus in the midst.
19 And Pilate also wrote a title, and put `it' on the cross, and it was written, `Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews;'
20 this title, therefore, read many of the Jews, because the place was nigh to the city where Jesus was crucified, and it was having been written in Hebrew, in Greek, in Roman.
21 The chief priests of the Jews said, therefore, to Pilate, `Write not -- The king of the Jews, but that one said, I am king of the Jews;'
22 Pilate answered, `What I have written, I have written.'
23 The soldiers, therefore, when they did crucify Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to each soldier a part, also the coat, and the coat was seamless, from the top woven throughout,
24 they said, therefore, to one another, `We may not rend it, but cast a lot for it, whose it shall be;' that the Writing might be fulfilled, that is saying, `They divided my garments to themselves, and upon my raiment they did cast a lot;' the soldiers, therefore, indeed, did these things.
25 And there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleopas, and Mary the Magdalene;
26 Jesus, therefore, having seen `his' mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he was loving, he saith to his mother, `Woman, lo, thy son;'
27 afterward he saith to the disciple, `Lo, thy mother;' and from that hour the disciple took her to his own `home'.
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things now have been finished, that the Writing may be fulfilled, saith, `I thirst;'
29 a vessel, therefore, was placed full of vinegar, and they having filled a sponge with vinegar, and having put `it' around a hyssop stalk, did put `it' to his mouth;
30 when, therefore, Jesus received the vinegar, he said, `It hath been finished;' and having bowed the head, gave up the spirit.
31 The Jews, therefore, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, since it was the preparation, (for that sabbath day was a great one,) asked of Pilate that their legs may be broken, and they taken away.
32 The soldiers, therefore, came, and of the first indeed they did break the legs, and of the other who was crucified with him,
33 and having come to Jesus, when they saw him already having been dead, they did not break his legs;
34 but one of the soldiers with a spear did pierce his side, and immediately there came forth blood and water;
35 and he who hath seen hath testified, and his testimony is true, and that one hath known that true things he speaketh, that ye also may believe.
36 For these things came to pass, that the Writing may be fulfilled, `A bone of him shall not be broken;'
37 and again another Writing saith, `They shall look to him whom they did pierce.'
38 And after these things did Joseph of Arimathea -- being a disciple of Jesus, but concealed, through the fear of the Jews -- ask of Pilate, that he may take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave leave; he came, therefore, and took away the body of Jesus,
39 and Nicodemus also came -- who came unto Jesus by night at the first -- bearing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, as it were, a hundred pounds.
40 They took, therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it with linen clothes with the spices, according as it was the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial;
41 and there was in the place where he was crucified a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one was yet laid;
42 there, therefore, because of the preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was nigh, they laid Jesus.
1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged [him].
2 And the soldiers having plaited a crown of thorns put it on his head, and put a purple robe on him,
3 and came to him and said, Hail, king of the Jews! and gave him blows on the face.
4 And Pilate went out again and says to them, Lo, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find in him no fault whatever.
5 (Jesus therefore went forth without, wearing the crown of thorn, and the purple robe.) And he says to them, Behold the man!
6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him they cried out saying, Crucify, crucify [him]. Pilate says to them, Take him ye and crucify [him], for I find no fault in him.
7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to [our] law he ought to die, because he made himself Son of God.
8 When Pilate therefore heard this word, he was the rather afraid,
9 and went into the praetorium again and says to Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Pilate therefore says to him, Speakest thou not to *me*? Dost thou not know that I have authority to release thee and have authority to crucify thee?
11 Jesus answered, Thou hadst no authority whatever against me if it were not given to thee from above. On this account he that has delivered me up to thee has [the] greater sin.
12 From this time Pilate sought to release him; but the Jews cried out saying, If thou releasest this [man], thou art not a friend to Caesar. Every one making himself a king speaks against Caesar.
13 Pilate therefore, having heard these words, led Jesus out and sat down upon [the] judgment-seat, at a place called Pavement, but in Hebrew Gabbatha;
14 (now it was [the] preparation of the passover; it was about the sixth hour;) and he says to the Jews, Behold your king!
15 But they cried out, Take [him] away, take [him] away, crucify him. Pilate says to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then therefore he delivered him up to them, that he might be crucified; and they took Jesus and led him away.
17 And he went out, bearing his cross, to the place called [place] of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha;
18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, [one] on this side, and [one] on that, and Jesus in the middle.
19 And Pilate wrote a title also and put it on the cross. But there was written: Jesus the Nazaraean, the King of the Jews.
20 This title therefore many of the Jews read, for the place of the city where Jesus was crucified was near; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin.
21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said 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.
23 The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his clothes, and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and the body-coat; but the body-coat was seamless, woven through the whole from the top.
24 They said therefore to one another, Let us not rend it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled which says, They parted my garments among themselves, and on my vesture they cast lots. The soldiers therefore did these things.
