John 19:17

CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF THE LORD JESUS. (Joh 19:17-30)

And he bearing his cross--(See on Luk 23:26).

went forth--Compare Heb 13:11-13, "without the camp"; "without the gate." On arriving at the place, "they gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall [wine mingled with myrrh, Mar 15:23], and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink" (Mat 27:34). This potion was stupefying, and given to criminals just before execution, to deaden the sense of pain.

Fill high the bowl, and spice it well, and pour

The dews oblivious: for the Cross is sharp,

The Cross is sharp, and He

Is tenderer than a lamb.

KEBLE.

But our Lord would die with every faculty clear, and in full sensibility to all His sufferings.

Thou wilt feel all, that Thou may'st pity all;

And rather would'st Thou wrestle with strong pain

Than overcloud Thy soul,

So clear in agony,

Or lose one glimpse of Heaven before the time,

O most entire and perfect Sacrifice,

Renewed in every pulse.

KEBLE.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh_19:17-25

And He bearing His cross went forth

The lonely Cross-bearer

I.

BEARING THE CROSS FOR HIMSELF (Isa_63:3).

1. An aggravation of His misery.

2. An intensifying of their sin.

3. A heightening of His love.

4. An enlargement of their hope.

II. BEARING THE CROSS FOR US.

1. As an expiation of our guilt (Col_1:20; Col_2:14).

2. As a pattern for our life (1Pe_2:21). (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

The great Cross-bearer and His followers

(Text, and Mar_15:20-21)

1. When our Lord had been condemned, the execution of His sentence was hurried. Every moment of delay was wearisome to the Jews. It was the day of the passover, and they wished to have this matter finished before they went with hypocritical piety to celebrate the festival. We do not wonder at their eagerness; but at Pilate we do wonder. In all civilized countries there is usually an interval between the sentence and the death. As the capital sentence is irreversible, it is well to have a little space in which possible evidence may be forthcoming, which may prevent the fatal stroke. With the Romans it was usual to allow the reasonable respite of ten days. Now Pilate might have pleaded this; and he was culpable, as he was all along, in thus yielding to the clamour for an immediate execution. When once we begin to make the wishes of other men our law we know not to what extremity of criminality we may be led.

2. Being given over to death, our Saviour was led away outside the city.

(1) Because by the Jews He was treated as a flagrant offender who must be executed at the Tyburn of the day. Alas! Jerusalem, thou didst cast out thy last hope.

(2) Because He was to be consumed as a sin-offering. The sweet-savour offerings were presented upon the altar, and were accepted of God, but sin-offerings were burnt without the camp or gate, because God can have no fellowship with sin.

(3) Because He died, not for Jerusalem, nor Israel alone, but for the race. Out in the open He must die, to show that He reconciled both Jews and Gentiles unto God.

(4) That we might go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. Come ye out from among them, &c.

3. Let us draw near our Lord for awhile, and carefully observe each instructive detail.

I. HIS DRESS.

1. The crown of thorns. Jesus died a crowned monarch. The Man by whom we are redeemed is crowned with that product of the earth which came of the curse.

2. He was bound. By Roman custom criminals were bound with cords to the cross which they were doomed to carry. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.

3. Jesus wore His own clothes

(1) For identification, that all who looked on might know that it was the same person who had preached in their streets and had healed their sick.

(2) That there might be a fulfilment of prophecy. They parted My garments among them, &c. Other raiment could readily have been rent and divided.

(3) To indicate that our Lords passion was a true and natural part of His life; He died as He lived. His death was not a new departure, but the completion of a life of self-sacrifice, and so He goes to die in His ordinary everyday garments. Does not it almost seem as if people put on their Sunday clothes because they regard religion as something quite distinct from their common life? Can we not wear our own clothes, habits, characteristics, and peculiarities and serve the Lord? Is there not some suspicion of unnaturalness in services which require men to put on a strange, outlandish dress? It is ill for a man when he cannot lead his fellows in prayer till he has gone to the wardrobe.

II. HIS COMPANY.

1. The rough Roman soldiers, strong, muscular, unfeeling men, ready to shed blood at any moment. I do but bid you look at them to remind you that from beneath their eagle our Saviour won a trophy; for their centurion confessed, Certainly this was the Son of God.

2. Two malefactors. He must not be separated from the basest of men. I mention them because our Lord won a trophy by the conversion of one of them.

3. The scribes and Pharisees and high priests. Their hate was insatiable, but it was accompanied with fear, and that night it was seen that Christ had conquered them, for they begged a guard to prevent their victim from leaving the tomb.

4. A great rabble. The same, who a week ago shouted, Hosanna! The Lord endured the popular scorn as He had once received the popular acclamation. He lived above it all.

5. Kindly women.

6. We must now leave the company, but not till we have asked, Where are His disciples? Where is Peter? Did he not say, I will go with Thee to prison and to death? Where is John? Holy women are gathering, but where are the men? Though the women act like men, the men act as women.

III. HIS BURDEN. Our Lord carried His own cross at the commencement of the sorrowful pilgrimage. This

1. Increased His shame. It was a custom of the Romans to make felons bear their own gibbet. Furcifer, gallows bearer, was hissed at men in contempt, just as gallows-bird is now.

2. Note next its weight.

3. There was a typical evidence about this. If Simon had carried Christs cross all the way, we should have missed the type of Isaac, who carried the wood for his own sacrifice.

4. The spiritual meaning of it was that Christ in perfect obedience was then carrying the load of our disobedience.

5. It also has a prophetic meaning; that cross which He carried through Jerusalem shall go through Jerusalem again. It is His great weapon with which He conquers and wins the world. The government shall be upon His shoulder; that which He bore on His shoulder shall win obedience, and they that take His yoke upon them shall find rest unto their souls.

IV. HIS CROSS-BEARER.

1. He was pressed into this duty. The word used signifies that the person is impressed into the royal service, How often has a burden of sorrow been the means of bringing men to the faith of Jesus!

2. His name was Simon; and where was that other Simon? What a silent but strong rebuke this would be to him, Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Simon Peter lost a crown here, and another head wore it.

3. Simon was a Cyrenian--an African--I wonder if he was a black man. In Act_13:1-52., we find mention of a Simeon that was called Niger, or black. Surely the African has had his full share of cross-bearing for many an age. Blessed be he, whether African or Englishman, that has the honour of bearing the cross after Christ.

4. He was coming in from the country. How often the Lord takes into His service the unsophisticated country people, who as yet are untainted by the cunning and the vice of the city.

5. He was the Father of Alexander and Rufus. Which is the greater honour to a man, to have a good father, or to be the father of good sons? Under the Old Testament rule we usually read of a man that he is the son of such a one, but here we come to another style. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Christ bearing His cross

Our Lord, when a workman in the carpenters shop at Nazareth, had willingly carried pieces of timber in the service of His foster-father. Here, with no less cheerfulness, He bears to Golgotha the timber of the cross, in order to raise the altar on which He is to be sacrificed, and to do the will of His Father in heaven. (R. Besser, D. D.)

The crucifixion of Christ

I. THE CROSS IS THE POWER OF GOD FOR EXPOSING SIN AND FOR SUBDUING THE SINFUL HEART. What will sin do? Show us this and you give us the best exposition of sin. This gospel story tells us that sin crucified the Son of God. But the Cross, as we have said, is Gods power for subduing the sinful heart. The subduing power of the fact that we crucified Christ, our best Friend, may be illustrated by an incident which Bronson Alcott relates as having taken place in his school. He made it a law that all offences should be punished in order that the authority of the school might be kept inviolate. The punishment of offences he decreed should be borne by himself He intended to put every offending scholar under the power of this thought, I made my friend and teacher suffer. So much for the law of the school; let us see how it worked. Mr. Alcott gives us this instance: One day I called before me a pupil, eight or ten years of age, who had violated an important regulation of the school. All the pupils were looking on, and they knew what the rule of the school was. I put the ruler into the hand of the offending pupil and extended my hand. I bade him strike. The instant the boy saw my extended hand and heard my command, I saw a struggle begin in his face. A light sprang up in his countenance. A new set of shuttles seemed to be weaving a new nature within him. I kept my hand extended. The school was in tears. The boy struck once, and he himself burst into tears. I constantly watched his face, and he seemed in a bath of fire which was giving him a new nature. He had a different mood toward the school and toward the violated law. The boy seemed transformed by the idea that I should take chastisement in the place of his punishment.

II. THE CROSS GIVES US A STANDING EXHIBITION OF THE WAY IN WHICH SOME MEN TREAT CHRIST. I wish to speak especially of the soldiers at the cross, who are an ancient type of a modern class. They gamble for tim seamless robe of Christ. To them the garments of Christ were everything, but Christ Himself was nothing. They prize the garments but despise Christ. When Christ was within the robe, it had healing virtue; but when Christ was crucified it had no healing, life-giving power whatever. There are multitudes to-day who are like these soldiers. For example, there are crowds of citizens in this republic who glory in the civil rights which our national fathers bequeathed, but they hate and crucify the Christ of our fathers. It was under the inspiration of Christ that our fathers sacrificed and fought for the rights which they bequeathed. If there had been no Christ, there would have been no Plymouth Rock Pilgrims in Massachusetts. There is no fact more patent in history than this: American freedom owes its origin to Christ. Yet there are Americans by the thousand who would take the freedom and crucify the Christ. But what is freedom disassociated from Christ? What is it worth in comparison with the freedom which throbs with the life of Christ? Freedom, when it is a robe with the living Christ in it, will cure and keep in life the nations which touch its hem; but freedom, when it is a robe torn from Christ, will let the nations die even while they handle it, own it, and boast about it. We needed Christ to procure our liberty and we need Christ to secure our liberty.

III. THE CROSS WITH ITS SACRIFICE FOR SIN OPENS UP TO US THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION. (David Gregg.)

Bearing the cross

The Rev. C. Simeon, in conversation with a friend, once said, Many years ago, when I was an object of much derision in this university, I strolled forth one day afflicted, with my little testament in my hand. I prayed earnestly to my God that He would comfort me with some cordial from His Word, and that on opening the book I might find some text which should sustain me. The first text which caught my eye was this, They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, &c. You know Simon is the same as Simeon. What a world of instruction was here! What a blessed hint for my encouragement! To have the cross laid upon me that I might bear it after Jesus. What a privilege! It was enough. Now I could leap and sing for joy as one whom Jesus was honouring with a participation in His sufferings. (W. Baxendale.)

Cross-bearing for Christ

At a large Sunday-school anniversary it was found that the speakers expected had failed, and none were ready to take their places. After some singing the meeting became dull, and the interest seemed to be dying out. The superintendent, who had set his heart on success, was anxious, and at a loss to know what to do, but finally gave a general invitation to the scholars to repeat any texts or hymns they had learned. He was pleasantly answered, but only for a short time. Eventually a boy of Jewish caste, with piercing eyes, in the midst of deep silence rose and repeated: Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee, &c., in a voice so thrilling as to move the whole audience. Many eyes were moist, for the story of the young Jew was known. His father had told him he must either leave the Sunday-school or quit home for ever; and the hymn showed what he had given up to follow Christ. The meeting was inspired with new life. Friends gathered round him at the close, and business men united in securing him a situation by which he could earn his own living. (Christian at Work.)

The cross of Christ

I. UNDER THE CROSS (Joh_19:17).

1. The weary pilgrim--Jesus.

(1) Exhausted by the agony and the subsequent excitement.

(2) Suffering through the scourging.

(3) Burdened with the weight of the cross, the upright lying along His back, the transverse fastened to His fettered hands.

(4) Degraded by the white tablet borne before Him, or suspended from His neck, proclaiming His alleged crime.

2. The varied attendance--robbers, soldiers, &c.

3. The sorrowful way.

II. UPON THE CROSS. Jesus in the midst, numbered with transgressors (Joh_19:18), arrived at Golgotha. The cross was

1. Furnished with its victim. As it lay upon the sward, with nails driven through His hands and feet (Psa_22:16; Luk_24:40), He prayed Luk_23:34).

2. Upraised to its position. Suspended by His hands and feet, His body resting on an upright peg, our Lord was exhibited a spectacle of woe--the priests and people mocking His misery.

3. Set in the midst. On either side a crucified robber proclaimed Him the worst of the three.

III. ABOVE THE CROSS. The title (verse 19).

1. Its conspicuous position--seen by all.

2. Its threefold language--to be read by all.

3. Its providential use--to attest

(1) Christs true humanity, Jesus of Nazareth.

(2) His Messianic dignity: King of the Jews.

(3) Israels sin: they had crucified their Sovereign.

(4) The worlds hope: Israels rejected Messiah was the Saviour of men.

IV. BENEATH THE CROSS. Gambling for the Saviours clothes, the soldiers fulfilled prophecy (verses 23, 24).

1. Heartless cruelty.

2. Moral insensibility.

3. Appalling criminality.

4. Unconscious instrumentality.

V. NEAR THE CROSS. The Galilean women: the post of love (verse 25).

1. Their names.

(1) Mary, the mother of Jesus. True to her motherhood she was there to be pierced (Luk_2:35).

(2) Marys sister, Salome, the wife of Zebedee, and mother of the Evangelist, who was thus Christs cousin, which may account for the mental and spiritual affinity between them.

(3) Mary, the wife of Clopas, or Alphaeus, the mother of James the less and Joses.

(4) Mary Magdalene.

1. Their position by the cross, marking

(1) Their courage--not afraid of crowd or soldiers.

(2) Their fidelity in contrast to the male disciples.

(3) Their affection.

(4) Their sympathy--intending to console Him, as they doubtless did.

(5) Their privilege--a gracious opportunity of hearing His last words.

Lessons:

1. The completeness of Christs obedience (Php_2:8).

2. The depth of His humiliation (Isa_53:12).

3. The reality of His atoning work (2Co_5:21).

4. The certainty of His Messiahship, proved by the title.

5. The moral insensibility to which depraved natures may sink Eph_4:19).

6. The heroism of women when inspired by faith and love Dan_11:32).

7. The startling contrasts of life--the soldiers and the women.

8. The power which still lies in the Cross to reveal human hearts. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

A place called the place of a skull, which is in Hebrew Golgotha.

Two explanations of the term are given.

1. That it was the spot where executions ordinarily took place, and therefore abounded in skulls; but according to the Jewish law, these must have been buried, and therefore were no more likely to confer a name on the spot than any other part of the skeleton. In this case, too, the language would have to be plural instead of singular.

2. That the form of the spot was bold, round, and skull-like, and therefore a mound or hillock in accordance with the common phrase, for which there is no direct authority, Mount Calvary. Whichever of these is the correct explanation, Golgotha seems to have been a known spot--outside the Heb_13:12), but close to the city (verse 20); apparently near a thoroughfare on which there were passers by. This road or path led out of the country, and was probably the ordinary spot for executions. Why should it have been otherwise? To those who carried the sentence into effect Christ was but an ordinary criminal, and there is not a word to indicate that the soldiers in leading Him away went to any other than the usual place for what must have been a common operation. A tradition at one time prevailed that Adam was buried in Golgotha, and that from his skull it derived its name, and that at the crucifixion the drops of Christs blood fell on the skull and raised Adam to life. The skull commonly introduced in early pictures of the Crucifixion refers to this. (Sir G. Grove.)

The traditional site of Golgotha

is consecrated by three chapels of different sects. An opening, faced with silver, shows the spot where the cross is said to have been sunk in the rock, and less than five feet from it is a long brass open-work slide over a cleft in the rock which is about six inches deep, but is supposed by the pilgrims to reach to the centre of the earth. This is said to mark the rending of the rocks at the Crucifixion. But there is an air of unreality over the whole scene, with its gorgeous decorations of lamps, mosaics, pictures, and gilding; nor could I feel more than the gratification of my curiosity in the midst of such a monstrous aggregation of wonders. Faith evaporates when it finds so many demands made upon it. When it is assured that within a few yards of each other are the scene of Abrahams sacrifice of Isaac; that of the appearance of Christ to Mary; the stone of anointing; the place where the angels stood at the Resurrection; the tombs of our Lord, Joseph, and Nicodemus; the column to which our Lord was bound; His prison; the burial place of Adam; the tree in which the goat offered instead of Isaac was caught, and much else. (Cunningham Geikie, D. D.)

The probable site of Golgotha

There is little in the New Testament to fix its exact position, though Heb_13:12 is enough to prove that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not on the true site. The name Golgotha may well have referred to the shape of the ground, and, if this be so, a spot reminding one of a skull must be sought outside the city. It must, besides, be near one of the great roads (Mar_15:29). That Joseph carried the body to his own tomb, hewn out in the rock, and standing in the midst of the garden, requires further that Calvary should be found near the great Jewish cemetery of the time. This lay on the north side of Jerusalem. Now, just here, outside the Damascus gate is a knoll or swell which fulfils all these conditions. Rising gently towards the north its slowly rounded top might easily have obtained, from its shape, the name of a skull. This spot has been associated from the earliest times with the martyrdom of Stephen, who could only have been stoned at the usual place of public execution. And this is fixed by local tradition as the Place of Stoning where offenders were not only put to death, but hung up by the hands till sunset after execution. As if to make the identification still more complete, the busy road, which has led to the north in all ages, passes close by the knoll, branching off, a little further on, to Gibeon, Damascus, and Rameh. It was the custom of the Romans to crucify transgressors at the sides of the busiest public roads. Here then, apparently, on this bare rounded knoll, rising shoat thirty feet above the ground, the low yellow cliff of Jeremiah looking out from its southern end, the Saviour of the world was crucified. (Cunningham Geilkie, D. D.)

Where they crucified Him

Crucifixion

The common mode of inflicting it, in all probability, was to strip the criminal--to lay him on the cross on his back--to nail his hands to the two extremities of the cross-piece, or fork of the cross--to nail his feet to the upright piece, or principal stem of the cross-then to raise the cross on end, and drop it into a hole prepared for it--and then to leave the sufferer to a lingering and painful death. It was a death which combined the maximum of pain with the least immediate destruction of life. The agony of having nails driven through parts so full of nerves and sinews as the hands and feet must have been intense. Yet wounds of the hands and feet are not mortal, and do not injure any great leading blood-vessel. Hence a crucified person, even in an eastern climate, exposed to the sun, might live two or three days, enduring extreme pain, without being relieved by death, if he was naturally a very strong man and in vigorous health. To a sensitive, delicate-minded person, it is hard to imagine any punishment more distressing. Whether the person crucified was bound to the cross with ropes, to prevent the possibility of his breaking off from the nails in convulsive struggling--whether he was stripped completely naked, or had a cloth round his loins--whether each foot had a separate nail, or one nail was driven through both feet--are disputed points which we have no means of settling. Of one thing, however, we may be sure. The feet of a crucified person were much nearer the ground than is commonly supposed, and very likely not more than a foot or two from the earth. In this, as in other points, most pictures of the Crucifixion are grossly incorrect, and the cross is made out to be a piece of timber so long and so thick that no one mortal man could ever have carried it. Concerning the precise amount of physical suffering, and the precise effect on the human body in a crucifixion, the following medical account by a German physician, named Richter, says

1. The unnatural position and violent tension of the body caused a painful sensation from the least motion.

2. The nails driven through parts of the hands and feet, which are full of nerves and tendons, and yet at a distance from the heart, created the most exquisite anguish.

