Mark 15:24

Mar_15:24

But He received it not.

Wine mingled with myrrh.

The stupefying potion

Solomons words in Pro_31:6-7, were taken by the Jews to apply to such as were condemned to death, and it was usual for the most illustrious and honourable women of Jerusalem to attend criminals to their execution, and to give them to drink, before they were put to death, wine and myrrh, with gall, which was regarded as numbing the nerves, and superinducing sleep. The Talmud says that they were wont to put a grain of incense in the draught, as that deadened the sense of pain. It says further, The women of highest rank in Jerusalem, out of free impulse, and at their own cost, gave the condemned man this draught. But if it should so happen that the noble ladies failed to do so, then the cost of providing this drink fell on the community, and was paid for out of the public fund. This was sometimes the case among the heathen. We are told that at the annual feast of Chronos, when a man was put to death to expiate the sins of the people, he was first made drunk with wine, and then executed whilst in a state of intoxication. Among the ancients, myrrh was regarded as having great effect as a pain killer, and, indeed, it will be found to be one of the principal ingredients in modern compounds, sold for the purpose of deadening the nerves to suffering. Accordingly, the pious women who followed Jesus were only acting according to immemorial custom, when they followed Him weeping, bearing the cup of wine, mingled with myrrh and gall, and offered it to Him before He was stretched on the cross, and His hands and feet nailed to the wood. He, however, turned away His head. He would not drink of the offered cup; not because He disapproved of the piety and pity of the women who offered it, but because He would not seem in any way to evade the sufferings He had come to endure. (S. Baring Gould, M. A.)

Christ refusing any alleviation of His suffering

I. The source of the moral majesty of the Son of Man. That was Christs power, the yielding to the loving will of Heaven, even though it led Him into darkness so deep and vice so unutterable, that His fainting humanity sank beneath the awful burden of the spirits agony; not choosing suffering in order that He might grandly bear it, but, because it came from Heaven, refusing to accept any deliverance from man.

II. What was the meaning of the consummation of Christs sufferings? That man might be reconciled to God, and two things were requisite.

1. Man must learn the majesty of Gods law.

2. He must be drawn by love to the Divine One. Both these receive glorious illustrations from these words.

III. The clearness of Christs vision of death. He resolved to die with His mental vision clear and calm.

IV. The duty of Christs disciples. Not to seek suffering, but when it comes in the path of duty to meet it calmly, resolutely, and fearlessly.

V. The power of Christs claims on all men. (E. L. Hull, B. A.)

Christ refusing the stupefying draught

The intention of the soldiers was humane. Crucifixion was so lingering and painful that it was customary thus to deaden the consciousness of the criminal.

I. What was the Saviours condition at that moment? Intense anguish of soul combined with physical suffering. Christs nature was peculiarly sensitive. The sorrow at Gethsemane had already weakened Him. Now His sorrow had reached its height.

II. Why did He refuse the proffered relief? Not to awaken mens admiration. Not to awaken mens sympathy.

1. Because His sufferings were by Divine appointment; not simply accidental. He would not escape the full force of the penalty which He had undertaken to endure.

2. Because He was unwilling to die without a full consciousness of the conquest which He was achieving over sin and death.

III. What enabled Him to dispense with this stupefying draught? It was the direct result of His self-surrender to the Father. He who gives up will, purpose, life, into the hands of God, may expect that God will be all in all to him.

IV. What lesson does His refusal teach us?

1. His true nobility.

2. Our own duty under trial. The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it? It is our privilege to accept the Saviours love. He suffered, died, arose, ascended to Heaven, and pleads now for us. (Seeds and Saplings.)

Mar_15:24

They parted His garments.

