Introductory Remarks:
This chapter resumes where the last chapter left off with no break. Pilate had just offered the Jews a choice of freeing Jesus or Barabbas, and the Jews clamored with one accord 'Give us the murderer Barabbas.'
"In this chapter we will see a great miscarriage of Justice. Rome was noted throughout the world for its justice. On every Roman official's desk there was the little figure of the two-faced god, Janus. One face looked forward and the other face looked backward. (It is from this word that we get the name January for the month that looks back to the old year and forward to the New Year). Janus was to remind the judge to look at both sides of the question. Rome ruled the world for nearly one thousand years. When the Romans took over a people, they promised them good roads, law and order, protection, and peace - but life would be under a dictatorship. Rome ruled with an iron hand. In Roman courts the innocent got justice, and the guilty got justice - not mercy, but justice. The interesting thing that makes this an anomaly [irregularity] is that the trial of Jesus was one of the greatest miscarriages of justice" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Jesus sentenced to Die Continued
Verse 1, "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him."
LGT "Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged [Him]."
Pilate had Jesus taken out and scourged. In order to satisfy the Jews, Jesus no doubt received the traditional forty stripes save one.
It took place, it would appear, on the platform where the trial had been held, and in the eyes of all. The victim was stripped and stretched against a pillar, or bent over a post, his hands being tied, so that he had no means of defending himself. The instrument of torture was a sort of knout or cat-o'-nine-tails, with bits of iron or bone attached to the ends of the thongs. Not only did the blows cut the skin and draw blood, but not infrequently the victim died in the midst of the operation. Some have supposed that Pilate, out of consideration for Jesus, may have moderated either the number or the severity of the strokes; but, on the other hand, his plan of releasing Him depended on His being able to show the Jews that He had suffered severely. The inability of Jesus to bear His own cross to the place of execution was no doubt chiefly due to the exhaustion produced by this infliction: and this is a better indication of the degree of severity than mere conjecture" (The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ-James M. Stalker- Quoted by Pentecost).
"The severest form of beating was not normally inflicted as a punishment by itself but as a prelude to crucifixion or the like; thus in Marks passion narrative (15:15) Jesus is sentenced to be scourged and crucified. This latter scourging (phragelloo) was a murderous form of torture; the whips with which it was carried out were reinforced with sharp pieces of metal or bone which left the victims body a bloody pulp, and it is not surprising that this treatment was sometimes sufficient in itself to cause death" (Roman Society and Roman Law in the NT- Quoted by Bruce).
Verse 2, "And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe,"
LGT "And the soldiers having braided a crown of thorns [and] put [It] on His head and a purple robe they placed around Him,"
"And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head,"
This scene presented by the Roman soldiers was an incredible mockery of Jesus' claim to be 'King of the Jews.' 'They platted a crown of thorns, literally, having braided a crown of thorns." The Greek word for 'platted' is plexantes an aorist active participle meaning 'to interweave, weave, braid, or plait.' The crown was a mockery of the 'Imperial Crown.' Bruce writes: "The 'thorns' (Gk. Akanthai) of which the makeshift crown was plaited have been identified with various species, but a strong case has been made out for seeing in them the 'thorns' of the Phoenix dactylifera or date-palm (see above on 12:13), which were well adapted for the imitation of a 'radiate [glowing] crown' such as oriental god-kings were depicted on coins as wearing. Jesus would then have been acclaimed as divus Iesus radiatus. Even if the primary intention of the crown was mockery, the 'fierce and formidable thorns' of Phoenix dactylifera (as H. St. J. Hart calls them) could also have caused acute pain."
"And they put on Him a purple robe,"
Then the soldiers continued to mock Christ by putting on Him a purple robe a symbol of 'The Imperial Robe.'
"This was unquestionably done by the authority of Pilate, in order to affix a mark of infamy [a bad name] on the Son of God, for having made Himself a King; and that in order to satisfy the rage of the Jews, as if He had been convinced that the accusations which they brought against Christ were well founded. Yet the wickedness and insolence of the soldiers is indulged more freely than had been ordered by the judge; as ungodly men eagerly seize on the opportunity of doing evil whenever it is offered to them. But we see here the amazing cruelty of the Jewish nation, whose minds are not moved to compassion by so piteous a spectacle; but all this is directed by God, in order to reconcile the world to Himself by the death of His Son" (Calvin).
In Matthew 27:29, we read, 'They put a reed in His right hand' - mockery of the regal scepter - 'and they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him'.
Verse 3, "And said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote Him with their hands."
LGT "And kept coming to Him and kept saying, Hail, the King of the Jews: and kept on giving Him blows with the palms of their hands."
Notice in my LGT every verb is in the imperfect tense signifying the continuous action in the present tense. The KJV does not give the full impact of the action by not stressing the 'imperfects' of the verbs. Of course this is all an ignominious [disgraceful] mockery of our Lord and Savior.
"Matthew says 'they spit upon Him, and took the reed [kalamon- a rod or cane], and smote Him on the head' (see Micah 5:1). The best comment on these affecting details is to cover the face" (David Brown).
"The soldiers took this opportunity to have their fun with Him before He was crucified. When it says 'they smote Him with their hands,' it means they played a cruel Roman game with Him. They could mutilate Him and do anything they wished with Him. All the soldiers would show the prisoner their fists. Then they would blindfold the prisoner and all but one would hit Him as hard as they could. Then they would remove the blindfold, and if the prisoner was still conscious he was to guess which soldier did not hit him. Obviously, the prisoner could never guess the right one. They would continue this until they had beaten the prisoner to a pulp. I believe that the Lord Jesus was so mutilated that you would not have recognized Him. 'As many were astonished at Thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men' (Isa. 52:14)" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 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."
LGT "And Pilate went out again and said to them, Behold, I lead Him out to you, in order that you may know that I find not one crime in Him."
"Behold, I bring Him forth to you,"
Literally, I lead Him out to you." Pilate leads Jesus out to the mob in order that He might display Jesus as a spectacle of ignominy [shame] to show that He has no use for this 'King of the Jews'; the soldiers had beaten Him beyond recognition, and dressed Him up with mock kingly attire.
"That you may know that I find no fault in Him."
Literally, that you may know that I find not one crime in Him. "It is a travesty on justice and dignity, but Pilate is trying to turn the mob from the grip of the Sanhedrin" (Robertson). Pilate has the power to set Jesus free, but he insists on having the people pronounce sentence; Pilate once again takes this opportunity to say that Jesus is not guilty of any crime.
Verse 5, "Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the Man!"
LGT "Jesus therefore went out, wearing the thorny crown, and the purple robe. And [Pilate] says to them, Behold the Man!"
What a ridiculous spectacle Pilate made of Jesus; it seems that if he really wanted to set Jesus free he would have simply turned Him loose, instead of going to such extremes.
