John 19:1-3
1–3. _Inside the Praetorium;_ the scourging and mockery by the soldiers.... [ Continue Reading ]
1–3. _Inside the Praetorium;_ the scourging and mockery by the soldiers.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΌΤΕ ΟΥ̓͂Ν. Because the attempt to release Him in honour of the Feast had failed, Pilate tries whether the severe and degrading punishment of scourging will not satisfy the Jews. In Pilate’s hands the boasted justice of Roman Law ends in the policy “What evil did He do? I found no cause of death in... [ Continue Reading ]
28–19:16. THE ROMAN OR CIVIL TRIAL As already stated, S. John omits both the examination before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin at an irregular time and place, at midnight and at ‘the Booths’ (Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65), and also the formal meeting of the Sanhedrin after daybreak in the proper plac... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩ͂ΤΑΙ. Herod and his troops (Luke 23:11) had set an example which the Roman soldiers were ready enough to follow. Pilate countenances the brutality as aiding his own plan of satisfying Jewish hatred with something less than death. The soldiers had inflicted the scourging; for Pilate, being... [ Continue Reading ]
3. Insert ΚΑῚ ἬΡΧΟΝΤΟ ΠΡῸΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ before ΚΑῚ ἜΛΕΓΟΝ with אBLUXΛ against A (homoeoteleuton; omission from αὐτόν to αὐτόν).... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἘΞΗ͂ΛΘΕΝ (אABKLX) for ἐξῆλθεν οὖν (Δ). 4. ἌΓΩ. On the previous occasion (John 18:38) Pilate left Jesus within, while he pronounced Him innocent. Note the absence of ἐγώ and the change of order.... [ Continue Reading ]
4–7. _Outside the Praetorium;_ Pilate’s appeal, ‘Behold _the Man;_’ the Jews’ rejoinder, ‘He made Himself _Son of God_.’... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΟΡΩ͂Ν. Not φέρων; _wearing_, not merely ‘bearing.’ The crown and the robe are now His permanent dress. The Evangelist repeats the details (John 19:2) as of a picture deeply imprinted in his memory: whether or no he entered the Praetorium, he no doubt witnessed the _Ecce Homo_. ἸΔΟῪ Ὁ ἌΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ. In... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ�. Κ. ΟἹ ὙΠ. Repeat the article as in John 11:47. The leaders take the initiative, to prevent any expression of compassion on the part of the crowd. The sight of ‘the Man’ maddens rather than softens them. For ΚΡΑΥΓΆΖΩ see on John 18:40. ΣΤΑΎΡ. ΣΤΑΎΡ. CRUCIFY, CRUCIFY. The imperative without an a... [ Continue Reading ]
7. After ΤῸΝ ΝΌΜΟΝ omit ἡμῶν (obvious amplification) with אBLΔ against A. 7. ΝΌΜΟΝ. They refer to Leviticus 24:16. The Jews answer Pilate’s taunt by a plea hitherto kept in the background. He may think lightly of the seditious conduct of Jesus, but as a Procurator he is bound by Roman precedent to... [ Continue Reading ]
Τ. Τ. ΛΌΓΟΝ. THIS WORD: it is no mere ‘saying’ (ῥῆμα); like the word of Caiaphas, it has more meaning than the speakers know. It intensifies Pilate’s disquietude. The message from his wife and the awe which Christ’s presence was probably inspiring had already in some degree affected him. This myster... [ Continue Reading ]
8–11. _Inside the Praetorium;_ Christ’s origin is asked and not told; the origin of authority is told unasked.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡΑΙΤΏΡΙΟΝ. See on John 18:28. ΠΌΘΕΝ ΕἾ ΣΎ. is a vague question which might apply to Christ’s dwelling-place, already known to Pilate (Luke 23:6); he hoped for an answer as to His _origin_. Would the Prisoner repeat this mysterious claim, or explain it? But Pilate could not have understood the answe... [ Continue Reading ]