25 And by the cross of Jesus stood his mother, and the sister of his mother, Mary the [wife] of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.
26 Jesus therefore, seeing his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, says to his mother, Woman, behold thy son.
27 Then he says unto the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now finished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, says, I thirst.
29 There was a vessel therefore there full of vinegar, and having filled a sponge with vinegar, and putting hyssop round it, they put it up to his mouth.
30 When therefore Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished; and having bowed his head, he delivered up his spirit.
31 The Jews therefore, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for it was [the] preparation, (for the day of that sabbath was a great [day],) demanded of Pilate that their legs might be broken and they taken away.
32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first and of the other that had been crucified with him;
33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead they did not break his legs,
34 but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.
35 And he who saw it bears witness, and his witness is true, and he knows that he says true that ye also may believe.
36 For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, Not a bone of him shall be broken.
37 And again another scripture says, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
38 And after these things Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly through fear of the Jews, demanded of Pilate that he might take the body of Jesus: and Pilate allowed it. He came therefore and took away the body of Jesus.
39 And Nicodemus also, who at first came to Jesus by night, came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds [weight].
40 They took therefore the body of Jesus and bound it up in linen with the spices, as it is the custom with the Jews to prepare for burial.
41 But there was in the place where he had been crucified a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid.
42 There therefore, on account of the preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was near, they laid Jesus.
1 So Pilate then took Jesus, and flogged him.
2 The soldiers twisted thorns into a crown, and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple garment.
3 They kept saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and they kept slapping him.
4 Then Pilate went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I bring him out to you, that you may know that I find no basis for a charge against him."
5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. Pilate said to them, "Behold, the man!"
6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, saying, "Crucify! Crucify!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves, and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against him."
7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."
8 When therefore Pilate heard this saying, he was more afraid.
9 He entered into the Praetorium again, and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Pilate therefore said to him, "Aren't you speaking to me? Don't you know that I have power to release you, and have power to crucify you?"
11 Jesus answered, "You would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin."
12 At this, Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you release this man, you aren't Caesar's friend! Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar!"
13 When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called "The Pavement," but in Hebrew, "Gabbatha."
14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, at about the sixth hour.{noon} He said to the Jews, "Behold, your King!"
15 They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"
16 So then he delivered him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led him away.
17 He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called "The Place of a Skull," which is called in Hebrew, "Golgotha,"
18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, "JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS."
20 Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'he said, I am King of the Jews.'"
22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
24 Then they said to one another, "Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, "They parted my garments among them. For my cloak they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things.
25 But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 Therefore when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!"
27 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, seeing{NU, TR read "knowing" instead of "seeing"} that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I am thirsty."
29 Now a vessel full of vinegar was set there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop, and held it at his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished." He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.
31 Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn't remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 Therefore the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him;
33 but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they didn't break his legs.
34 However one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
35 He who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe.
36 For these things happened, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "A bone of him will not be broken."
37 Again another Scripture says, "They will look on him whom they pierced."
38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away Jesus' body. Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore and took away his body.
39 Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.{100 Roman pounds of 12 ounces each, or about 72 pounds, or 33 Kilograms.}
40 So they took Jesus' body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden a new tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid.
42 Then because of the Jews' Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there.
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped with cords.
2 And the men of the army made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
3 And they kept coming and saying, Long life to the King of the Jews! And they gave him blows with their hands.
4 And Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I let him come out to you to make it clear to you that I see no wrong in him.
5 Then Jesus came out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man!
6 So when the chief priests and the police saw him they gave a loud cry, To the cross! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and put him on the cross: I see no crime in him.
7 And the Jews made answer, We have a law, and by that law it is right for him to be put to death because he said he was the Son of God.
8 When this saying came to Pilate's ears his fear became greater;
9 And he went again into the Praetorium and said to Jesus, Where do you come from? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then Pilate said to him, You say nothing to me? is it not clear to you that I have power to let you go free and power to put you to death on the cross?
11 Jesus gave this answer: You would have no power at all over me if it was not given to you by God; so that he who gave me up to you has the greater sin.
12 Hearing this, Pilate had a desire to let him go free, but the Jews said in a loud voice, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: everyone who makes himself a king goes against Caesar.
13 So when these words came to Pilate's ear, he took Jesus out, seating himself in the judge's seat in a place named in Hebrew, Gabbatha, or the Stone Floor.
14 (It was the day when they made ready for the Passover; and it was about the sixth hour.) And he said to the Jews, There is your King!
15 Then they gave a loud cry, Away with him! away with him! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Am I to put your King to death on the cross? The chief priests said in answer, We have no king but Caesar.
16 So then he gave him up to them to be put to death on the cross. And they took Jesus away;
17 And he went out with his cross on him to the place which is named Dead Man's Head (in Hebrew, Golgotha):
18 Where they put him on the cross with two others, one on this side and one on that, and Jesus in the middle.
19 And Pilate put on the cross a statement in writing. The writing was: JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 The writing was seen by a number of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was put to death on the cross was near the town; and the writing was in Hebrew and Latin and Greek.