3. The exposure of so many wounds and lacerations brought on inflammation, which tended to become gangrene, and every moment increased the poignancy of suffering.

4. In the distended parts of the body more blood flowed through the arteries than could be carried back into the veins: and hence too much blood found its way from the aorta into the head and stomach, and the blood vessels of the head became pressed and swollen. The general obstruction of circulation caused an internal excitement, exertion, and anxiety, more intolerable than death itself.

5. There was the inexpressible misery of gradually increasing and lingering anguish.

6. To all this we may add burning and raging thirst. When we remember, beside all this, that our Lords head was crowned with thorns, His back torn with savage scourging, and His whole system weighed down by the mental and bodily agony of the sleepless night following the Lords Supper, we may have some faint idea of the intensity of His sufferings. (Bp. Ryle.)

Natures testimony to the Crucifixion

A person who travelled through Palestine told me that an ingenious person, his fellow-traveller, who was a Deist, used to make merry with all the stories that the Romish priest entertained them with as to the sacred places and relics they went to see, and particularly when they first showed him the clefts of Mount Calvary, which is now included within the great dome that was built over it by Constantine the Great. But when he began to examine the clefts more narrowly and critically, he told his fellow-travellers that now he began to be a Christian; for, said he, I have long been a student of nature and the mathematics, and I am sure these clefts and rents in this rock were never made by a natural or ordinary earthquake, for by such a concussion the rock must have been split according to the veins, and where it was weakest in the adhesion of the parts; for thus, said he, I have observed it to have been done in other rocks, when separated or broken after an earthquake, and reason tells me it must always be so. But it is quite otherwise here, for the rock is split athwart and across the veins in a most strange and supernatural manner. This, therefore, I can easily and plainly see to be effect of a real miracle, which neither nature nor art could have effected; and therefore I thank God that I came hither to see this standing monument of a miraculous power by which God gives evidence, to this day, of the divinity of Christ. (J. Fleming.)

The crucifixion realized

A little girl in a mission-school sat on the front seat; and, when the superintendent was telling about how they hanged Jesus on the cross, the tears came to her eyes, and she had to get up and go out. In the afternoon she came back smiling; and the superintendent asked her, Mary, where did you go this morning? And she said, Oh, teacher! I could not stand it when you Spoke to us about Jesus being nailed on the cross; for I felt just as if I helped to pound the nails in; and I went off a little piece from the school, and got down on my knees, and told Jesus that my sins helped to hang Him on the cross; and I asked Him to please forgive me for helping to kill Him; that I was so sorry! but now I feel so happy!

Impression of the Crucifixion

Colossians Gardiner was won from a life of worldly pleasure by a dream in which he saw the Saviour hanging on the cross, and saying, I have suffered this for thee, and is this thy return? The deep conviction of his ingratitude led him to repentance and a life of piety.

Christs cross

Krummacher describes the mysterious cross as a rock, against which the very waves of the curse break; as a lightning-conductor, by which the destroying fluid descends, which would have otherwise crushed the world. Jesus, who mercifully engaged to direct the thunderbolt against Himself, does so while hanging yonder in profound darkness upon the cross. There He is, as the connecting link between heaven and earth; His bleeding arms extended wide, stretched out to every sinner; hands pointed to the east and west, indicating the gathering-in of the world of man to His fold. The cross is directed to the sky, as the place of the final triumph of His work in redemption; and its foot fixed in the earth like a tree, from whose wondrous branches we gather the fruit of an eternal reconciliation to God the Father. (J. Caughey.)

Prizing the cross

Tacitus reports that though the amber-ring among the Romans was of no value, yet, after the emperor began to wear it, it began to be in great esteem: it was the only fashion amongst them. So our Saviour has borne His cross, and was borne upon it. We should esteem it more highly than many of us do, and bear it daily in remembrance of Him. (W. Baxendale.)

Love in the cross

Do not be afraid to bow before Jesus. That cross is the enfranchisement of theology. It stands up against heaven to say, God, with His infinite power, is not cruel. God is the sufferer, and not one that makes suffering. The Divine nature is not one that oppresses races, as the cluster is pressed, that the wine may flow out into the vintners cup. The testimony of Christs life, and the mission of Christs death, and that everlasting love that streams from the cross of Christ is, God so loved the world. Loved it? No mother ever loved her child half so much. And yet, what mother is there that did not, in her small, feeble way, symbolize the whole atonement of Christ? What mother is there that did not bring forth her child with pangs, and strong crying and tears? What mother is there that did not take the utter helplessness of the little babe for weeks and months, and give her life for it? How she gives up her sleep; how she gives up her hearts desires; how she foregoes pleasure; how she withdraws herself from society; how she gives the whole royalty of her rich nature to that little child that can neither speak nor think, nor know what helps it!

And then, through what sickness does she watch! And with what labour and pain does she develop the child! And how does she bring it finally to intelligence and virtue and manhood, all the way through a living sacrifice of love for the child! (H. W. Beecher.)

The cross our safety

There is an affecting passage in Roman history which records the death of Manlius. At night, and on the Capitol, fighting hand to hand, he had repelled the Gauls and saved the city when all seemed lost. Afterwards he was accused, but the Capitol towered in sight of the Forum where he was tried, and as he was about to be condemned he stretched out his hands and pointed, weeping, to that arena of his triumph. At this the people burst into tears, and the judges could not pronounce sentence. Again the trial proceeded, but was again defeated; nor could he be convicted till they had removed him to a low spot, from which the Capitol was invisible. What the Capitol was to Manlius the cross of Christ is to the Christian. (Preachers Lantern.)

The cross the souls haven

While your bark is tossed about at sea, it is very likely that she wants a new copper bottom, or the deck requires holystoning, or the rigging is out of repair, or the sails want overhauling, or fifty other things may be necessary; but if the wind is blowing great guns, and the vessel is drifting towards those white-crested breakers, the first business of the mariner is to make for the haven at once, to avoid the hurricane. When he is all snug in port, he can attend to hull and rigging, and all the odds and ends besides. So with you, child of God, one thing you must do, and I beseech you do it. Do not be looking to this, or to that, or to the other out of a thousand things that may be amiss, but steer straight for the cross of Christ, which is the haven for distressed spirits; fly at once to the wounds of Jesus, as the dove flies to her nest in the cleft of the rock. (C. H.Spurgeon.)

Plea from the cross

A clergyman in Germany, who had exercised the ministerial office for twelve years, while destitute of faith in and love to the Redeemer, one day, after baptizing the child of a wealthy citizen, one of the members of his congregation was invited, with some other guests, to a collation at this persons house. Directly opposite to him, on the wall, hung a picture of Christ on the cross, with two lines written under it:--I did this for thee; what hast thou done for Me? The picture caught his attention; as he read the lines they seemed to pierce him, and he was involuntarily seized with a feeling he never experienced before. Tears rushed into his eyes; he said little to the company, and took his leave as soon as he could. On the way home these lines constantly sounded in his ears--Divine grace prevented all philosophical doubts and explanations from entering his soul--he could do nothing but give himself up entirely to the overpowering feeling; even during the night, in his dreams, the question stood always before his mind, What hast thou done for Me? He died in about three months after this remarkable and happy change in his temper and views, triumphing in the Saviour, and expressing his admiration of His redeeming love. (J. Whitecross.)

The three crosses

I. THAT OF JESUS; dying for sin--redemption.

II. THAT OF THE IMPENITENT ROBBER; dying in sin--perdition.

III. THAT OF THE PENITENT ROBBER; dying out of sin--salvation. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

There were three hanging there. The first was the Saviour; the second to be saved; the third to be damned. The pain of all three was one; but the cause diverse. (Augustine.)

Jesus in the midst

On the cross, between earth and heaven; in the grave, between the living and the dead; on the throne, as separating between the saved and the lost. Everywhere, in all time, in whatever aspect or relation, men shall contemplate the Saviour, the same central object shall meet them--Jesus in the midst. We cannot look upon Christ as lifted up without seeing

I. THE JUNCTION POINT BETWEEN THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. The sacrifice of the Cross constitutes that crisis in all dispensational history, at which shadows were to become substances, outlines perfect forms, and the pale lamps, which had shed light on the ancient sanctuary, to give place to the Bright and Morning Star. The veil of the Temple was rent, and it told of a covenant waxed old; of the superseding of the blood of bulls and goats by the blood of Him who, through the Eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God. Christ was the end of the law for righteousness; the end of the prophecies for fulfilment; the end of devout anticipation as of a surety the Lords anointed; the end of all expected revelation, as God speaking to us by His Son. And He was especially in the midst of the two systems, as He hung upon the cross. For He felt all the terrors of the law, while His lips were dispensing all the tender charities of the gospel. And He saw, in marked contrast, the effect of the two systems the chief priests and rulers hurling the mockery on the one side, and the great company of people lamenting Him on the other. And yet all are looking to Him; all are drawn towards Him. Whether to revile or to pity, to blaspheme or to pray, none could turn their eyes to any other object. He who in heaven has a throne which is above every throne, seemed to have a cross which was above every cross.

II. CHRIST OCCUPYING SOME MYSTERIOUS ISTHMUS BETWEEN CONDEMNATION AND FORGIVENESS--a place where the two seas meet--that of infinite justice, unable to clear the guilty; and that of the infinite mercy, cleansing from all spot of sin. Here mercy triumphs, for wrath is done away; and yet justice is honoured, for the victim dies. Both these attributes put in their claims. Neither of them, without dishonour to the Divine character, could endure to have them set aside. But the meeting here was not hostile. These attributes met to embrace, to unite, to shed, each on the other, new glory; to vindicate, each for the other, its prescriptive and everlasting claims. It seemed as if in the whole universe there was but one spot, where, in a posture of reconciliation, God and man could meet. Thither the Eternal Father would repair to make sublime demonstration of His holiness; thither the penitent child was to go to lay down the burden of his sin. And over that cross they were to be made one.

III. A REPRESENTATION OF CHRIST AS HE IS IN THE WORLD NOW.

1. The cross is set up in the midst of condemned men. Men dying, with the means of life before them--lost, while a look would save them. One, like Pilate, sees no fault in Christianity, but will not yield to it; another, like Herod, is curious to see what Christianity is, and mocks it; and a third, like Judas, sells it.

2. The circumstance shows how very near two people may be to the same outward Christ, ordinances, truth, influences for good--and yet the one to be subdued to penitence, and the other hardened.

3. Especially is the scene emblematical of the different effect produced on two persons by affliction and Divine chastisement. Jesus is in the midst--having emptied a cup more bitter far than any of which they have tasted--and that too in order that any bitterness in their cup might be mitigated or pass away. And both these afflicted ones will look to Him. But how? One is chafed, and stubborn, and rebellious. The other is subdued, and tender, and heart-stricken. And therefore his looking to Jesus is one of humble, loving faith.

IV. AN EMBLEM OF THE SOLEMN ADJUDICATIONS OF THE LAST DAY. That cross, says Augustine, was the tribunal of Christ, for the judge was placed in the middle; and whilst one thief who believed was set free, the other who reviled was condemned. They who on earth were divided by the cross, are they who in heaven will be divided by the throne. The impenitent here will be the lost there; the railing here will be the accursed there--on the left hand both, whether at the cross or before the throne. But the humble and the trusting shall be on the right hand. And their life in heaven will be a continuation of their life on earth--a looking to Jesus in the midst--in the midst of His saints, to be glorified; in the midst of His angels, to be worshipped; in the midst of the upper paradise, a tree of life; and in the midst of the throne of God, a Lamb as it had been slain. (D. Moore, M. A.)

Jesus in the midst

It is to this position that our Lord owes His glorious title of Mediator. He is the Days-man who stands between the perfection of a holy Creator and the imperfections of His creatures. And it is in virtue of this office that He is entitled to His position as the central object in the economies of grace and of judgment. Very interesting and instructive it is to notice how frequently this position--in the midst--is assigned to our Lord. He is represented as

I. In the midst OF HEAVEN (Rev_5:6; Rev_7:17). Twice the expression is employed of the mystical tree of life--the type of Christ Rev_2:7; Rev_22:2). His maintenance in this position is the secret of heavens harmony. Just as in the solar system the planets observe a fixed relation to each other because they all have a common relation to the sun, just as their motions are the very embodiment of order and harmony because of this common relationship, so the countless intelligences of heaven all fall into their own proper relationships to each other because of their common relation to the central object.

II. In the midst OF THE CHURCH He was in the midst of that embryo Church, the simple peasants whom He gathered around His person Luk_22:27). Where two or three, &c. Here we have a description of the first component elements of the Christian Church. In keeping with this, we notice that He takes His rightful place at the moment when He greets His Church after His resurrection. Jesus Himself stood in the midst. Once again we are permitted to gaze upon the risen Lord, now no longer visibly present, yet still in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, i.e., of the Church as she exercises her office of light-bearer.

She shines by reflecting the light shed upon her by the Master, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. Or, once again, He is represented as in the midst of the Church in her worship, inhabiting the praises of Israel Heb_2:12). But, alas! the great sin of the outward Church has ever been to put Christ on one side. How often has the Church placed a hierarchy, a system, a party, a creed, a superstition, &c., in the place that belongs to Him. Hence our unhappy and disastrous divisions. If Christians are to draw nearer to each other, it must be by a determined attempt to restore the Lord Jesus to His proper position. Then we shall find it possible to make some progress towards the enjoyment of that harmony in our relations with each other which ought to characterize the sons of God on earth, and which must bind all together in heaven.

III. As with the Christian Church at large, so with THE INDIVIDUAL HEART. Know ye not that Christ is within you? &c., not as a distinct part of our being, but as a power pervading and supreme over all. This is what St. Paul meant when he exclaimed, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Let us not think of assigning Him a corner in the palace. Christ will not accept such a subordinate position.

IV. When Christ is in the heart, He will also be in the midst of OUR HOME. Of how many of us may it be said, as it was said of Martha, that she received Him into her house? How many of us can fill in our name where the word Martha stands? If we would really have Him abiding with us, it must not be so much as a mere guest, a wayfaring man turning aside to tarry for a night, but as the true though invisible Head of the house, just as He is the true though invisible Head of the Church. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. In our domestic arrangements, it is His will that must be consulted. We cannot keep Him in our closet, and deny Him the right of access to our scenes of social intercourse and pleasure. We cannot place Him at the head of our family on Sunday, and bid Him go into retirement for the remainder of the week.

V. In the midst of our WORLDLY BUSINESS. Ah, this fatal distinction between sacred and secular! how much it has done to drive religion out of our lives! Surely everything becomes sacred that is done with Jesus in the midst. Our offices are consecrated as actually as our churches; holiness to the Lord is written upon the very bells of the horses; upon our ledgers and cash-books.

VI. In the midst OF ALL CHRISTIAN ENTERPRISE. They went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, &c. How possible it is to work for Christ, and yet in our very work to deny Christ His proper place in relation to the work; to be guilty of self-seeking even while we seem to be endeavouring to further His cause (Jer_45:5). It is when we see Jesus in the midst that self loses its tyrant power, and worldly motives cease to influence us. Conclusion: How are we to ensure the presence of Jesus in the midst of our hearts, and therefore in the midst of our lives? By accepting Him as the Mediator between God and man. (W. Hay-Aitken, M. A.)

The centre of the universe--Jesus in the midst

1. All men have looked up to the heavenly bodies. This fact invests them with additional interest. We have not seen the men of past ages; we cannot see those of distant continents; but we can look at the same objects as they all have looked at.

2. In a higher degree, when we look into the pages of the Word of God, and consider how many eyes have looked at the same words--wondering, weeping, inquiring, praying, and scoffing; and how many hearts have beat over the same book, do we feel that this great light of time has been uniting the generations.

3. In a still higher degree do we feel the uniting power of one great central object--Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. As we look, our gaze is drawn to Calvary and its three crosses--resting at last upon the middle cross. On one cross the physical suffering is doubly darkened by the gloom of despair; on another it is lighted up by hope and faith; on the middle cross it is crowned and glorified by the infinite and unutterable love of God. Many executions took place on Golgotha. Why then should these three have remained, burning like beacons in the night of time? It is because Jesus is in the midst. And, as around that central cross there were all kinds of lookers at the time, so has it been in every time. There fell on that cross the look of hate, and of love, of indifference, and of interest.

I. JESUS IN THE MIDST OF THE VISIBLE WORLD.

1. Jerusalem was in the middle of Palestine, and Palestine in the middle of the civilized world. The cross, then, was literally in the midst of the visible world: and its position there is symbolical of Christs position, for His life was lived between the two great continents of history--the ancient and the modern. A new civilization dates from His birth--the old civilization died in His death. And thus, in relation to human history, as developed in place and time, it is a simple geographical and chronological fact that Jesus is in the midst.

2. Nature is a part of the visible world, and Christ is the centre of nature, for He is its Creator. All thing were made by Him, &c., and by Him all things consist--the whole material universe is held together by Him.

3. The Hebrew Theocracy was a part of the visible world, and Christ Jesus was in the midst of it.

(1) The Tribes went up to Jerusalem as their centre. The centre of Jerusalem was the Temple. The centre of the Temple was the Holy of Holies, and the centre of the Holy of Holies was the mercy-seat, sprinkled with blood, containing the Law, of which the shed blood was the satisfaction; all of which represented our Saviours mediatorial work.

(2) This was His position in relation to the whole life and history of the Jews. In so far as they were children of God, they were moulded after the image of the Son of God. His Spirit inspired the prophets. In the dark house of bondage, and at the bitterest hour of their history, Jesus is found in the midst, making a fourth in the furnace of Babylon.

4. Heathendom is a part of the visible world, and Jesus is in the midst of it. For what mean those victims slain in sacrifice all over the world? Jesus is the desire of all nations, and is in their midst--if only in this negative sense, that the void at the heart of humanity can be filled only by Him.

5. Coming to Christendom, Christ is the visible centre of it. Europe embraces the highest life in the world, and the centre of that highest life is Christ. The great Church in the middle of every capital city is called a Christian Church. Jesus is acknowledged to be the source of all our moral and spiritual activities. And if we enter the world of thought, most emphatically is Jesus in the midst here. His Person includes the inmost and ultimate question in every sphere. Do we try to form a science of theology? The foundation must be our doctrine of the Person of Christ. The view we take of that will determine our view of God, man, sin, atonement. Jesus very soon became the central figure in the schools. At twelve years of age He was found in the Temple. If we take any ultimate question, we find Jesus the living and practical solution of it, Do we take the question, How can finite man ever know the infinite God? Jesus is the Man who knows

God fully. Hence the variety of forms in which the account of His life is ever appearing in modern times.

6. The political world is a part of the visible world; and the rightful place of Christ is in the midst of it, too. If any one rules a nation in the name of any one but Christ, he is a usurper. Christs cross has been the centre of the past; His crown will be the centre of the future. All kings shall fall down before Him, &c.

II. JESUS IN THE MIDST OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD.

1. The true Church on earth is a part of the invisible world; and Jesus is in the midst of it. In the midst of

(1) The individual life. He is the most intimate Counsellor, Friend, and Companion of every Christian soul.

(2) The Christian family. His presence is the bond of its perfectness.

(3) The little prayer-meeting. Where two or three, &c.