"Hence it is apparent that these things were done by the soldiers not without Pilate's knowledge, whether it was that he ordered them or only permitted them, namely, for the reason we have stated above, that His enemies might all the more willingly drink in the sight of such derisive treatment, and cease to thirst further for His blood. Jesus goes forth to them wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, not resplendent [magnificence] in Kingly power, but laden with reproach; and the words are addressed to them, Behold the Man! If you hate your King, spare Him now when you see Him sunk so low; He has been scourged, crowned with thorns, clothed with the garments of derision, jeered at with the bitterest insults, struck with the open hand (and with rods, according to Matthew's account); His ignominy [shame] is at the boiling point, let your ill-will sink to zero. But there is no such cooling on the part of the latter [the mob], but rather a further increase of heat and vehemence" (Augustine - On the Gospel of John).
Behold the Man!
This is proof that they did not know Christ at all; for although He is God in the flesh, He is more than just man: He is our God Man. John wrote this entire Gospel with the purpose that all might know Him as Savior and have life through His name.
Verse 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."
LGT "When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw Him they cried out saying, Crucify, crucify [Him]. Pilate says to them, You take Him yourselves and crucify [Him]: for I find not a crime in Him."
"They cried out, Crucify Him, Crucify Him."
The chief priests and the temple police officers, stood out from the crowd and roared, 'Crucify, crucify Him. Some of the mob might have been moved with pity, however, not the religious group of rabble.
"But the chief priests and their associates were in no mood to be pacified. The sight of Jesus dressed up as a pantomime king enraged them more, for they were being exposed to ridicule even more than He. When, some years later, a king of the Jews (Agrippa the elder) made a public procession through Alexandria and the Greek populace of the city parodied [a spoof] the occasion by dressing a local idiot up in royal robes and paying him homage in the gymnasium, it was not the instrument of their sport who took offence but the Jewish community and the Jewish king. The Roman soldiers had expressed their contempt for the Jews by their treatment of Jesus, and the Jewish authorities were further exasperated. They knew quite well what the outcome would be if Pilate found Jesus guilty of the charge which they preferred against Him. For a non-Roman the penalty for sedition [treason] was almost bound to be crucifixion - and during the generation that had elapsed since the death of Herod they had seen ample evidence of this in Judea and the adjoining regions. This penalty they sought for Jesus, and now they demanded it outright" (The Gospel and Epistles of John - F. F. Bruce).
"Pilate saith unto them, Take ye Him, and crucify Him: for I find no fault in Him."
Pilate knew very well that under Jewish law the Jews could not crucify Christ; the method of capitol punishment under Jewish law was stoning.
Verse 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."
LGT "The Jews answering him, We have a law and according to the law He is required to die, because He made Himself [the] Son of God."
"By our law He ought to die,"
Literally, He is required to die. The word 'ought' in the Greek NT is opheilei, which means to be morally obligated. These phony Jews knew they had no authority over Pilate's decision, so they were saying that they were morally obligated by their law to have Him crucified.
"Because He made Himself the Son of God."
This is what has bugged these Jews for the past three years. 'He made Himself to be the Son of God' is the reason they want to kill Jesus, when it should be the reason that they worship Him. "He may have committed no wrong of which your Roman law takes cognizance, but 'we have a law (Lev. 24:16), and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself God's son'." (The Expositor's Greek Testament)
Verse 8, "When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid."
LGT "When Pilate therefore heard this word, he was [the] more afraid."
What saying? "That He called Himself the Son of God" is what instilled such fear in Pilate's heart; it should have caused great fear in these Jews, but it only aggravated them the more. Unbelief is at the root of all the problems in our world today; false religion and self-righteous liberals will bring complete disaster on this world, as we know it.
"These words of the Jews produced an effect on Pilate for which they were not prepared. The saying gives strength to a dreadful presentiment, which was gradually forming within him. All that he herd related of the miracles of Jesus, the mysterious character of His person, of His words and of His conduct, the strange message which he had just received from his wife - all is suddenly explained by the term 'Son of God.' Was this extraordinary man truly a divine being who had appeared on the earth? The truth naturally presents itself to his mind in the form of pagan superstition and mythological legends" (Godet - quoted by Vincent).
Verse 9, "And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art Thou? But Jesus gave him no answer."
LGT "And he went into the praitorian again and says to Jesus, Whence are you? But Jesus did not give him an answer."
"Whence art Thou?"
Pilate is not inquiring about the country Jesus is from, for he already knew that (Luke 23:6f.); what Pilate was concerned about was whether or not Jesus was from God. Pilate was perplexed between the gathering mob, and offending a possible deity. Pilate was asking Jesus, What do you mean by claiming deity?
"But Jesus gave him no answer."
Jesus was silent before Caiaphas, and here before Pilate, and again when he is taken before Herod. Although Jesus did answer some of the questions, when it came to certain questions, such as this about His being the Son of God, I believe t was a fulfillment of Prophecy, He was oppressed and He was afflicted. Yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth" (Isa. 53:7- NASB).
Verse 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?"
LGT "Therefore Pilate says to Him, unto me you do not speak? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?"
"Speakest Thou not to me?"
Literally: unto me you do not speak? "Emphatic position for this dative (emoi). It amounted to contempt of court with all of Pilate's real 'authority' (exousia), better than 'power'." (Robertson) "It is intelligible [understandable] that you should not count it worth your while to answer the charges of that yelling mob: but do you not know that I have power to crucify you and have power to release you?" (The Expositor's Greek Testament)
"Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?"
Pilate makes a simple declaration to Christ that His life is in his hands. "Pilate is annoyed by Jesus' silence. It borders on contempt of court; moreover, it is foolish, for Pilate is the one man who can be of any use to Him in His present situation" (Bruce).
"This shows that the dread with which Pilate had been suddenly seized was transitory, and had no root; for now, forgetting all fear, he breaks out into haughty and monstrous contempt of God. He threatens Christ, as if there had not been a judge in heaven; but this must always happen with irreligious men, that, shaking off the fear of God, they quickly return to their natural disposition. Hence also we infer, that without good reason that the heart of man is called deceitful, (Jer. 17:9); for, though some fear of God dwells in it, there likewise comes from it mere impiety. Whoever, then, is not regenerated by the Spirit of God, though he pretend for a time to reverence the majesty of God, will quickly show, by opposite facts, that this fear was hypocritical" (Calvin).
Verse 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."
LGT "Jesus answered [him], you would not have authority against Me, not any, unless [it] had been given you from above: because of this, the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."
"Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given from above:"
Jesus says to Pilate, he has no power unless God allows him to usurp his authority; now this has to confuse Pilate all the more. "You would not have power to crucify, nor to release, nor to do anything against Me, 'unless it had been given thee from above' - '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'." (David Brown)
"Therefore he that delivered Me unto thee hath the greater sin."
This does not refer to Judas, but it does to Caiaphas. Pilate is not free from sin, as Jesus says, just that the high priest is supposed to know that Jesus is the Messiah, and the Son of God; therefore, Caiaphas' sin is even greater than Pilate's.
Verse 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."
LGT "Upon this Pilate was seeking to release Him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If this Man you release, you are not a friend of the Caesar: everyone making himself king, is speaking against the Caesar.
"And from henceforth Pilate sought to release Him:"
Literally, upon this, that is, in consequence of this, for what Jesus had said to Pilate in verse eleven. 'Pilate sought to release Him:' the verb 'sought' is ezetei an imperfect active verb meaning 'Pilate kept on seeking.' Pilate knew Christ was innocent, but he is fighting the contempt of this mob of Jews.
