Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. The soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands (v.1-3).
Pilate then went out of the praetorium again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.” Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!” When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.” (v.4-6)
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the praetorium. He said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer (v.7-9).
Then Pilate said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” (v.10-12)
From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.” When Pilate heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place called the ‘Pavement’, but in Hebrew, ‘Gabbatha.’ (v.13)
Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. Pilate said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” But 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!” Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. They took Jesus and led Him away (v.14-16).
And Jesus, bearing His cross, went out to a place called in Hebrew ‘Golgotha’, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side with Jesus in the centre. Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. The writing was: ‘JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS’. Many of the Jews read this title, for the place was near the city; it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (v.17-20).
The chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’ but, He said, “I am the King of the Jews”. Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” (v.21)
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic that was without seam, woven from the top into one piece. They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be”, that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: ‘They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.’ Therefore the soldiers did these things (v.22-24).
There stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” From that hour that disciple took her to his own home (v.25-27).
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit (v.28-30).
Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for the Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken’. And again another Scripture says, ‘They shall look on Him whom they pierced’. (V.31-37)
After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So, he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury (v.38-40).
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby (v.41-42).
COMMENTARY
Jesus was scourged which was part of the capital sentence. But in this case, it was inflicted on Jesus before formal judgment (v.1)
A crown of thorns was put on Jesus to mock Him. Placing a purple robe on Him was to make fun of Him for He said He was a King (v.2; 18:37).
Jesus found no fault with Jesus three times and wanted to release Him but the Jews cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” (v.6; Luke 23:14,22)
Pilate was the more afraid (v.8), for the Jews said that Jesus made Himself the Son of God. Fear came upon Pilate for he realized that if the claim was true, Jesus was a theos aner, a man with quality of divine about Him.
That was exactly the impression that Jesus had been making on him throughout the confrontation. That added to Pilate’s fears. Earlier his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” (Matt. 27:19).
Jesus’ silence annoyed Pilate (v.10-11). It bordered on contempt of court. Moreover, it was foolish, for Pilate was the only one of use to Jesus in His present situation. “No one has power to condemn is without power to quit.” Pilate implied that acquittal, if it be possible, was still his intention. Hence, he said, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
But Jesus discerned behind Pilate’s discretionary power a higher authority. Unless it had been given Pilate from above, he would have no power at all against Jesus. Caiaphas who delivered Jesus to Pilate had the greater sin because Pilate acted in accordance with the terms of his divine appointed authority in investigating a charge brought before him, but Caiaphas for reasons of political expediency handed Jesus over to Pilate on a charge of sedition for which he hoped capital conviction would be forthcoming.
For this reason, Caiaphas’ sin was greater than it would have been, if he had not received from God the privileges and responsibilities of the high priesthood.
The Jews cried out, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend.” (v.12) The Jews shifted their focus from the religious charge (v.7) to the political charge (v.18,33), which they backed up with an appeal to Caesar’s own political interest. That forced Pilate to choose between an indefinite sense of right or escaping the danger of an accusation at Rome.
Pilate subsequently brought Jesus out and sat down in judgment seat in a place called the Pavement where he could have conducted the whole trial. But the Jews’ refusal to enter the praetorium lest they be defiled, led to Pilate’s moving back and forth among them (v.13).
Preparation Day of the Passover (v.14) On that occasion, the Passover fell on a sabbath. The sabbath eve ‘sine paraskeue’ refers to Friday, therefore the Preparation Day of the Passover was a Friday. The sixth hour was 6.00 am. Pilate said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” He was put on the spot by the chief priests and saw no alternative to condemning Jesus to death, so he took revenge on them by insisting that the bloodstained Jesus was their king and invited them to recognise Him as such.
But instead, they insisted on His death, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” They preferred proclaiming a heathen emperor as their king to acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah. Trapped by his own fear, Pilate delivered the innocent Jesus to them to be crucified, something which he knew Jesus did not deserve (v.15-16).