21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not put, The King of the Jews, but, He said, I am the King of the Jews.
22 But Pilate made answer, What I have put in writing will not be changed.
23 And when Jesus was nailed to the cross, the men of the army took his clothing, and made a division of it into four parts, to every man a part, and they took his coat: now the coat was without a join, made out of one bit of cloth.
24 So they said among themselves, Let this not be cut up, but let us put it to the decision of chance and see who gets it. (They did this so that the Writings might come true, which say, They made a distribution of my clothing among them, and my coat they put to the decision of chance.) This was what the men of the army did.
25 Now by the side of the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple who was dear to him, he said to his mother, Mother, there is your son!
27 Then he said to the disciple, There is your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his house.
28 After this, being conscious that all things had now been done so that the Writings might come true, Jesus said, Give me water.
29 Now there was a vessel ready, full of bitter wine, and they put a sponge full of it on a stick and put it to his mouth.
30 So when Jesus had taken the wine he said, All is done. And with his head bent he gave up his spirit.
31 Now it was the day of getting ready for the Passover, and so that the bodies might not be on the cross on the Sabbath (because the day of that Sabbath was a great day), the Jews made a request to Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 So the men of the army came, and the legs of the first were broken and then of the other who was put to death on the cross with Jesus:
33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was dead by this time, and so his legs were not broken;
34 But one of the men made a wound in his side with a spear, and straight away there came out blood and water.
35 And he who saw it has given witness (and his witness is true; he is certain that what he says is true) so that you may have belief.
36 These things came about so that the Writings might be true, No bone of his body will be broken.
37 And again another verse says, They will see him who was wounded by their spears.
38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, made a request to Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate said he might do so. So he went and took away his body.
39 And Nicodemus came (he who had first come to Jesus by night) with a roll of myrrh and aloes mixed, about a hundred pounds.
40 Then they took the body of Jesus, folding linen about it with the spices, as is the way of the Jews when they put the dead to rest.
41 Now there was a garden near the cross, and in the garden a new place for the dead in which no man had ever been put.
42 So they put Jesus there, because it was the Jews' day of getting ready for the Passover, and the place was near.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on John 19
Commentary on John 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
Joh 19:1-16. Jesus before Pilate—Scourged—Treated with Other Severities and Insults—Delivered Up, and Led Away to Be Crucified.
1-3. Pilate took Jesus and scourged him—in hope of appeasing them. (See Mr 15:15). "And the soldiers led Him away into the palace, and they call the whole band" (Mr 15:16)—the body of the military cohort stationed there—to take part in the mock coronation now to be enacted.
2. the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head—in mockery of a regal crown.
and they put on him a purple robe—in mockery of the imperial purple; first "stripping him" (Mt 27:28) of His own outer garment. The robe may have been the "gorgeous" one in which Herod arrayed and sent Him back to Pilate (Lu 23:11). "And they put a reed into His right hand" (Mt 27:29)—in mockery of the regal scepter. "And they bowed the knee before Him" (Mt 27:29).
3. And said, Hail, King of the Jews!—doing Him derisive homage, in the form used on approaching the emperors. "And they spit upon Him, and took the reed and smote Him on the head" (Mt 27:30). The best comment on these affecting details is to cover the face.
4, 5. Pilate … went forth again, and saith … Behold, I bring him forth to you—am bringing, that is, going to bring him forth to you.
that ye may know I find no fault in him—and, by scourging Him and allowing the soldiers to make sport of Him, have gone as far to meet your exasperation as can be expected from a judge.
5. Then Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!—There is no reason to think that contempt dictated this speech. There was clearly a struggle in the breast of this wretched man. Not only was he reluctant to surrender to mere clamor an innocent man, but a feeling of anxiety about His mysterious claims, as is plain from what follows, was beginning to rack his breast, and the object of his exclamation seems to have been to move their pity. But, be his meaning what it may, those three words have been eagerly appropriated by all Christendom, and enshrined for ever in its heart as a sublime expression of its calm, rapt admiration of its suffering Lord.
6, 7. When the chief priests … saw him, they cried out—their fiendish rage kindling afresh at the sight of Him.
Crucify him, crucify him—(See Mr 15:14).
Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him; for I find no fault in him—as if this would relieve him of the responsibility of the deed, who, by surrendering Him, incurred it all!
7. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by oar law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God—Their criminal charges having come to nothing, they give up that point, and as Pilate was throwing the whole responsibility upon them, they retreat into their own Jewish law, by which, as claiming equality with God (see Joh 5:18 and Joh 8:59), He ought to die; insinuating that it was Pilate's duty, even as civil governor, to protect their law from such insult.