Baffled and still in doubt as to the relations between himself and his Prisoner he takes refuge in a domineering tone of assumed confidence. _To_ ME _speakest Thou not_? Whatever He might do before His countrymen, it was folly to refuse to answer the Roman governor. For ἘΞΟΥΣΊΑΝ, _authority_, see on... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ ΕἾΧΕΣ. Comp. John 15:20. This is Christ’s last word to Pilate; a declaration of the supremacy of God, and a protest against the claim of any human potentate to be irresponsible. The Accused has become the judge’s Judge. Even Pilate could understand ἌΝΩΘΕΝ: had Jesus said παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου, he... [ Continue Reading ]
12. Authorities vary much between ἘΚΡΑΎΓΑΖΟΝ, ἐκραύγασαν, and ἔκραζον. 12. ἘΚ ΤΟΎΤΟΥ. UPON THIS; see on John 6:66. The imperfect expresses continued efforts. Indirect means, as the release in honour of the Feast, the appeal to compassion, and taunts, have failed; Pilate now makes more direct effort... [ Continue Reading ]
12–16. _Outside the Praetorium_. The power from above controlled from below pronounces public sentence of death on the Innocent.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΩ͂Ν ΛΌΓΩΝ ΤΟΎΤΩΝ (אAB) for τοῦτον τὸν λόγον (from John 19:8). 13. Pilate’s mind seems to have been made up at once: without replying he prepares to pass sentence. The fatal moment has come, and as in the case of the arrest (John 18:1-4) the Evangelist gives minute particulars. ἬΓΑΓΕΝ ἜΞΩ. Sentenc... [ Continue Reading ]
ἮΝ ΔῈ Π. Τ. Π., ὭΡΑ ἮΝ ὩΣ ἝΚΤΗ. In two abrupt sentences S. John calls special attention to the day and hour; _now it was the eve of the Passover: it was about the sixth hour_. It is difficult to believe that he can be utterly mistaken about both. The question of the day is discussed in Appendix A; t... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚΕΙ͂ΝΟΙ. The pronoun indicates their opposition. The four aorists are all appropriate: ἐκραύγασαν, _they shouted out_ once for all; while the three aorists imperative shew their impatience to have their will. ΣΤΑΥΡΏΣΩ is either _Shall I_ or _Must I_. Note the emphatic position of τ. βασ. ὑμῶν: ‘Mus... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΌΤΕ ΟὟΝ Π. In none of the Gospels does it appear that Pilate pronounced sentence _on_ Jesus; he perhaps purposely avoided doing so. But in delivering Him over to the priests he does not allow them to act for themselves: ‘he delivered Him to them that _He might be crucified_’ by Roman soldiers; not... [ Continue Reading ]
17. After ἸΗΣΟΥ͂Ν omit καὶ� (perhaps from Matthew 27:31). ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ι τὸν ΣΤΑΥΡΌΝ (BLX) for τ. στ. αὐτοῦ (E): there are other variations. 17. ΠΑΡΈΛΑΒΟΝ ΟΥ̓͂Ν. _They took Jesus therefore_, or _they received_, as in John 1:11; John 14:3. The verb means ‘to accept what is offered, receive from the hands of... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE TITLE ON THE CROSS... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DEATH AND BURIAL For what is peculiar to S. John’s narrative in this section see the introductory note to chap. 18. Besides this, the title on the cross, the Jews’ criticism of it, and the conduct of the four soldiers, are given with more exactness by S. John than by the Synoptists. The sectio... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΈΣΟΝ ΔῈ Τ. Ἰ. Dramatic contrast; the Christ between two criminals. It is the place of honour mockingly given to Him as King. The two were robbers or bandits, as S. Matthew and S. Mark call them, probably guilty of the same crimes as Barabbas. In the _Acta Pilati_ they are named Dysmas and Gestas. J... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΤΊΤΛΟΝ. _A title_ ALSO: the meaning of the καί is not clear; perhaps it looks back to John 19:16, or to μέσον τ. Ἰησοῦν, as being Pilate’s doing: he placed Jesus between two criminals, and _also_ insulted the Jews by a mocking inscription. Τίτλος is _titulus_ Graecized. It was common to put on t... [ Continue Reading ]