The soldiers

The soldiers who crucified our Lord were not Jews, but Romans; they had not, therefore, the same grounds of opposition to Him which the Jews had: they had not the same expectations of the Messiah, nor the same prejudices as to the perpetuity of the Mosaic ritual; and yet they participated largely in the great crime of His crucifixion. All classes were, in an extraordinary manner, brought in contact with the Redeemer during His last sufferings, that all might have an opportunity of displaying the state of their minds towards Him, of showing how they were affected towards the Saviour of men. It is remarkable what a share all ranks had in His death,-priests, rulers, the common people, kings, governors, soldiers; the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the religious and the profligate, the learned and the rude; from the representative of Caesar on the Roman tribunal, to the wretched malefactor on the cross; from the sanctimonious Pharisee, with his phylacteries and his prayers, to the profane and profligate wretch who lived without a thought of God; from the learned Rabbi, with his books and his speculations, to the illiterate peasant who knew not the use of letters; from the king, with his insignia of royalty, down to the poor drudge who scarcely dared to call himself a man; from the high priest, with his sacerdotal vestments and functions, down to the Gentile soldier,-all were brought near Him during His last sufferings; all had a voice or a hand in them; and all showed that their hearts were not with Him. We have now brought before us the actual perpetrators of the murder of Jesus Christ. Indeed, we have here a striking illustration of the difference between the act and the guilt. The actual murderers of Jesus were not the most criminal; perhaps they were the least so of all the parties concerned in the transaction. The soldiers who executed the sentence of death upon Jesus were not so guilty as Pilate who pronounced it; Pilate who pronounced it was not so guilty as the people who demanded it; and the people who demanded it were not so guilty as the priests and rulers who designed it, and who instigated the whole proceeding. Guilt pertains not so much to the hand as to the head, and still more to the heart; it lies not so much in the deed, as in the design and purpose of the inner man. The priests and rulers who did not touch Him were far more guilty of His murder than the soldiers who actually nailed Him to the cross. The remarks we have to offer on the conduct of the soldiers will relate to the brutality which marked their treatment of the Redeemer, and then to their unconscious connection with the greatest event which the history of the world records.

I. Our first remarks will relate to the brutality and cruelty of the soldiers towards Jesus. It is to be observed that there was not, on the part of the soldiers, any personal enmity to Jesus. But still there were evident marks of brutality and cruelty; such were their stripping Him of His raiment, arraying Him in the old scarlet robe, putting the reed in His hand as a mock sceptre, crowning Him with thorns, bowing the knee to Him, and crying, Hail, King of the Jews! How are we to account for this barbarity of the Roman soldiers towards one who was guilty of no crime.

1. Their occupation tended to blunt their sensibilities, and to harden their hearts. They were familiar with deeds of horror and of blood, not only on the field of battle, but in the prison house, and the place of public execution; they were familiar with fetters and stripes; they sported with lacerations and death. Strange things the human heart can be brought to.

2. But another reason may be assigned for it; it is found in our Lords claim to royalty. He was accused of attempts against the Roman government, and of declaring Himself the King of the Jews. They may have heard of the expectations which prevailed amongst the Jews respecting the Messiah. But the claims of Jesus, who seemed only a poor oppressed peasant, to royalty, would appear to them ineffably absurd-a fit subject for derision and scorn. Hence their indignities and insults were founded chiefly on this. Thus it often is: men pronounce that ridiculous which they do not understand; they declare there is nothing visible, because they are too blind to see. Hence, we perceive, how almost all sin is based on ignorance. Had the soldiers known Jesus they could not have mocked Him.

3. But we have one remark more to offer on this part of our subject. The character which the soldier has ever been taught and accustomed to admire is the opposite of that of Jesus Christ. The character which he admires is the bold, high-spirited-keen to perceive insult, and quick to resent an injury; the meekness, gentleness, forbearance of Jesus Christ were beyond his comprehension. It is a true remark, that mankind have almost always admired and lauded the destroyers of their race more than their greatest benefactors. Indeed, the worlds admiration of conquerors is wonderful. Military greatness, as the eloquent Channing has justly remarked, is by no means the highest order of greatness. With him we claim the first rank for the moral; real magnanimity, which, perceiving the true, the right, the good, the pure, and loving it, cleaves to it at all hazards, and will die for it rather than deny it. The second rank we assign to the intellectual; the power of thought which perceives the harmonies of the universe, which discloses the secrets of nature, and, revealing to men some of the laws by which God governs the material or the spiritual word, augments the power of man, and increases his means of enjoyment. We cannot assign a higher than the third rank to the active; the energy and force of will which surmounts practical difficulties. And it is to this class the soldier belongs: it is with the physical, not with the spiritual, that he has to do. Hence Napoleon was not so great a man as Bacon and Newton, as Milton and Shakespeare; nor so great a benefactor to his race. Still less is he to be compared with Howard, with Carey, with Williams. Napoleon felt this; hence he wished to rest his fame far more on the noble code of laws which he was the means of giving to his vast empire, than on all his splendid victories. We trust the days are coming in which correct views of this subject will be generally formed; and that the discoveries of science, and the various inventions of man, will contribute, in conjunction with the diffusion of the spirit of the gospel, to banish wars from the earth. Meantime, as to the military profession, one wonders at the estimate in which it is held. I speak not of individuals, but of the system. To think of men letting themselves out for a shilling a day to shoot their fellow creatures, and to be shot at! What a high estimate they must form of themselves!