8-11. When Pilate … heard this saying, he was the more afraid—the name "Son of God," the lofty sense evidently attached to it by His Jewish accusers, the dialogue he had already held with Him, and the dream of his wife (Mt 27:19), all working together in the breast of the wretched man.
9. and went again into the judgment hall, and saith to Jesus, Whence art thou?—beyond all doubt a question relating not to His mission but to His personal origin.
Jesus gave him no answer—He had said enough; the time for answering such a question was past; the weak and wavering governor is already on the point of giving way.
10. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not to me?—The "me" is the emphatic word in the question. He falls back upon the pride of office, which doubtless tended to blunt the workings of his conscience.
knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?—said to work upon Him at once by fear and by hope.
11. Thou couldest—rather, "shouldst."
have no power at all against me—neither to crucify nor to release, nor to do anything whatever against Me [Bengel].
except it were—"unless it had been."
given thee from above—that is, "Thou thinkest too much of thy power, Pilate: against Me that power is none, save what is meted out to thee by special divine appointment, for a special end."
therefore he that delivered me unto thee—Caiaphas, too wit—but he only as representing the Jewish authorities as a body.
hath the greater sin—as having better opportunities and more knowledge of such matters.
12-16. And from thenceforth—particularly this speech, which seems to have filled him with awe, and redoubled his anxiety.
Pilate sought to release him—that is, to gain their consent to it, for he could have done it at once on his authority.
but the Jews cried—seeing their advantage, and not slow to profit by it. If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend, &c.—"This was equivalent to a threat of impeachment, which we know was much dreaded by such officers as the procurators, especially of the character of Pilate or Felix. It also consummates the treachery and disgrace of the Jewish rulers, who were willing, for the purpose of destroying Jesus, to affect a zeal for the supremacy of a foreign prince" [Webster and Wilkinson]. (See Joh 19:15).
When Pilate … heard that, … he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in—"upon"
the judgment seat—that he might pronounce sentence against the Prisoner, on this charge, the more solemnly.
in a place called the Pavement—a tesselated pavement, much used by the Romans.
in the Hebrew, Gabbatha—from its being raised.
14. It was the preparation—that is, the day before the Jewish sabbath.
and about the sixth hour—The true reading here is probably, "the third hour"—or nine A.M.—which agrees best with the whole series of events, as well as with the other Evangelists.
he saith to the Jews, Behold your King!—Having now made up his mind to yield to them, he takes a sort of quiet revenge on them by this irony, which he knew would sting them. This only reawakens their cry to despatch Him.
15. crucify your King? … We have no king but Cæsar—"Some of those who thus cried died miserably in rebellion against Cæsar forty years afterwards. But it suited their present purpose" [Alford].
16. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified, &c.—(See Mr 15:15).
Joh 19:17-30. Crucifixion and Death of the Lord Jesus.
17. And he bearing his cross—(See on Lu 23:26).
went forth—Compare Heb 13:11-13, "without the camp"; "without the gate." On arriving at the place, "they gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall [wine mingled with myrrh, Mr 15:23], and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink" (Mt 27:34). This potion was stupefying, and given to criminals just before execution, to deaden the sense of pain.
Fill high the bowl, and spice it well, and pour
The dews oblivious: for the Cross is sharp,
The Cross is sharp, and He
Is tenderer than a lamb.
Keble.
But our Lord would die with every faculty clear, and in full sensibility to all His sufferings.
Thou wilt feel all, that Thou may'st pity all;
And rather would'st Thou wrestle with strong pain
Than overcloud Thy soul,
So clear in agony,
Or lose one glimpse of Heaven before the time,
O most entire and perfect Sacrifice,
Renewed in every pulse.
Keble.
18. they crucified him, and two others with him—"malefactors" (Lu 23:33), "thieves" (rather "robbers," Mt 27:38; Mr 15:27).
on either side one and Jesus in the midst—a hellish expedient, to hold Him up as the worst of the three. But in this, as in many other of their doings, "the scripture was fulfilled, which saith (Isa 53:12), And he was numbered with the transgressors"—(Mr 15:28)—though the prediction reaches deeper. "Then said Jesus"—["probably while being nailed to the Cross,"] [Olshausen], "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Lu 23:34)—and again the Scripture was fulfilled which said, "And He made intercession for the transgressors" (Isa 53:12), though this also reaches deeper. (See Ac 3:17; 13:27; and compare 1Ti 1:13). Often have we occasion to observe how our Lord is the first to fulfil His own precepts—thus furnishing the right interpretation and the perfect Model of them. (See on Mt 5:44). How quickly was it seen in "His martyr Stephen," that though He had left the earth in Person, His Spirit remained behind, and Himself could, in some of His brightest lineaments, be reproduced in His disciples! (Ac 7:60). And what does the world in every age owe to these few words, spoken where and as they were spoken!