"But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend:"
The reason I use the article before the term 'Caesar' is because this was the title used by all the Imperial Emperors. What these Jews were crying out to Pilate is that if he let Jesus go free he would not be a friend to the Emperor.
"Jesus is now in the hands of a cheap politician - not the judge of Roman justice that Pilate should have been. These Jewish religious rulers are prepared to report Pilate to Rome accusing him of permitting subversion. That would be treason, and Pilate doesn't want such a charge against him. Pilate will let his political position overrule his justice. It is a terrible thing, even today, when government, whether it be church or state government, gets into the hands of men who are hungry for power and do not regard either God or man" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
"Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar."
Literally the Caesar:
"The term, which was at first a proper name, the surname of Julius Caesar, adopted by Augustus and his successors, became an appellative [designation] appropriated by all the emperors as a title. Thus the emperor at this time was Tiberius Caesar. A distinction was, however, introduced between this title of Augustus, which was first given to Octavianus the first emperor. The title 'Augustus' was always reserved for the monarch, while 'Caesar' was more freely communicated to his relations; and from the reign of Hadrian at least (A>D> 117-138) was appropriated to the second person in the state, who was considered as the presumptive heir of the empire" (Vincent's Word Studies in the NT).
Verse 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."
LGT "Pilate therefore having heard these words, he led Jesus out, and sat down upon the judgment seat, into the place called Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha."
"When Pilate therefore heard that saying,"
The best texts read 'these words', ton logon toutoun. Pilate is fearful of the Jews charging him with incompetence in his ruler ship. Pilate is only concerned with his own image, and certainly not for justice in this case.
"He brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place called the Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha."
Pilate is now ready to pass judgment on Christ. Pilate leads Christ out and sits down on the 'Bema' seat. "The pavement, Gr. Lithostroron, from lithos, a stone, and stroros, to spread. Gabbatha is from Hebrew gab, 'back,' and meaning therefore, a raised place; (thus the meaning together is a raised platform of stone) Thus the Aramaic term is not a translation of the Greek term, which indicates that the place, wherever it was, was distinguished by a mosaic or tessellated pavement. Seutonius relates that Julius Caesar used to carry about with him on his expeditions a portable tessellated [adorned with a stone mosaic] pavement for his tribunal. It is not unlikely, however, that there is any allusion to such a practice here" (Vincent).
"The tribunal was the raised platform (Gk. Bema) on which a Roman magistrate sat in the charge of his judicial functions. Normally Pilate would have conducted the whole trial from this position; the Jewish leaders' unwillingness to contract defilement by entering the Praetorium led to his moving back and forth between them, where they stood by the outer colonnade, and Jesus, whom he examined in the building itself. But it was necessary that sentence should be pronounced from his seat of office. 'Pavement' is the rendering of Gk. Lithostros ('paved with stones'); I should be disposed to render it by a term familiar in some Scottish towns - 'The Plainstones' - except that it would not be so familiar to the majority of readers. The place was known in Hebrew - or rather in Aramaic (which John includes under his blanket usage of 'Hebrew') - by a word apparently meaning 'The Ridge'. This has often been identified with a magnificent Roman pavement excavated beneath the Ecce Homo arch and the convent of Our Lady of Zion, originally measuring almost 3,000 square yards, which has further been identified as the courtyard of the Antonia fortress" (The Gospel and Epistles of John - F. F. Bruce).
Verse 14, "And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!"
LGT "And [it] was [the] preparation of the Passover, [it] was the sixth hour. And he says to the Jews, Behold your King!"
"And it was the preparation of the Passover,"
This Passover fell on the Sabbath, so it was on the eve of the Passover that is referred to in the 'preparation,' so it was a Friday that John is careful to point out. "Preparation of, paraskeune was the usual appellation [designation] of Friday, the day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. Here the addition tou pasha shows it is used of the day preceding the Passover. This day was, as it happened, a Friday, but it is the relation to the feast, not to the ordinary Sabbath, that is here indicated" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
"And about the sixth hour:"
"Roman time, about 6 A.M. (a little after 6 no doubt) when Pilate rendered his final decision. Mark (15:25) notes that it was the third hour (Jewish time), which is 9 A.M. Roman time, when the crucifixion began. Why should John give Jewish time writing at the close of the first century when Jerusalem and the Jewish state passed away in A.D. 70? He is writing for Greek and Roman readers" 9Word Pictures of the NT- A. T. Robertson).
"And he said unto the Jews, Behold your King!"
Jesus is the Jews King all right, but we know how they treat Him, because of their willful unbelieving hatred for Christ. "Pilate's sarcasm is aimed at the Jews, not Jesus" (Robertson).
"When a British king is about to be crowned, immediately after his entrance into Westminster Abbey he is made to face the assembled company in four successive directions, while the Archbishop of Canterbury says, 'Sirs, I here present unto you King -, the undoubted king of this realm. Wherefore, all ye who are come this day to do homage, are you willing to do the same?' To these words the reply comes in unison from the four successive directions: 'God save the King -!' This part of the ceremony is called the Recognition. Something of the same sort, albeit in mockery, is suggested here. Pilate has been put on the spot by the chief priests, and sees no alternative to condemning Jesus to death, but he has his revenge on them by insisting that the bloodstained and disheveled figure is their King, and inviting them to recognize Him as such" (Bruce).
Verse 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."
LGT "Those [people] therefore cried out, Away, away, crucify Him. Pilate saying to them, Your King should I crucify? The chief priests answered, We have no king except Caesar.
"But they cried out, Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him."
Literally, 'those [people] ekeinoi, "the pronoun of remote reference and sharply distinguishes them from Jesus" (Vincent).
"Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?"
To this Pilate could only offer up more feeble sarcasm, Your king should I crucify.
"But, as with an earlier utterance of Pilate's John sees a deeper meaning in his word's 'See, here is your King!' Jesus John implies, is the true Israel, of all the people of God who belong to the cause of truth and obey the voice of Him who is truth incarnate (cf. 18:37). And in the fact that these words were spoken towards midday on Passover Eve he implies something else: Jesus is the true Paschal Lamb, about to suffer death at the appropriate hour of the appropriate day for the life of His people [According to the Mishna, tractate Psahim 5.1, when the Passover fell on the eve of a Sabbath, the evening burnt-offering was slaughtered at 12,30 p.m. and offered up at 1.30 (two hours earlier than usual), and after that the paschal lamb was slaughtered]" (Bruce).
"The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar."
These chief priest were members of the Sadducean party of the Sanhedrin; they rejected the resurrection, and had no hope of life after death. As for the Pharisees, they believed in the resurrection, but as I noted earlier they left and were not heard mentioned again by John.
"And why did they strive to kill Him in this manner [of crucifixion]? It was a shameful death. Fearing therefore lest there should afterwards be any remembrance of Him, they desired to bring Him to the accursed punishment, not knowing that truth is exalted by hindrances. To prove that they had this suspicion, listen to what they say: 'We have heard that that deceiver said, After three days I will rise again' (Matt. 27:63) ; on this account they made all this stir, turning things upside down [or using every means], that they might ruin matters in after time? And the ill-ordered people, corrupted by their rulers, cried out continually, 'Crucify Him!' " (Chrysostom)
Verse 16, "Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led Him away."