ῬΩΜΑΪΣΤΊ before ἙΛΛΗΝΙΣΤΊ with אBLX against AIa. 20. ἘΓΓΎΣ. S. John’s exact topographical knowledge appears again here. Pictures of the Crucifixion mislead in placing the city a mile or two off in the background. Τῆς πόλεως with ἐγγύς (John 11:18), not after ὁ τόπος: ‘the place of the city was near... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ�. Τ. ἸΟΥΔ. Now that they have wrung what they wanted out of Pilate they see that in granting it he has insulted them publicly before the thousands present at the Passover, and in a way not easy to resent. The addition ‘of the Jews’ is remarkable, and it occurs nowhere else in N.T. It probably ref... [ Continue Reading ]
22. Pilate’s answer illustrates the mixture of obstinacy and relentlessness, which Philo says was characteristic of him. His own interests are not at stake, so he will have his way: where he had anything to fear or to gain he could be supple enough. A shrewd, practical man of the world, with all a R... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤᾺ ἹΜΆΤΙΑ. The upper garment, girdle, sandals, &c. The ἱμάτιον was large enough to be worth dividing. By the law _De bonis damnatorum_ the clothes of executed criminals were the perquisite of the soldiers on duty. The ΤΈΣΣΕΡΑ shews accurate knowledge: a quaternion has charge of the prisoner, as in A... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FOUR ENEMIES AND THE FOUR FRIENDS... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΆΧΩΜΕΝ. This use of λαγχάνω is rare, if not unique. Its proper meaning is ‘to _obtain_ by lot’ (Luke 1:9; Acts 1:17; 1 Peter 1:1). ἽΝΑ Ἡ ΓΡΑΦΉ. see on John 2:22 and John 12:38. It was in order that the Divine purpose, already declared by the Psalmist, might be accomplished, that this twofold assign... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἹΣΤΗΚ. ΔΈ. BUT _there_ WERE STANDING. The δέ answers to the previous μέν, and these two particles mark the contrast between the two groups. On the one hand, the four plundering soldiers with the centurion; on the other, the four ministering women with the beloved disciple. It is not improbable that... [ Continue Reading ]
ὋΝ ἨΓΆΠΑ. See on John 13:23 : it is no mere periphrasis to avoid naming him, still less a boastful insertion. It explains why Jesus committed him to His Mother and His Mother to him. ΓΎΝΑΙ, ἼΔΕ Ὁ ΥἹῸΣ ΣΟΥ. See on John 2:4. The act is one of filial care for the soul-pierced Mother (Luke 2:35), who pe... [ Continue Reading ]
26, 27. ἼΔΕ (S. John’s usual form) for ἰδού, with אB and others against A.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΕΤᾺ ΤΟΥ͂ΤΟ ΕἸΔΏΣ. See on John 19:38; John 3:22; John 13:1. The identity between ΤΕΤΈΛΕΣΤΑΙ here and in John 19:30 must be preserved in translation; ARE NOW FINISHED. The construction that follows is amphibolous. In order to avoid the apparent contradiction between all things being already finished... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TWO WORDS FROM THE CROSS, ‘I THIRST,’ ‘IT IS FINISHED’... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΠΌΓΓΟΝ ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΜΕΣΤῸΝ ΤΟΥ͂ ὌΞΟΥΣ (אBLX) for οἱ δὲ πλήσαντες σπόγγον ὄξους καὶ (A), a combination with Matthew 27:48 and Mark 15:36, which caused οὖν to be transferred to the previous clause,—σκεῦος οὖν ἔκειτο. 29. S. John’s exact knowledge appears again. The Synoptists do not mention the ΣΚΕΥ͂ΟΣ, but... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΛΑΒΕΝ. He had refused the stupefying draught (Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23), which would have clouded His faculties: He accepts what will revive them for the effort of a willing surrender of His life. ΤΕΤΈΛΕΣΤΑΙ. Just as the thirst was there before he expressed it, so the consciousness that His work w... [ Continue Reading ]