19-22. Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross … Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews … and it was written in Hebrew—or Syro-Chaldaic, the language of the country.
and Greek—the current language.
and Latin—the official language. These were the chief languages of the earth, and this secured that all spectators should be able to read it. Stung by this, the Jewish ecclesiastics entreat that it may be so altered as to express, not His real dignity, but His false claim to it. But Pilate thought he had yielded quite enough to them; and having intended expressly to spite and insult them by this title, for having got him to act against his own sense of justice, he peremptorily refused them. And thus, amidst the conflicting passions of men, was proclaimed, in the chief tongues of mankind, from the Cross itself and in circumstances which threw upon it a lurid yet grand light, the truth which drew the Magi to His manger, and will yet be owned by all the world!
23, 24. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts; to every soldier—the four who nailed Him to the cross, and whose perquisite they were.
a part, and also his coat—the Roman tunic, or close-fitting vest.
without seam, woven from the top throughout—"perhaps denoting considerable skill and labor as necessary to produce such a garment, the work probably of one or more of the women who ministered in such things unto Him, Lu 8:3" [Webster and Wilkinson].
24. Let us not rend it, but cast lots … 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—(Ps 22:18). That a prediction so exceedingly specific—distinguishing one piece of dress from others, and announcing that while those should be parted amongst several, that should be given by lot to one person—that such a prediction should not only be fulfilled to the letter, but by a party of heathen military, without interference from either the friends of the enemies of the Crucified One, is surely worthy to be ranked among the wonders of this all-wonderful scene. Now come the mockeries, and from four different quarters:—(1) "And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads" in ridicule (Ps 22:7; 109:25; compare Jer 18:16; La 2:15). "Ah!"—"Ha," an exclamation here of derision. "Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself and come down from the cross" (Mt 27:39, 40; Mr 15:29, 30). "It is evident that our Lord's saying, or rather this perversion of it (for He claimed not to destroy, but to rebuild the temple destroyed by them) had greatly exasperated the feeling which the priests and Pharisees had contrived to excite against Him. It is referred to as the principal fact brought out in evidence against Him on the trial (compare Ac 6:13, 14), as an offense for which He deserved to suffer. And it is very remarkable that now while it was receiving its real fulfilment, it should be made more public and more impressive by the insulting proclamation of His enemies. Hence the importance attached to it after the resurrection, Joh 2:22" [Webster and Wilkinson]. (2) "Likewise also the chief priests, mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others, Himself He cannot save" (Mt 27:41, 42). There was a deep truth in this, as in other taunts; for both He could not do, having "come to give His life a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28; Mr 10:45). No doubt this added an unknown sting to the reproach. "If He be the king of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him" (Mt 27:42). No, they would not; for those who resisted the evidence from the resurrection of Lazarus, and from His own resurrection, were beyond the reach of any amount of merely external evidence. "He trusted in God that He would deliver him; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him [or 'delight in Him,' compare Ps 18:19; De 21:14]; for He said, I am the Son of God" (Mt 27:41-43). We thank you, O ye chief priests, scribes, and elders, for this triple testimony, unconsciously borne by you, to our Christ: first to His habitual trust in God, as a feature in His character so marked and palpable that even ye found upon it your impotent taunt; next, to His identity with the Sufferer of the twenty-second Psalm, whose very words (Ps 22:8) ye unwittingly appropriate, thus serving yourselves heirs to the dark office and impotent malignity of Messiah's enemies; and again, to the true sense of that august title which He took to Himself, "The Son of God," which He rightly interpreted at the very first (see Joh 5:18) as a claim to that oneness of nature with Him, and dearness to Him, which a son has to his father. (3) "And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him and offering Him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save Thyself" (Lu 23:36, 37). They insultingly offer to share with Him their own vinegar, or sour wine, the usual drink of Roman soldiers, it being about the time of their midday meal. In the taunt of the soldiers we have one of those undesigned coincidences which so strikingly verify these historical records. While the ecclesiastics deride Him for calling Himself, "the Christ, the King of Israel, the Chosen, the Son of God," the soldiers, to whom all such phraseology was mere Jewish jargon, make sport of Him as a pretender to royalty ("KING of the Jews"), an office and dignity which it belonged to them to comprehend. "The thieves also, which were crucified with Him, cast the same in His teeth" (Mt 27:44; Mr 15:32). Not both of them, however, as some commentators unnaturally think we must understand these words; as if some sudden change came over the penitent one, which turned him from an unfeeling railer into a trembling petitioner. The plural "thieves" need not denote more than the quarter or class whence came this last and cruelest taunt—that is, "Not only did scoffs proceed from the passers-by, the ecclesiastics, the soldiery, but even from His fellow-sufferers," a mode of speaking which no one would think necessarily meant both of them. Compare Mt 2:20, "They are dead which sought the child's life," meaning Herod; and Mr 9:1, "There be some standing here," where it is next to certain that only John, the youngest and last survivor of the apostles, is meant. And is it conceivable that this penitent thief should have first himself reviled the Saviour, and then, on his views of Christ suddenly changing, he should have turned upon his fellow sufferer and fellow reviler, and rebuked him not only with dignified sharpness, but in the language of astonishment that he should be capable of such conduct? Besides, there is a deep calmness in all that he utters, extremely unlike what we should expect from one who was the subject of a mental revolution so sudden and total. On the scene itself, see on Lu 23:29-43.