(4) The Christian Church on earth viewed as a whole. Lo! I am with you alway, &c. In the midst of the candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man. All true lights are fed by the hand of Christ.

2. Lifting our eyes to the Church in heaven, it is still the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne. The throne itself is in the midst; the first position of dignity and power in the universe, and Christ sits upon it. He must, therefore, be God--King of kings, and Lord of lords. Further, it is as the Lamb that He is on the throne--showing that the centre of His work is His sacrifice of Himself. His highest value to the world is not that He is a pattern of virtue merely, or a moral Reformer. The Apostle conducts us from company to company until we come to Him who is in the midst. Ye are come unto Mount Sion, &c.

3. But, higher still, Jesus is in the midst of the Godhead. In the threefold name, Jesus is in the midst; and in the manifestation of the three-one God, He occupies the same position. In the First Dispensation there was the revelation of the Unity or first Person of the Godhead. Our dispensation is that of the Holy Spirit, for in it we have a revelation of the work of the third Person. But in the midst of the two, there is the manifestation of the second Person.

4. Jesus is in the midst: of all the Divine attributes. They have their harmonious meeting-place in Him. He is love, and love is the bond of the Divine perfectness as well as of human. In Him the problem has been solved, how God can be just and yet the Justifier of him that believes in Jesus.

III. JESUS IN THE MIDST BETWEEN THE TWO WORLDS.

1. He descended into the visible that He might translate us into the invisible. He is the only Door between the two worlds. Through that, ministering angels, and all Divine and saving influences, come forth to enlighten and enliven this lower world; and through it there pours in return the multitude of sinners saved by grace. He is the spiritual reality symbolized in Jacobs ladder. He has this position became He is in the midst--between God and man. In the translation of sinners from the: kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, Jesus is in the midst. He was lifted up on the cross between the two worlds that He might draw all men unto Him.

2. At the moment of death Jesus stands on the dark frontier, to receive the soul of the believer. There are weeping friends on the one side, and rejoicing angels on the other; and the Saviour is between the two.

3. And, last of all, who is this sitting on the great white throne--the holy angels with Him? The Son of man; Jesus is in the midst! In conclusion: Is all this true of Jesus of Nazareth?

Then

1. He is indeed the Wonderful, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father.

2. What sort of a universe would this be without Christ? It would not be a universe--a cosmos, or a well-ordered system of thing; but a chaos. Yea, if there were no Christ, evil would triumph.

3. Consider what the life and heart of the individual man is without Christ. It has no centre. All its pursuits, however refined, are worse than useless. All its pleasures are short-lived and false. Apart from Christ, there can be no aim in a human life adequate to the worth of that life. (F. Ferguson, D. D.)

Salvation no failure

Now, away among the mountains, I know a place, where once three shepherds, brothers, were to leap, as they had often done, from rock to rock, across the narrow chasm through which the swollen waters rushed onward to their fall. Bold mountaineers, and looking with careless eye on a sight which had turned others dizzy, one bounded over like a red deer; another followed--but, alas, his foot slipping on the smoothly treacherous ledge, he staggered, reeled, and falling back, rolled over with a sullen plunge into the jaws of the abyss. Quick as lightning, his brother sprang forward--down to a point where the waters issue into a more open space, just above the crag over which they throw themselves into the black, rock-girdled, boiling cavern. There, standing on the verge of death, he eyes the body coming; he bends--his arm is out--thank God, he has him in his powerful grasp. Bravely, brotherly done! Alas! it is done in vain. The third brother, sad spectator of the scene, saw him swept from his slippery footing: and, in their death not divided, as of old they had lain in their childhood, locked in each others arms they went over, horribly whelmed in the depths of the swirling pool. Not so perished our elder Brother, and the thief He stretched out His hand to save. He plucked him from the brink of hell; He saved him on the dizzy edge of the dreadful pit. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 140.—LEADING FORTH AND CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS, Joh_19:17.

Mat_27:32-34; Mar_15:21-23; Luk_23:26-33. See notes on the parallel sections.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

IV

CHRIST ON GOLGOTHA THE LIGHT OF SALVATION, OR THE GLORIFICATION OF THE CURSE OF THE OLD WORLD. CHRIST THE CROSS-BEARER. THE CRUCIFIED IN THE MIDST OF THE CRUCIFIED. THE SUPERSCRIPTION: THE KING OF THE JEWS, A WRITING OF DISGRACE CHANGING INTO A WRITING OF HONOR. THE BOOTY OF THE SOLDIERS, ALSO A FULFILMENT OF SCRIPTURE. THE INSTITUTION OF DEPARTING LOVE. THE LAST DRAUGHT. THE WORD OF VICTORY: IT IS FINISHED!

Joh_19:17-30

(Mat_27:32-56; Mar_15:20-41; Luk_23:26-49)

And they [They therefore, οὖν] took Jesus and led him away.8 17And he bearing his [own]9 cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull [the so called Place of a Skull, εἰς τὸν λεγόμενον Κρανίου Τόπον] which is called in the [omit the] Hebrew Golgotha:10 18Where they crucified him, and two others with him, on either side one [and with him two others, one on each side], and Jesus in the midst.

19And Pilate wrote [also, χαί] a title [or, an inscription], and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH [THE NAZARENE, ὁ Ναζωραῖος THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20This title then read many of the Jews; for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written 21in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin [in Hebrew, Roman, Greek].11 Then [Therefore] said the chief-priest of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. 22Pilate answered, What I have written I 23have written.

23Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his [upper] garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat [the inner garment, tunic, τὸν χιτῶνα]: now the coat was without seam [but the tunic was seamless, ἄραφος, woven from the top throughout. 24They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, ‘They parted my raiment [garments] among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots.’ [Psa_22:18.] These things therefore the soldiers did.

25Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister [Salome, John’s mother, see the Exeg.], Mary the wife of Cleophas [Clopas, ή τοῦ Κλωπᾶ], and Mary [the, ῆ] Magdalene. 26When Jesus therefore saw [Jesus therefore seeing] his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he [omit he] saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that [the, ὁ] disciple took her unto his own home.

28After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished [finished, τετέλεσται, as Joh_19:30], that the Scripture might be fulfilled [accomplished, τελειωθῇ] 29saith, I thirst. Now [omit Now]12 there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth [so putting a sponge filled with the vinegar upon a stalk of hyssop, they raised it to his mouth]. 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost [yielded up his spirit].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

[John’s account of the crucifixion is brief and comprehensive, yet with several original details of the deepest import. On his relation to the Synoptists in this section, see the full analysis of Dr. Lange in Doctr. & Ethic, below, No. 1.—P. S.]

Joh_19:17. And bearing His own cross, etc. Αὑτῷ [for Himself] τὸν σταυρόν emphasized. [See Text. Note, “As conquerors bear their own trophies, so Christ bears the symbol of His own victory.”—P. S.] Thus He went forth [ἐξῆλθεν]. Out of the city, Heb_13:12.

Golgotha. See Comm. on Mat_27:33.

[On the words Golgotha, Cranion, Calvaria, Calvary, Mount (?) Calvary, see my Textual Note 3. The vexed question of locality is fully discussed by Dr. Lange and myself in the Commentary on Matthew, pp. 520, 521, with reference to the principal arguments for and against the traditional site of the crucifixion, i.e., the spot where now stands the Constantinian or, perhaps, post-Constantinian “Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” which lies within the walls of the present city and in the north-western quarter, not far from the Damascus Gate. Robinson is the chief authority in opposition, G. Williams in defense, of the popular tradition. The former has still the best of the argument.13 The other writers on the subject, Ritter, Raumer, Tobler, Winer, Schubert, Bergren, Arnold, Kraft, Friedlieb, Furrer, Lange, etc., among the Germans, Wilson, Barclay, Finley, Olin, Lewin, Tristram, Stanley, Fergusson, etc., among English and Americans, are divided in opinion or leave the matter doubtful. James Fergusson (art. Jerusalem in Smith’s Bible Dictionary, and also in a special pamphlet On the Site of the Holy Sepulchre, in answer to the Edinb. Rev.) has recently propounded the startling theory that the place of crucifixion was Mount Moriah, on the very spot where now stands the Mosque of Omar, or as the Moslems call it, the Dome of the Rock; and, further, that this building is the identical church of the Holy Sepulchre which Constantine erected over the rocky tomb of Christ. But this theory, besides leaving the disappearance of Constantine’s church and the substitution of the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre unexplained, is set aside by the extreme improbability that the temple area was outside of the city and a place of execution. Lange is disposed to identify Golgotha with the hill Goath, Jer_31:39, which was outside of the city, east of the Sheep Gate. My colleague, Prof. Dr. Hitchcock, informs me that by personal examination in 1870 he came independently to the same conclusion. Perhaps it is best that the real locality of crucifixion should be unknown: it is too holy to be desecrated by idolatrous superstitions and monkish impostures and quarrels such as, from the age of Constantine to this day, have disgraced the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to the delight of Mohammedan Turks, and to the shame and grief of Christians. The apostles and evangelists barely allude to the places of our Lord’s birth, death, and resurrection: they fixed their eyes of faith and love upon the great facts themselves, and upon the ever-living Christ in heaven. Only this is more or less certain from the Gospels, viz.: that the place of the crucifixion was out of the city (Joh_19:17; Mat_28:11; comp. Heb_13:12, ἔξω τῆς πύλης); yet near the city (Joh_19:20); apparently near a thoroughfare and exposed to the gaze of the passing multitude (as may be inferred from Mar_15:29 and Joh_19:20); probably on a little conical elevation (hence probably the name: ‘Skull,’ or ‘Place of a Skull’), but not on a mountain or hill (as the popular term Mount Calvary would imply); and that it was near the Lord’s sepulchre (Joh_19:41), which was in a garden and hewn in a rock (Mat_27:60).—P. S.]

Joh_19:18. But Jesus in the midst. [μέσον δὲ τόν Ἰησοῦν]. This was Pilate’s arrangement, and designed to mock the Jews (see 1Ki_22:19). Meyer maintains that it was an arrangement of the Jews’, the Jews being the crucifiers. Against this view we have to observe: 1. That the two thieves were not executed as Jewish heretics; 2. that the consummating of the crucifixion, as a Roman punitory act, must have been left to the Romans 3. that it further reads: Pilate wrote also—namely, to complete the mockery of the Jews.

[Christ was crucified between the two robbers who represent the two classes of the human family: both guilty before God and justly condemned to death, but the one repenting, and saved by faith in the crucified Redeemer, the other impenitent, and rushing to ruin by unbelief. On the archæology of crucifixion, see the Notes on Matthew, pp. 522 f. Crucifixion was one of the most painful and disgraceful modes of death. It was unusual among the Jews, and applied among the Greeks and Romans (till the fourth century) only to slaves and gross criminals, as rebels and highway-robbers. Cicero calls it the most cruel and abominable punishment (crudelissimum teterrimumque supplicium). The cross consisted of two pieces of wood, generally put together transversely at right angles in the form of a T. The longer beam was planted in the earth, and provided with a projecting bar like a horn in the middle for the body to rest upon, which somewhat relieved the sufferings, and prevented the hands from being torn through. There were, however, various forms of the cross (crux commissa, cr. immissa, cr. decussata). The victim was first undressed, the arms tied with ropes to the cross-beam, the hands fastened with iron nails, the feet tied or nailed to the upright post. In this unnatural and immovable position of the body, he suffered intensely from thirst, hunger, inflammation of the wounds, and deep anguish in consequence of the rushing of the blood towards the head. Death followed slowly from loss of blood, thirst, and hunger, gradual exhaustion, and stiffening of the muscles, veins, and nerves. The loss of blood, however, was small, since the wounds in the hands and feet did not lacerate any large vessels, and were nearly closed by the nails. The sufferers lingered generally twelve hours,—sometimes, according to the strength of their constitution, to the second or third day. The bodies were left hanging on the cross until they decayed or were devoured by ravenous beasts and birds. But the Jews were accustomed to take them down and bury them. Constantine the Great, from motives of humanity, and especially from respect to the cross of Christ as the sign of victory (Hoc signo vinces), abolished crucifixion in the Roman empire, and since that time it has almost disappeared from Europe. What a wonderful change! Through the death of Christ the cross has been transformed from a symbol of shame into a symbol of glory and victory, and one of the richest themes of poetry. Well may we exclaim with Venantius Fortunatus, in his famous Passion-hymn, Pange, lingua:

Crux fidelis, inter omnes

Arbor una nobilis!

Nulla talem silva profert

Fronde, flore, germine:

Dulce lignum, dulces clavi,

Dulce pondus sustinens.

“Faithful cross! above all other,

One and only noble Tree!

None in foliage, none in blossom,

None in fruit thy peers may be:

Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,

Sweetest weight is hung on thee.”—P. S.]

Joh_19:19. Pilate wrote also [or, Moreover Pilate wrote, ἔγραψε δὲ δὲ καὶ].—After sentence was pronounced, and as a formulation of the same. On this account, however, it is as little the Pluperfect (Tholuck) as it is a formula manufactured during the crucifixion only. In a word, Pilate first arranged the manner of the execution—between two thieves—and then wrote the superscription. See Comm. on Matthew. Τίτλος[=ἐπιγραφή, from the Latin titulus, inscription], the customary Roman term for such superscriptions (Wetstein).

Jesus the Nazarene [Ἰησ. ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Βασιλευς τῶν Ἰουδαίων, Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judæorum. All the four Evangelists give the inscription on the cross, but with slight variations, on which see Wordsworth in loc.—P. S.] The manifest double meaning of the superscription was the final expression of the suit. In the sense of the man Pilate, it meant: Jesus, the King of the Jewish fanatics, crucified in the midst of Jews, who should all thus be executed; in the sense of the Jews: Jesus, the seditionary, the King of rebels [and pseudo-prophets]; in the sense of the political judge: Jesus, for whose execution the Jews, with their ambiguous accusation, may answer; in the sense of the divine irony which ruled over the expression: Jesus, the Messiah, by the crucifixion become in very truth the King of the people of God.

Joh_19:20. Was read by many of the Jews.—Whereby they were forced to reflect upon that treason to the Messianic idea, of which the high-priests were guilty.

The place was near the city.—On Sunday afternoon the populace are fond of walking out of the city, particularly in the direction of new suburbs. So the Jews on their festivals. Towards Golgotha the beginnings of the new city were forming,—Bezetha. Leben Jesu, 2. p. 1573.

In Hebrew, etc.—Here also the Evangelist has in view the triumph of the Divine Spirit over human sin and malice. The inscription, in this threefold form, must symbolize the preaching concerning the Crucified One in the three principal languages of the world: in the language of religion [Hebrew], of culture [Greek], and of the State [Latin—the language of law and government].14

Joh_19:21. Then said the high-priests to Pilate.—A proposal to alter the title. They feel the sting of the inscription, and therefore prosecute their calumny. Jesus was to be more definitely characterized as a seditionary in the Roman sense, one whom Pilate himself had sentenced.

Joh_19:22. What I have written, etc. [ὅγέγραφα, γέγραφα. The first perfect denotes the past action, the second that it is complete and unchangeable.—P. S.]. Pilate feels secure again, and once more assumes the air of unshakeable authority and of the firm Roman. His declaration, however, contains at the same time the continuation of the idea that he lays the dark riddle of this crucifixion upon their consciences, that he does not acknowledge Jesus to be guilty in their sense, and that they need reckon upon no forbearance on his part. “Analogous formulæ from Rabbins, see in Lightfoot.” Meyer. “Agreeably to his character ἀκαμπὴς τὴν φύσιν, as Philo calls him, Pilate adheres to his resolution.” Tholuck.

Joh_19:23. Took His upper garments.—“The only earthly leavings of the Redeemer do not fall to the share of His people, but, in accordance with Roman law, to the executors of the death-sentence. By the ἱμάτια may be understood the upper garment, the girdle, the sandals, perhaps the linen shirt; these are divided amongst the Roman guard, consisting of four men (Act_12:4).” Tholuck.

But the tunic, etc. [ἦν δὲ ὁ χιτὼν ἅραφος].—According to lsidor. Pelusiota, the like was worn by the lower classes in Galilee. This statement, however, might readily be abstracted from our passage. The Evangelist seems to see in this body-vest a homely work of art, wrought by loving hands. [χιτών], tunica, is an inner garment, worn to the skin like a shirt, mostly without sleeves, fastened round the neck with a clasp, and usually reaching to the knees. Sometimes two were worn for ornament or comfort. It was worn also by the Jewish high-priest and priests (but as an outer tunic, a broidered coat, chethoneth thashpez), and is described by Josephus, Antiq. lII. 7, § 4. The fathers (as also Roman commentators and Bishop Wordsworth) see in the seamless coat of Christ a symbol of the unity of the church.—P. S.]

Joh_19:24. In order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Psa_22:19 (18), according to the Septuagint. A typical prophecy. See Comm. on Matthew. The apparent identicalness in the parallelismus membrorum of the Psalmist does not preclude our Evangelist’s right to make the distinction he does—it being a question of the interpretation of an unconsciously prophetic, a typical, speech.

These things therefore the soldiers did. As the soldiers knew nothing of those words of the Psalmist, their fulfilment of them is the more strikingly a divine inspiration. The same idea as Joh_12:16.

[Joh_19:25-27. Peculiar to John. A scene of unique delicacy, tenderness and sublimity. A type of those pure and spiritual relationships (the sacred Wahlverwandtschaften) which have their origin in heaven and are deeper and stronger than those of blood and interest. The cross is the place where the holiest ties are formed, and where they are guarded against the disturbing influences of sin.

“Das kreuz ist es, das Herzen zicht und bindet,

Wo Tiefverwandtes wunderbar sich findet”

A few simple touches reveal a world of mingled emotions of grief and comfort. The mother pierced in her soul by the sword (Luk_2:35), the beloved disciple gazing at the cross, the dying Son and Lord uniting them in the tenderest relation! The first words furnished the keynote to that marvellous Stabat Mater dolorosa of Jaeopône (1306), which, though disfigured by Mariolatry, describes with overpowering effect the intense sympathy with Mary’s grief, and is the most pathetic, as the Dies Iræ is the most sublime, product of Latin hymnology. It is the text for some of the noblest musical compositions, which will never cease to stir the hearts of men.—P. S.]

Joh_19:25. Now there stood by the cross [εἱστήκεισαν δὲ παρὰ τῷ σταυρῷ, in the Vulgate: Stabat juxta crucem mater ejus, from which the Stabat Mater took its rise, as the Dies iræ from the Vulgate’s rendering of Zep_1:15.—P. S.].—According to the Synoptists (Matthew, Mark), the women mentioned stand afar off. According to Lücke and Olshausen, they were there previously; according to Meyer, there is a difference which must be settled in John’s favor. But it is manifestly necessary to distinguish two stages in the proceedings attendant upon the crucifixion: the tumult of the crucifixion itself, amidst which no friends could approach, and the subsequent sufferings on the cross. See Comm. on Matthew [p. 529].

