JESUS THE KING

JESUS WAS KING OF THE JEWS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
“And Pilatewrote a title, and put in on the Cross. And
the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING
OF THE JEWS.”John 19:19
The Charles SpurgeonSermon Collectionis home to over 3,000 sermons
written by C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1893)overthe course of his ministry in
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“The King Of The Jews”
“And Pilate wrote a title, and put in on the Cross. And the writing was,
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
John 19:19
IT was the usual custom of the Romans, when a man was put to death by
crucifixion to affix to the cross, somewhere where it might be read, an account
of his crime. His name and title would be given and the accusationthat had
been brought againsthim so that all who passedby might read the reasonwhy
he had been put to such an ignominious death. Our Savior, therefore, being
numbered with the transgressors, mustbe treatedin all respects as they were.
If their accusations were published, so must He have His accusationpublished
among the sons of men. How wondrous was the condescensionthat He, whom

all Heaven adored as the ever-blessedSonof the Highest, should be hanged
upon a tree and that He should have His accusationwritten up over His head
just as if He had been a common malefactor!
I wish we could realize both the dignity of His Personand the shame to which
He was exposed. If we could realize this we would be filled with grief for Him
and with thankfulness to Him that He condescendedto die the death of the
Cross. I wish it were possible for us to now stand at the foot of the Cross with
Mary and John and the other disciples, and to hear the ribaldry and scornfor
a moment–and then to look up and see that sorrowful face and that tortured
body–and to read in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, “Jesus ofNazareth, the King
of the Jews.”It was a very remarkable thing that Pilate should have written,
as Matthew and Luke say that he did, “This is the King of the Jews,” andwe
do not at all wonderthat the chief priests said to Pilate, “Write not, the King
of the Jews, but that He said, I am King of the Jews.” ButPilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.” Divine Providence always has its way!
It matters not who may be the persons concerned, Godknows how to work
His own will with them. It was His purpose that His Son should not die upon
the Cross without a public proclamation of His innocence and an official
recognitionthat He was what He had said He was, namely, the King of the
Jews!Who was to put up such a notice over His head as He hung there? Peter
might have been bold enough to attempt to do it, but he would certainly not
have succeeded, forthe Roman legionaries jealouslyguardedevery place of
execution. Even John, daring as he might have been in such a crisis, could not
have achievedthe task!It was best that it should be done by authority, done
by the Roman governor, done with an official pen and so securedthat no
envious chief priest dared to pluck it down and no hand of a scoffercould be
lifted up to blot out its testimony. It was privileged writing because it was
written by the pen of a Romanofficial–and there it must stay, under the
authority of the Roman Law as long as the body of Jesus hung upon the
Cross. See whatGod cando! He can make the vacillating Pilate to become
stubborn and He canmake him resolve to do what one would have thought
would have been the last thing he would have done! Though his motive
probably was to ridicule the Savior, yet the thing was done as God would have

it–and Jesus onthe Cross hung there proclaimed by Romanauthority as “the
King of the Jews.”
It may appear to you, at first sight, that there is not much importance in this
fact, but I think I shall be able to show you that there is if you will sit down
now, at the foot of the Cross, and look up to your Crucified Lord and read
this writing again. I shall ask you to read it in two lights. First, in reference to
man. in reference to JesusChristHimself.
First, read Pilate’s proclamationIN REFERENCE TO MAN.
This is a picture of how the world rejects the Savior. The Savior had truly
come into the world. That He might be knownto be a Savior, He had taken
the name of Jesus, that is, Savior. That He might be known as One who was
very humble and lowly, He had condescendedto dwell among men of the very
humblest kind and, therefore, He had chosento dwell at Nazareth and to be
calledthe Nazarene. Thus He was knownas Jesus, the Savior–andas Jesus of
Nazareth, an approachable and lowly Savior. Jesus had come into the world
to save men and He had commencedHis mission by saving many from
diseaseswhichhad been regardedas incurable. He had opened blind eyes,
unstopped deaf ears, givenspeechto the dumb, cleansing to lepers and He had
even raisedthe dead to life! There were also many whom He had healed of
spiritual infirmities, for He had given faith to the faithless and holiness and
excellence ofcharacterto those who, until then, had lived in sin.
He was indeed Jesus the Savior, but how did men receive Him? Did they come
and fall at His feet and kiss the very dust He trod upon? One might not have
been surprised if they had done so, but they did not. Did they gather around
Him with joyful clamor, all sick ones eagerto touch the hem of His garment
that they might be made whole? There were a few who did so–“a remnant
according to the electionof Grace” who receivedHim–and to them, “He gave
powerto become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His name.”
But it was not so with the mass of mankind! Discerning in Him something
strange and singular, seeing in Him no enmity, no sinful anger, no pride, no
bitterness–seeing in Him only superlative love, yet they must treat Him most
foully, for His life was spent in poverty and reproach–andat lastHe was