LGT "Then therefore he delivered Him to them in order that He might be crucified. Therefore they took Jesus."
"Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified."
The term delivered Him to them is literally, as the Neb has it "then at last, to satisfy them, he handed Jesus over to be crucified." To them, autois is referring to the will of the Jews. Luke makes this point in his account, And he released unto them him [Barabbas] that for sedition [treason] and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:25).
"And they took Jesus."
Literally, therefore they took Jesus; the phrase, 'and led Him away' is not in the best manuscripts. Pilate turned Jesus over to the will of the Jews, and the soldiers took Jesus. J. Vernon McGee has a wonderful outline of this verse that presents the full scope of our salvation that I think it important to quote it in full:
"We speak so often of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that it becomes almost trite for the average believer. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is one of the most dastardly, infamous points in history. Yet, this is our redemption. We need to pause here and look at it from various points of view.
From the standpoint of God, the cross is propitiation. It is the mercy seat where God can extend mercy to you and me. It is the place where full satisfaction was made, so that a holy, righteous God can reach down and save sinners. The very throne of God, the place of judgment, is transformed into the place of mercy where you and I can find mercy instead of the judgment we deserve. Jesus Christ bore our guilt, and God is satisfied.
From the standpoint of the Lord Jesus, it is a sacrifice. He is the Savior, and He makes Himself an offering for sin. He is a sweet-smelling savor to God. It is also an act of obedience for Him. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:8 that He became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.
From the standpoint of you and me, believers in Christ Jesus, it was a substitution. He took my place and He took your place. He was the sinless One suffering for the sinner. He was the just One suffering for the unjust. 'Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed' (1 Peter 2:24).
From the standpoint of Satan, it was a triumph and also a defeat. It was a triumph for Satan to bruise the heel of the woman's seed as had been foretold way back in Genesis 3:15. It was a defeat because the head of Satan is yet to be crushed: ' that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil' (Heb. 2:14).
From the standpoint of the world, the cross is nothing but a brutal murder. They see Jesus of Nazareth. They see the man. They see the injustice" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
The Crucifixion of Jesus
Verse 17, "And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of the skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:"
LGT "And bearing the cross for Himself He went into the place called Kraniou [of a skull], which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,"
It was the custom that the condemned man carries at least part of the cross to the place of execution, himself. Golgotha was a deserted place that was in the shape of a skull, thus, the Greek word, Kraniou, from which we get our English word 'cranium.'
"When they were coming out, leading Him away to the place of execution. Jesus was unable to bear His cross from sheer exhaustion, due to the intense strain of the previous week the excessive excitement of the trials, and the brutality of the scourging and mockery through which He had been passing. Tradition says that He fell under the weight of the heavy beam, which He bore on shoulders lacerated by the fearful scourge. Happily they met a man coming in from the country - a man of Cyrene - Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, of a subsequent apostolic history. Cyrene was a city of North Africa where there was a large colony of Jews. Simon might have been a Jewish proselyte going up to the Feast. Him they compelled to render the service of bearing the cross of Jesus, who went before, aided by the soldiers. It is likely from the place his sons occupied in subsequent evangelical history [Rom. 16:13] that Simon was brought, through this service he was made to render, to personal knowledge of the Savior" (Shepherd - The Christ - quoted by Pentecost).
Verse 18, "Where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst."
LGT "Where they crucified Him, and with Him two others on this side and on that side [one], and in the middle Jesus."
"Where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, on either side one,"
Jesus was crucified between two thieves who deserved their judgment. John does not give us a description of Christ sufferings on the cross because he had taken Mary to his own home at the request of Christ verse 27. The synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke present Christ human suffering, whereas John presents Christ's deity throughout his gospel. It is not my purpose here to harmonize the four Gospels; my purpose is to give a reasonable exposition on the Gospel of John.
"And Jesus in the midst."
"All the Synoptists describe the character of the two who were crucified with Jesus. Matthew and Mark, robbers; Luke, malefactors (kakourgos). All three use the phrase, one on the right, the other on the left, and so, substantially, John: on either side one. John says nothing about the character of these two, but simply describes them as two others" (Vincent).
"With Jesus were crucified 'other two', in Matt. 27:38, called 'robbers,' probably of the same class as Barabbas [possibly part of his gang]. Jesus was crucified between them; possibly, to identify Him with the worst criminals. 'The whole of humanity was represented there: the sinless Savior, the saved penitent, the condemned impenitent.' [Plummer]" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
"You will recall that every bit of the sin offering was taken outside the camp into a clean place (see Lev. 4:12). Just as the Lord Jesus fulfilled prophecy concerning Himself, so He also fulfills the types in the Old Testament. Our sin offering, the Lord Jesus Christ, was taken outside the city. The writer to the Hebrews emphasizes the fact that our Lord suffered outside the gate (see Heb. 13:12).
"They crucified Him too with thieves, in this also unintentional fulfilling prophecy; for what they did for insult contributed to the truth, that thou mayest learn how great is its power, since the Prophet had foretold of old, that He was numbered with the transgressors. (Isa. 53:12) The devil therefore wished to cast a veil over what was done, but was unable; for the three were crucified, but Jesus alone was glorious, that thou mayest learn, that His power effected all. Yet the miracles took place when the three had been nailed to the cross; but no one attributed anything of what was done to either of those others, but to Jesus only; so entirely was the plot of the devil rendered vain, and all returned upon his own head. For even of these two, one was saved. He therefore did not insult the glory of the Cross, but contributed to it not a little. For it was not a less matter than shaking the rocks, to change a thief upon the cross, and to bring him unto Paradise" (Chrysostom).
Verse 19, "And Pilate wrote a title, and put on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS."
LGT "And Pilate wrote a title, and put on the cross: and it was written, JESUS THE NAZARENE THE KING OF THE JEWS."
"The wording of the title is differently given by each Evangelist.
Matthew: This is Jesus the King of the Jews.
Mark: The King of the Jews.
Luke: This is the King of the Jews.
John: Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.
The essential element of the superscription, King of the Jews, is common to all. It expressed, on its face, the main intent of Pilate, which was to cast contempt on the Jews. 'In the sense of the man Pilate, it meant: Jesus, the King of the Jewish fanatics, crucified in the midst of Jews, who should all be thus executed. In the sense of the Jews: Jesus, the seditionary, the King of the rebels. In the same sense of the political judge: Jesus, for whose accusation the Jews, with their ambiguous accusation, may answer. In the sense of the divine irony which ruled over the expression: Jesus, the Messiah, by the crucifixion become in very truth the King of the people of God'." (Lange - quoted by Vincent)
Verse 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."
LGT "Therefore this title was read by many of the Jews, because the city was near the place where Jesus was crucified: and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, in Greek."
Certain of the Jews spoke Hebrew; Latin was the Language of some of the Romans: Greek was the common language of the people, and understood by most. Therefore Pilate had covered every base.
