THE BOOK OF JOHN, Chapter 19
The Crown of Thorns, The Crucifixion
Humankind, from their first appearance in the Bible, have sinned from their fallen nature. They have always been savage-minded, undisciplined and selfish, from the Garden of Eden through the creation of the Jewish nation until this day.
Scriptures warn us that “sin is crouching at your door and its desire is to have you”, and for us to “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
We will see (and experience) in this book and chapter the inherent evil of humankind. Mankind putting his himself and his self-centered thoughts and desires above the Thoughts, Plans and Desires of the One True and Good God.
(If this book and chapter was subject to modern book and movie rating warnings, it would be classified as “M.A.”, mature audiences only, due to its graphic nature of violence.)
All of that said, and despite the insanely cruel violence, God had decreed that these things must come to pass in order to redeem humankind from their wild barbarism and self-destruction, to tame them and reconcile them to Himself.
God has provided for mankind even in his and her rebellion toward Him, from the beginning. And each time there has been a price to pay in blood. God provided clothing for Adam and Eve when they were sent out of the Garden of Eden, and animals had to die to provide that clothing. The Jewish laws provided that justice was found through “an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot”, even a death for a death, as a means of proportional justice, meaning that the punishment should match the offense – and was often exacted in blood the resulted in conflict, wars and death. As a result the Jewish law provided a way to soothe the conscience of the consequential sense of guilt and shame by the sacrificial blood of bulls and goats. This would temporarily assuage and relieve the conscience (i.e., sins were covered), but needed to be repeated.
Finally, God provided an end to blood sacrifices by supreme sacrifice of His Son to permanently wipe away the stain and negate the power and penalty of sin. Here is that cosmic event:
The Crown of Thorns
John 18:1, So Pilate then took Jesus and had Him flogged. Verse 2. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple cloak on Him; verse 3, and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapped Him in the face again and again. Verse 4. And then Pilate came out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that I find no grounds at all for charges in His case.” Verse 5. Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” Verse 6. So when 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 grounds for charges in His case!” Verse 7. The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God!”
Verse 8. Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; verse 9, and he entered the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. Verse 10. So Pilate said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Verse 11. Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” Verse 12. As a result of this, Pilate made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar!”
Verse 13. Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement—but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Verse 14. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Look, your King!” Verse 15. So they shouted, “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 except Caesar.”
The Crucifixion
Verse 16. So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. Verse 17. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha. Verse 18. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Verse 19. Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Verse 20. Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. Verse 21. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” Verse 22. Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
Verse 23. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts: a part to each soldier, and the tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. Verse 24. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “THEY DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEMSELVES, AND THEY CAST LOTS FOR MY CLOTHING.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
Verse 25. Now beside the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Verse 26. So when Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Verse 27. Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
Verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” Verse 29. A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Verse 30. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Care of the Body of Jesus
Verse 31. Now then, since it was the day of preparation, to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away. Verse 32. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was crucified with Him; Verse 33. but after they came to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Verse 34. Yet one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. Verse 35. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. Verse 36. For these things took place so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.” Verse 37. And again another Scripture says, “THEY WILL LOOK AT HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED.”
(Commentary Break): It is one thing to get an account of an event or of events from hearsay or third-party accounts, but this is a first-hand, eyewitness account of these events. So, the Apostle John gives his oath as to the truth and accuracy of these events – “so you also may believe”. (End Commentary Break).
Verse 38. Now after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, requested of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Verse 39. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred litras weight.
(Commentary Break): It seems odd to this author to be named as a “secret disciple” such as Joseph of Arimathea, or as one “who had first come to Jesus by night” (out of fear for loss of position, reputation or status. And like so many other names who might appear once in the Bible, are not heard from again. Their moment was fleeting. But the question remains, were they saved? Did a simple encounter with Jesus result in their salvation, or were they like the “moth would fly around a flame”- and in this case, the Light of God. Drawn but never committed? Rather than have to speculate, it is best to be certain, “for men.(and women) will come to Him in that day and say, ‘did I not prophesy in Your Name and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’”. We must, as Jesus commanded, pick up our cross and follow Him. (End Commentary Break).
Verse 40. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Verse 41. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Verse 42. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (End of chapter 19).
Following Jesus means will draw close to Him, as to be looking over His shoulder, watching His every move so we can be like Him. And we will be seen with Him and will be identified with Him. People will likely know that you have been with Him. So, when we follow Jesus we may and most certainly will encounter criticisms, persecutions, trials, stresses and tribulations. We may suffer losses in this world from being His disciple. But in those costs, we will gain an unspeakable joy, an unconditional love and a peace that will surpass this world’s understanding. We will have gained an eternal safety, and a spiritual health that cannot be diminished or taken from us. We will be made whole and into the perfect image of Christ, living in His presence for all eternity. Yes. It is worth the cost a thousand times over!
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
NEXT: (coming soon) THE BOOK OF JOHN, Chapter 20, The Empty Tomb, Jesus Among His Disciples, Why This Gospel Was Written.
(Please bookmark this page for future episodes).
PS: As I have said on many occasions, the “Commentary Breaks” on these pages and on most of the commentary-oriented studies I write, are not always designed as nor are they meant to be just an exegetical analysis or a critical explanation of the text, for I provide links to sources such as GotQuestions.Org and BibleHub.com. These pages and “Commentary Breaks” are meant to ask the questions “what does it say; why was it said or done; what does it mean; and what does it mean to me – i.e., what am I to do in response?” This is an inductive study method, which focuses on observation, interpretation, and application of Scripture. This approach encourages readers to engage deeply with the text, allowing it to reveal its own meaning through careful analysis and personal reflection.
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