condemned to die on the accursedtree!The world hung Him up upon the
felon’s gallows and, in doing so, men said, “This is the Savior, the Nazarene,
and this is how we treat Him. We do not want to be savedfrom sin, for we
love it. We do not want to be savedfrom rebellion and to be brought into
peace with God through Jesus Christ, so this is what we do with God’s
Ambassador! This is how we serve Him who comes with words of
reconciliationand Grace upon His lips–we hang Him up to die, for we do not
want Him.” This is only a specimenof what all sinful hearts do till they are
changedby Grace–theywill not have the Savior to rule over them!
“Oh,” says someone, “youbring too harsh a charge againstme!” Is it so?
Have you receivedJesus? Do you believe in Him? Has He become your
Savior? If not, why not? Can you give any justifiable reasonfor your unbelief
and rejectionof Him? It seems to me, and I leave your conscienceto decide
whether it is so, that by remaining in unbelief, you do practically say, “I
prefer to be damned forever rather than believe in Jesus Christ!” At any rate,
that is your choice at this present moment. And if a man will show his
objectionto Christ to so greatan extent that he would be castinto Hell sooner
than let Jesus save him, you may depend upon it that there dwells in his heart
sufficient enmity to Christ to hang Him up again upon the Cross if He were
here once more! Christ would be hangedtomorrow if He came here among
unregenerate hearts–yes, by the very people that hang their ivory crosses
about their necks and put them on their prayer books and fix them on their
walls!They would cry, as their predecessordid of old, “Awaywith Him, away
with Him, crucify Him!” To this day, when Substitution is preached, and the
blood of Atonement, and salvationby simple faith in Jesus–notby
“sacraments”andpriests and goodworks–menfoamat the mouth with rage,
for they still hate the Christ, the only Savior of the sons of men!
Next I see here that man slays the Incarnate God–“Jesus ofNazareththe King
of the Jews.”WhetherPilateintended to indicate that He was the Messiah, at
any rate the Jews saw that this would be the meaning attachedto His
inscription over Christ’s head. It would be said that their Messiahwas
crucified, consequentlythey desired that the writing might be altered, but
Pilate would not alter it. Now, the Messiahof the Jews was none other than
God in human flesh. Did not Isaiahspeak of Him as Immanuel, God with us?

He was that promised “Seedof the woman” who was to bruise the old
serpent’s head. This was He of whom David said, “The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit You at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
He was David’s Son, yet He was also David’s Lord, and there He is–He has
come among men and as God, He came to tabernacle in human flesh and
dwell among men! It is a wonderful story that tells us how He was found as a
Babe in Bethlehem’s manger, where the shepherds came to adore Him and
how He grew up among men as a Man like other men, working at the
carpenter’s bench in the shop of His reputed father, yet all the while He was
God veiled beneath the humble form of the Sonof Mary! Even when the time
came for His manifestation unto Israel, He was still veiled, though His
Godheadevery now and then flashed through the veil of His Humanity. He
bade the sea be still when its wild uproar threatened to engulf the vesselin
which He and His disciples were. He workedsuchwonders that it was clear
that all things obeyedHim. The fish came in swarms from the deep to the net
which He had bidden His disciples castinto the sea. And the loaves and fishes
were multiplied in His hands and theirs, through His miraculous power. Men
could not help seeing that He was more than man and that He was, indeed, the
Son of God, as He claimed to be. Yet the husbandmen, to whom He was sent
by His Father, to ask for the rent of the vineyard that had been let to them,
said, “This is the heir; come, let us kill Him and let us seize on His
inheritance.” In other words, they said, “This is the God-Man; let us do with
Him what we would do with God if we could.” So they hanged Him up like a
felon, and put a label above His head, as much as to say to God, Himself,
“This is what we have done to One who was more like You than any man we
have ever heard of before, and One who says that He and You are One.” O
Sirs, this wickedworld never went so far in wickednessas it displayed on that
occasion!The essenceofevery sin is enmity againstGodand when any sin is
analyzed, it is always found that its essenceis this, “No God.” Sin is a stab at
the heart of God. Every time we sin, we practically say, “We do not want
God’s government. We do not want God’s Laws–we do not want God.” I once
heard an eloquent divine who had been accusing men of greatsin, finish his
indictment by using this remarkable expression, “this deicidal world.” There
he reachedthe climax of the Truth of God, for this is a deicidal world! It
cannotactuallyput Godto death, but it would do so if it could! And in putting

