John 19
Christian Standard Bible
Jesus Flogged and Mocked
19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers also twisted together a crown(A) of thorns, put it on his head, and clothed him in a purple robe. 3 And they kept coming up to him(B) and saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” and were slapping his face.
4 Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I’m bringing him out to you to let you know I find no grounds(C) for charging him.” 5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.(D) Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” (E)
Pilate Sentences Jesus to Death
6 When the chief priests and the temple servants[a] saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Pilate responded, “Take him and crucify him yourselves, since I find no grounds for charging him.”
7 “We have a law,” the Jews replied to him, “and according to that law he ought to die,(F) because he made himself the Son of God.”(G)
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever. 9 He went back into the headquarters(H) and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not give him an answer.(I) 10 So Pilate said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to release you and the authority to crucify you?”
11 “You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”(J)
12 From that moment Pilate kept trying[b] to release him. But the Jews shouted, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!”
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s seat in a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Aramaic,[c] Gabbatha). 14 It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about noon.[d] Then he told the Jews, “Here is your king!”
15 They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?”
“We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.
16 Then he handed him over to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
Then they took Jesus away.[e] 17 Carrying(K) the cross by himself,(L) he went out to what is called Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate also had a sign made and put on the cross. It said: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city,(M) and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews,’(N) but that he said, ‘I am the king of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture(O) might be fulfilled(P) that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.[f](Q) This is what the soldiers did.
Jesus’s Provision for His Mother
25 Standing(R) by the cross(S) of Jesus were his mother,(T) his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.(U) 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved(V) standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
The Finished Work of Jesus
28 After(W) this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished(X) that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.”(Y) 29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch(Z) and held it up to his mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.”(AA) Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.(AB)
Jesus’s Side Pierced
31 Since it was the preparation day,(AC) the Jews did not want the bodies(AD) to remain on the cross(AE) on the Sabbath(AF) (for that Sabbath was a special[g] day). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that their bodies be taken away.(AG) 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him. 33 When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead.(AH) 34 But one of the soldiers pierced(AI) his side(AJ) with a spear, and at once blood and water(AK) came out. 35 He who saw this has testified(AL) so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth.(AM) 36 For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled:(AN) Not one of his bones will be broken.[h](AO) 37 Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the one they pierced.[i](AP)
Jesus’s Burial
38 After(AQ) this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’s body.(AR) Pilate gave him permission; so he came and took his body away. 39 Nicodemus(AS) (who had previously come to him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about seventy-five pounds[j] of myrrh and aloes. 40 They took Jesus’s body(AT) and wrapped it in linen cloths(AU) with the fragrant spices, according to the burial(AV) custom of the Jews. 41 There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it. 42 They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.
Footnotes
- 19:6 Or temple police, or officers
- 19:12 Lit Pilate was trying
- 19:13 Or Hebrew, also in vv. 17,20
- 19:14 Lit about the sixth hour
- 19:16 Other mss add and led him out
- 19:24 Ps 22:18
- 19:31 Lit great
- 19:36 Ex 12:46; Nm 9:12; Ps 34:20
- 19:37 Zch 12:10
- 19:39 Lit a hundred litrai; a Roman litrai = 12 ounces
John 19
The Message
The Thorn Crown of the King
19 1-3 So Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped. The soldiers, having braided a crown from thorns, set it on his head, threw a purple robe over him, and approached him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they greeted him with slaps in the face.
4-5 Pilate went back out again and said to them, “I present him to you, but I want you to know that I do not find him guilty of any crime.” Just then Jesus came out wearing the thorn crown and purple robe.
Pilate announced, “Here he is: the Man.”
6 When the high priests and police saw him, they shouted in a frenzy, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Pilate told them, “You take him. You crucify him. I find nothing wrong with him.”
7 The Jews answered, “We have a law, and by that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8-9 When Pilate heard this, he became even more scared. He went back into the palace and said to Jesus, “Where did you come from?”
Jesus gave no answer.
10 Pilate said, “You won’t talk? Don’t you know that I have the authority to pardon you, and the authority to—crucify you?”
11 Jesus said, “You haven’t a shred of authority over me except what has been given you from heaven. That’s why the one who betrayed me to you has committed a far greater fault.”
12 At this, Pilate tried his best to pardon him, but the Jews shouted him down: “If you pardon this man, you’re no friend of Caesar’s. Anyone setting himself up as ‘king’ defies Caesar.”
13-14 When Pilate heard those words, he led Jesus outside. He sat down at the judgment seat in the area designated Stone Court (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). It was the preparation day for Passover. The hour was noon. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king.”
15 They shouted back, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said, “I am to crucify your king?”
The high priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.”
16-19 Pilate caved in to their demand. He turned him over to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
They took Jesus away. Carrying his cross, Jesus went out to the place called Skull Hill (the name in Hebrew is Golgotha), where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a sign and had it placed on the cross. It read:
jesus the nazarene
the king of the jews.
20-21 Many of the Jews read the sign because the place where Jesus was crucified was right next to the city. It was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The Jewish high priests objected. “Don’t write,” they said to Pilate, “‘The King of the Jews.’ Make it, ‘This man said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”
22 Pilate said, “What I’ve written, I’ve written.”
23-24 When they crucified him, the Roman soldiers took his clothes and divided them up four ways, to each soldier a fourth. But his robe was seamless, a single piece of weaving, so they said to each other, “Let’s not tear it up. Let’s throw dice to see who gets it.” This confirmed the Scripture that said, “They divided up my clothes among them and threw dice for my coat.” (The soldiers validated the Scriptures!)
24-27 While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus’ mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.
28 Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the Scripture record might also be complete, then said, “I’m thirsty.”
29-30 A jug of sour wine was standing by. Someone put a sponge soaked with the wine on a javelin and lifted it to his mouth. After he took the wine, Jesus said, “It’s done . . . complete.” Bowing his head, he offered up his spirit.
31-34 Then the Jews, since it was the day of Sabbath preparation, and so the bodies wouldn’t stay on the crosses over the Sabbath (it was a high holy day that year), petitioned Pilate that their legs be broken to speed death, and the bodies taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man crucified with Jesus, and then the other. When they got to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers stabbed him in the side with his spear. Blood and water gushed out.
35 The eyewitness to these things has presented an accurate report. He saw it himself and is telling the truth so that you, also, will believe.
36-37 These things that happened confirmed the Scripture, “Not a bone in his body was broken,” and the other Scripture that reads, “They will stare at the one they pierced.”
* * *
38 After all this, Joseph of Arimathea (he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, because he was intimidated by the Jews) petitioned Pilate to take the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission. So Joseph came and took the body.
39-42 Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus at night, came now in broad daylight carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. They took Jesus’ body and, following the Jewish burial custom, wrapped it in linen with the spices. There was a garden near the place he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson