The King of the Jews: John 19:17-24

As John shifts his attention onto Jesus facing the cross, we discover a powerful prophecy that was fulfilled in this event, and we see evidence that Pilate was more impressed by Jesus than he was by the religious leaders.

However, leading up to Jesus facing the cross, John describes the road to the crucifixion a little differently than the other gospels. Let’s read about what happened.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 19, and we will read it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 17, John tells us that:

¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, Jesus went out to a place called The Place of the Skull, which in the Hebrew language is called Golgotha.

Let’s pause reading for a moment. While Matthew, Mark, and Luke all describe how part way into Jesus’ trip with the cross, a bystander is called in to help Jesus carry the cross, John does not describe this. Instead, John focused on Jesus carrying his own cross.

While this may seem like a discrepancy, there are at least two ways we can reconcile this supposed conflict. The first is that John focuses on Jesus as He begins the trip, and Jesus starts on the road to Golgotha carrying the cross. None of the gospels say when Simon, the bystander, is called to help, but it could have been as late as Jesus having arrived at the hill, but not having the strength left to climb it.

Another way to reconcile this supposed conflict is by understanding that John may have been referring to Jesus’ spiritual cross. From the prayers in the garden less than 12 hours before this, Jesus had been carrying the sins of humanity on His shoulders, and this was more of a cross, or burden, than the wooden structure Jesus was dragging to the crucifixion site. While carrying humanity’s sins would crush anyone else, Jesus was strong enough, and He carried this spiritual cross when no one else could.

After arriving at the Place of the Skull, John continues in verse 18, telling us that:

¹⁸ There they crucified Jesus. They also crucified two other men, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹ Pilate wrote a sign and put it on the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. ²⁰ The sign was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Many of the people read the sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. ²¹ The leading priests said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews.’ But write, ‘This man said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Let’s pause again briefly because Pilate’s sign and brief conversation with the religious leaders is fascinating. In Pilate’s message, we catch a glimpse of the impact Jesus had on Pilate, and I suspect that Pilate believed Jesus may have even had divinity within Him because of how Pilate responded when hearing the claim that Jesus was God’s Son.

While Pilate didn’t think highly of Jews or the Jewish religion, the children of gods would ultimately be gods and kings in all the other religions of the region, so Jesus being the Jewish God’s Son would make Jesus the King of the Jews.

Pilate understands this, and he also likely understood that Jesus never would have said He was the king of the Jews. From how Jesus frames Himself in His conversations with Pilate, Pilate understood Jesus as much more than simply a Jewish revolutionary.

The words Pilate wrote I suspect were aimed directly at the religious leaders. I suspect that Pilate wrote them as a challenge to them for crucifying their King, even if they didn’t believe Jesus to be that. Pilate’s words challenge the religious leaders because they draw attention to Pilate’s suspicion that Jesus was the Messiah these religious leaders had been waiting for.

Pilate doesn’t change the wording he used because Jesus never made the claim. Pilate wants this message to be a statement aimed at the religious leaders who were the ultimate ones responsible for Jesus’ death.

However, there is another part of the crucifixion event left for us to look at in this episode. Continuing in verse 23, John tells us that:

²³ After the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, with each soldier getting one part. They also took his long shirt, which was all one piece of cloth, woven from top to bottom. ²⁴ So the soldiers said to each other, “We should not tear this into parts. Let’s throw lots to see who will get it.” This happened so that this Scripture would come true:

“They divided my clothes among them,
    and they threw lots for my clothing.”

So the soldiers did this.

When looking at what happened while Jesus was on the cross, and at this prophecy specifically, it is amazing to think that it was predicted centuries before this. Perhaps it was normal for the soldiers to gamble or divide a crucified person’s possessions among themselves, but the way this prophecy is framed is powerful.

This prophecy states that dividing would happen among Jesus’ clothes, but that Jesus’ “long shirt” as this translation describes, or Jesus’ undergarment according to some other translations, would not be divided but instead gambled for. In this prophecy is two direct conditions, and both are fulfilled exactly as predicted.

Jesus had no control over what Roman soldiers would do with His clothing, but God knew, and God gave this prophecy many centuries before to help draw attention to Jesus when the time was right.

Everything in Jesus’ life and ministry focused on and led Jesus to the cross, and this is because Jesus facing the cross opens up salvation for you and me. We have failed God in our lives. We likely will continue to fail God in the future. However, Jesus offers to take our failures and our sins onto Himself, and die a death He did not deserve in order to give us the opportunity to live a life we could never earn and a life that we don’t deserve.

The life Jesus offers us can begin right now, and when it begins, it has the potential to extend into eternity!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to let God lead and guide your life both today, and every day leading towards eternity. Intentionally accept Jesus’ gift to take our sins onto Himself and accept the gift of a new life He offers to us when we accept His life in exchange for ours.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and move closer to God each and every day. A personal relationship with God is possible, and it begins when we personally take steps to grow closer to Him through prayer and reading His Word.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!