We read with Wieseler (Studien u. Kritiken, 1840, p. 648): His mother (Mary) and His mother’s sister (Salome); then Mary—the wife of Clopas—and Mary Magdalene. Leben Jesu; Introduction to this Comm. [p. 4]. So also Lücke, Ewald [Meyer and Alford]; in old times, the Syrian, Ethiopian and Persian translations,15 as also the texts of Lachmann, editio minor, Tischendorf,16 Muralt. [Also Westcott and Hort, who punctuate without a comma after Κλοπᾶ, thus: ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀδελφὴ μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, Μαρία ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀδελφὴ τῆδ μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Κλ. καί Μαριὰμ ἡ Μαριὰμ ἡ μαγδ .—P. S.]. The opposite side is taken by Luthardt, Ebrard [Hengstenberg, Godet] and others.

[Thus we have not three women (Mary, her sister Mary of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene), as is usually assumed, but four, arranged in two pairs: Mary and her sister (viz. Salome), Mary of Clopas and Mary the Magdalene. See the list of the apostles, Mat_10:2 ff.; Luk_6:16 ff. Consequently John, the son of Salome, was a cousin of Jesus and a nephew of His earthly mother. This double relationship explains the more readily the fact that Jesus intrusted her to John rather than to His half-brothers, who at the time were yet unbelieving. Apocryphal traditions make Salome now a daughter, now a sister, now a former wife, of Joseph.—P. S.]

Wieseler’s hypothesis is upheld by the following facts:

1. It is not supposable that two sisters had the same name. [Some conjecture that Mary was only a step-sister. But I know of no example even of step-sisters or step-brothers bearing precisely the same name without an additional one to distinguish, them. Hengstenberg escapes the difficulty by the arbitrary assumption that sister here denotes sister-in-law.—P. S.]

2. In a precisely similar manner John elsewhere paraphrases his own name. [Nor does he introduce his brother James by name.—P. S.]

3. According to Mat_27:56; Mar_15:40, Salome really was among those women [who stood by the cross; and it is not likely that John should have omitted his own mother, the less so as he introduced himself.—P. S.]

The wife of Clopas [ἡ τοῦ Κλωπᾶ].—Clopas=Alpheus, Mat_10:3. The mother of the so-called brethren of Jesus, i.e. His cousins.

[The identity of Κλὡπᾶ (which sounds like an abridgement of Κλεοπ́ατρος) with the Hebrew name Αλφαῖος, הַלְפַּי (Mat_10:3), is by no means so certain as Dr. Lange with most commentators (also Meyer) assumes, but quite doubtful on account of the difference, of letters, and the improbability that John should use the Aramaic, and Matthew and Mark the Hellenistic form. Ελωπᾶς sounds rather like an abridgement of Κλεόπατρος and maybe the same with the Κλεόπας, mentioned Luk_14:18. But even in case of the identity of Clopas and Alpheus, it does not follow that James and Joses, the sons of Alpheus and a certain Mary (Mat_27:56; Mar_15:40; Mar_16:1; Luk_24:10), were cousins of Jesus, unless we identify this Mary with the sister of the mother of Jesus, which Lange does not. Nor is it certain that ἡ means the wife of; it may also mean the daughter of, the Klopas mentioned Luk_24:18 (as Ewald).—P. S.]

Joh_19:26. Woman, behold thy son [Τύ ναι, ἴδε ὁ υἱός σου]—Woman instead of mother. See Joh_2:4. The word here denotes particularly the character of woman in her helplessness and need of comfort. It must be remembered, however, that Mary deserved the name of “woman” in the ideal sense also. As Christ was the Son of Man, or the Man, so she, though approximately only, not in the perfection of sinlessness, was the ideal woman. [The second Eve, the Woman, whose Seed here bruised the serpent’s head, Genesis 3—P. S.]. Thus the name “woman,” the greeting of the woman who in spirit shares His crucial agony, is likewise a title of dignity. But besides this, Christ has sufficient reason for not exposing Mary to the mockery or persecution of the enemy by saluting her with the name pf “mother.”

The explanation recently (for instance in Piper’s Jahrbuch, article “Maria”) enlarged upon with ever-increasing grotesqueness, and which claims that with this saying Christ renounced His mother at the cross, goes, in its gradual development, from Luthardt, who is more precisely the author of it, back to Hofmann.17 It is expressive of a Monophysite view which takes the bold flight of afterward annulling even the historical fact. People holding this view apparently conceive of the status majestaticus not as the centre of the glorification of the human life, but as a sort of Oriental court raised to heaven. In connection with this view it would be better to represent the Logos in His birth as born not of Mary, but merely through her, in accordance with some of the ancients.

That it is the desire of Jesus to give Mary a son in His stead in a special sense, results from the fact that the Alphæides also were her sons.18 And what sons! Nevertheless, Mary was to have a still richer compensation after the departure of Jesus than could be given by the Alphæides; John was destined to make this compensation. And he indeed stood alone by her in this moment, as her support; thus should he stand by her from this time forth. The thing, the unique adoptive relationship, already existed de facto, being born beneath the cross of Christ; consciousness, a name, and the sanction of Christ must be added to it. According to Tholuck, the ἀδελφοί were as yet unbelieving. In regard to this, see Joh_7:5 [and my counter-notes, p. 241.—P. S.]. According to others, they were not so well off as John. But had there been question of a mere pecuniary provision for His mother, Christ would not have deferred its settlement until now. Mary needed a son in the sense of the higher soul-life, just as Jesus had Himself been refreshed by a friend. The friend of Jesus was fitted to be the son of Mary.

Behold thy mother [Ἴδε ἡ μήτηρ σου]!—We may primarily understand both sayings of Jesus in such a manner as to make them express the same idea: ye shall henceforth cleave together as mother and son. But not in vain are they divided into two sayings. If we apprehend them as consolations, the word: “Behold thy son!” signifies: in him shall be thy support; the word: “thy mother:” thou shalt become a sharer in her maternal blessing. If we apprehend them as admonitions, commands, the case presents a different aspect: the mother is enjoined to live for the son, the son for the mother. The one signification, however, is inseparable from the other. On both sides love and blessing are one in personal relationship.

[Alford: “The solemn and affecting commendation of her to John is doubly made,—and thus bound by the strongest injunctions on both. The Romanist idea, that the Lord commended all His disciples as represented by the beloved one, to the patronage of His mother, is simply absurd. The converse is true: He did solemnly commend the care of her, especially indeed to the beloved disciple, but in him to the whole cycle of disciples, among whom we find her, Act_4:14. No certain conclusion can be drawn from this commendation, as to the ‘brethren of the Lord’ believing on Him or not at this time. The reasons which influenced Him in His selection must ever be far beyond our penetration:—and whatever relations to Him we suppose those brethren to have been, it will remain equally mysterious why He passed them over, who wore so closely connected with His mother. Still the presumption, that they did not then believe on Him, is one of which it is not easy to divest one’s self; and at least may enter as an element into the consideration of the whole subject, beset as it is with uncertainty.” John’s relation to Mary as established beneath the Cross, was that of a sacred friendship and spiritual communion (comp. Mat_12:47-50), and interfered neither with John’s relation and duty to his natural mother Salome, nor with Mary’s relation to the “brethren” of Jesus, whatever view we may take of them. I have so often discussed this vexed question, especially in this vol. p. 241 and in the Com. on Matthew, pp. 456–460, that it is unnecessary to say more.—P. S.]

Took her unto his own home [ἔλαβεν ὁ μαθητὴς αὐτὴν εἰς τὰ ἴδια],—John gladly apprehended the word of Christ in that meaning also which carried an obligation with it. The expression: from that hour, cannot be weakened. Yet it is neither necessary to infer that John had a house of his own in Jerusalem, nor that he kept house for himself alone. “If he received Mary into his dwelling, into his family circle—consisting of Salome and perchance his brother, εἰς τᾶ ἴδια would be perfectly correct.” Meyer. [So also Alford. Ewald well observes: “It was for the Apostle in his later years a sweet reward to recall vividly every such minute detail,—and for his readers it is, without his intention, a sign that he alone could have written all this (dass nur er diess alles geschrieben haben könne).” Against the misunderstanding of this most touching scene by such men as Scholten and Weisse, see the just remarks of Meyer, p. 630.—P. S.]

Joh_19:28. I thirst [Μετὰ τοῦτο εἰδὼς ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ὅτι ἤδη πάντα τετέλεσται, ἵνα τελειωθῇ ἡ γραφὴ, λέγει• Διψῶ].—Different views:

1. Prevailing ancient interpretation: ἵνα τελ. is referable to λέγει• διψῶ. Since He knew that all things were accomplished, He said, in order to fulfil the Scripture in that particular also: I thirst (Chrysostom, Theophylact and others). Beza: Vehementissima quidem siti pressus, sed tamen de implendis singulis prophetiis nostraque salute potius quam de ulla siti sollicitus. This manner of fulfilling the Scripture is in accordance neither with the view of the Lord nor the delineation of John (see Joh_19:24). Then, too, it would have to read thus: As He knew that the Scripture was fulfilled, with the exception of one particular, He said—in order that this one thing also might be fulfilled, etc.,—irrespective of the fact that in Joh_19:32 ff. additional unfulfilled particulars Nos. 2 and 3 would present themselves.

2. Intensified apprehension of the foregoing explanation: as vinegar was given Him to drink, the drink was demanded as ultima pars passionum, with reference to Psa_69:22, which passage, as others also suppose, is here had in mind (Theodorus of Heraclea, Gerhard, Marheineke).

3. Christ did not drink for the sake of fulfilling the Scripture, but the Evangelist interprets His drinking as a fulfilment of Scripture; ἵνα τελειωθῇ ἡ γραφή is therefore a parenthesis, containing the explanation of the Evangelist (Piscator, Grotius, Lücke).

4. The final sentence (ἵνα, etc.) is not parenthetic, nor is it to be applied to what follows, but to that which precedes it: in the consciousness that His passion is finished, i.e. finished unto the accomplishment of the Scripture, He now says: “I thirst” (Michaelis, Semler, Knapp, Tholuck, Meyer and others). This interpretation seems to us the correct one. Hitherto Jesus has passed through one temptation and anxiety after another and, absorbed in the hot conflict in which He saw the fulfilment of the divine decree in accordance with the Scripture, has forgotten the burning thirst that has preyed upon Him since His last draught at the Supper. Now, with the presentiment of victory, His thirst makes itself felt, and He, being no legal ascetic, nor despising a service rendered by the hand of sinners, requests and partakes of the last, sorry refreshment. The expression: “that the Scripture might be accomplished,” does not mean: for the bare fulfilling of the Scripture hath He passed through all these things,—but: in the fulfilling of Scripture as the expression of the divine counsel, He found that which was His perfect tranquillization and exaltation in view of all these things, Luk_22:22, Mat_26:54. According to Hofmann, Jesus demanded a refreshment conducive to the prolongation of life, in order thus to demonstrate the freedom of His departure. This would be drinking for a theologico-apologetic purpose. Tholuck more pertinently remarks that the τελειοῦν of the divine βουλή was but the very (likewise the very) τελειοῦν of the γραφή,—hence τελειοῦν instead of πληροῦν.

Joh_19:29. A vessel therefore was standing there [σκεῦος ἔκειτο ὄξους—sour wine, or vinegar and water—μεστόν].—The Evangelist’s οὖν might here mean: Jesus’ glance had fallen upon the vessel containing the beverage and had suggested to Him the prospect of refreshment. From a strict interpretation of the word, however, a higher signification results. Christ’s complaint, His last craving, must not fail of satisfaction. It was necessary, therefore, that provision should have been made before-hand; it was to be expected that satisfaction was nigh at hand. The stupefying draught that was offered Him at the beginning of His suffering (Mat_27:34; Mar_15:23), Jesus had rejected. See Comm. on Matthew. But the pure, sour soldiers’ wine, vinegar-wine, He now receives to His refreshment. “The most distressing thirst torments the crucified. The soldiers give Him some of the beverage [ὄξος] which they are wont to drink (posca, vinum acidum); saturating a sponge with it, they put the sponge upon a hyssopstalk (which in the East attains a height of from one to one and a half feet. ‘Γσσώπῳ, that is καλάμῳ τοῦ ῦσσώπου, see Mat_27:48), and thus convey it to His mouth as He hangs upon the slightly elevated cross.” Mat_27:48 is a parallel passage. The touch in Luk_23:36 really seems indicative of a third, derisive presentation of vinegar-wine on the part of the soldiers, situate between the first and the last. See Meyer on the passage, and Comm. on Luk_23:26 [p. 373. Am. Ed.].

Joh_19:30. It is finished.—Τετέλεσται. The expression of the consciousness, Joh_19:28. Bengel: Hoc verbum in corde Jesu erat Joh_19:28, nunc ore profertur. It is possible that He required the reviving refreshment to aid Him in pronouncing the last words. The sublime word, finished, refers to His work, as commanded Him according to the counsel of God (delineated in the Scripture).

And yielded up the (or His) spirit [καὶ κλίνας τὴν κεφαλὴν παρέδωκεν τὸ πνεῦμα].—Expressive of a free dying. The characteristic word for this exode is itself preserved by the Evangelist Luke: Father, into Thy hands. Comp. Joh_10:18. Gerhard and the older Lutheran exegetes declared that the death of Jesus was not a suffering, but a deed. Tholuck: “This can be said only in the ethical sense,—in which sense it can be predicated of all His suffering—not in the physical sense (comp. Thomasius, Christol. Dogmatics, II., p. 225 with 218); in itself it is merely the expression of self-surrender, trusting in God, as Psa_31:6, whence the expression is derived.” But of a certainty, also the expression of a thoroughly unique, free dying which was at once suffering and deed in the ethico-physical sense. See Joh_10:18. [“The παραδιδόναι was strictly a voluntary and determinate act—no coming on of death, which had no power over Him.” (Alford.) On the physical cause of Christ’s death, comp. the remarks in Comm. on Matthew, p. 523, and the treatise of William Stroud, M. D., on the Physical Cause of Christ’s Death and its Relation to the Principles and Practice of Christianity. Second ed. with Appendix by Sir James Y. Simpson, London, 1871 (504 pp.). Dr. Stroud endeavors to demonstrate that the immediate cause of the Saviour’s death must be traced neither to the ordinary effects of crucifixion, nor the wound inflicted by the soldier’s spear, nor an unusual degree of weakness, nor the interposition of supernatural influence, but to the vicarious agony of His mind culminating in the exclamation, “My God, My God,” etc., and producing rupture of the heart, which is intimated by a discharge of blood and water from His side, when it was afterwards pierced with a spear. “It was the death of a pure and perfect human being sustaining and discharging the penalty due to human depravity, and thereby acquiring an equitable claim to see the travail of His soul and to be satisfied, by becoming the author of eternal salvation to all that obey Him.” See more of this below on Joh_19:34, p. 597.—P. S.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. In the history of the crucifixion of Jesus, as subsequently in that of His burial, John gives special prominence to the considerations of the fulfilment of Biblical prophecies and types. In correspondence with Scripture, Pilate was constrained to make the superscription: The King of the Jews; in accordance with Scripture, the division of the clothing took place, accompanied by the casting of lots for the body-vest; in further accordance, Jesus, at the approach of His death, felt that all things were accomplished, to the fulfilling of the Scripture; and thus the manner of His taking down from the cross must itself have reference to two passages of Scripture. But not for the sake of the fulfilment of the Scripture did all these things happen, but because in the providence of God they must happen, they were preceded by the presages and fore-glimpses of Scripture. The reference to Scripture, however, is designed to be expressive of two things: the objective veracity of God, who, in the ordering of the crucial sufferings, is consistent with Himself, and the unconditional trust of Christ and His people, that above all human arbitrariness and malice in the crucifixion, the providence and faithfulness of God were ruling.

Many items in the history of the crucifixion, the Evangelist assumes to be already familiar,—especially the history of Simon of Cyrene, the presentation of the intoxicating myrrh-wine, the mockings of the Crucified One, the conduct of the thieves, the darkening of the land, the earthquake, the rending of the vail in the temple, the testimony of the Gentile captain, Matthew’s indication of extraordinary occurrences in the spirit-world, the agitation of the people, as recorded by Luke, as also the majority of the seven last words.

With pleasure, however, he dwells—first upon the trait of Christ’s bravely and resolutely taking His cross on His own shoulders (αὑτῷ), upon the contest which Pilate and the Jews continued over the Crucified One, upon the significant superscription, and similar features. But for him there lay special preciousness in the recollection that Jesus, in His last hour, instituted filial relations between him, His friend, and His mother.

2. The word: The King of the Jews, was a fulfilment of the entire Old Testament—hence there are no particular citations here. According to the original accusation of the Jews, it was designed to denote His mortal offence. It then, in accordance with Pilate’s meaning, denoted the occasion of His death, being intended as a mockery of, and sarcasm upon, the Jews. In the sense of the Scripture, however, it denotes His divinely appointed destiny of death, and in the sense of the Spirit, the eternal gloriousness and fruit of His death. Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews: the word of the cross, glorified by the Spirit into a word about the cross. Pilate did not suspect that his writing, like his saying, Ecce Homo, did, under the providence of God, take significance, when he wrote, in the three most important languages of the world, this sermon over the cross.

3. The references to the fulfilments of Scripture in Christ’s suffering are nought but celestial lights shining into the darkness of the crucial passion. All is spiritualized, or transillumined by the Spirit, in order to be by the Spirit glorified, as God’s counsel, foreknowledge, ordinance, disposition, and judgment upon the blindness of the world,—glorified, I say, unto salvation.

4. If Mary is meant to be a symbol of the Church, then Christ, with His institution of this adoption, hath made His bosom-friends the veriest sons of the Church, and the Church their mother. Hence a form of the Church which is at extreme variance with the Johannean mind, cannot be the true one. Mary may, however, far rather be called a symbol of the Theocracy, which has been finally comprehended in her heart. In that sense the institution would mean: the Theocracy, i.e. the theocratic side of the Church, is always to have a spiritual son,—children of the Spirit; the children of the Spirit are always to have a motherly authority over them in the ecclesiastical communion.

5. As Peter, who recognized in Christ the Renewer of the old Theocracy, the King of the Divine Kingdom, was pre-eminently entrusted with the foundation and care of the Church of Christ, so to John, who in Christ saw pre-eminently the manifestation of the personal God, the portrait of eternal love, was confided the foundation and care of a holy family of the friends of God as the innermost vital focus within the Church.

6. The thirst of Jesus, His last suffering. A sign (1) that He has passed through all His sufferings and may now receive the draught of refreshment; (2) that He departs from earth and from those who have crucified Him, not proudly and coldly, but humbly, warmly and lovingly; (3) that He would be no pattern in self-chosen torments and penances; (4) that He still speaks in the consciousness of His divine spiritual power, as if it were at once a begging and a commanding; (5) that He is making preparation for the end.

7. It is finished. See the Homiletical Hints. Heb_10:14. The word as (1) a prophetic word (all scripture fulfilled); (2) a high-priestly word (the expiatory sacrifice completed); (3) a kingly word (the kingdom of heaven founded); (4) a unitous word (the work of redemption accomplished as the founding of the new creation, the world of the eternal Spirit).