25-27. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary, wife of Cleophas—This should be read, as in the Margin, "Clopas," the same as "Alpheus" (Mt 10:3). The "Cleopas" of Lu 24:18 was a different person.
26, 27. When Jesus … saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved, standing by, he saith to his mother, Woman, Behold Thy Son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold Thy Mother!—What forgetfulness of self, what filial love, and to the "mother" and "son" what parting words!
from that hour … took her to his own home—or, home with him; for his father Zebedee and his mother Salome were both alive, and the latter here present (Mr 15:40). See on Mt 13:55. Now occurred the supernatural darkness, recorded by all the other Evangelists, but not here. "Now from the sixth hour (twelve o'clock, noon) there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour" (Mt 27:45). No ordinary eclipse of the sun could have occurred at this time, it being then full moon, and this obscuration lasted about twelve times the length of any ordinary eclipse. (Compare Ex 10:21, 23). Beyond doubt, the divine intention of the portent was to invest this darkest of all tragedies with a gloom expressive of its real character. "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried, Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani … My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mt 27:46). As the darkness commenced at the sixth hour, the second of the Jewish hours of prayer, so it continued till the ninth hour, the hour of the evening sacrifice, increasing probably in depth, and reaching its deepest gloom at the moment of this mysterious cry, when the flame of the one great "Evening Sacrifice" was burning fiercest. The words were made to His hand. They are the opening words of a Psalm (Ps 22:1) full of the last "sufferings of Christ and the following glories" (1Pe 1:11). "Father," was the cry in the first prayer which He uttered on the cross, for matters had not then come to the worst. "Father" was the cry of His last prayer, for matters had then passed their worst. But at this crisis of His sufferings, "Father" does not issue from His lips, for the light of a Father's countenance was then mysteriously eclipsed. He falls back, however, on a title expressive of His official relation, which, though lower and more distant in itself, yet when grasped in pure and naked faith was mighty in its claims, and rich in psalmodic associations. And what deep earnestness is conveyed by the redoubling of this title! But as for the cry itself, it will never be fully comprehended. An absolute desertion is not indeed to be thought of; but a total eclipse of the felt sense of God's presence it certainly expresses. It expre'sses surprise, as under the experience of something not only never before known, but inexplicable on the footing which had till then subsisted between Him and God. It is a question which the lost cannot utter. They are forsaken, but they know why. Jesus is forsaken, but does not know and demands to know why. It is thus the cry of conscious innocence, but of innocence unavailing to draw down, at that moment, the least token of approval from the unseen Judge—innocence whose only recognition at that moment lay in the thick surrounding gloom which but reflected the horror of great darkness that invested His own spirit. There was indeed a cause for it, and He knew it too—the "why" must not be pressed so far as to exclude this. He must taste this bitterest of the wages of sin "who did no sin" (1Pe 2:22). But that is not the point now. In Him there was no cause at all (Joh 14:30) and He takes refuge in the glorious fact. When no ray from above shines in upon Him, He strikes a light out of His own breast. If God will not own Him, He shall own Himself. On the rock of His unsullied allegiance to Heaven He will stand, till the light of Heaven returns to His spirit. And it is near to come. While He is yet speaking, the fierceness of the flame is beginning to abate. One incident and insult more, and the experience of one other predicted element of suffering, and the victory is His. The incident, and the insult springing out of it, is the misunderstanding of the cry, for we can hardly suppose that it was anything else. "Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias" (Mt 27:47).
28-30. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished—that is, the moment for the fulfilment of the last of them; for there was one other small particular, and the time was come for that too, in consequence of the burning thirst which the fevered state of His frame occasioned (Ps 22:15).
that the scripture—(Ps 69:21).
might be fulfilled saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar—on the offer of the soldiers' vinegar, see on Joh 19:24.
and they—"one of them," (Mt 27:48).
29. filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon—a stalk of
hyssop, and put it to his mouth—Though a stalk of this plant does not exceed eighteen inches in length, it would suffice, as the feet of crucified persons were not raised high. "The rest said, Let be"—[that is, as would seem, 'Stop that officious service'] "let us see whether Elias will come to save Him" (Mt 27:49). This was the last cruelty He was to suffer, but it was one of the most unfeeling. "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice" (Lu 23:46). This "loud voice," noticed by three of the Evangelists, does not imply, as some able interpreters contend, that our Lord's strength was so far from being exhausted that He needed not to die then, and surrendered up His life sooner than Nature required, merely because it was the appointed time. It was indeed the appointed time, but time that He should be "crucified through weakness" (1Co 13:4), and Nature was now reaching its utmost exhaustion. But just as even His own dying saints, particularly the martyrs of Jesus, have sometimes had such gleams of coming glory immediately before breathing their last, as to impart to them a strength to utter their feelings which has amazed the by-standers, so this mighty voice of the expiring Redeemer was nothing else but the exultant spirit of the Dying Victor, receiving the fruit of His travail just about to be embraced, and nerving the organs of utterance to an ecstatic expression of its sublime feelings (not so much in the immediately following words of tranquil surrender, in Luke, as in the final shout, recorded only by John): "Father, into Thy hands I COMMEND My spirit!" (Lu 23:46). Yes, the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. His soul has emerged from its mysterious horrors; "My God" is heard no more, but in unclouded light He yields sublime into His Father's hands the infinitely precious spirit—using here also the words of those matchless Psalms (Ps 31:5) which were ever on His lips. "As the Father receives the spirit of Jesus, so Jesus receives those of the faithful" (Ac 7:59) [Bengel]. And now comes the expiring mighty shout.
30. It is finished! and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost—What is finished? The Law is fulfilled as never before, nor since, in His "obedience unto death, even the death of the cross"; Messianic prophecy is accomplished; Redemption is completed; "He hath finished the transgression, and made reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteousness, and sealed up the vision and prophecy, and anointed a holy of holies"; He has inaugurated the kingdom of God and given birth to a new world.
Joh 19:31-42. Burial of Christ.
31-37. the preparation—sabbath eve.
that the bodies should not remain—over night, against the Mosaic law (De 21:22, 23).
on the sabbath day, for that sabbath day was an high day—or "great" day—the first day of unleavened bread, and, as concurring with an ordinary sabbath, the most solemn season of the ecclesiastical year. Hence their peculiar jealousy lest the law should be infringed.
besought Pilate that their legs might be broken—to hasten their death, which was done in such cases with clubs.
33. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already—there being in His case elements of suffering, unknown to the malefactors, which might naturally hasten His death, lingering though it always was in such cases, not to speak of His previous sufferings.
they brake not his legs—a fact of vast importance, as showing that the reality of His death was visible to those whose business it was to see to it. The other divine purpose served by it will appear presently.
34. But one of the soldiers—to make assurance of the fact doubly sure.
with a spear pierced his side—making a wound deep and wide, as indeed is plain from Joh 20:27, 29. Had life still remained, it must have fled now.
and forthwith came thereout blood and water—"It is now well known that the effect of long-continued and intense agony is frequently to produce a secretion of a colorless lymph within the pericardium (the membrane enveloping the heart), amounting in many cases to a very considerable quantity" [Webster and Wilkinson].
35. And he that saw it bare record—hath borne witness.
and his witness is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe—This solemn way of referring to his own testimony in this matter has no reference to what he says in his Epistle about Christ's "coming by water and blood" (see on 1Jo 5:6), but is intended to call attention both to the fulfilment of Scripture in these particulars, and to the undeniable evidence he was thus furnishing of the reality of Christ's death, and consequently of His resurrection; perhaps also to meet the growing tendency, in the Asiatic churches, to deny the reality of our Lord's body, or that "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" (1Jo 4:1-3).
36. that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken—The reference is to the paschal lamb, as to which this ordinance was stringent (Ex 12:46; Nu 9:12. Compare 1Co 5:7). But though we are to see here the fulfilment of a very definite typical ordinance, we shall, on searching deeper, see in it a remarkable divine interposition to protect the sacred body of Christ from the last indignity after He had finished the work given Him to do. Every imaginable indignity had been permitted before that, up to the moment of His death. But no sooner is that over than an Unseen hand is found to have provided against the clubs of the rude soldiers coming in contact with that temple of the Godhead. Very different from such violence was that spear-thrust, for which not only doubting Thomas would thank the soldier, but intelligent believers in every age, to whom the certainty of their Lord's death and resurrection is the life of their whole Christianity.
37. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced—The quotation is from Zec 12:10; not taken as usual from the Septuagint (the current Greek version), which here is all wrong, but direct from the Hebrew. And there is a remarkable nicety in the choice of the words employed both by the prophet and the Evangelist for "piercing." The word in Zechariah means to thrust through with spear, javelin, sword, or any such weapon. In that sense it is used in all the ten places, besides this, where it is found. How suitable this was to express the action of the Roman soldier, is manifest; and our Evangelist uses the exactly corresponding word, which the Septuagint certainly does not. Very different is the other word for "pierce" in Ps 22:16, "They pierced my hands and my feet." The word there used is one signifying to bore as with an awl or hammer. How striking are these small niceties!
