Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

The Crucifixion in Other Gospels:
Matthew Chapter 27
Mark Chapter 15
Luke Chapter 23

John 19

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

John 19:¹ So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.

John 19:² And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.

• Crown of Thorns:
  • Figuratively:
    • The crown of thorns leaves piercing marks on Jesus’ head. Satan’s desire is to leave His “Mark” on all men.
    • Picture Jesus’ crown of thorns as the serpent; Satan. He is coiling himself around Jesus’ head, burying his fangs like thorns into His forehead, injecting and emptying his venom into his worst enemy, the Son of God.
      
  • Symbolically:
    • The thorn is symbolic of a “curse”. In the book of Genesis, thorns and thistles are curses to mankind.
    • (On the cross Jesus reversed the curse)
    • The crown of thorns is woven-one of the literal translations for the sea monster Leviathan, known as Satan who swims in the sea of people.
      
      • H7753 śûḵ A hedge of thorns includes “to intertwine, to weave”.
        
        • The crown of thorns is related the leviathan (Strongs H3882 livyathan) A sea monster who symbolically lives in a “sea of people” fouling the waters:
          
        • Strongs H3882 “sea monster, sea serpent, wreath” sometimes regarded as a form of Satan, from Late Latin leviathan, from Hebrew livyathan “dragon, serpent, huge sea animal (reptile),” of unknown origin, perhaps from root l-w-h- “to wind, turn, twist,” on the notion of a serpent’s coils, a “wreath” TO COIL INTO A WREATH.
          Besides translating Leviathan as a sea monster, or a wreath, the word is also used for “mourning”.
          
          • Job chapter 41, the Leviathan (sea dragon, Satan) is only caught and pulled out of the “Sea” (of people) with a thorn (hook). Furthermore; Leviathan is also translated as a “wreath” (like a crown of thorns)
            
          • In the book of Jonah, Jonah had a wreath of weeds circling his head among the waters. Thorns are also weeds. Like Jesus, Jonah was voluntarily “sacrificed” when he was thrown overboard, like Jesus, he spent 3 days and 3 nights in the Sea Monster’s (Satan’s) belly, and like Jesus, both were resurrected onto the shore of repentant gentiles, (Jonah was “regurgitated”, a type of resurrection).
            
          • Isaiah describes this monster as a “serpent”, “reptile” and “twisted”: Leviathan is any reptile and represents Satan.
            
          • Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD (Yĕhovah) with His severe sword (the Word of God: Jesus), great and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing (Escaping) serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent (Satan); and He will slay (kill the head, destroy the power of) the reptile that is in the sea (of people).
            
• Purple, like a robe, is symbolic of Royalty – appropriate for Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords. The soldiers mocked Him. People still mock Him today.

John 19:³ Then (they came up to Him and) they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.

John 19:⁴ Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”

Pilate’s Decision

John 19:⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

John 19:⁶ Therefore, 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.”

• For the 2nd time, the Passover Lamb (Jesus) is found to be without spot or blemish (Without fault or sin).

John 19:⁷ 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.”

John 19:⁸ Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid,

John 19:⁹ and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.

John 19:¹⁰ Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power (authority) to crucify You, and power to release You?”

John 19:¹¹ 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.”

John 19:¹² 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.”

John 19:¹³ When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

John 19:¹⁴ Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover (Nisan 14), and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” (Jesus was taken down before twilight when the next Jewish day began – Nisan 15, A Holy Convocation, A High Sabbath).

• 

John 19:¹⁵ 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!”

John 19:¹⁶ Then he (Pilate) delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.

The King on a Cross

John 19:¹⁷ And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,

John 19:¹⁸ where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.

• See Topic: Jesus in the Middle for it’s symbolic significance.

John 19:¹⁹ Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:

• Note: Not an accusation, but a title.

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

John 19:²⁰ Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city (Jerusalem); and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

“Hebrew was the theological language; Greek, the intellectual language; Latin, the political language. Let those who view things theologically; let those who view things intellectually; let those who view things politically know this: Jesus is King.” (Courson)

Theological Language	Intellectual Language	Political Language
Hebrew	Greek	Latin

John 19:²¹ Therefore 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.” ’ ”

John 19:²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

John 19:²³ Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.

• Jesus is the seamless Son of God (from the top/above).
• Like the four parts of His garment, there are four parts to Jesus’ identity (See chart below) King of kings, High Priest, Kinsman Redeemer, Prince of Peace as the Son of God.
  

John 19:²⁴ 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.

Behold Your Mother

John 19:²⁵ Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

• Matthew says there were many women who were followers of Jesus:
  
  • Matthew 27:⁵⁵ And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, ⁵⁶ among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses (Joseph), and the mother of Zebedee’s sons (James and John, two of Jesus’ closest friends, and two of the “inner three” disciples).
    
  • The brothers of Jesus were James, Joses (a form of Joseph), Simon, and Jude. Four who were biological sons of Jesus’ legal father, Joseph.

John 19:²⁶ When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved (John, the author of this gospel) standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”

John 19:²⁷ Then He said to the disciple (John), “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple (John) took her to his own home.

It Is Finished

John 19:²⁸ After this, Jesus, knowing (seeing) that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”

John 19:²⁹ Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.

John 19:³⁰ So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

John 19:³¹ Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

John 19:³² Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.

John 19:³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

John 19:³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

John 19:³⁵ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.

John 19:³⁶ For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”

John 19:³⁷ And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

John 19:³⁸ 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.  

John 19:³⁹ And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

John 19:⁴⁰ Then 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.

• Linen is symbolic of righteousness. The saints are given robes of linen in the book of Revelation:
  
  • Revelation 15:6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.
    
  • Revelation 19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

John 19:⁴¹ 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.

John 19:⁴² So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

---

{1 of 7} John 19 – “Jewish Leaders Blackmail Roman Legate Forcing Execution of Innocent Man”
{2 of 7} John 19 – “Stand By Me” [v25-26]
{3 of 7} John 19 – “Cross-Examined” [The Crucifixion]
{4 of 7} John 19 – “Twisted, Coiled, Cursed” [Symbolism & Hebrew Meanings]
{5 of 7} John 19 – “The Wonder of the Wandering Future” [Prophecy & Patterns]
{6 of 7} John 19 – “Four Swords and a Spear” [Archeology]
{7 of 7} John 19 -“It is Finished!” [v28,30]
{8 of 8} John 19 – “No King But Caesar” [v15]

---