8. The share of John in the account of the seven last words of Jesus.

9. The three languages on the cross, the three ground-tongues of theology.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

See the Synoptists.—The grand fulfilments of the divine counsel in the Passion of Christ, attested by the most significant fulfilments of Scripture (Joh_19:31-37 must be considered in this connection).—Christ’s suffering in its fundamental features: 1. As an act of suffering: the bearing of His cross and going forth (without the gate, Heb_13:13; out of the old communion) unto Calvary; 2. as an experience of suffering—with the thieves, in the midst of the thieves; 3. as a glorification of suffering: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews (the King of sufferers, of the people of God, of kings), in all the languages of the world.—The superscription of Pilate: 1. As the word of Pilate: Continuation of his mockery of the Jews;—the Jews a robber-folk, whose Head is already crucified. 2. As a word of the Spirit, unconsciously to the writer: The Messiah, the King of the people of God. Or, 1. As an assumed title of guilt, the property of malefactors in the old world; 2. as a personal title of honor, the property of the King of righteousness in the new world. Or as the explanation and glorification [Erklärung und Verklärung) of the cross of Christ.—This superscription read many of the Jews, for the place was nigh unto the city: 1. The word concerning Christ is still read by many legal men; 2. for the place where He is testified of is nigh to the city. [The evangelical Church by the side of the Church of legality].—How the priests would fain alter the writing concerning Christ.—The demand of the priests and the declaration of Pilate.—Pilate and the soldiers are compelled to work together for the fulfilment of the Scripture.—Soldiers, also, are under the providence of God, even in slaying, and dividing spoil.

Contrast of Christ’s adversaries and His friends at His crucifixion.—How they must glorify Him together; those unconsciously, these in grateful love.—Founding of the spiritual house of the mother and son beneath the cross.—The rich legacy of the poor Jesus.

The blissful presentiment of the dying Jesus that His day’s work is accomplished in accordance with the Scripture (or in accordance with the counsel of God): 1. Expressed in the evening draught which the great Laborer taketh as He quitteth work; 2. expressed in His evening song before He goeth to sleep: It is finished.

It is finished: 1. It, not this and that: all that lays the foundation of the new, eternal world of God. 2. It is, not it is being (Heb_10:14). 3. Finished. As a spiritual act, as a vital conflict, as a mortal suffering, as a triumph of Christ and the salvation of God—conducted to the goal τέλος).—The word, It is finished: 1. As the Evangel of Christ; 2. as the confession of the Church; 3. as the jubilation of the believing heart; 4. as an excitation to every work of faith; 5. as a prophecy of the Last Day.

Starke: Christians must make many a painful pilgrimage out of the city, out of the land,—nay, even to the gallows and the stake, for the sake of their faith—but courage! press onward! ye have a noble Predecessor.—Take comfort, thou pious man, if thou art accounted godless; Jesus was numbered with the transgressors that thou mightest be declared the child of God and righteous, Isa_53:12.—The vain lust of titles must be renounced in following the crucified Jesus. Though the world should crucify our honor and our good name; though she should nail above our head the superscription: this is a fool, a dreamer, an odd fellow, a heretic, etc., we must be satisfied with being called the children of God and having our names written in heaven.—Christians, read the Holy Scriptures diligently; there ye find your King, and His nature, will, and benefits. Joh_5:39,—Zeisius: The science of divers kinds of tongues, especially of the Hebrew and Greek, is to be recognized as a particular benefit of God, and is exceedingly useful for the investigation of Holy Scripture, that having been written in these two languages, 1Co_12:10.—Pilate may have diligently framed the superscription in ambiguity, knowing Jesus to be innocent. Underlying this fact, however, was a special providence of God, who took care that His Son should have the right superscription, since He suffered the death of the cross as the Messiah or anointed King of Israel.—Behold God’s rule over the hearts of men; in this His sway over them He hath employed even His own enemies for the furtherance of His glory: yea, His foes must sometimes promote the glory of His children with the very things wherewith they have striven to dishonor them, Psa_110:2.—If the writing of an earthly judge cannot be altered, how much less shall that be erased which God Himself has written in a Testament and Word.—Cramer: Christ is poor in the beginning, middle, and end of His life, that through His poverty He might make us rich.—Zeisius: The nearer Christ, the nearer the cross, and the heavier our afflictions.—Osiander: Fervent love to God and the Lord Jesus regardeth no danger.—With this speech on the cross, the Lord Jesus (1) intended to show how He beareth on His heart a care even for our bodily circumstances, and considereth such care a part of His mediatorial office; He therewith (2) designed to confirm the fifth commandment and to set all children a good example, as to how they should care for their poor and forsaken parents; He hath therewith (3) shown that it is not contrary to the sense of the fifth commandment if we extend its limits somewhat farther than the letter of it seemeth to require; He hath (4) designed to hallow the natural love existing between friends and relatives; He hath (5) sanctioned guardianships; He hath (6) approved of testaments; He hath (7) taught thereby how every one ought to strive to make this painful life more endurable to his neighbor by rendering him loving aid; He hath (8), particularly in the person of John, enjoined it upon the hearts of all the teachers of His Church to have a care for poor and destitute persons; He hath (9) shown how we should seek to accomplish through others the good that we ourselves are unable to perform; He hath (10) assured all whom He recognizeth as His mother and His brethren that He will not forsake or neglect them either.—Christ’s eyes, amid the turmoil, are fixed upon believers, Psa_33:18.—No man deriveth harm, but rather profit, from entering into the fellowship of Christ’s shame and suffering.—Hedinger: God provideth physically and spiritually for them that belong to Him.—Cramer: A Christian should settle well his household affairs before he dieth.—Canstein: It is love’s way to interest itself for those it leaves destitute, and to endeavor to bring about by means of others such things as it cannot do itself.—Lampe: It is right that those who are preparing themselves for death, should not forget to care for their families.—Happy is he that espouseth the cause of the widows and orphans and doeth them good; he doeth God’s will and shall inherit the blessing, Psa_41:1 ff.; Exo_22:22 ff.—Hear, dear Christian! that Jesus hath thirsted, and let it cause thee to guard the more vigilantly against all excess in drinking.—Hall: Christian mine, if thou too art tried with hunger and thirst in this world, comfort thyself with the thought that thy Saviour did also complain of the same on the cross. Ah, what a refreshment will this be to thee!—Τετέλεσται; In this one word everything appertaining to the purchase of our salvation is expressed and concluded. By this we see that the Master with the tongue of the learned, Isa_50:4, is before us,—He who can bring all things into one word, and yet it is plena enuntiatio, a complete declaration, a word above all words, a regular aphorism (as they call a concise saying, briefly and wittily expressed), short and yet intelligible: a true apophthegm (a momentous and pregnant saying). Upon hearing this declaration, it is finished, we are constrained to ask: what is finished? This question is easily answered if we do but consider the Person who made the declaration. It is accomplished—all that Christ was bound to do and to accomplish—and thus this word refers us to the whole course of His life. In consideration of the preceding 28th ver., the word τετέλεσται may be complemented after this fashion: herewith is the Scripture, in that which it hath prophesied concerning Me, fulfilled, Luk_18:31; Luk_22:37. If we take into account the passages Heb_5:9; Heb_10:7, it may also be thus paraphrased: Herewith is the counsel and will of God concerning our salvation accomplished, namely, as regards the purchase of it; and in consideration of the declaration of Christ, Mat_5:17, τετέλεσται means as much as: Now is the law fulfilled.—He now, as it were, nodded unto Death, bidding him come on; yea, He asserted by this bowing of His head, that He would become obedient to His Father unto death, Php_2:8.—Cramer: Hath Christ finished it?—then we need not achieve it.—Zeisius: Christ’s consummatum, it is finished, hath been a blessed thing for us.—Osiander: Christ’s death is our life; in dying we enter into true life, Heb_2:14.

Gerlach: The most horrible of all torments, the most burning thirst,—a circumstance expressly predicted of the suffering Messiah, Psa_22:15; comp. Psa_69:21.—Lisco: Pilate indignantly refuses the request of the Jews that Jesus should be characterized in the inscription as a deceiver.—The faithful love of those who clave to Jesus shunneth not that pain of deepest sympathy which is occasioned by the spectacle of His sufferings, Luk_2:35.

Braune: Conscious of his injustice and of the innocence of Jesus, angry with those who had driven him to commit that injustice, he says: what I have written, I have written; this is the formula of deciding magistrates:—With this decree the matter rests.—It was written in Roman—Latin—, the judicial tongue; in Hebrew, the popular tongue; in Greek, the tongue in general use.—Duties, those, even, that are apparently of the least account, must be fulfilled up to the very last breath. The Christian should die like a general, upon his feet, fighting, giving orders, 1Ti_5:8.—Thus the gap that death makes, is best filled. For love is strong as death (Son_8:6).—Think you, it would have been stronger, greater, worthier of His love, to repress the need He felt of quenching His burning thirst? Here we see how free His heart is from pride and rancor, passions by which many another apparently grows great and strong.—Whoso bindeth his soul and his soul’s life to Christ’s life, ways, walks, sufferings, can say, when faint in death: it is finished! What soul hath been converted unto God from its sins and is reconciled to Him, can exclaim: it is finished!—This word, it is finished! was uttered by Jesus, not at the close of His activity, in the high-priestly prayer, in Gethsemane, but at the end of His suffering.—But was He already risen for our justification? He had not yet sent the Comforter into the hearts of His people. But in the holy instant of death, by the light of eternity, His eye beheld the finished work of redemption, in its readiness for prosecution and spiritualization. Thus through suffering and tribulation is attained the triumph of the kingdom of God.

Gossner: What a procession! What a cross-walk! What a march! God’s Only-begotten One, under the burden of the cross, the tree whereon the curse lay, marcheth to the bitterest death. Thus do men send Him back to His Father from whom He proceeded—laden with cross, curse and shame; as a malefactor. What a journey, followed by consequences most rich in blessing!—And He bare His cross! Why that was our cross, and He appropriated it to Himself, as though it were His own; He embraced it with such love and patience as it had been His life, and it brought Him death—but to us life.—Neither can the coat of Christ’s righteousness be divided and cut into pieces—every soul must have it whole.—His nakedness on the cross is an evidence that He shunned no kind of humiliation for us.—The pagan Roman soldiers did not divide the coat of Christ, but Christians have made many rents and divisions over Christ’s coat, that they might establish their own opinions and their own righteousness.—Those under the cross composed the family of the Saviour; it had melted away to so few; that was His little Church whereunto He reckoneth Himself, wherewith He abideth, with which His Spirit resteth on earth. —His bowed head lifteth up the head of each one of us. He Himself inclined His head with the consciousness that He should soon raise it again, as He had foretold.

Heubner: God, whose hand guided the finger of Pilate, meant this superscription to be a challenge to all unbelieving Jews and all mankind to acknowledge this Jesus of Nazareth as their King. All languages, all tongues, are to resound with His praise and confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.—Pilate’s firm determination is indicative of God’s irrevocable decree. If all the world remonstrate against Christ’s royal dignity—God hath willed it, and there is an end of it, Psalms 2—Christ hung naked on the cross. This is very significant; He hung thus (1) In order to show how thoroughly the world had stripped Him of all that He owned, and covered Him with shame; (2) in order to present Himself to all as the Innocent and Pure One who can support the glances of all.—Mary, the mother of Jesus, stood beneath the cross: Now was fulfilled the prophecy of Simeon, Luk_2:35.—What feelings must have pierced her maternal heart! This was the origin of the ancient church-hymn: Stabat mater dolorosa.—Of such strength is womanly nature capable. An example for all Christian men and women, admonishing them not to be ashamed of Jesus, often to go beneath His cross, that they may become worthy of those women who went before them. Rambach, in loc., p. 1063, compares Mary and Eve. Eve stood in Paradise beside the pleasant tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Mary stands beside the ignominious tree of the cross. The former looked upon the forbidden tree, and its fruit conduced to her death; the latter looks upon the promised tree of life, and is refreshed by its fruit in her mortal anguish.—Our death too, when God calleth, must be voluntary. It is the Christian’s art to die willingly.

[Craven: From Ambrose: Joh_19:26. Mary, as became the Mother of our Lord, stood before the cross, when the Apostles fled, and with pitiful eyes beheld the wounds of her Son.——From Augustine: Joh_19:17. Great spectacle! to the profane a laughing-stock, to the pious a mystery. Profaneness sees a King bearing a cross instead of a sceptre; piety sees a King bearing a cross, thereon to nail Himself, and afterwards to nail it on the foreheads of kings.

Joh_19:18. Even the cross was a judgment seat; for the Judge being the middle, one thief, who believed, was pardoned, the other, who mocked, was damned: a sign of what He would once do to the quick and dead,—place the one on His right hand, the other on His left.

Joh_19:20. These three were the languages most known there: the Hebrew, on account of being used in the worship of the Jews; the Greek in consequence of the spread of Greek philosophy; the Latin, from the Roman empire being established everywhere.

Joh_19:22. O ineffable working of Divine power, even in the hearts of ignorant men! Did not some hidden voice sound from within, and, if we may say so, with clamorous silence,—saying to Pilate in the prophetic words of the Psalm, Alter not the inscription of the title?

Joh_19:26-27. This truly is that hour of the which Jesus, when about to change the water into wine, said, Mother [Woman], what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. Then, about to act divinely, He repelled the Mother of His humanity, of His infirmity, as if He knew her not: now, suffering humanly, He commands with humane affection, her of whom he was made Man. Here is a moral lesson. The good Teacher shows us by His example that pious sons should take care of their parents. The cross of the Sufferer is the chair of the Master.

Joh_19:28. He who appeared Man, suffered all these things; He who was God, ordered them.——From Chrysostom: Joh_19:17. He carried the badge of victory on His shoulders, as conquerors do.

Joh_19:18. And two others with Him; What they did in wickedness was a gain to the truth. To convert a thief on the cross, and bring him into paradise, was no less a miracle than the rending of the rocks.

Joh_19:23-24. Behold the sureness of prophecy. The prophet foretold not only what they would part, but what they would not. They parted the raiment, but cast lots for the vesture.

Joh_19:25. Observe how the weaker sex is the stronger; standing by the cross when the disciples fly.

Joh_19:26. Though there were other women by, He makes no mention of any of them, but only of His Mother, to show us that we should specially honor our mothers.

Joh_19:26-30. Observe how imperturbable He is during His crucifixion, talking to the disciple of His Mother, fulfilling prophecies, giving good hope to the thief; whereas, before His crucifixion, He seemed in fear. The weakness of His nature was shown there, the exceeding greatness of His power here. He teaches us too, herein, not to turn back, because we may feel disturbed at the difficulties before us; for when we are once actually under the trial, all will be light and easy for us.

[From Burkitt: Joh_19:17. Why could not Christ bear His own cross, who was able to bear the sins of the whole world, when hanging upon the cross? 1. Probably, the Jews’ malice provided Him a cross of an extraordinary greatness; 2. He was much debilitated and weakened, with His long watching and sweating the night before; 3. The sharp edges of the cross grating His late whipped and galled shoulders, might occasion the fresh bleeding of His wounds; 4. Thereby He gave the world a demonstration of the truth of His humanity, that He was in all things like unto us.

Joh_19:18. It had been a sufficient disparagement to our blessed Redeemer to be sorted with the best of men, but to be numbered with the scum of mankind is such an indignity as confounds our thoughts.

Joh_19:19. Pilate, who before was His judge, and pronounced Him innocent, is now His herald to proclaim His glory.—Pilate did that for Christ which none of His own disciples durst do. No thanks to him for this; because the highest services performed to Christ undesignedly shall neither be accepted nor rewarded by God.

Joh_19:22. Surely the constancy of Pilate at this time must be attributed to special divine Providence. How wonderful was it that he who before was as inconstant as a reed, should now be fixed as a pillar of brass! [His so called constancy was nothing but the natural outworking of the fear excited by the threat to accuse him before Cæsar; his persistence in retaining the inscription would not only gall the Jews but be an effectual bar to any charge of his having neglected the Imperial interests. The true homiletical inferences from this passage are that 1. Those who attempt to accomplish their ends by improper influences, brought to bear on rulers, generally over-reach themselves; 2. God over-rules the arts of the wicked for their own punishment and His glory. E. R. C.]

Joh_19:26. He calls her woman, and not mother: not that He was ashamed of, or unwilling to own her as His mother, but either 1. Fearing that calling her by that name should augment and increase her grief and trouble, or, 2. To intimate His change of state and condition, that, being ready to die and return to His Father in heaven, He was above all earthly relations.

Joh_19:26-27. The Lord never removes one comfort, and takes away the means of subsistence from His people, but He raises up another in the room of it.—Such as are beloved of Christ, shall be peculiarly honored by Him, and be employed in the highest services for Him.

Joh_19:30. It is finished: 1. My Father’s eternal counsel concerning Me is accomplished; 2. The scriptures are now fulfilled; 3. My sufferings are now ended; 4. The fury and malice of My enemies are now ended; 5. The work of man’s redemption and salvation is perfected.—He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost: Christ was a volunteer in dying.

[From M. Henry: Joh_19:17. Whatever cross He calls us out to bear at any time, we must remember that He bore the cross first, and by bearing it for us, bears it off from us in a great measure, for thus He hath made His yoke easy, and His burden light.

Joh_19:18. Observe what death Christ died; 1. The death of the cross, a bloody, painful, shameful, cruel death; 2. He was nailed to the cross, as a sacrifice bound to the altar; 3. He was lifted up, as the brazen serpent, hung between heaven and earth, because we were unworthy of either, and abandoned by both; 4. His hands were stretched out to invite and embrace us; 5. He hung upon the tree some hours, dying gradually in the full use of reason and speech, that He might actually resign Himself a sacrifice. See Him bleeding, see Him struggling, see Him dying, see Him and love Him, love Him and live to Him, and study what we shall render.

Joh_19:19-20. God so ordered it that this (title) should be written in the three then most known tongues; intimating thereby that Jesus Christ should be a Saviour to all nations, and not to the Jews only; and also that every nation should hear in their own tongue the wonderful works of the Redeemer.

Joh_19:21-22. An earnest of what came to pass soon after, when the Gentiles submitted to the kingdom of the Messiah, which the unbelieving Jews had rebelled against.

Joh_19:23. While Christ was in His dying agonies, the soldiers were merrily dividing His spoils.

Joh_19:26. His speaking to her in this seemingly slight manner was designed to give check to the undue honors which He foresaw would be given her in the Romish Church.

Joh_19:27. Those that truly love Christ, and are loved of Him, will be glad of an opportunity to do any service to Him, or His.

Joh_19:29. To everlasting thirst we had been condemned, had not Christ suffered [thirsted] for us.—Christ would rather court an affront than see any prophecy unfulfilled. This should satisfy us under all our trials,—that the will of God is done, and the word of God accomplished.

Joh_19:30. It is finished; that Isaiah 1. The malice of His persecutors; 2. The counsel and commandment of His Father; 3. The types and prophecies of the Old Testament; 4. The ceremonial law; 5. Sin; 6. His suffering; 7. His life; 8. The work of man’s redemption.

[From Scott: Joh_19:17-30. He was wounded and scourged that we might be healed; He was arrayed with scorn in the purple robe, that He might procure for us “the robe of righteousness;” He was crowned with thorns, that we might be “crowned with honor and immortality;” He stood speechless, that we might have an all-prevailing plea; He endured torture that we might have “a strong consolation;” He thirsted that we might drink of the waters of life; He bore the wrath of the Father, that we might enjoy His favor; He “was numbered with transgressors,” that we might be made “equal to angels;” He died, that we might live forever!

Joh_19:26. The surest interest in His love will not secure our exemption from the sharpest temporal sufferings.