"And so was He nailed to His cross, which was placed between, probably somewhat higher than, those of the two malefactors crucified with Him. One thing only still remained: to affix to His cross the so-called 'title' (titulus), on which was inscribed the charge on which He had been condemned. As already stated, it was customary to carry this board before the prisoner, and there is no reason for supposing any exception in this respect. Indeed, it seems implied in the circumstance, that the 'title' had evidently been drawn up under the direction of Pilate. It was - as might have been expected, and yet most significantly - trilingual: in Latin, Greek, and Aramaean. We imagine, that it was written in that order, and that the words were those recorded by the Evangelists (excepting St. Luke, who seems to give a modification of the original, or Aramaean, text). The inscription given by St. Matthew exactly corresponds with that which Eusubius records as the Latin titulus on the cross of one of the early martyrs. We therefore conclude, that it represents the Latin words. Again, it seems only natural, that the fullest, and to the Jews most offensive, description should have been in Aramaean, which all could read. Very significantly this is given by St. John. It follows, that the inscription given by St. Mark must represent that in Greek. Although much less comprehensive, it had the same number of words, and precisely the same number of letters, as that in Aramaean, given by St. John" (The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah - Alfred Edersheim).
Verse 21, "Then said the chief priest of the Jews to Pilate, write not, The King of the Jews; but that He said, I am King of the Jews."
LGT "Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews, but that He said, I am King of the Jews."
Robertson says, "The chief priests were uneasy for fear that the joke in the mock title was on them instead of on Jesus. They were right in their fear." The chief priests were concerned that the title might be read and then assumed by the reader that it was true, that Jesus was 'King of the Jews.'
"John sees a deeper meaning in the 'title' on the cross than either Pilate or the chief priests could appreciate. 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.' The crucified One is the true King, the kingliest King of all; because it is He who is stretched on the cross, He turns an obscene instrument of torture into a throne of glory and 'reigns from the tree.' And the inward significance of His kingship for His true followers has been made plain in His interchange with Pilate recorded in 18:34-38" (The Gospel and Epistles of John - F. F. Bruce).
In the above paragraph Bruce quotes Justin's Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, "Reigns from the tree." This statement grabbed my interest, so I looked up Justin Martyr's works and read the complete account recorded in Dialogue seventy-three. Glenda [mom and grandma] and I have just finished reading 'Justin's Dialogue with Trypho two weeks ago, so it is very interesting to us. Justin Martyr was a well-educated Gentile [A.D. 110-165 - he was born shortly after the Apostle John died] who became a Christian after reading the Gospels. Justin had this Dialogue with Trypho, a legalistic Jew, who tried to defend the Jews for not accepting Jesus as their Messiah; Justin systematically wore Trypho down with his excellent logic and superb knowledge of God's Word, which he quoted great portions by memory. In this particular phrase 'He reigned from the tree' is a gloss quoted from the Septuagint Psalm 95:10. Justin claimed that the Jews removed from the tree from this psalm; in 'fact the Jews did not remove this phrase, it was added in the LXX by some first century Christians - " Otto.
"They [the Jews] feel that they are sharply rebuked; and, therefore, they would wish that the title were changed, so as not to involve the nation in disgrace, but to throw the whole blame on Christ. But yet they do not conceal their deep hatred of the truth, since the smallest spark of it is more than they are able to endure. Thus Satan always prompts his servants to endeavor to extinguish, or, at least, to choke, by their own darkness, the light of God, as soon as the feeblest ray of it appears" (Calvin).
Verse 22, "Pilate answered, What I have written I have written."
LGT "Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written."
This is the charge against Jesus that he claimed to be King of the Jews, and there is no way the Jews are going to get Pilate to change what was written. "What Pilate wrote, he wrote, because what Christ said, He said." (Augustine)
Verse 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."
LGT "Therefore the soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, they took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and the coat. And the coat was seamless, from the top woven throughout."
The clothing of our Lord was parted into four: "On His head He wore a white sudar, fastened under the chin and hanging down from the shoulders behind. Over the tunic which covered the body to the hands and feet, a blue tallith with the blue fringes on the four ends, so thrown over and gathered together that the gray, red-striped undergarment was scarcely noticeable, except when the sandal-shod feet came into view" (A Day in Capernaum - Delitzsch).
Verse 24, "They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose shall it 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."
LGT "They therefore said to one another, Let us not rend it, but let us cast lots for it whose it will be: in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled [which says], They divided My garments among them, and upon My vesture they cast a lot. Therefore the soldiers did these things.
The vivid details of Christ's physical suffering has been given by the other Gospel writers, however, the details of Christ Spiritual death cannot be described by anyone, because it was a private matter between the Father and the Son. No one can possibly comprehend what took place between the Father and His Son, and to accentuate this point, there was three hours of darkness that hid Christ's passion from the world. Christ did not need anyone's pity, and when the Lord had poured out all the sins of mankind on Christ, Christ suffered alone; He did not even have His Father looking on, for God turned his back on sin, and that is the reason for the darkness.
"No Gospel writer describes the death of Christ. There are things about the cross and the Crucifixion that are hidden from us. God pulls down a veil on many of the details. Darkness covered the land so the people couldn't see. First of all, God is not going to give us morbid details simply to satisfy curiosity. Secondly, there was a transaction between the Father and the Son taking place there. It was a transaction for the sins of the world, which is beyond our comprehension. The only thing that we can do is to accept by faith the forgiveness that is made ours through Christ's death on the cross. That is the only way you and I will ever penetrate that darkness, my friend.
Apparently His garment is a peasant's garment but a good one. Someone had made it for Him. The soldiers cast lots for it - shot dice at the foot of the cross. Although these Romans do not know it, they are fulfilling the Scriptures: 'They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture' (Psalm 22:18)" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 25, "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene."
LGT "And standing by the cross of Jesus His mother and the sister of His mother, Mary the [wife] of Clopas and Mary the Magdalene."
What a contrast we have here between the soldiers casting lots for the clothing of Jesus and John bringing the woman who loved Christ, including his mother, to get one last glimpse of their Savior.
Verse 26, When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son!"
LGT "Jesus therefore seeing His mother and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He says to His mother, Woman, behold your son!"
"When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by,"
John is the only Evangelist that mentions a man among the women. John is standing there with his own mother, Salome, and Mary, Jesus' mother. As I mentioned above, John brings these women for a last look at their Savior.
"Whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, "
John refers to himself as the beloved disciple of the lord. "Surely John is justified in inserting this phrase here. If John were His cousin, that helps explain why Jesus turns the care of His mother over to him. But the brothers of Jesus are not present and disbelieve His claims. John is the only one of the apostles with courage enough to take his stand with the women by the cross. There is no disrespect in the use of 'Woman' (Gunai) here as there was not in 2:4. This trust is to John, though Salome, John's own mother, was standing there" (Robertson).
"Woman, behold thy son!"
"Jesus, now turning His eyes towards John says to His mother, There is your son. Me you are loosing, so far as the filial relation goes, but John will in this respect take My place" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
Verse 27, "Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
LGT "Then He says to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own [home]."
"Behold thy mother!"
"And He, having committed His mother to John, said, 'Behold thy son.' (Vs. 26) O the honor! With what honor did He honor the disciple! When He Himself was now departing, He committed her to the disciple to take care of. For since it was likely that, being His mother, she would grieve, and require protection, He with reason entrusted her to the beloved. To him He says, 'Behold thy mother.' This He said, knitting them together in charity: which the disciple understanding, took her home" (Chrysostom).