II. It is time that we adverted to the second train of remark in which we propose to indulge. They knew they had many hours to wait, and, having completed their task, they composed themselves as well as they could; they put themselves, mentally and physically, in an attitude of patience, till death slowly, but surely, accomplished his work. They sat down and watched him there. There is something very affecting in the position of him who sits down and watches a fellow creature as life slowly ebbs. The tender mother, as she watches her beloved child, or the affectionate daughter, as she watches her aged parent, thus sinking in the arms of death, feels her position to be at once a painful and a solemn one. Oh! yes, in the chamber of the dying saint, what solemn and impressive thoughts may we not indulge! But the men who were appointed to see the last of Jesus, watched Him without the slightest emotion; they were not impressed with the solemn character of their position; death was there at work, but they had been accustomed to his neighbourhood, and were unmoved by his presence. Oh! how closely, and yet how unconsciously, may men be allied to the most interesting and the most important events. How unconscious were they of the character of Him who was suffering there. They were utterly unconscious of His dignity or His worth; they did not know that when they saw Him, they saw the fullest and clearest revelation of God that the world ever beheld-that the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Him bodily. When God appeared on Mount Sinai, the Jews trembled; when the cloud filled the tabernacle and the temple, the priests could not abide there, they were awe-struck; but in Jesus, they had not simply a symbol of the Divine presence-the Divinity itself dwelt in Him, so that His disciple said, We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth; and He said, He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father. And little did they think, when they roughly bound Him, fiercely scourged Him, and rudely nailed Him to the tree, that they had in their hands the Lords anointed; that they were thus treating the only begotten and well-beloved Son of God; that they were thus touching the apple of His eye. Had they known Him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; had they known Him they would not readily have touched Him, they would rather have trembled in His presence; they would have fallen down at His feet and worshipped Him. But not knowing Him, they imbrued their hands in His blood; unconsciously they crucified the Son of God. Ignorance is a fearful thing; say we not truly, sometimes, that all sin is a mistake,-a grand, a fatal mistake? How much evil may we do ignorantly? Take heed of your sins of ignorance. The apostle says, Unawares some have entertained angels, and some have entertained them strangely. Prophets, God-sent men, have been among them, and they have not regarded them, but have treated them most contumeliously. The soldiers were equally unconscious of the nature and grandeur of the transaction in which they were concerned; they saw in it merely a very common occurrence, an event of no importance, and of very partial and transient interest. They were wholly unconscious of the real nature of the transaction, of the infinite and enduring interest of the event. Little did they think, while they sat down watching Him there, of the relation of what was passing before them to all worlds and to all beings-to heaven, earth, hell-to God, to man, to angels, and apostate spirits. Little did they think that they were witnessing the greatest act of obedience to the Divine commands which God had ever received; that the Divine law was never so magnified. They were equally ignorant of the consequences which would result from it. Ah! no; while men live in opposition to God, they are ignorant of the real nature of their conduct, and are altogether unprepared for the consequences which must ensue. The responsibility increases, however, with the means of information within our reach. Ignorance, so far from excusing the transgressions which grow out of it, may itself be exceedingly sinful. All that they did had been foreseen and foretold by some of the ancient seers; the whole of their conduct had been described by inspired men, who had looked at it through the vista of ages; and every action of theirs, in connection with the crucifixion of Jesus, was the fulfilment of some prediction; but they knew it not. In this sense, too, they knew not what they did. This part of our subject suggests an important reflection: it relates to the consistency between the free agency of man, and the foreknowledge of God. (J. J. Davies.)