31. As in John 18:28, the Jews shew themselves to be among those ‘who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.’ In the midst of deliberate judicial murder they are scrupulous about ceremonial observances. The ΟΥ̓͂Ν, as in John 19:23, probably does not refer to what immediately precedes: it looks back... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PETITION OF THE JEWS AND THE PETITION OF JOSEPH... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΝΥΞΕΝ. _Pricked_ or STABBED, a milder word than ἐξεκέντησαν (John 19:37). All ancient Versions mark the difference between the two verbs. The Vulgate (_aperuit_) and Philox. Syriac indicate a reading ἤνοιξεν. The object of the νύττειν was to make sure that He was dead. The word occurs here only in... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ἙΩΡΑΚῺΣ Κ.Τ.Λ _He that_ HATH SEEN HATH BORNE WITNESS _and his_ WITNESS _is true_ (comp. John 1:19; John 1:32; John 1:34; John 8:13-14; John 12:17). The use of the perfect participle rather than the aorist is evidence that the writer himself is the person who saw. If he were appealing to the witnes... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓΈΝΕΤΟ. CAME TO PASS. Note that S. John uses the aorist, where S. Matthew, writing nearer to the events, uses γέγονεν. ‘Hath come to pass’ implies that the event is not very remote; Matthew 1:22; Matthew 21:4; Matthew 26:56. The ΓΆΡ depends on πιστεύσητε. Belief is supported by Scripture; _for_ the... [ Continue Reading ]
ὌΨΟΝΤΑΙ. All present, especially the Jews. The whole world was represented there. ἘΚΚΕΝΤΑ͂Ν, ‘to pierce deeply,’ occurs nowhere else in N.T. excepting Revelation 1:7, and forms a connexion worth noting between the Gospel and the Apocalypse (see on John 1:14; John 4:6; John 7:30; John 8:2; John 11:44... [ Continue Reading ]
38. Before and after ἸΩΣΉΦ omit ὁ (usual in mentioning a well-known person). 38. ΜΕΤᾺ ΔῈ ΤΑΥ͂ΤΑ. BUT _after_ THESE THINGS. The δέ marks a contrast between the hostile petition of the Jews and the friendly petition of Joseph. Ταῦτα as distinct from τοῦτο shews that no one event is singled out with wh... [ Continue Reading ]
ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ for ΤῸΝ ἸΗΣΟΥ͂Ν (correction for clearness). 39. Another coincidence. Nicodemus also was a member of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1), and his acquaintance with Joseph is thus explained. But it is S. Mark who tells us that Joseph was one of the Sanhedrin, S. John who brings him in contact with Nicode... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΔΗΣΑΝ ΑΥ̓ΤῸ ὈΘ. BOUND _it in linen_ CLOTHS. The ὀθόνια (see on Luke 24:12) seem to be the bandages, whereas the σινδών (Matthew 27:59; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53) is a large sheet (Mark 14:51) to envelope the whole. ΚΑΘῺΣ ἜΘΟΣ Ἐ. Τ. Ἰ. distinguishes Jewish from other modes of embalming. The Egyptians h... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΗ͂ΠΟΣ. S. John alone mentions it, as he alone mentions the other garden (John 18:1). It probably belonged to Joseph, for the tomb was his (Matthew 27:60). This shews that Joseph, though of Arimathaea, had settled in Jerusalem. For ΚΑΙΝΌΝ see on John 13:34. S. Matthew also says that it was new, S. L... [ Continue Reading ]
42. The burial was hastily performed: after the great Sabbath they intended to make a more solemn and complete burial. The fact of his having a tomb of his own close to Golgotha had perhaps suggested to Joseph the thought of going to Pilate. For the addition ΤΩ͂Ν ἸΟΥΔΑΊΩΝ see on John 2:13; John 11:5... [ Continue Reading ]