"And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
"Jesus calls Mary, 'Woman,' just as He did in John 2 at the wedding at Cana. His hour is come. He is to die, but He will rise again. He is to be glorified. His relationship to His mother is to be severed. To her, as well as to us, He is to be the glorified Christ. His resurrection will clear her name forever. Her reputation will be vindicated. But she must come to Christ in faith just as every other believer comes. While dying for the sins of the world, He will not neglect her. We know that Mary will be praying with the disciples in the Upper Room after His resurrection (see Acts 1:14), and after that she drops out of the picture. As long as she lived John would keep her in his home and care for her, as the Lord Jesus asked him to do" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
The Death of Jesus
Verse 28, "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst."
LGT "After this, Jesus knowing that now all things are finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, says, I thirst."
"After this, Jesus knowing that all things were accomplished,"
Literally, knowing that all things are finished. Jesus is saying that our redemption is now complete, although He had not yet died, been buried, and rose again; all these things were necessary for our salvation, yet Christ says, all things are finished; the answer to this seeming dilemma is that Christ is speaking from His own knowledge that there is now nothing that could prevent the rest of the redemptive act from happening.
'That the Scriptures might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst."
"John carefully shows that Scripture is being fulfilled. There are chapters in the Old Testament, which are especially concerned with the Crucifixion. I would list Psalm 22, Genesis 22, Isaiah 53, and Leviticus 16. There are twenty-eight prophecies fulfilled while He was hanging on the cross. 'I thirst' is the fulfillment of Psalm 69:21" (McGee).
"In the course of this narrative, various things are said to have taken place in order that Scripture might be fulfilled - the soldiers' dividing of Jesus' garments, for example (verse 23 f.). But the agents who did those things had no idea that they were fulfilling Scripture: their actions were providentially overruled for its fulfillment. When Jesus is the agent, the situation is different. It goes without saying that He was actually thirsty and craved something to drink: exposure on a cross to the afternoon Judean sun must have caused rapid and exhausting dehydration. But, as He uttered the words, 'I am thirsty', He knew that in doing so He was fulfilling Scripture. The Scripture in question may have been Psalm 69:21 ('For My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink') or psalm 22:15 ('My tongue cleaves to My jaws'). John does not want to give a historic impression of our Lord's utterance: His words were unreservedly spontaneous - indeed, the more spontaneous they were, the more truly was Scripture fulfilled" (The Gospel and Epistles of John - F. F. Bruce).
Verse 29, "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."
LGT "A vessel was set full of vinegar: Therefore they filled a sponge with vinegar putting [it] on hyssop put it to the mouth."
They put a sponge full of vinegar on the end of a reed from the hyssop bush, about three feet long, and put it to Jesus' lips, and it moistened His parched lips enough for Him to utter His last words.
Verse 30, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost."
LGT "When Jesus therefore took the vinegar He said, It is finished: and having bowed the head He gave up [His] Spirit."
"It is finished:"
What is finished? He finished your redemption and my redemption. Jesus had paid the price for all the sins of mankind during the three hours of darkness, when He died spiritually on the cross. John was absent during the period just after they nailed Christ to the cross, when He took Jesus' mother to his home; he then returned to hear this final cry of our Lord. 'It is finished.' John's absence accounts for his brief account of the crucifixion. To get a full account it is necessary to harmonize the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. I have written a paper on the complete account of Christ's Passion The True Meaning of Easter if anyone is interested I would be happy to send it to you.
"And He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost."
Spirit has the article so it particularizes it to be His Spirit. Jesus bowed his head, for it was not nailed, released His Spirit; Luke writes, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit. "He bowed His Head, and gave up the Ghost." "Who can thus sleep (die) when he pleases, as Jesus died when He pleased? Who is there that thus puts off his garment when he pleases, as He put off His flesh at His pleasure? Who is there that thus departs when he pleases, as He departed this life at His pleasure? How great the power, to be hoped for or dreaded, that must be his as judge, if such was the power He exhibited as a dying Man!" (Augustine)
"By accepting the physical refreshment offered Him, the Lord once more indicated the completion of the work of His Passion. For, as He would not enter on it with His sense and physical consciousness lulled by narcotized wine, so He would not pass out of it with senses and physical consciousness dulled by absolute failure of life-power. Hence He took what for the moment restored the physical balance, needful for thought and word. And so He immediately passed on to 'taste death for every man.' For, the two last 'sayings' of the Savior now followed in rapid succession: first, that with a loud voice, which expressed it, that the work given Him to do, as far as concerned His Passion, was 'finished'; and then, that in the words of Psalm 31:5, in which He commended His Spirit into the Hands of the Father (Luke). Attempts at comment could only weaken the solemn thoughts, which the words awaken. Yet some points should be noted for our teaching. His last cry 'with a loud voice' was not like that of one dying. Mark noted, that this made such deep impression on the Centurion (Mark 15:39). In the language of the early Christian hymn, it was not death, which approached Christ, but Christ death: He died without death. Christ encountered Death, not as conquered, but as the Conqueror. And this also was part of His work, and for us: now the beginning of His triumph. And with this agrees the peculiar language of John, that He bowed the Head, and gave up the Spirit (to pneuma)" (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah - Alfred Edersheim).
The Piercing of Jesus' Side
Verse 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."
LGT "The Jews therefore, because it was [the] preparation, in order that the bodies not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a great day, they requested Pilate that their legs might be broken and taken away."
"The Jews, who had so recently asserted their sole allegiance to Caesar, are now scrupulous about observing the letter of the law" (Vincent). It was not lawful, according to the Jewish law for the bodies to hang on the cross on the Sabbath, so these Jews asked Pilate for permission to have their legs broken, so they could remove their bodies and bury them. As Vincent points out - first they say that 'they have no King but Caesar, and now they are worried over not breaking a Sabbath-law, O! Consistency, consistency, thou art a jewel.
"The breaking of the legs (crurifragium) was an established custom when it was desired to hasten the death of a crucified person. The young man whose bones, recently discovered, and gave clear evidence of crucifixion was apparently subjected to this treatment: one of his legs had sustained a clean fracture from a single blow which also cracked the other, but the other had an addition suffered comminution [pulverized]. The common view today seems to be that the breaking of the legs hastened death by asphyxiation. The weight of the body fixed the thoracic cage so that the lungs could not expel the air, which was breathed in, but breathing by diaphragmatic action could continue for a long time so long as the legs, fastened to the cross, provided a point of leverage. When the legs were broken this leverage was no longer available and total asphyxia followed rapidly" (Bruce).
Verse 32, "Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him."
LGT "Then came the soldiers and of the first broke the legs and of the other crucified with him:"
This description of the soldiers breaking the legs is recorded only here by John. "To secure speedy death the crurifragium breaking of the legs with a heavy mallet or bar, was sometimes resorted to: as without such means the crucified might in some cases linger for thirty-six hours. The two robbers were thus dispatched" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
Verse 33, "But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs."