Stripped of His raiment

Tom Baird, the carter, the beadle of my working mans church, was as noble a fellow as ever lived-God-fearing, true, unselfish. I shall never forget what he said when I asked him to stand at the door of the working mans congregation and when I thought he was unwilling to do so in his working clothes. If, said I, you dont like to do it, Tom; if you are ashamed Ashamed! he exclaimed, as he turned round upon me; Im mair ashamed o yersel, sir. Div ye think that I believe, as ye ken I do, that Jesus Christ, who died for me, was stripped o His raiment on the cross, and that I-Na, na, Im prood to stand at the door. Dear, good fellow! There he stood for seven winters, without a sixpence of pay; all from love, though at my request the working congregation gave him a silver watch. When he was dying from smallpox, the same unselfish nature appeared. When asked if they would let me know, he replied: Theres nae man leevin I like as I do him. I know he would come. But he shouldna come on account of his wife and bairns, and so ye maunna tell him! I never saw him in his illness, never hearing of his danger till it was too late. (Norman Macleod.)

The hardened gamester

There was a profligate gamester, whose conversion was attempted by some honest monks, and they in order to break his heart for sin, put into his hands a fine picture of the crucifixion of Christ; but when they inquired what he was studying so intently in the picture, hoping his conversion was going forward, he replied, I was examining whether the dice, with which the soldiers are casting lots for the garment, be like ours. This man too well resembles bad men in the ceremonies of religion, and their hearts guide their eyes to what nourish their vices, not to what would destroy them. (Robert Robinson.)

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

THE CRUCIFIXION

Mat 27:35-38; Luk 23:33-38; Joh 19:18-24; Mar 15:24-28. “And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.” Here you see the bloody work of death began at 9 A.M., and they remained on the cross till 3 P.M. “And they crucify along with Him two thieves; the one on His fight, and the one on His left. And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying, He was numbered with the transgressors.” Thus the high priests maneuvered to do their utmost to cover Him with ineffaceable disgrace, having Him crucified between two robbers. N.B. — If you would follow Him up to heaven, you must go with Him to Gethsemane, and there give up all the world, your will sinking away into the Divine. Then you must go with Him to Calvary, and be crucified between two robbers; i. e., if you would get sanctified, you may expect the people to pronounce you a thief robber, or some other vile reprobate. They will so misunderstand and misjudge you as to identify you with the worst people. All this you must bear patiently and unmurmuringly, like Jesus, if you are going up to live with Him in heaven.

Luk 23:34. “And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing.” How true! If those preachers had known that they were killing their own Christ, they would not have done it for a million of worlds. They were so blinded by the devil that they did not know what they were doing. So have the people claiming to be God’s elect slaughtered about two hundred millions of God’s people. They killed them all under criminal charges, believing them to be bad people. What is the solution of this wonderful mystery? Satan, as in the case of the Jews when they crucified Jesus, had so deluded them as to make them follow him, thinking he is God. Amid these delusions, are the people inculpatory? Certainly they are. Having rejected the light and believed Satan’s lies, they have drifted into the awful dilemma where they call evil good, and good evil.

Joh 19:23-24. “Then the soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His garments, and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier; also His tunic. For the tunic was seamless, woven from the top throughout. Then they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but gamble for it, whose it shall be; in order that the Scriptures may be fulfilled, saying, They parted My garments among themselves, and upon My vesture they did cast the lot. Indeed, then, the soldiers did these things.” Roman law gave the garments of the crucified to the quaternion, consisting of four soldiers, who took charge of each criminal and executed the bloody work. In that day, when there were no factories, clothing was not only very valuable, but quite scarce. The vesture or tunic was the inner garment, and, as you see here, it was seamless throughout, beautifully illustrating the absolute unity of the true Church, the body of Christ, the divisions all having been made by Satan, and, so far as they go, represent the Satanic phase of the true Church. The soldiers having divided all of His other garments, now recognized this seamless vesture, and concluded that it will spoil it to tear it into pieces; consequently they agreed to settle the ownership by a game of dice. O that all religious people could only have the gumption of these heathen barbarians, and see that they can not divide up the Church of Christ without serious detriment! Luk 23:38 : “And the superscription was written over Him in Greek, Roman, and Hebrew letters, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Roman law claimed pre-eminent justice in all things. Consequently the crime for which every culprit was crucified was written on the cross over his head, so the multitudes could all read it and know the reason why he suffered this awful death. Though the Jews had condemned Him for blasphemy, they could not use that charge against Him under Roman administration, as their law knew no such a crime. Though both Pilate and Herod had positively vetoed the charge of treason against Caesar which the Jews tried so hard to get them to recognize, yet in the finale, Pilate had it written over Him simply to fill a vacancy, as he had nothing else. As you pass by Roman Catholic cemeteries and churches, you frequently see a cross, superscribed I.N.R.I. This is an abbreviation of Jesus Nasarenus Rex Judaeorum, “Jesus of Nazereth, King of the Jews.”