Jesus bore the cross, went out to the place called the Place of a Skull which in Hebrew was Golgotha; there they crucified Him. Pilate wrote the title and put it on the cross, which was ‘JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ It was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Many of the Jews read it for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” (v.17-21)
It was customary to write on a placard the crime of which a condemned person had been found guilty and fix it above his head. The wording of the title made it plain that the charge on which Jesus was sentenced to be crucified was what He was originally brought before Pilate (ref 18:33). That charge was sedition. Pilate refused to change the title. As did Caiaphas, Pilate affirmed more than ever intended. The title proclaimed to all that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah (v.22).
The soldiers tore the garments of Jesus into four parts and each was given a part. According to Roman law, the garments of a condemned criminal belonged to the executioners (v.23). However, they did not tear his tunic, a close-fitting garment that went from the neck to the knees, but cast lots for it, as to whose it would be. Thus the Scripture was fulfilled which says: ‘They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.’ (v.24)
When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by at the foot of the cross, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple whom He loved, “Behold your mother!” Jesus entrusted the care of the mother to the disciple. And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home (v.25-27).
Jesus knowing that all things were accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst.” They filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!”
And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. The sour wine was not to be confused with the ‘wine mingled with myrrh’, which according to Mark 15:23, Jesus refused when it was offered to Him on His arrival at the place of execution. That was a sedative to dull the senses of the victims and to relieve them of some agony. Jesus resolved to die with unclouded mind.
The sour wine put on hyssop and put on Jesus’ mouth was from the vessel sitting there, placedconveniently for the soldiers to drink from time to time as they guarded the three crosses (v.28-29).
Bodies should not remain on the crosses on the sabbath (v.31). According to Jewish law (Deut.21:23), it was necessary to remove the bodies of executed criminals before sunset, as that day was the Preparation Day, eve of the sabbath. To avoid breaking the Law, the Jews requested that the legs of the condemned be broken so that the men could die quickly and the bodies removed from the crosses.
The Sabbath was a ‘high day’ especially significant because it was the sabbath of the Passover week (v.31-32).
Jesus’ already dead when the soldier came to break his legs. Thus, not a bone of His was broken but He was pierced at the side of His body by the soldier to make certain that He was dead. Blood and water came out. John who saw it testified and his testimony is true.
John knew he was telling the truth that the people may believe (v.33-35). All that happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken’ and ‘they shall look on him whom they pierced.’ (v.36-37)
Joseph of Arimathea was a rich member of the Jewish council (Matt.27:57; Mark 15:43) and a disciple of Jesus secretly, for fear of the Jews. He himself was one waiting for the kingdom of God (Luke 23:51).
At that instance, he threw caution to the wind; he went and asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so Joseph took the body of Jesus. Together with Nicodemus the Pharisee who at first came to Jesus by night, having brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes about a hundred pounds, they bound Jesus’ body in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews to bury.
In the garden nearby, they buried Jesus in a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid because of the Jews Preparation Day. That would be late Friday afternoon before sunset when the Sabbath of the Passover began.
TEACHINGS
Jesus Christ being delivered was by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God; He was taken by lawless hands and crucified and put to death (Acts 2:23). Jesus Christ, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sin might live for righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed (I Pet. 2:23-24).
We ought to follow His example to suffer righteously and commit all our burden to Him who is able to save us (I Pet.2:19-22).
Jesus Christ is King yet His kingdom is not of this world. His Kingship is not political nor earthly. Hence in the true Church, we obey and serve Him diligently to fulfill His divine will. We ought never to strive for pollical goals and carnal ambitions nor should we honour anyone as king in place of our Lord Jesus.
We please not man above Him (Gal.1:10).
Jesus Christ suffered for and was crucified once for our iniquities (Rom.6:10; I Pet.3:18). Never crucify Him again to wilfully commit sin, thus trampling the Son of God underfoot and counting the blood of the covenant by which we had been cleansed as ordinary, as well as insulting the Spirit of grace (Heb. 6:4-5; 10:26-29).
Live by faith in Jesus Christ with Him living in us no longer ourselves, for He lived and died for us (Gal.2:20).