LGT "But yet having come to Jesus, when they saw He was dead already, they broke not His legs,"
The prophecy of Psalm 34:20, is fulfilled: He keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken. "That they brake the legs of the two robbers, and after having done so, find that Christ is already dead, and therefore do not touch His body, appears to be very extraordinary work of the providence of God. Ungodly men will, no doubt, say that it happens naturally that one man dies sooner than another; but, if we examine the whole course of the narrative, we shall be constrained to ascribe it to the secret purpose of God, that the death of Christ was brought on much more rabidly than men could have at all expected, and that this prevented His legs from being broken" (Calvin).
Verse 34, "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water."
LGT "But one of the soldiers with the head of his spear pierced His side, and out came immediately blood and water."
I have read many different interpretations of this verse, showing that Christ died of a broken heart, that His heart had been ruptured and that when the soldier's spear pierced Jesus' side water and blood flowed out. I will not weary you with the physiological phenomenon, for it is beyond my comprehension, not being a medical student. I will say, unreservedly that in the context of what John here reports, He being a fisherman, and not a doctor, is that Christ really died. Remember at the outset of this Gospel, in the introduction, I explained that one of John's purposes in writing this Gospel was to refute the Gnostic error that was being propagated widespread. The Docetic Gnostics taught that Jesus merely swooned on the cross, and that He did not die. No one could get that from the Apostle John's account. I am always safe sticking to the context, and I believe you will agree with me, that Christ did actually die, and that He died for you and me.
"This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood" (I John 5:6) - "it is difficult to avoid thinking that He must have seen in the blood and water which flowed from that wounded side a symbolical exhibition of the blood of atonement and the water of sanctification, according to ceremonial language, which undoubtedly flow from the pierced Redeemer. Certainly the instincts of the Church have from age to age stamped this sense upon the fact recorded, and when the poet cries:
'Rock of ages! Cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee:
Let the water and the blood
From Thy wounded side which flow'd
Be of sin the double cure:
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.'
(Toplady)
He does but nobly interpret our Evangelist's words to the heart of the living and dying Christian" (David Brown)
Calvin relates the results of some early speculation by the Roman Catholic Church, that the soldier who pierced Jesus' side became a Christian, and was later martyred, and then canonized. Let me give you what the Church taught in order to show what danger there is in speculation:
"It was a childish contrivance of the Papists, when, out of the Greek word logchei, which means a spear, they manufactured the proper name of a man, and called this soldier Longinus, and, to give an air of plausibility to their story, foolishly alleged that he had been formerly blind, and that, after having received his sight, he was converted to the faith. Thus they have placed him in the catalogue of the saints. Dr. Bloomfield subjoins the following note to this verse: - 'The epitaph of this soldier, (if genuine), said to be found in the Church of St. Mary, at Lyons, is as follows: - Here lies Longinus, who pierced the Savior's side on the cross with a spear. As the learned annotator [Calvin's comments] has thus summarily adverted to this legendary tale, it is right that the reader should be briefly put in possession of the whole of it, as it has been collected by Moreri from Tillemont and other ecclesiastical writers, in his 'Dictionary,' under the head, St. Longin - (St. Longinus). This St. Longinus is twofold: 'Some saying, that he was the soldier that pierced our Lord's side with a spear; and some, that he was the centurion who commanded the guard at the cross. The legends report both these persons to have been converted to the Christian faith, to have suffered martyrdom, and to have been canonized.' Moreri, however, though and ecclesiastic of the Romish Church, was constrained to add, The acts of both Longinuses are manifestly false; and the circumstances they allege mutually refute each other. It would appear that the name Longinus has been formed from the Greek logchei, spear: longinus being the Latin form of logchimos - spear-man. Thus St. Loginus is found to be a similar saint to the Sancta Veronica, reported by Brydone. 'The Greeks,' continues Moreri, 'to celebrate the martyrdom of Loginus, the centurion, on the 16th of October, the Latins on the 15th of March, and the Copts on the 1st of November. The martyrdom of Loginus, the soldier, is not acknowledged by the Greeks; but the Latins commemorate it on different days; some on the 15th of March, some on the 1st of September, others on the 22nd of November, or 11th of December.' We thus see how little this offspring of credulity and superstition merits the attention of the readers of the Gospel Granville Penn's Annotations. Since their prayers, whenever they call on God, rest on such intercessors, what, I ask, will they ever be able to obtain? But they who despise Christ, and seek the intercession of the dead, deserve that the devil should drive them to ghosts and phantoms" (John Calvin's commentary on The Gospel of John).
Verse 35, "And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe."
LGT "And he that has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true, and he knows he says true, in order that you all might believe."
"And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true:"
Literally, he that has seen has borne witness; "Rendering the perfect tense in both verbs, this can refer only to the writer of this Gospel" (Vincent). John is saying that he is an eyewitness to the death of Christ: we have to go back to the first chapter of John's Gospel to see how John put such an emphasis on the deity of Christ. Remember that John was writing his account to encourage believers to believe on Christ and to encourage them to have assurance in their salvation: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing ye might have life through His name (20:31). So you see, John was not only encouraging believers, but also he was also combating the horrible Gnostic teachings that Jesus was not really human, and that He just swooned on the cross.
"That John speaks of himself in the third person [he] is quite in his manner" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
"And he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe."
John is using the third person here when referring to himself he that has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true, and he knows he says true.
"John the Apostle was there and saw this fact (and still sees it, in fact). This personal witness disproves the theory of the Docetic Gnostics that Jesus did not have a real human body. He knoweth (ekeinos oiden). That is John does like 9:37. It is possible that ekeinos [he] may be a solemn appeal to God as in 1:33 or Christ as in 1 John 3:5. John is obviously referring to himself, as still alive" (Robertson - WPNT). "And He (kakeinos); this pronoun is urged by some as a reason for regarding the witness as some other than John, because it is the pronoun of remote reference. But 9:37 shows clearly that a speaker can use this pronoun of himself; and it is, further, employed in this Gospel to indicate a person 'as possessing the quality which is the point in question in an eminent or even exclusive degree' (Godet). See 1:18; 5:39" (Vincent).
Verse 36, "For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not be broken."
LGT "For these things came to be in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, not a bone of His should be broken."
"This phrase not a bone of His should be broken, is a free quotation of Exodus 12:46 about the Paschal lamb" (Robertson).
Verse 37, "And again another Scripture saith, They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced."
LGT "And again another Scripture saying, They will look on the One Whom they have pierced."
The first prophecy, which John mentioned was fulfilled. It says 'He keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken' (Psalm 34:20). The second one still awaits fulfillment. " They look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son " (Zech. 12:10). He has been pierced! That part has been fulfilled. But Zechariah says that He shall return again, and when He comes, then they shall look upon the One Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him" (McGee)
The Burial of Jesus
Verse 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."
LGT "And after these things asked Pilate, Joseph from Arimathaea, being a disciple of the Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore and took away His body."