These are the very words which were superscribed on the cross above the head of Jesus, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, the language of religion, learning, and law, for the convenience of all the multitudes, as they could all find it out from these three languages.

Joh 19:20-21. “Then many of the Jews read this title; because the place was near the city where Jesus was crucified.” Calvary overlooks the city, the prominence rising only about one hundred yards from the north wall, the Jericho road running between, and then the hill about one hundred yards more to its summit, which is somewhat level on top, uniformly and gradually descending, actually resembling a human, skull, for which it is named, and is the most conspicuous place about Jerusalem, lying in the angle of the two most important roads — i. e., those leading to Damascus and Jericho — in harmony with the Roman policy of crucifying criminals in the most conspicuous places. I emphasize these, specifications because the Greek, Roman, and all other Oriental Churches, locate Calvary some distance within the present wall of the city, where there is no mountain, but rather a subsidence, between Zion and Akra, within the great Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which has stood there since the days of Constantine, the most magnetic pilgrim-resort in all the Holy Land, as they believe that Jesus there laid down His life to save a guilty world. I believe they are mistaken as to the location of Calvary; and this lonely hill, outside of the wall, for more than a thousand years a Moslem cemetery, is, beyond doubt, the true Calvary. You remember that the Romans utterly destroyed the city, A. D. 73, verifying the prophecy of Jesus, leaving it utterly desolate fifty years. Then the Emperor Adrian went there, and founded a Roman colony, using the ruins to rebuild the city, calling it Elia Capitolina, thus even burying the name “Jerusalem” in (as they supposed). hopeless oblivion. So two hundred years rolled away during the nonexistence of Jerusalem, this Roman city occupying the site. When the Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity, A. D. 325, he and his royal mother, Queen Helena, came to this sacred spot, revived and rebuilt the city, and restored the heaven-born name, Jerusalem. During these three hundred years there were no people there who knew the sacred places. Hence the confusion with reference to the locations. For an exhaustive elucidation of this matter, see “Footprints of Jesus.”

“Then the high priest of the Jews said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that He said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate responded, What I have written, I have written.” In Oriental dialect, this is the very strongest negative, bluntly and stubbornly muttered out by the impatient proconsul. The truth of the matter is, they had browbeaten Pilate from the beginning, and run over him like a dog. Fearful of official depreciation, deposition, arraignment before the emperor, and untold humiliation, with which the high priests and elders threatened him, despite all his protestation of the innocence of Jesus, and the diversity of stratagems to which he resorted for His release, they treated all his efforts with utter contempt; having yielded to their imperious clamors again and again, and finally, though with the utmost reluctance, signed His death-warrant, and, pursuant to the Roman custom, superscribed the only accusation they had brought against Him on the cross above His head, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” and still they are dissatisfied and clamored for a change, — his patience broke down, and he positively and abruptly refused. No wonder Pilate refused to change that writing. He could not change it; Jesus is King of tile Jews, and will be forever. In coming eternity, as well as through the bright millennial centuries, when God will honor the patriarch and prophets, the elect custodians of His Revealed Oracles, amid a world of darkness and sin, Jesus will be King of the Jews forever, encumbering and honoring the Theocratic throne of David.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:24 Crucifixion goes back to the Medes and Persians in the 600s BC. It spread to the eastern Mediterranean world in the 300s BC through Alexander the Great and became the dominant form of capital punishment in the Roman Empire until AD 337, when it was banned by Constantine. It was slow, shameful, and torturous. The victim sometimes lived for days, and crows and dogs would feed on the victims even before they died. A person could be fixed to the cross by ropes or, as with Jesus (Luke 24:39; John 20:25, 27; see Col 2:14), by nails between the bones of the victim’s wrists. To prevent premature death by asphyxiation, a footrest or a seat was often placed on the vertical beam. • All four Gospels report that the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves.