38-40. Joseph of Arimathea—"a rich man" (Mt 27:57), thus fulfilling Isa 53:9; "an honorable counsellor," a member of the Sanhedrim, and of good condition, "which also waited for the kingdom of God" (Mr 15:43), a devout expectant of Messiah's kingdom; "a good man and a just, the same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them" (Lu 23:50, 51—he had gone the length, perhaps, of dissenting and protesting in open council against the condemnation of our Lord); "who also himself was Jesus' disciple," (Mt 27:57).
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews—"He went in boldly unto Pilate" (Mr 15:43)—literally, "having taken courage went in," or "had the boldness to go in." Mark alone, as his manner is, notices the boldness which this required. The act would without doubt identify him for the first time with the disciples of Christ. Marvellous it certainly is, that one who while Jesus was yet alive merely refrained from condemning Him, not having the courage to espouse His cause by one positive act, should, now that He was dead, and His cause apparently dead with Him, summon up courage to go in personally to the Roman governor and ask permission to take down and inter the body. But if this be the first instance, it is not the last, that a seemingly dead Christ has wakened a sympathy which a living one had failed to evoke. The heroism of faith is usually kindled by desperate circumstances, and is not seldom displayed by those who before were the most timid, and scarce known as disciples at all. "And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead" (Mr 15:44)—rather "wondered that he was already dead." "And calling the centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead" (Mr 15:44)—Pilate could hardly credit what Joseph had told him, that He had been dead "some time," and, before giving up the body to His friends, would learn how the fact stood from the centurion, whose business it was to oversee the execution. "And when he knew it of the centurion" (Mr 15:45), that it was as Joseph had said, "he gave"—rather "made a gift of"—"the body to Joseph"; struck, possibly, with the rank of the petitioner and the dignified boldness of the petition, in contrast with the spirit of the other party and the low rank to which he had been led to believe all the followers of Christ belonged. Nor would he be unwilling to Show that he was not going to carry this black affair any farther. But, whatever were Pilate's motives, two most blessed objects were thus secured: (1) The reality of our Lords death was attested by the party of all others most competent to decide on it, and certainly free from all bias—the officer in attendance—in full reliance on whose testimony Pilate surrendered the body: (2) The dead Redeemer, thus delivered out of the hands of His enemies, and committed by the supreme political authority to the care of His friends, was thereby protected from all further indignities; a thing most befitting indeed, now that His work was done, but impossible, so far as we can see, if His enemies had been at liberty to do with Him as they pleased. How wonderful are even the minutest features of this matchless History!
39. also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night—"This remark corresponds to the secrecy of Joseph's discipleship, just noticed, and calls attention to the similarity of their previous character and conduct, and the remarkable change which had now taken place" [Webster and Wilkinson].
brought … myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pounds weight—an immense quantity, betokening the greatness of their love, but part of it probably intended as a layer for the spot on which the body was to lie. (See 2Ch 16:14) [Meyer].
40. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury—the mixed and pulverized myrrh and aloes shaken into the folds, and the entire body, thus swathed, wrapt in an outer covering of "clean linen cloth" (Mt 27:59). Had the Lord's own friends had the least reason to think that the spark of life was still in Him, would they have done this? But even if one could conceive them mistaken, could anyone have lain thus enveloped for the period during which He was in the grave, and life still remained? Impossible. When, therefore, He walked forth from the tomb, we can say with the most absolute certainty, "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept" (1Co 15:20). No wonder that the learned and the barbarians alike were prepared to die for the name of the Lord Jesus; for such evidence was to the unsophisticated resistless. (No mention is made of anointing in this operation. No doubt it was a hurried proceeding, for fear of interruption, and because it was close on the sabbath, the women seem to have set this as their proper task "as soon as the sabbath should be past" [Mr 16:1]. But as the Lord graciously held it as undesignedly anticipated by Mary at Bethany [Mr 14:8], so this was probably all the anointing, in the strict sense of it, which He received.)
41, 42. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre—The choice of this tomb was, on their part, dictated by the double circumstance that it was so near at hand, and by its belonging to a friend of the Lord; and as there was need of haste, even they would be struck with the providence which thus supplied it. "There laid they Jesus therefore, because of the Jew's preparation day, for the sepulchre was nigh at hand." But there was one recommendation of it which probably would not strike them; but God had it in view. Not its being "hewn out of a rock" (Mr 15:46), accessible only at the entrance, which doubtless would impress them with its security and suitableness. But it was "a new sepulchre" (Joh 19:41), "wherein never man before was laid" (Lu 23:53): and Matthew (Mt 27:60) says that Joseph laid Him "in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock"—doubtless for his own use, though the Lord had higher use for it. Thus as He rode into Jerusalem on an ass "whereon never man before had sat" (Mr 11:2), so now He shall lie in a tomb wherein never man before had lain, that from these specimens it may be seen that in all things He was "SEPARATE FROM SINNERS" (Heb 7:26).