"Joseph of Arimathaea receives honorable mention from all four Evangelists, but only in connection with his rendering this last service to the body of Jesus. According to Mark and Luke, he was a member of the Sanhedrin. It is noteworthy, but not psychologically incredible, that after having so cautiously concealed his adherence to Jesus' cause from his fellow-councilors thus far, he should now throw caution to the winds and reveal his true colors. A member of the Sanhedrin, indeed, would have readier access to the governor than Jesus' humbler friends and followers could venture to seek. Roman law normally handed over the bodies of executed criminals to their next of kin, but not if they had been executed for sedition. Why then did Pilate hand over the body of Jesus to Joseph, who was not related to him, when Jesus had in fact been executed for sedition? Perhaps because Pilate was convinced that Jesus was not really guilty of the crime alleged against Him" (Bruce).
"Joseph of Arimathaea was a Sanhedrist, but he had not consented either to the counsel or the deed of his colleagues. It must have been generally known, that he was one of those 'which waited for the Kingdom of God.' But he had advanced beyond what that expression implies. Although secretly, for fear of the Jews: he was a disciple of Jesus. It is in strange contrast to this 'fear,' that St. Mark tells us, that, 'having dared,' 'he went in unto Pilate and asked for the Body of Jesus.' Thus, under circumstances the most unlikely and unfavorable, were his fears converted into boldness, and he, whom fear of the Jews had restrained from making open avowal of discipleship during the life-time of Jesus, not only professed such of the Crucified Christ [at the same time I feel, that this might have been represented by the Jews as not quite importing what it really was - as rather an act of pity towards the Rabbi of Nazareth than of homage to the Messiah ship of Jesus], but took the most bold and decided step before Jews and Gentiles in connection with it. So does trial elicit faith, and the wind, which quenches the feeble flame that plays around outside, fan into brightness the fire that burns deep within, though for a time unseen. Joseph of Arimathaea, now no longer a secret disciple, but bold in the avowal of his reverent love, would show to the Dead Body of his Master all veneration. And the Divinely ordered concurrence of circumstances not only helped his pious purpose, but invested all with deepest symbolic significance. It was Friday afternoon, and the Sabbath was drawing near (Luke 23:54). No time therefore was to be lost, if due honor were to be paid to the Sacred Body. Pilate gave it to Joseph of Arimathaea. Such was within his power, and a favor not infrequently accorded in like circumstances. But two things must have powerfully impressed the Roman Governor, and deepened his former thoughts about Jesus: first, that the death on the Cross had taken place so rapidly, a circumstance on which he personally questioned the Centurion (St. Mark), and then the bold appearance and request of such a man as Joseph of Arimathaea. Or did the Centurion express to the Governor also some such feeling as that which had found utterance under the Cross in the words: 'Truly this man was the Son of God'?" (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah - Alfred Edersheim)
Verse 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."
LGT "And there came also Nicodemus, the one who cane to Him first at night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes about a hundred pounds."
"There came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night,"
Remember how Nicodemus the Pharisee came to Jesus at night, in chapter three, so his religious associates wouldn't know that he was talking with Jesus. John is the only one of the Evangelists that makes reference to Nicodemus helping Joseph of Arimathaea. Nicodemus, finally, has to come out of the closet. "Let's not be too critical of these two men. They had stayed in the background but, now that the Lord's disciples have all scattered like sheep and gone under cover, these two men come out in the open" (McGee).
"And brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,"
"It was common to use sweet-smelling spices in the burial (2 Chron. 16:14)" (Robertson).
"About an hundred pound weight."
The pound, litras, was eleven ounces; so what Nicodemus brought was sixty-eight and three quarter's pounds by our standard of sixteen ounces to a pound. "The enormous quantity has been accounted for as a rich man's expression of devotion, or as required if the entire body and all the wrappings were to be smeared with it, and if the grave itself was to be filled with unguents as in 2 Chron. 16:14" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
Verse 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."
LGT "They took therefore the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the aromatics, just as is the custom among the Jews to prepare for burial."
"As the manner of the Jews is to bury."
John makes it very clear that the burying of Jesus was according to the custom of the Jews. "One would be surprised if it were for a royal burial - but that is precisely what Jesus' burial was in the eyes of Nicodemus, and probably Joseph too. To them He was in fact what the inscription on the Cross had proclaimed to be in mockery - 'The King of the Jews'. The spices in powdered form were spread on the lengths of linen cloth (othonia) which were used as winding sheets, so that grave-clothes and body alike were impregnated with them. This procedure was not the Egyptian practice of embalming: the Jews did first remove various internal organs from the body and fill the cavities with sweet spices, as the Egyptians did" (Bruce).
Vincent gives a very graphic picture of the Egyptian practice of burial:
"As contrasted with that of the Egyptians, for instance, which is thus described by Herodotus: 'They take a crooked piece of iron, and with it draw out the brains through the nostrils, thus getting rid of a portion, while the skull is cleared of the rest by rinsing with drugs; next they make a cut along the flank with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and take out the whole contents of the abdomen, which they then cleanse, washing it thoroughly with palm-wine, and again, frequently with an infusion of pounded aromatics. After this they fill the cavity with the purest bruised myrrh, with cassia, and every other sort of spicery except frankincense, and sew up the opening. Then the body is placed in natrum (sub carbonate of soda) for seventy days, and covered entirely over. After the expiration of that space of time, which must not be exceeded, the body is washed, and wrapped round, from head to foot, with bandages of fine linen cloth, smeared over with gum.' Or, possibly, a contrast may be implied with the Roman custom of burning the bodies of the dead [I believe I prefer burning]. Tacitus says of the Jews: 'The bodies of the deceased they choose rather to bury than burn, following in this the Egyptian custom; with whom also they agree in their attention to the dead.' (Vincent)
Verse 41, "Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid."
LGT "Now there was in the place where He was crucified a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one ever was yet laid."
"It seems as if the 'clean linen cloths' in which the body had been wrapped, was now torn into 'cloths' or swathes, into which the Body, limb by limb, was now 'bound,' no doubt, between layers of myrrh and aloes, the Head being wrapped in a napkin. And so they laid Him to rest in the niche of the rock-hewn new tomb" (Edersheim).
"Close by the place of crucifixion - if not an actual part of it - was a garden belonging to Joseph of Arimethaea, and in its enclosure he had caused a new tomb to be hewn for himself out of the solid rock, that he might be buried in the near precincts of the Holy City. The tomb had never been used, but, in spite of the awful sacredness, which the Jews attached to their rock-hewn sepulchers, and the sensitive scrupulosity with which they shrank from all contact with a corpse, Joseph never hesitated to give up for the body of Jesus the last home, which he had designated for his own use. But the preparation had to be hurried, because when the sun had set the Sabbath would have begun. All that they could do, therefore, was to wash the corpse, to lay it amid the spices, to wrap the head in a white napkin, to roll the fine linen round and round the wounded limbs, and to lay the body reverently in the rocky niche. Then, with the united toil of several men, they rolled a golel, or great stone, to the horizontal aperture [opening]: and scarcely had they accomplished this when as the sun sank behind the hills of Jerusalem, the new Sabbath dawned" (Farrar - The Life of Christ).
Verse 42, "There laid Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulcher was nigh at hand."
LGT "There therefore on account of the preparation of the Jews, because near was the tomb, they laid Jesus."
"They had to hurry because of the approaching Passover, and apparently they didn't get the embalming process completely finished. This explains why the women bought more spices and planned to come to care for the body of the Lord after the feast day.
This moves us into the next glorious chapter" (McGee).
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