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

Mar 15:24. Σταυρώσαντες) having crucified.—τίς τί, what, and who [what every man should take]) See Bud. Comm. 1349, 27.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 15:24 . τίς τί ἄρῃ , who should receive what; two questions pithily condensed into one, another example in Luk 19:15 , vide Winer, § lxvi., 5, 3.

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

Christ hangeth naked upon the cross, and as the most wickedest caitiff that ever was, most vilely reproved: that we being clothed with his righteousness, and blessed with his curses, and sanctified by his only oblation, may be taken up into heaven.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

24. when they had crucified him] The present tense appears to be here the preferable reading, they crucify Him and part His garments among them. There were four kinds of crosses, (i) the crux simplex, a single stake driven through the chest or longitudinally through the body; (ii) the crux decussata (x); (iii) the crux immissa (†); and (iv) the crux commissa (T). From the mention of the title placed over the Saviour’s Head, it is probable that His cross was of the third kind, and that He was laid upon it either while it was on the ground, or lifted and fastened to it as it stood upright, His arms stretched out along the two cross-beams, and His body resting on a little projection, sedile, a foot or two above the earth. That His feet were nailed as well as His hands is apparent from Luk_24:39-40.

they parted] i. e. the soldiers, a party of four with a centurion (Act_12:4), for each sufferer, detailed, according to the Roman custom, ad excubias, to mount guard, and see that the bodies were not taken away.

casting lots] The dice doubtless were ready at hand, and one of their helmets would serve to throw them.

what every man should take] The clothes of the crucified fell to the soldiers who guarded them, as part of their perquisites. The outer garment, or tallîth, they divided into fourth parts, probably loosening the seams. The inner garment, like the robes of the priests, was without seam, woven from the top throughout (Joh_19:23), of linen or perhaps of wool. It would have been destroyed by rending, so for it they cast lots, unconsciously fulfilling the words spoken long ago by the Psalmist, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots (Psa_22:18).

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 the superscription of his accusation,.... Or "the cause of his death", as the Syriac and Persic versions read; the crime for which he suffered:

was written; over his head, upon the cross, to which it was fastened; the sum of which was,

the king of the Jews; See Gill on Mat 27:37.

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

And they crucify him (kai staurousin auton). Such is the most approved reading. The evangelist states the fact without staying to dwell on the painful circumstances connected with the act of nailing him to the cross; and passes on to the mention of other things. They part his garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take. The outer robe and the tunic would have been removed previously to the crucifixion. St. John (Joh_21:23) here goes into details. "They took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top through.. out." His garments (ta imatia ). This would be the loose, flowing outer dress with girdle. The tunic (citwn) was a closefitting dress, worn underneath the imation . There were four soldiers employed for each crucifixion. St. Cyril refers to the clothes of criminals as the perquisite of the executioners. Here was another ingredient of bitterness in our Lord"s cup, that he saw before his eyes his garments torn by the soldiery, and his tunic divided to them by lot. But he divested himself of these garments of mortality, that he might clothe us with life and immortality.

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

St. Mark seems to intimate, that they first nailed him to the cross, then parted his garments, and afterward reared up the cross.

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

And when

See note for order of events at the crucifixion, (See Scofield "Mat 27:33")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [CXXXIII. B. Jesus Crucified and Reviled].