Joh_19:27. We ought to act as though we heard Jesus say from His cross concerning this and the other believer, “Behold My mother,” “My brother,” “My sister.”——From A Plain Commentary (Oxford): Joh_19:17. And He bearing His cross went forth; “The Jews themselves have referred this type (of Isaac) unto that custom: for upon the words, ‘And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son,’ they have this note,—‘as a man carries his cross upon his shoulders.’ ” (Pearson.)

Joh_19:19-22. “It was not for nothing that Pilate suddenly wrote, and resolutely maintained what he had written. That title on the cross did signify no less than that His royal power was active even there; for ‘having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it; and through His death, destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.’ ” (Pearson.)

Joh_19:23. And thus at the very foot of the cross of Christ was enacted the emblem of that triumph over our Saviour which the Powers of Darkness, it may well be supposed, by this time thought secure! They had slain their great enemy (the devils will have already assumed); and their wicked agents may now be instigated to “divide the spoil.”—“Because Christ’s people cannot be rent and torn by divisions, His tunic, seamless and woven throughout, was not rent by them into whose hands it fell. Single,—united,—connected,—it shows the concord which should subsist among as many of ourselves as put on Christ. That vest of His declares to us, in a sacrament, the Unity of the Church.” (Cyprian.)

Joh_19:24. “Christ, like Joseph, was about to flee from this evil and adulterous world; and leave His garment in its hands.” (Williams.)

Joh_19:26-27. O amazing privilege! thus to have been appointed by the Incarnate Word Himself to supply His place towards His bereaved mother! How stupendous a legacy was this for Divine Piety to bequeath, and for adoring love to inherit!—“The presence of the Godhead in our Lord’s person did not efface and outshine the essential feelings of a human heart. It did but quicken and strengthen all those affections and sympathies which are still left as remnants of the heavenly image, and the groundwork of its renewal within us.” (Hobhouse.)—“ As God, our Saviour might have removed His human mother to the best of those ‘many mansions’ which are prepared for those that love Him. But it was as God He willed that she should stay awhile on earth: while as Man, He both provided a home for her such as He could never give her while He lived; and called the human feelings of a friend into play on her behalf, while He did so.” (Hobhouse.)

Joh_19:30. He was “reclining His head as on His Father’s bosom.” (Origen.)

[From Krummacher: Joh_19:17. And He bearing His cross, etc. It is thus the unhappy world repels the Man who entered upon it heralded by angels!—It is thus she rewards Him for the unwearied love with which He poured upon her the abundance of all conceivable benefits and mercies.—Oh, who that is still inclined to doubt whether mankind was worthy of eternal perdition without the intervention of a Mediator, let him cast a look at this path of suffering and convince himself of the contrary! For why is the Holy One thus dragged along, unless it be that we loved sin too ardently not to hate a man, even to the death, who made Himself known as the deliverer from it.—Had He shrunk back from this fatal path, His road to suffering would have represented to us that on which, when dying, we should have quitted the world. Instead of soldiers, the emissaries of Satan would have escorted us; instead of the accursed tree, the curse of the law itself; instead of the fetters, the bands of eternal wrath would have encircled us, and despair have lashed us with its fiery scourge.—It may be that during our earthly pilgrimage we are led on similar paths to that on which we see Jesus, our Head, proceeding; but Christ has deprived our fearful path of its horrors, our burdens of their overpowering weight, our disgrace and need of their deadly stings, and placed us in a situation to say “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.”——Golgotha—Calvary—horrifying name—the appellation of the most momentous and awful spot upon the whole earth. Behold a naked and barren eminence, enriched only by the blood of criminals, and covered with the bones of executed rebels, incendiaries, prisoners, and other offscouring of the human race. An accursed spot, where love never rules, but where naked justice alone sits enthroned, with scales and sword, and from which every passer-by turns with abhorrence, a nocturnal rendezvous of jackals and hyenas. Only think, this place so full of horrors, becomes transformed into “the hill from whence cometh our help,” and whose mysteries many kings and prophets desired to see and did not see them. Yes, upon this awful hill our roses shall blossom, and our springs of peace and salvation burst forth. The pillar of our refuge towers upon this height. The Bethany of our repose and eternal refreshment here displays itself to our view.—On that awful mount ends the earthly career of the Lord of Glory. Behold Him, the only green, sound, and fruitful tree upon earth, and at the root of this tree the axe is laid, What a testimony against the world, and what an annihilating contradiction to every thing that bears the name of God and Divine Providence, if the latter did not find its solution in the mystery of the representative atonement.

Joh_19:18. They crucified Him; O what a dying bed for the King of kings! As often as we repose on the downy cushions of peace, or blissfully assemble in social brotherly circles, singing hymns of hope, let us not forget that the cause of the happiness we enjoy is solely to be found in the fact, that the Lord of Glory once extended Himself on the fatal tree for us.—The earth rejects the Prince of Life from its surface, and, as it seems, heaven also refuses Him: Though rejected by heaven and earth, yet He forms, as such, the connecting link between them both, and the Mediator of their eternal and renewed amity.—The moment the cross is elevated to its height, a purple stream falls from the wounds of the crucified Jesus, and bedews the place of torture and the sinful crowd which surrounds it. This is His legacy to His Church. This rosy dew works wonders. It falls upon spiritual deserts, and they blossom as the rose. We sprinkle it upon the door-posts of our hearts, and are secure against destroyers and avenging angels. This dew falls on the ice of the north pole, and the accumulated frozen mass of ages thaws beneath it. It streams down on the torrid zone, and the air becomes cool and pleasant. Where this rain falls, the gardens of God spring up, lilies bloom, and what was black becomes white in the purifying stream, and what was polluted becomes pure as the light of the sun.—For our justification nothing more is requisite than that, in the consciousness of our utter helplessness we lay hold on the horns of that altar, which is sprinkled with blood that “speaketh better things than that of Abel.”—“I am crucified with Christ,” exclaims the Apostle, and by these words points out the entire fruit which the cross bears for all believers. His meaning is, “They are not His sins for which the curse is there endured, but mine; for He who thus expires on the cross dies for me: Christ pays and suffers in my stead.”—The life of the world springs only from the death of the Just One.

Joh_19:19. “What sayest thou, Is this a King?” Do not shake thy head, but know that thou art wanting in discernment, not He in majesty.—Dost thou inquire where is the majesty of this King? Truly it exists, although for the time hidden, like the glittering gold of the ark beneath the rams’ skins that covered it.—Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews: Yes, it is He. Thou mayest recognize Him (as King) by the victories He achieves even on the fatal tree, the first of which is of a glorious twofold character—over Himself and over the infernal tempter. 1. Over Himself; 2. Over Satan; He suffers Himself to be wounded in the heel, but at the same time breaks the head of the old Serpent. 3. The greatest and most wonderful of all—the victory of the Lawgiver over the Law. There was no want of wish or will in heaven to save us; but the right to undertake the great work was wanting—the law put in its protest to our redemption. The curse had to be endured; He submitted to this and drank the cup of wrath—and when the voice of mercy was heard from heaven, the law had nothing to object.—Yes, He is a King! But where is His kingdom? He is founding it while hanging on the cross. The drops of blood which trickle down, are the price He paid to ransom His people, and the dying groans which issue from His breast, the joyful peal which announces the birthday of His Zion.—In His crown of thorns He governs the world of spirits and of hearts; and the greatest marvels by which He glorifies Himself on earth He performs with His pierced hands.

Joh_19:20. The title was written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, the three theological languages, that all the world may read and understand.

Joh_19:23-24. A dying bed presents itself to our view—an individual at the point of death—a legacy and the heirs; let us direct our attention first to the Testator, and then to His legacy, and heirs: 1. The Testator; Jesus of Nazareth—(1) the poorest of the poor, (2) the King of the Jews—the King of kings—the Son of the Living God—the Alpha and Omega, God blessed forever; 2. The Legacy; His clothing—(1) the upper garment which symbolizes the outwardly operating fullness of the Saviour’s power and life, and in a second signification, the spiritual endowment intended for us—this is divisible; (2) the vesture or body-coat of the Man of sorrows which He used to wear under the mantle; beneath the resplendent robe of His wonderful and active life, the Saviour wore another, the garment of a perfect obedience—it is the robe of righteousness of the Son of God, which is symbolized by the coat without a seam (indivisible) for which the lot is cast at the foot of the cross; 3. The heirs; (1) the executioners, (2) one of the murderers inherits the costly robe,—this circumstance tells us that no wickedness, however great, excludes unconditionally from the inheritance; it only depends upon this, that the symbolical position of those executioners, with respect to the body should be essentially fulfilled in us—1. They know how to value the preciousness of the seamless vestment: 2. They perceive that only in its undivided whole it was of value; 3. They are satisfied to obtain possession gratuitously—without any merit of their own.

Joh_19:25-26. In the midst of rage and fury, love stands near Jesus in His dying moments and lifts up to Him its tearful and affectionate eye—behold a lovely little company in the midst of the bands of Belial, a hidden rosebud under wild and tangled bramble-bushes, a splendid wreath of lilies around the death-bed of the Redeemer.—In that mourning group you see only the first divinely quickened germs of the future kingdom of the Divine Sufferer.—Strange enough, with one exception, all of them are females: the strong are fled—the weak maintain their ground; the heroes despair—the timid, who did not presume to promise anything, overcome the world. If the man’s is the splendid deed—the woman’s is enduring patience; if to the former belongs the heroism which cuts the knot—to the latter (which is the greater of the two) belongs the silent self-sacrifice which is faithful unto death.—The disciple whom He loved; In these words the Apostle indicates what was his pride, his crown, and his highest boast. At the same time they point out the source whence he derived all his consolation, hope, and strength; this source was love—not the love with which he embraced the Lord, but that with, which the Lord embraced him.—He who can sign himself the disciple whom Jesus loves has a sure guaranty for all that he needs, and for all that his heart can desire; he may call himself the man that is tossed with tempests, yet if he is “the disciple whom Jesus loves” what more will he have?—Woman; It becomes Him not to call her Mother now since this term in the Hebrew includes the idea of Mistress, while He was just preparing, as the Lord of lords, to ascend the throne of eternal majesty.

Joh_19:26-27. Behold thy Son—Behold thy Mother; These words contain the record of the institution of a new family relationship; in this fellowship Christ is the Head, and all His believing people form one great, closely-connected family: Let him who would envy John the pleasing task of being a support to the Mother of Jesus know that the way to the same honor lies open to him—Jesus has said, “Whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My Mother and sister and brother,” Mat_12:50.

Joh_19:28. I thirst: What was the nature of the distress expressed by the cry?—1. Physical; 2. Does it not remind of the awful representation of the invisible world portrayed in the parable of Lazarus and Dives?—For what did He thirst? Not only for earthly water, but after the full restoration of His Father’s countenance.—These words also solicited from mankind a charitable act.—That for which He chiefly thirsts is that He may gain us over to Himself—that transgressors may be freed from sin; those under the curse, absolved; those that are bound, liberated.—O that you could weep as Peter wept, and like David! Such tears are the drink-offering for which the Saviour still thirsts.

Joh_19:30. It is finished: At the very moment when, for the Hero of Judah, all seems lost, His words declare that all is won and accomplished. Listen! at these words you hear fetters burst, and prison walls falling down; barriers as high as heaven are overthrown, and gates which had been closed for, thousands of years again move on their hinges.—Every condition of the work of human redemption has been completed with the exception of one which was included in them.—If He has paid the ransom, how can a righteous God demand payment a second time?—With the heraldic and conquering cry, It is finished, He turned once more to the world. It was His farewell to earth—a farewell such as beseemed the Conqueror of Death, the Prince of Life, the Governor of all things. He then withdrew Himself entirely into connection with His God, and turned His face to Him alone. [From Jacobus: Joh_19:26-27. What a Son was this, true to His Father in Heaven, and to His mother on earth.——From Owen: Joh_19:18. Jesus in the midst—disgraceful eminence.

Joh_19:26-27. “The burden of the world’s redemption with all its increasing horror of sin, lies upon His soul; boundless anticipations, now gradually receding and passing away, of the glory to be obtained had filled His spirit, yet He has room for the exercise of the minutest care.” (Stier.)

Joh_19:28. Jesus was conscious that He was fulfilling a pre-determined series of sufferings, and manifested no impatient haste, that they should be endured other than in their allotted place and time.

Joh_19:30. It is finished; “All things were done which the law required, all things established which prophecy predicted, all things abolished which were to be abrogated, all things obtained in order to be bestowed which had been the subject of promise. All things—down to the last drops of scornful compassion, and compassionate scorn, after receiving which Christ’s lips uttered this great word—were suffered which were to be suffered; but therein, at the same time, all things were done and accomplished, nothing was left wanting. The theology of ages, has striven to embrace this ‘all’ and to develop it; and strives to this day in vain to express it perfectly.” (Stier.)

[Joh_19:25-26. Now there stood by the cross, etc. Is not this symbolic of the great Apostasy (2Th_2:3; Luk_18:8, etc.) when only a few shall remain faithful?

Joh_19:26. Woman; “She was The Woman whose Seed here bruises the serpent’s head. What title, then, so fitting at the present juncture, as this—with its twofold weight of shame and glory? Woman, Satan’s instrument in bringing sin and death into the world—thereby rendering this cross necessary: Woman, God’s instrument in bringing Him into the world who is the Righteousness and Life thereof, whose cross shall be changed into a crown of rejoicing for Himself and his redeemed. Surely, it is no marvel if now, whilst the promise made to Eve is fulfilled to Mary, the same old word that meets us in the story of the fall, resounds from the lips of the Restorer, the suffering yet victorious Seed’ (E. M.)—“Woman! Thy Saviour spake thy name in His last agony—not harshly, condemningly, as He in justice might have done, but lovingly, compassionately, with fostering care.” (E. M.)]

Footnotes:

[8]Joh_19:16.—[The words καὶ ἀπήγαγον after τὸν Ἰησοῦν are doubtful. See the Text. Note on Joh_19:16 in the preceding section, with which Dr. Lange connects this clause.—P. S.]

[9]Joh_19:17.—The reading αὑτῷ τὸν σταυρόν, in accordance with B. L. X. Sin., Vulgate, Itala, Origen in Lachmann, Tischendorf. [αὑτῷ is dat. commodi, carrying the cross for Himself or His own cross. The text. rec. reads τὸν σταυρὸν αὑτοῦ His cross.—P. S.]

[10]Joh_19:17.—[Different spellings: Γολγοθᾶ (Alford, Tischendorf), Γολγοθά (West cottand Hort), Γολγοτά, Γοληόθ, etc. See Tischendorf. In Chaldee ‎‎‍‎גֻּלְגָּלְתָּא, Gülgotha, in Hebrew גֻּלְנלֶת Gülgoleth, in Greek κρανίον i. e., Skull. The Vulgato translates the word in all cases Calvaria (fem. i. e., skull), from which our Calvary is derived. Comp. Jerome in Mat_27:33 : “Golgotha, quod est Calvariæ locus. ” The E. V., following the Vulgate, uses Calvary only once, Luk_23:33. for the Greek κρανίον (a diminutive of κρᾶνον), a skull. In the three places where the term Golgotha occurs, viz., Mat_27:33; Mar_15:22; Joh_19:17, the E. V. retains the Hebrew form, which, in our passage, is necessary on account of the Ἐβραϊστί. The popular expression “Mount Calvary,” is probably of monastic origin and has no foundation in the Evangelists, where Golgotha is simply called two?, “a place,” or “the Place of Skull.” It was probably only a small, round and barren elevation in the shape of a skull, and derived its name from its globular form. Jerome (on Mat_27:33) informs us of the tradition that the place derived its name from Adam, the head (skull!) of the human family (hence, probably the skull introduced in early pictures of the crucifixion), but he himself discredits it, and conjectures that it was so called as a place of execution, on account of the capita damnatorum. But in this case the corresponding Greek name would have been τόπος κρανίων, “place of skulls,” instead of row. τόπ. κρανίου “pl. of a skull,” still less “a skull,” as in Hebrew and in the Greek of Luk_23:33.—P. S.]

[11]Joh_19:20.—Meyer: “The probabilities are in favor of the sequence Ἑβραϊστί, Ῥωμαϊστί, Ἑλληνιστί (thus Tischendorf, in accordance with B. L. X., Minuscules, etc.), from Pilate’s standpoint.” This very consideration may have given an exegetical rise to it. The Sin. supports it. [Treg., Alf., Westc. and 2., adopt the same order. Lange, with Lachmann, retains the order of the text, rec, which is supported by A. D. Vulg. Syr.—P. S.]

[12]Joh_19:29.—The οὖν is here omitted by Lachmann, in accordance with A. B. L. X. Lachmann, supported by B. L. X., etc., gives an οὖν, instead of δὲ after οἱ.

[13][The traditional site has been defended quite recently again by Furrer (art. Golgotha in Schenkel’s Bibel-Lexikon, 2, 508).—P. S.]

[14][Hamann ingeniously applied the inscription on the cross to the language of the New Testament which implies the three national elements, as it was written in Greek by Jews in a Jewish land, under the dominion of the Romans.—V. S.]

[15][These translations insert and (καί) between sister of his mother and Mary, thus making them two distinct persons.— P. S.]

[16][In ed. 8., Tischendorf makes a comma after Κλωπᾶ. So does Alford, yet he adopts Wieseler’s view.—P. S]

[17][The original reads Hoffmann, evidently a printing error. Prof. Hofmann of Erlangen is not to be confounded with Dr. Hoffmann, General Superintendent and’ Court Preacher at Berlin. Steinmeyer (as quoted and opposed by Meyer, p. 630, note) adopts the view of Luthardt and asserts that the death of the Redeemer of all men solved the bonds of His earthly relationship. Of English commentators Alford says in the same sense: “The relationship in the flesh between the Lord and His mother was about to close; hence He commends her to another son who should care for and protect her.”—P. S.]

[18][According to Dr. Lange’s peculiar theory on the adoption of the family of Mary’s sister or sister-in-law into her own family—a view which I have frequently had occasion to oppose in connection with the cousin-theory concerning the brothers of Christ. Comp. pp. 115,241, Matthew, pp. 456–460.—P. S.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John

AN EYE-WITNESS’S ACCOUNT OF THE CRUCIFIXION

Joh 19:17 - Joh 19:30.

In great and small matters John’s account adds much to the narrative of the crucifixion. He alone tells of the attempt to have the title on the Cross altered, of the tender entrusting of the Virgin to his care, and of the two ‘words’ ‘I thirst’ and ‘It is finished.’ He gives details which had been burned into his memory, such as Christ’s position ‘in the midst’ of the two robbers, and the jar of ‘vinegar’ standing by the crosses. He says little about the act of fixing Jesus to the Cross, but enlarges what the other Evangelists tell as to the soldiers ‘casting lots.’ He had heard what they said to one another. He alone distinctly tells that when He went forth, Jesus was bearing the Cross which afterwards Simon of Cyrene had to carry, probably because our Lord’s strength failed.

Who appointed the two robbers to be crucified at the same time? Not the rulers, who had no such power but probably Pilate, as one more shaft of sarcasm which was all the sharper both because it seemed to put Jesus in the same class as they, and because they were of the same class as the man of the Jews’ choice, Barabbas, and possibly were two of his gang. Jesus was ‘in the midst,’ where He always is, completely identified with the transgressors, but central to all things and all men. As He was in the midst on the Cross, with a penitent on one hand and a rejecter on the other, He is still in the midst of humanity, and His judgment-seat will be as central as His Cross was.

All the Evangelists give the title written over the Cross, but John alone tells that it was Pilate’s malicious invention. He thought that he was having a final fling at the priests, and little knew how truly his title, which was meant as a bitter jest, was a fact. He had it put into the three tongues in use-’Hebrew,’ the national tongue; ‘Greek,’ the common medium of intercourse between varying nationalities; and ‘Latin’ the official language. He did not know that he was proclaiming the universal dominion of Jesus, and prophesying that wisdom as represented by Greece, law and imperial power as represented by Rome, and all previous revelation as represented by Israel, would yet bow before the Crucified, and recognise that His Cross was His throne.

The ‘high-priests’ winced, and would fain have had the title altered. Their wish once more denied Jesus, and added to their condemnation, but it did not move Pilate. It would have been well for him if he had been as firm in carrying out his convictions of justice as in abiding by his bitter jest. He was obstinate in the wrong place, partly because he was angry with the rulers, and partly to recover his self-respect, which had been damaged by his vacillation. But his stiff-necked speech had a more tragic meaning than he knew, for ‘what he had written’ on his own life-page on that day could never be erased, and will confront him. We are all writing an imperishable record, and we shall have to read it out hereafter, and acknowledge our handwriting.

John next sets in strong contrast the two groups round the Cross-the stolid soldiers and the sad friends. The four legionaries went through their work as a very ordinary piece of military duty. They were well accustomed to crucify rebel Jews, and saw no difference between these three and former prisoners. They watched the pangs without a touch of pity, and only wished that death might come soon, and let them get back to their barracks. How blind men may be to what they are gazing at! If knowledge measures guilt, how slight the culpability of the soldiers! They were scarcely more guilty than the mallet and nails which they used. The Sufferer’s clothes were their perquisite, and their division was conducted on cool business principles, and with utter disregard of the solemn nearness of death. Could callous indifference go further than to cast lots for the robe at the very foot of the Cross?

But the thing that most concerns us here is that Jesus submitted to that extremity of shame and humiliation, and hung there naked for all these hours, gazed on, while the light lasted, by a mocking crowd. He had set the perfect Pattern of lowly self-abnegation when, amid the disciples in the upper room, He had ‘laid aside His garments,’ but now He humbles Himself yet more, being clothed only ‘with shame.’ Therefore should we clothe Him with hearts’ love. Therefore God has clothed Him with the robes of imperial majesty.

Another point emphasised by John is the fulfilment of prophecy in this act. The seamless robe, probably woven by loving hands, perhaps by some of the weeping women who stood there, was too valuable to divide, and it would be a moment’s pastime to cast lots for it. John saw, in the expedient naturally suggested to four rough men, who all wanted the robe but did not want to quarrel over it, a fulfilment of the cry of the ancient sufferer, who had lamented that his enemies made so sure of his death that they divided his garments and cast lots for his vesture. But he was ‘wiser than he knew,’ and, while his words were to his own apprehension but a vivid metaphor expressing his desperate condition, ‘the Spirit which was in’ him ‘did signify’ by them ‘the sufferings of Christ.’ Theories of prophecy or sacrifice which deny the correctness of John’s interpretation have the New Testament against them, and assume to know more about the workings of inspiration than is either modest or scientific.

What a contrast the other group presents! John’s enumeration of the women may be read so as to mention four or three, according as ‘His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas,’ is taken to mean one woman or two. The latter is the more probable supposition, and it is also probable that the unnamed sister of our Lord’s mother was no other than Salome, John’s own mother. If so, entrusting Mary to John’s care would be the more natural. Tender care, joined with consciousness that henceforth the relation of son and mother was to be supplanted, not merely by Death’s separating fingers, but by faith’s uniting bond, breathed through the word, so loving yet so removing, ‘Woman, behold thy son!’ Dying trust in the humble friend, which would go far to make the friend worthy of it, breathed in the charge, to which no form of address corresponding to ‘Woman’ is prefixed. Jesus had nothing else to give as a parting gift, but He gave these two to each other, and enriched both. He showed His own loving heart, and implied His faithful discharge of all filial duties hitherto. And He taught us the lesson, which many of us have proved to be true, that losses are best made up when we hear Him pointing us by them to new offices of help to others, and that, if we will let Him, He will point us too to what will fill empty places in our hearts and homes.

The second of the words on the Cross which we owe to John is that pathetic expression, ‘I thirst.’ Most significant is the insight into our Lord’s consciousness which John, here as elsewhere, ventures to give. Not till He knew ‘that all things were accomplished’ did He give heed to the pangs of thirst, which made so terrible a part of the torture of crucifixion. The strong will kept back the bodily cravings so long as any unfulfilled duty remained. Now Jesus had nothing to do but to die, and before He died He let flesh have one little alleviation. He had refused the stupefying draught which would have lessened suffering by dulling consciousness, but He asked for the draught which would momentarily slake the agony of parched lips and burning throat.

The words of Joh 19:28 are not to be taken as meaning that Jesus said ‘I thirst’ with the mere intention of fulfilling the Scripture. His utterance was the plaint of a real need, not a performance to fill a part. But it is John who sees in that wholly natural cry the fulfilment of the psalm {Psa 69:21}. All Christ’s bodily sufferings may be said to be summed up in this one word, the only one in which they found utterance. The same lips that said, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink,’ said this. Infinitely pathetic in itself, that cry becomes almost awful in its appeal to us when we remember who uttered it, and why He bore these pangs. The very ‘Fountain of living water’ knew the pang of thirst that every one that thirsteth might come to the waters, and might drink, not water only, but ‘wine and milk, without money or price.’

John’s last contribution to our knowledge of our Lord’s words on the Cross is that triumphant ‘It is finished,’ wherein there spoke, not only the common dying consciousness of life being ended, but the certitude, which He alone of all who have died, or will die, had the right to feel and utter, that every task was completed, that all God’s will was accomplished, all Messiah’s work done, all prophecy fulfilled, redemption secured, God and man reconciled. He looked back over all His life and saw no failure, no falling below the demands of the occasion, nothing that could have been bettered, nothing that should not have been there. He looked upwards, and even at that moment He heard in His soul the voice of the Father saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!’

Christ’s work is finished. It needs no supplement. It can never be repeated or imitated while the world lasts, and will not lose its power through the ages. Let us trust to it as complete for all our needs, and not seek to strengthen ‘the sure foundation’ which it has laid by any shifting, uncertain additions of our own. But we may remember, too, that while Christ’s work is, in one aspect, finished, when He bowed His head, and by His own will ‘gave up the ghost,’ in another aspect His work is not finished, nor will be, until the whole benefits of His incarnation and death are diffused through, and appropriated by, the world. He is working to-day, and long ages have yet to pass, in all probability, before the voice of Him that sitteth on the throne shall say ‘It is done!’

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19:17 The vertical beam (Latin staticulum) of the cross was generally kept at the crucifixion site, and the victim was forced to carry only the heavy crossbeam (Latin patibulum). • Crucifixions were public executions that took place near major roadways. They were designed to shock and warn the people. • Place of the Skull (Hebrew and Aramaic Golgotha; Latin calvariae, “Calvary”): Most archaeologists agree that Jesus’ crucifixion was at the site of the present-day Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located in the Christian Quarter of the old walled city of Jerusalem. An alternate site, Gordon’s Calvary (north of the Damascus Gate), provides a model of what the scene possibly looked like, but it holds only a tomb from the 500s BC and therefore is unlikely to be the authentic site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh_19:17-18. The subject of παρέλαβον, which is correlative to παρέδωκεν, Joh_19:16, and of ἤγαγον, is necessarily, according to Joh_19:16, the ἀρχιερεῖς, not the soldiers (De Wette, B. Crusius, Hengstenberg, Baeumlein, and older expositors). The former are the persons[242] who act, which does not exclude the service and co-operation of the soldiers (Joh_19:23).

ΒΑΣΤ. ἙΑΥΤῷ ΤῸΝ ΣΤΑΥΡ. (see critical notes): Himself bearing the cross.[243] See on Mat_26:32, and Charit. iv. 2; and on Golgotha, on Mat_27:33.

ἐντεῦθ. κ. ἐντεῦθ.] Comp. LXX. Dan_12:5; ἜΝΘΕΝ ΚΑῚ ἜΝΘΕΝ, Herod. iv. 175; Soph. Aj. 725; Xen. Cyr. vi. 3. 3; 1Ma_6:38; 1Ma_9:45; 3Ma_2:22, not Rev_22:2. On the thing itself, comp. Luk_23:33. John gives peculiar prominence to the circumstance, adding further, μέσον δὲ τ. Ἰησ. Whether, and how far, the Jews thus acted intentionally, is undetermined. That, perhaps, they scornfully assign to their king the place of honour! That Pilate desired thereby to deride them, in allusion to 1Ki_22:19 (B. Crusius, Brückner, Lange), we are not to suppose, since the subject of ἐσταύρ. is the Jews, under whose direction the crucifixion of the principal person takes place, and, at the same time, the two subordinate individuals are put to death along with Him. Pilate first appears, Joh_19:19. Of special divine conceptions in the intermediate position assigned to the cross of Christ (see Steinmeyer, p. 176), John gives no indication.

[242] By which also the fact is confirmed that John had not in his mind the first feast-day, which certainly possessed the authority of the Sabbath.

[243] The assistance of Simon in this, John, who here gives only a compendious account, has passed over as a subordinate circumstance, not, as Scholten thinks, in conformity with the idea that the Son of God needed no human help.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 19:17-30 . The crucifixion .

Joh 19:17 . The Jewish authorities on their part “received” Jesus, καὶ ἀπήγαγον . καὶ βαστάζων … Γολγοθᾶ . “And carrying the cross for Himself, He went out to the place called Kraniou (of a skull), which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.” The condemned man carried at least part of the cross, and sometimes the whole. ὁ μέλλων σταυρῷ προσηλοῦσθαι πρότερον αὐτὸν βαστάζει , Artemid., Oneir. , ii. 56. Other passages in Keim, vi. 124. Since Tertullian ( adv. Jud 1:10 ) a type of this has been found in Isaac’s carrying the wood for the sacrifice. ἐξῆλθεν , it was usual both in Jewish and Roman communities to execute criminals outside the city. In Athens the gate through which they passed to the place of punishment was called χαρώνεια θύρα . Cf. Bynaeus, De Morte Christi , 220; Pearson, On the Creed (Art. iv.); Heb 13:12 ; Lev 24:14 . The place of execution at Jerusalem was a small knoll just beyond the northern wall, which, from its bare top and two hollow caves in its face, bears a rough resemblance to a skull, and was therefore called κρανίον , Calvaria, Skull. “Golgotha” is the Aramaic form of Gulgoleth, which is found in 2Ki 9:35 . It is described in Conder’s Handbook , p. 355; Henderson’s Palestine , pp. 163, 164.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 17. Bearing his cross] He bore it all alone first; when he could no longer carry the whole through weakness, occasioned by the ill usage he had received, Simon, a Cyrenian, helped him to carry it: See Clarke on Mt 27:32.

Golgotha] See Clarke on Mt 27:33.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. He went forth to a place. The circumstances which are here related contribute greatly, not only to show the truth of the narrative, but likewise to build up our faith. We must look for righteousness through the satisfaction made by Christ. To prove that he is the sacrifice for our sins, he wished both to be led out of the city, and to be hanged on a tree; for the custom was, in compliance with the injunction of the Law, that the sacrifices, the blood of which was shed for sin, were carried out of the camp, (Leviticus 6:30; 16:27;) and the same Law declares that

he who hangeth on a tree is accursed, (Deuteronomy 21:23.)

Both were fulfilled in Christ, that we might be fully convinced that atonement has been made for our sins by the sacrifice of his death; that

he was made subject to the curse, in order that he might redeem us from the curse of the law, (Galatians 3:13;)

that

he was made sin, in order that we might be the righteousness of God in him, (2 Corinthians 5:21;)

that he was led out of the city, in order that he might carry with him, and take away, our defilements which were laid on him, (Hebrews 12:12.) To the same purpose is the statement about the robbers, which immediately follows: —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(17) For the way of the cross, comp. Mat_27:31-34; Mar_15:20-23; Luk_23:26-33. For the present passage, comp. especially Note on the parallel words in Mat_27:33.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17–22. The Crucifixion and the Title on the Cross

17. bearing his cross] The better reading gives, bearing the cross for Himself. S. John omits the help which Simon the Cyrenian was soon compelled to render, as also (what seems to be implied by Mar_15:22) that at last they were obliged to carry Jesus Himself. Comp. the Lesson for Good Friday morning, Genesis 22, especially Joh_19:6.

went forth] “The place of public execution appears to have been situated north of the city. It was outside the gate (Heb_13:12) and yet ‘nigh unto the city’ (Joh_19:20). In the Mishna it is placed outside the city by a reference to Lev_24:14. It is said to have been ‘two men high’ (Sanh. vi. 1). The Jews still point out the site at the cliff, north of the Damascus gate, where is a cave now called ‘Jeremiah’s Grotto.’ This site has therefore some claim to be considered as that of the Crucifixion. It was within 200 yards of the wall of Agrippa, but was certainly outside the ancient city. It was also close to the gardens and the tombs of the old city, which stretch northwards from the cliff; and it was close to the main north road, in a conspicuous position, such as might naturally be selected for a place of public execution.” Conder, Handbook to the Bible, pp. 356, 7.

of a skull] Probably on account of its shape. It would be contrary to Jewish law to leave skulls unburied; and if this were the meaning of the name we should expect ‘of skulls’ rather than ‘of a skull.’

17–42. 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 section falls into four double parts of which the second and fourth contain a marked dramatic contrast, such as S. John loves to point out:—

(1) The Crucifixion and the title on the cross (17–22).

(2) The four enemies and the four friends (23–27).

(3) The two words, ‘I thirst,’ ‘It is finished’ (28–30).

(4) The hostile and the friendly petitions (31–42).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he bearing his cross,.... Which was usual for malefactors to do, as Lipsius (i) shows out of Artemidorus, and Plutarch; the former says,

"the cross is like to death, and he that is to be fixed to it, first bears it;''

and the latter says,

"and everyone of the malefactors that are punished in body, "carries out his own cross".''

So Christ, when he first went out to be crucified, carried his cross himself, until the Jews, meeting with Simon the Cyrenian, obliged him to bear it after him; that is, one part of it; for still Christ continued to bear a part himself: of this Isaac was a type, in carrying the wood on his shoulders for the burnt offering; and this showed that Christ was made sin, and a curse for us, and that our sins, and the punishment which belonged to us, were laid on him, and bore by him; and in this he has left us an example to go forth without the camp, bearing his reproach:

went forth in a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha: and signifies a man's skull: it seems, that as they executed malefactors here, so they buried them here; and in process of time, their bones being dug up to make room for others, their skulls, with other bones, lay up and down in this place; from whence it had its name in the Syriac dialect, which the Jews then usually spake: here some say Adam's skull was found, and that it had its name from thence. This was an ancient tradition, as has been observed in the notes on See Gill on Mat 27:33, and See Gill on Luk 23:33 the Syriac writers have it (k), who say,

"when Noah went out of the ark there was made a distribution of the bones of Adam; to Shem, his head was given, and the place in which he was buried is called "Karkaphta": where likewise Christ was crucified;''

which word signifies a skull, as Golgotha does: and so likewise the Arabic writers (l); who affirm that Shem said these words to Melchizedek,

"Noah commanded that thou shouldst take the body of Adam, and bury it in the middle of the earth; therefore let us go, I and thou, and bury it; wherefore Shem and Melchizedek went to take the body of Adam, and the angel of the Lord appeared to them and went before them, till they came to the place Calvary, where they buried him, as the angel of the Lord commanded them:''

the same also had the ancient fathers of the Christian church; Cyprian (m) says, that it is a tradition of the ancients, that Adam was buried in Calvary under the place where the cross of Christ was fixed; and Jerom makes mention of it more than once; so Paula and Eustochium, in an epistle supposed to be dictated by him, or in which he was assisting, say (n), in this city, meaning Jerusalem, yea in this place, Adam is said to dwell, and to die; from whence the place where our Lord was crucified is called Calvary, because there the skull of the ancient man was buried: and in another place he himself says (o), that he heard one disputing in the church and explaining, Eph 5:14 of Adam buried in Calvary, where the Lord was crucified, and therefore was so called. Ambrose (p) also takes notice of it; the place of the cross, says he, is either in the midst of the land, that it might be conspicuous to all, or over the grave of Adam, as the Hebrews dispute: others say that the hill itself was in the form of a man's skull, and therefore was so called; it was situated, as Jerom says (q), on the north of Mount Zion, and is thought by some to be the same with the hill Gareb, in Jer 31:39. It was usual to crucify on high hills, so Polycrates was crucified upon the highest top of Mount Mycale (r).

(i) De Cruce, l. 2. c. 5. p. 76. (k) Bar Bahluli apud Castel. Lexic. Polyglot. col. 3466. (l) Elmacinus, p. 13. Patricides, p. 12. apud Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 257. (m) De Resurrectione Christi, p. 479. (n) Epist. Marcellae, fol. 42. L. Tom. I. (o) Comment. in Eph. v. 14. (p) Comment. in Luc. xx. 33. (q) De locis Hebraicis, fol. 92. F. (r) Valer. Maxim. l. 6. c. ult.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

Ver. 17. And he, bearing his cross, &c.] This was the Roman fashion (as Plutarch relates it), that every condemned person should bear that cross that anon should bear him. {a} Hence grew that expression of our Saviour, "He that will be my disciple must take up his cross," and so "fill up that which is behind," Col 1:24.

Into a place called the place of a skull] Where his tender heart was pierced with grief, no doubt, at the sad sight of such a slaughter of men made by sin; like as it could not but be a sore cut and corrosive to Mauritius, to see his wife and children slain before him, when himself was also to be next stewed in his own broth. St John is exact in setting down our Saviour’s sufferings, and this for one.

{a} τω σωματι των κολαζομενων εκαστος εκφερει τον εαυτου σταυρον. Plut.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

St. John makes no mention of what took place on the way to Calvary, when Jesus, being worn out by fatigue, could not proceed any farther, and they were obliged to relieve him of his burden, and to give it to a man, named Simon, of Cyrene, to carry for him, as is related in St. Matthew xxvii. 32. and St. Mark xv. 21. (Calmet) --- For the honour paid in the early ages to the holy cross see St. Cyril, lib. vi. cont. Julian.; St. Jerome, ep. xvii.; St. Paulin. ep. xi.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

See Poole on "Mat 27:31", and following verses to Mat 27:33, where whatsoever needs expounding in this verse may be found, and this text is reconciled to that, which telleth us, that one Simon, a man of Cyrene, bore his cross. Their places of execution (as usually with us) were without their cities.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 17-24. (4) THE CRUCIFIXION. Love unto the uttermost.

Vers. 17, 18. (a) The circumstances of the death.