CXXXIII. THE CRUCIFIXION. Subdivision B. JESUS CRUCIFIED AND REVILED. HIS THREE \line SAYINGS DURING FIRST THREE HOURS. (Friday morning from 9 o'clock till noon.) aMATT. XXVII. 35-44; bMARK XV. 24-32; cLUKE XXIII. 33-43; dJOHN XIX. 18-27.

b25 And it was the third hour, and cthere d18 where cthey crucified him. b27 And a38 Then are there crucified bthey crucify awith him dtwo others, cthe malefactors, arobbers, one on the right hand, and one cthe other on the bhis left. don either side one, and Jesus in the midst. [These were doubtless robbers of the class of Barabbas. They were those who, led on by fanatical patriotism, had become insurrectionists and then outlaws. Large numbers of them were crucified during the Jewish wars (Jos. Wars, xiii. 2. 3). These two may have been crucified at this time for convenience' sake, but the fact that Jesus was placed between them suggests that they were crucified with him to heighten his shame and indignity. For, though Pilate had no personal ill will toward Jesus, he wished to show contempt for Judah's King.] c34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. [Our Lord's prayer here reminds us of the word at Isa_53:12. It accords with his own teachings ( Mat_5:44), and it was echoed by Stephen ( Act_7:59, Act_7:60). Peter and Paul both speak of the Jewish ignorance ( Act_3:17, 1Co_2:8). Ignorance mitigates, but does not excuse, crime.] b24 And they crucify him, d23 The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part [A quaternion or band of four soldiers did the work of the actual crucifixion. The Roman law awarded them the garments of the condemned as their perquisites]; band part aparted cparting bhis garments among them, casting cthey cast lots. [725] bupon them, what each should take. [The sandals, girdle, outer robe, head-dress, etc., of Jesus were divided into four parts and lots were cast of the parts.] dand also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. [This was the tunic or undergarment. It reached from the shoulders to the knees. Ordinarily it was in two pieces, which were fastened at the shoulders by clasps; but Josephus tells us that the tunic of the high priest was an exception to this rule, being woven without seam (Ant. iii. 7. 4). Thus in dividing the Lord's garments, they found a suggestion of his high priesthood.] 24 They said therefore one to another, 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 garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots. [See Psa_22:18.] 25 These things therefore the soldiers did. [Even their small part was the subject of minute prophecy.] a36 and they sat and watched him there. [They were on guard to prevent any attempt at rescue.] d19 And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. cover him, a37 And they set up over his head bthe ca superscription bof his accusation written, aAnd there was written, cTHIS IS aJESUS dOF NAZARETH, bTHE KING OF THE JEWS. [It was a well-established Roman custom to thus place a writing above the heads of the crucified to indicate the cause for which they died. Pilate writes the accusation so as to clear his own skirts before Cæsar and so as to show his contempt for the Jewish people. They had forced him to crucify an innocent man, and he retaliates by giving to that man the title which his enemies accused him of professing.] d20 This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and in Latin, and in Greek. [These three languages were respectively those of religion, law and philosophy; but Pilate made use of them because all three were spoken by people then in Jerusalem.] 21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to [726] Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. 22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. [The rulers smarted under this title which Pilate had tauntingly written. They had insisted that Jesus' kingship was dangerous enough to justify his crucifixion; but now (if politically and temporally interpreted) they admit that his kingship was an idle claim, a mere matter of words.] c35 And the people stood beholding. [The scene had an awful fascination which they could not resist.] a39 And they that passed by [Jesus was evidently crucified near the highway] railed on him, wagging their heads, 40 and saying, bHa! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 save thyself, aif thou art the Son of God, band come down from the cross. 31 In like manner also the chief priests cAnd the rulers also scoffed at him, bmocking him among themselves with the scribes aand elders, said, csaying, He saved others; bhimself he cannot save. clet him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen. aHe is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him. b32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. a43 He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God. c36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar, 37 and saying, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself. [Thus one and all unite in mocking Jesus, using both word and gesture. They bring forth echoes from the trial of Jesus and take other incidents from his life, little dreaming the deep significance of what they utter. They reminded Jesus of his words about destroying the temple, when they were committing that very act. They speak of his building it again when Jesus was about to die that he might rise. They taunt him with saving others, yet being unable to save himself, which is the great truth of the atonement which the Lord [727] was then making. They promised to believe if he will come down from the cross, yet his being lifted upon the cross was the very act which would convince them-- Joh_8:28.] a44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him breproached him. acast upon him the same reproach. c39 And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us. 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. 43 And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. [It seems that at first both robbers reviled Christ, but one repenting spoke in his favor and prayed to him. It is not likely that this robber had any conception of the spiritual kingdom of Jesus, but he somehow arrived at the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah, and would come into his kingdom despite his crucifixion. Jesus answered his prayer by a solemn promise that they would, that day, be together in that portion of the invisible world where those who are accepted of God await the resurrection. Many thoughtlessly make this dying robber the model of death-bed repentance, arguing that others may also be saved in this irregular manner. But Christ had not yet died, and the new testament or covenant was not sealed. Jesus then could change its terms to suit the occasion. It is therefore no evidence whatever that after his death and in his present glorified state our Lord will in any way change the covenant so as to do away with a single one of the terms required for obtaining remission of sins ( Heb_9:15-18). Moreover, the example of the penitent robber is a difficult one to follow; he professed faith in Christ and his kingdom when there was no other voice in the whole wide world willing to do such a thing. Any one having such a faith in Christ will not put off his confession until the hour of [728] death.] dBut there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [For comment on these four women, see note on Joh_2:4). Thus he cut her off from all parental authority over him. In this last hour our Lord bestows upon his helpless mother the disciple whom he loved, who was then in the flower of his manhood. All of Christ's disciples are thus appointed by him protectors of the helpless, but few recognize the behest as John did.]