Therefore they took (received) Jesus from the hands of the Gentile, leading the way in their accursed procession, gloating over their Victim. Parelabon reminds us (Westcott) of the parelabon , (Joh_1:11) where it is said, "His own received him not." They did not receive him in the fullness of his grace, but they did receive him to inflict the curse and shame and death for which they had plotted and clamored. This powerful suggestion is brought out by the amended text. At this point, when the sacred Sufferer left the Praetorium and was dragged into the rush of the vociferating crowd, the synoptic narrative becomes far fuller in detail. The terrible tragedy in-eludes the disrobing. The bleeding form is once more clothed with his own garments. (Mat_27:31 Mar_15:20) It is not necessary to suppose a second scourging (see ver. 1). The circumstance mentioned (Luk_23:26 and parallel passages) of Simon of Cyrene made to bear his cross after him, shows how Jesus in his human nature had suffered already. A second scourging (if we judge by all we can gather of such an infliction) would have been followed by immediate death, and would thus have snatched from them the realization of their inhuman purpose. The statement that, bearing his cross for himself, he went forth, shows that they tried to force him thus in his agony to endure this additional humiliation, and, from his physical exhaustion, were compelled to make use of the expedient described by the synoptists. Mark (Mar_15:22) introduces another most suggestive word, ferousin auton , literally, "they carry him" from the place where they compelled (aggareuousion) Simon to take up his cross, and at least he hints, if he does not express, the terrible fact that they had, by their fell cruelty of all kinds, at length exhausted all the human physical strength of the Sufferer. John"s language, though at first sight discrepant with Luke"s, really explains it. Luke also describes the wailing of the daughters of Jerusalem, and the sublime self-forgetfulness with which Jesus turned their thoughts from his agony to themselves and their children. Matthew and Mark both relate another scene, which seems as if one gleam of pity had crossed some heart offered him wine, mixed with narcotic gall," to stupefy his senses, and lull his physical agony. He did not put it by "with suicidal hand;" but, as Keble sang"Thou wilt feel all, that thou mayst pity all; And rather wouldst thou wrestle with strong pain Than overcloud thy soul, So clear in agony, Or lose no glimpse of heaven before the time. ("Christian Year.")

He went forth to a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha. "He went forth" from the Praetorium along the Via Dolorosa, wheresoever it was, beyond the city wall. (Heb_13:12, etc., "He suffered without the gate Moses had forbidden (Lev_24:14 Num_15:35) capital punishment within the comp. (cf. 1Ki_21:13 Act_7:58) The traditional site of the place is far within the present walls in the north-western quarter of the city, not far from the gate of Damascus; and endless discussions have prevailed with respect to the line of the second city wall, which at that time must either have included or excluded the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The identification of the site of Golgotha is rendered difficult from the eagerness with which theories have been sustained.

(1) Ferguson"s theory is that Constantine"s" Church of the Resurrection" is to be found in the "dome of the rock" in the temple enclosure! He urges that the tradition was moved thence to the "Church of the Holy Sepulcher" in the eleventh century, when Fatimite kaliphs drove the Christians away, and persecuted the pilgrims to such an extent as to produce the reaction of the Crusades.

(2) The ecclesiastical theory is that the tomb and all the awful and blessed associations are to be reckoned for somewhere within the buildings or ruins of the present church. The difficulties are great; for, instead of being "without the gate," or "nigh the city," it is situated in the heart of the present city, and it is very difficult to imagine or trace any line of wall which could have run in such a way as to exclude the supposed site of the tomb from the city.

(3) A modern theory (see "Survey of Palestine") finds the tomb in the immediate vicinity of Jeremiah"s grotto, to the north of the Damascus gate. This site has good claims, from the probability

(a) that it was the place of public execution;

(b) that the second wall of the city did correspond with the present wall;

(c) that there are reasons to think that it was built over and concealed from view until comparatively recent years.

Warren and Conder give a drawing of the tomb and its arrangement, which sustains the probability that it is the tomb once hallowed by the most stupendous event in the history of the world. Robinson said, "The place was probably upon a great road leading from one of the gates, and such a spot would only be found upon the west or north side of the city, on the roads leading to Joppa or Damascus." The word "Gulgotha" or "Gulgaltha" is the Aramaic (cf. Syriac Gagulta) form of Gulgolath, Hebrew for "skull," and may derive its name from the form of the mound or bare place where was the garden in which the rock-hewn tomb of Joseph had been excavated. The Vulgate translates the word Calvaria, a skull, from which our word "Calvary" is derived. The English version in Luk_23:33 thus translates the Greek word kranion , and from this passage the word has been naturalized in our language. There is no authority for the appellation "Mount Calvary." The name probably refers to the shape of the site where the event took place. From this verse we learn that Jesus went forth to the spot, and (Joh_19:20) John further says it was "nigh unto the city," therefore not within it. The same position relative to the city is obvious from Mat_28:11, where the Roman guard came from the tomb eiv thlin . The Romans were accustomed to execute their criminals in some conspicuous position, adjoining a traveled road, so that those passing by, as well as those who congregated for the purpose, might know and learn its meaning. They reached the chosen spot

Vers. 17, 18. The Crucifixion.

The end has come at last.

I JESUS CARRYING HIS CROSS. "And he, bearing his cross, went forth to the place of the skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha.

1. The condemned, according to Roman law, had to carry the instrument of their own punishment.

2. Jesus bore his cross part of the way, till he sank with exhaustion.

Accordingly, Simon of Cyrene was required to do the office. The exhaustion of Jesus was caused

(1) by his long watching and his deep mental anguish in Gethsemane;

(2) perhaps, also, by the pain or smart which the cross would inflict upon his scourged and galled shoulders.

II THE SCENE OF THE CRUCIFIXION.

1. It was outside the gate of the city, according to ancient Jewish law. (Lev_24:14)

2. The exhortation, "Let us go forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach", (Heb_13:12, Heb_13:13) is founded upon this ancient custom.

3. The actual spot is called Golgotha, or Calvary; but it has not been identified in modern times.

III THE CRUCIFIXION. "Where they crucified him, and two others with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

1. Who were they who did this deed?

(1) Not some savage people belonging to an uncivilized land, who had never heard of Jesus.

(2) Not some prowling banditti, who had got the upper hand in Jerusalem, and rioted in murder.

(3) It was the Jews, acting through the Roman soldiers.

(a) God"s ancient people;

(b) the witnesses of his marvelous works;

(c) in the land where Jesus was best known;

(d) and in the capital of its solemnities.

2. What did they do? "They crucified him.

(1) This was the death of slaves and malefactors.

(2) It was, in Cicero"s words, "the most cruel and the most terrible punishment.

(a) The victim was nailed by his hands and his feet to the cross, while, it still lay on the ground.

(b) These nails, by their position, added to the victim"s torture.

(c) It was a lingering death, for the victim sometimes survived till the third day.

3. Whom did they crucify?

(1) The Lord of glory, the Prince of life, the Son of David, their own Messiah.

(2) Mark the indignity of his position at Golgotha.

(a) He is crucified with two robbers, as if he were the fit colleague of malefactors.

(b) He is crucified between them, as if to add to his disgrace. He is the Prince of malefactors. He was indeed "numbered with the transgressors". (Isa_53:12)

(c) His central place in that death-scene in the midst is, after all, in keeping with his central place in heaven and in earth, and in the hopes of dying men.

(a) He is central in heaven; for "the Lamb is in the midst of thethrone.

(b) He is central on earth,

(i) as the Lord who, at the heart of the universe, upholds all things by the Word of his power;

(ii) as the Center of the invisible Church, for he is its only Head;

(iii) as the Center of the visible Church, for all Christendom crystallizes around the Person of Christ;

(iv) as the infrangible Center of man"s dying hopes.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Bearing his cross - Not the whole cross, (for that was too large and heavy,) but the transverse beam of it, to which his hands were afterward fastened. This they used to make the person to be executed carry. Matt. xxvii, 31; Mark xv, 20; Luke xxiii, 26.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Observe here, 1. That it was a custom among the Romans to cause the person condemned to crucifying, to carry his own cross; accordingly our Saviour bare his own cross part of the way, till fainting under the burden of it they laid it upon another, not out of mercy, but malice, reserving him for a more public death; they were loath he should go away in a fainting fit. But why could not Christ bear his own cross, who was able to bear the sins of the whole world, when hanging upon the cross?

Answer, 1. Probably the Jews’ malice provided him a cross of an extraordinary greatness, proportionable to the crimes they charged him with.

2. He was much debilitated and weakened with his long watching and sweating the night before.

3. The sharp edges of the cross grating his late whipped and galled shoulders, might occasion the fresh bleeding of his wounds, and his weakening thereby.

4. Hereby he gave the world a demonstration of the truth of his humanity, that he was in all things like unto us, with respect to his human nature and the common infirmities of that nature.

Herein, like Isaac, Christ cheerfully carried the wood on which he was to be offered up a sacrifice to divine justice.

Observe, 2. The infamous company which our holy Lord suffered with, two thieves; on either side one, and himself in the midst: it had been a sufficient disparagement to our blessed Redeemer, to be sorted with the best of men; but to be numbered with the scum of mankind, is such an indignity as confounds our thoughts. This was designed by the Jews to dishonour and disgrace our Saviour the more, and to persuade the world that he was the greatest of offenders. But God overruled this, for fulfilling an ancient prophecy concerning the Messias, And he was numbered with the transgressors. Isa 53:12

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [CXXXIII. A. On the Way to the Cross].

CXXXIII. THE CRUCIFIXION. Subdivision A. ON THE WAY TO THE CROSS. (Within and without Jerusalem. Friday morning.) aMATT. XXVII. 31-34; bMARK XV. 20-23; cLUKE XXIII. 26-33; dJOHN XIX. 17.

a31 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the bpurple, arobe, and put on him his garments [This ended the mockery, which seems to have been begun in a state of levity, but which ended in gross indecency and violence. When we think of him who endured it all, we can not contemplate the scene without a shudder. Who can measure the grace of God or the depravity of man?], d17 They took Jesus therefore: bAnd they lead him out to crucify him. aand led [722] him away to crucify him. dand he went out, bearing the cross for himself, a32 And as they came out, cwhen they led him away, athey found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: bone passing by, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, ahim they claid hold upon bcompel acompelled to go with them, that he might bear his cross. cand laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus. [Cyrene was a flourishing city in the north of Africa, having in it a large Jewish population, and Simon shows by his name that he was a Jew. The Cyreneans had one or more synagogues in Jerusalem ( Act_2:10, Act_6:9, Act_11:20). There were many Cyreneans afterwards engaged in spreading the gospel ( Act_13:1), and since the sons of this man are spoken of as well known to Mark's readers it is altogether likely that Simon was one of them. This Rufus may be the one mentioned by Paul ( Rom_16:13). The Roman soldiers found Simon entering the city, and because he was a stranger and they needed a man just then, they impressed him after the manner mentioned on Luk_19:43, Mat_24:15), Jesus refers to the sorrows which the Romans were to bring upon the Jews, and the meaning may be, If the fiery persecution of Rome is so consuming that my innocence, though again and again pronounced by the governor himself, is no protection against it, what will that fire do when it envelopes the dry, guilty, rebellious city of Jerusalem? Or we may make the present and the future grief of the women the point of comparison, and interpret thus: If they cause such sorrow to the women while the city is like a green tree, how much more when, like a dry, dead tree, it is about to fall.] 32 And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. b22 And they bring him unto the place dwhich is called in Hebrew, Golgotha: bwhich is, being interpreted, athat is to say, The place of a skull [Where this place was, or why it was so called, are matters of conjecture. All that we know certainly is that it was outside of, yet near, the city-- Heb_13:12, Joh_19:20], c33 And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, a34 they gave boffered him wine ato drink mingled with gall: bmyrrh: but aand when he had tasted it, he would not drink. bhe received it not. [This mixture of sour wine mingled with gall and myrrh was intended to dull the sense of pain of those being crucified or otherwise severely punished. The custom is said to have originated with the Jews and not with the Romans. Jesus declined it because it was the Father's will that he should suffer. He would not go upon the cross in a drugged, semi-conscious condition.] [724]

[FFG 722-724]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17–30. See notes on Matt. 27:33–66. Compare Mark 15:22–47; Luke 23:33–46. I note some additional features given by John.

His mother's sister The mother's sister is not here named. In Matt. 27:56, the parallel passage names Salome, the mother of James and John, as one of the four women; hence, it is generally supposed that Salome was the sister of Mary and the aunt of Jesus.

Woman, behold thy son! In his mortal agony, Jesus does not forget his bereaved mother, but commits her to the care of John, her nephew, it is supposed. His love shines forth in the sufferings on the cross.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

to the place called "The Place of a Skull,"

You can translate this in an active form. AT: "to the place that the people called 'The Place of a Skull,'" (See: Active or Passive)

which in Hebrew is called "Golgotha."

Hebrew is the language of the people of Israel. You can translate this in an active form. AT: "which in Hebrew they call 'Golgotha.'"

with him two other men

This is an ellipsis. You can translate this, adding the implied words. AT: "they also nailed two other criminals to their crosses" (See: Ellipsis)

translationWords

cross

skull

Golgotha

crucify

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

17–42. 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 section falls into four double parts, all four of which contain a marked dramatic contrast, such as S. John loves to point out (see on Joh 19:18; Joh 19:30):—

(1) The Crucifixion and the title on the cross (17–22).

(2) The four enemies and the four friends (23–27).

(3) The two words, ‘I thirst,’ ‘It is finished’ (28–30).

(4) The hostile and the friendly petitions (31–42).

17–22. THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE TITLE ON THE CROSS

17. After Ἰησοῦν omit καὶ ἀπήγαγον (perhaps from Mat 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 Joh 1:11, Joh 14:3. The verb means ‘to accept what is offered, receive from the hands of another.’ A comparison of the three texts is instructive. The eternal Son is given by the Father, comes to His own inheritance, and His own people received Him not (Joh 1:11). The Incarnate Son is given up by Pilate to His own people, and they received Him to crucify Him (Joh 19:16). The glorified Son comes again to His own people, to receive them unto Himself (Joh 14:3).

βαστ. αὐτῷ τ. στ. ἐξῆλθεν. Bearing the cross for Himself went forth. S. John omits the help which Simon the Cyrenian was soon compelled to render, as also (what seems to be implied by Mar 15:22) that at last they were obliged to carry Jesus Himself. Comp. the Lesson for Good Friday morning, Genesis 22, especially Joh 19:6. “The place of public execution appears to have been situated north of the city. It was outside the gate (Heb 13:12) and yet ‘nigh unto the city’ (Joh 19:20). In the Mishna it is placed outside the city by a reference to Lev 24:14. It is said to have been ‘two men high’ (Sanh. vi. 1). The Jews still point out the site at the cliff, north of the Damascus gate, where is a cave now called ‘Jeremiah’s Grotto.’ This site has therefore some claim to be considered as that of the Crucifixion. It was within 200 yards of the wall of Agrippa, but was certainly outside the ancient city. It was also close to the gardens and the tombs of the old city, which stretch northwards from the cliff; and it was close to the main north road, in a conspicuous position, such as might naturally be selected for a place of public execution.” Conder, Handbook to the Bible, pp. 356, 7. Κρανίου τόπον refers to the shape of the ground. To leave skulls unburied would violate Jewish law; and this would require κρανίων τόπον. For Ἑβραϊστί see on Joh 5:2.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17-22.] His Crucifixion.

17.] See on Matt. ver. 33.

αὐτῷ is dat. commodi: ‘carrying the cross for himself.’

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. παρέλαβον οὖν τὸν Ἰη., “So they received Jesus,” sc. at the hands of Pilate (cf. 1:11, 14:3, the only other places where Jn. used παραλαμβάνειν).

AW add καὶ ἀπήγαγον after Ἰησοῦν, and DsuppΓΔΘ read καὶ ἤγαγον; but BL 33 a b c e ff add nothing (cf. Mar 15:20 Luk 23:26, Mat 27:31, from a reminiscence of which passages ἀπήγαγον has crept into the Johannine text).

βαστάζων ἑαυτῷ τὸν σταυρόν. So א; the rec. has βαστάζων τὸν στ. αὐτοῦ. B has αὐτῳ. For βαστάζειν, see on 12:6.

A criminal condemned to be crucified was required to carry his own cross; cf. Plutarch (de sera numinis vindicta, 9), ἕκαστος κακούργων ἐκφέρει τὸν αὑτοῦ σταυρόν, and Artemidorus (Oneir. ii. 56), ὁ μέλλων σταυρῷ προσηλοῦσθαι πρότερον αὐτὸν βαστάζει, a custom which gives special point to the exhortation, Mar 8:34. The Synoptists speak of the Cross being borne by Simon of Cyrene, and do not mention that Jesus carried it Himself; however, the ancient explanation is sufficient, viz. that Jesus carried it as they were leaving the Prætorium, but that when He was found to be overborne by its weight, Simon was compelled to carry it for Him. The patristic idea that Jesus bearing His Cross was typified by Isaac, upon whom τὰ ξύλα (Gen 22:6) were laid, as he went to the place of sacrifice, goes back to Melito1 and Tertullian.2 See on 18:12.

ἐξῆλθεν, “He went out,” for executions were not allowed within the city walls. See on v. 20.

εἰς τὸν λεγ. κρανίου τόπον κτλ. Γολγοθά is the transliteration of the Aramaic גּוּלְגַֹּלְתָּא, Hebrew גֻּלְגּוֹלֶת which is transl. by κρανίον in Jdg 9:53, 2Ki 9:35. For Ἑβραϊστί, see on 5:2; and for Jn.’s habit of giving Aramaic names with their Greek equivalents, see on 1:38. Mar 15:22 and Mat 27:33 give the Greek name as Κρανίου, Luk 23:33 giving Κρανίον, while Mt. and Mk. as well as Jn. supply also the Aramaic designation.

We do not know why this place was called “the Place of a Skull” (Calvaria). Origen is the first to mention a tradition, afterwards widely prevalent, that Adam was believed to be buried on this site (Comm. in Mat 27:33); but no evidence has been found to show that this was a pre-Christian tradition, and the idea may have grown out of a passage like 1Co 15:22. It has been suggested in modern times that this place-name was given because of the shape of the knoll or little hill where the Crucifixion was carried out. But there is no tradition whatever in favour of this, nor is there any evidence in the Gospel narratives to support the popular idea that Calvary was on a hill or rising ground. Yet another explanation of the name “Golgotha” is that it means “the place of skulls,” i.e. a public place of execution, where the bodies of the victims were left. This would require κρανίων not κρανίου, not to speak of the facts that bodies were never left unburied in this way near a town, and that Joseph of Arimathea’s “new tomb” (19:41) would certainly not have been built near a place so abhorrent to a Jew The tradition reproduced by Origen may be pre-Christian; and if so it gives an explanation of the name Golgotha, but no other explanation is, in any case, forthcoming. See on v. 20.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Bearing [βασταζων] . See on 12 6; Joh 10:31.

His cross [τον σταυρον αυτου] . The best texts read auJtw or eJautw, "bearing the cross for Himself." John does not mention the impressment of Simon of Cyrene for this service. Compare Mt 27:32; Mr 14:21; Luk 23:26.

Skull. See on Mt 27:33.

18 - 24. Compare Mt 27:35 - 38; Mr 14:24 - 28; Luk 23:33, 34, 38.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.