[FFG 725-729]

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.

24. σταυροῦσιν αὐτόν. All the Evangelists pass over the horrors of the process of crucifixion in reverent silence. There is no attempt to excite emotion by detailing them. We have no means of determining whether our Lord’s feet were nailed or tied, for Luk 24:39 is not decisive. In the Gospel of Peter, before the burial, nails are taken from the hands only, which indicates that “Peter” knew the Fourth Gospel. The Synoptists say nothing about the nailing, and Jn speaks only of the hands (Joh 20:25; Joh 20:27). Writers and painters, perhaps influenced by Psa 22:17, have commonly assumed the nailing of the feet, and this is probably correct (see Meyer on Mt.). In that case each foot would almost certainly be nailed separately.

διαμερίζονται τὰ ἱμάτια. This was not an exceptional brutality; the clothing of an executed criminal was a perquisite of the executioners. All four call attention to the parting of the garments in wording which is influenced by Psa 22:18, which Jn (Joh 19:24) quotes verbatim from LXX. The Hebrew distinguishes the upper and under garments, as does Jn in his narrative; LXX. and the Synoptists do not.

βάλλοντες κλῆρον ἐπʼ αὐτά. Here again the Evangelist who was present is more definite than the Synoptists. He records how lots were cast for the under-garment only, while the upper was divided into four.

τίς τί ἄρῃ. Lit. “Who should take what,” quis quid tolleret (Vulg.). The double question occurs nowhere else in N.T., though some authorities have it Luk 19:15, ἵνα γνῷ τίς τί διεπραγματεύσατο. Syr-Syn. omits it here. It is not rare in class. Grk. ἡ τίσι τί ἀποδιδοῦσα τέχνη δικαιοσύνη ἂν καλοῖτο (Plato Rep. 332 D). Similarly πῶς τί; Field, pp. 43, 44, quotes other instances.

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.

24-28.] He is crucified. Mat 27:35-38. Luk 23:33, Luk 23:34, Luk 23:38. Joh 19:18-24.

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

24. Καὶ σταυροῦσιν αὐτόν, καὶ διαμερίζονται—And they crucify him, and divide.

σταυροῦσιν αὐτόν, καὶ, instead of σταυρώσαντες αὐτόν, having crucified him, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BL, mss. Lat. Vet. Egyptt. διαμερίζονται, instead of διεμέριζον, divided, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א ABCDLPX ΓΔΠ

On the method of crucifixion, see B.D. The cross was generally just high enough to raise the feet above the ground. In this case it must have been higher. See v. 36. The victim was placed upon it before the cross was elevated, his hands and feet being fastened to it by nails, and his body being supported by a peg fastened into the wood between his legs. The dividing of the garments among the soldiers who acted as executioners was customary. J. 19:23, 24 tells the story of the lot differently. According to that, it was only the inner garment, the χιτών, over which they cast lots, instead of dividing it, as they did the other garments.

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

What each should take [τις τι αρη] . Lit., who should take what. An addition of Mark.

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