Christ to death it showedthe enmity towards God that was really in its heart.
The world would not put its own god to death, the godthat men imagine, the
god that their ownintellects fabricate, the god like themselves, ofwhom I
spoke this morning, [See Sermon #1206, Volume 20–HEARTKNOWLEDGE
OF GOD–Read/downloadthe entire sermon, free of charge, at .] but as for the
God of the Bible, there aremillions of men who would be glad to put that God
out of His own universe if they could! Yet He is Jehovah, the one living and
true God.
Thirdly, I see here that man’s chief objection to Christ is His authority, for
the pith of that inscription was, “Jesusthe
King.“ Pilate did not write, "This is Jesus the Teacher,”ormany might have
said, “LetHim teach what He pleases, it is no concernof ours. We do not care
what the Seers see,orwhat they say.” Pilate did not put up, “This is Jesus the
Priest.” Many would be quite contentto let Him be the greatHigh Priestif
they also might be priests. But Pilate wrote, “This is Jesus the King,” and that
is the targetat which they shootall their arrows!You remember that the
writer of the SecondPsalmsays, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counseltogether, againstthe Lord, and againstHis Anointed,
saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and castawaytheir cords from us.”
The resolve of human nature until it is renewedis always this, “We will not
have this Man to reign over us.” Men might be willing for Christ to save them,
but not for Him to reign over them. Such laws as these–“Youshalllove your
neighbor as yourself,” “You shall forgive till seventy times seven,” the law of
love, the law of gentleness, the law of kindness–mansays that he admires
them, but when these laws come home to him, and lay hold of the reins of his
ambition, cramp his covetousness andcondemn his self-righteousness,
straightwayhe is offended! And when Christ says, “Heavenand earth shall
pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” When He begins so teachthe
necessityofabsolute purity and to say that even a lascivious glance of the eye
is a sin, then men reply, “His rule will never do for us!” And they hang Him
up to die because they will not submit to His authority.
Once more, we learn from this narrative that man ridicules Christ’s
Kingdom. Pilate did not hate Christ. Heprobably did not think enough of Him

to expend any of His hatred upon Him. I have no doubt that he thought that
Jesus was a poor enthusiast who had been living alone so long that He had
addled His brains. He was well meaning and perhaps clever, but at the same
time, not the sort of man for a Roman governor to dispute with. He was very
sorry to have to put Him to death, for there were so many goodpoints about
the poor Creature that he did not wish to let His enemies destroyHim. When
the question of Christ’s Kingdom came up, I can imagine how scornfully
Pilate askedHim, “Are You the King of the Jews?” How contemptuously he
must have lookeddown upon such a poor emaciatedCreature who seemedto
be despisedby everybody, as Christ said, “MyKingdom is not of this world,”
and Pilate asked, “Are You a king, then?” half laughing as he spoke. He must
have felt as if he could fairly laugh Him to scorn and I have no doubt that it
was in that spirit that he wrote, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews,”doing it
in a vein of grim sardonic humor, first, towards the Jews and secondly,
towards Christ Himself, as much as to say, “This is the great King that the
Jews have been looking for. They are going to fight Caesarand getfree–and
this is the ringleader who is to help them to defeatall the legions of haughty
Rome.” Among the ungodly, at the present day, the idea of a spiritual
kingdom is quitebeyond their comprehension–theycannotmake out what it is.
The relation betweenChurch and State will not be settled by the statesmenof
any political party. There is a very singular relation betweenthe two, though
they are as dissimilar as materialism is from spirit. The realms of the two
often overlap one another–youcannot draw a line and say, “So far is the
State, and so far is the Church.” The factis the true Church of God is never
subordinate to the State–itmoves in anothersphere altogetherand rules after
another fashion! A spiritual kingdom, according to some people,means certain
laws and regulations that are drawn up by the bishops and synods and
councils, but that kind of kingdom is no more spiritual than an Act passedby
the House of Commons and the House of Lords! It is only another kingdom of
the flesh, an ecclesiasticalState ofa similar kind to the secularState, but as
for the spiritual Kingdom of Jesus Christ, it is not a thing that you cansee
with your eyes or understand after the manner of men. “You must be born-
again” in order to get into it, or even to see it! [See Sermon#3121, Volume 54–
THE NECESSITYOF REGENERATION–Read/downloadthe entire sermon,
free of charge, at http://www.spurgeongems.org.]It is too etherealto be

checkedby human legislation. It is a mighty power which Christ has set upin
this world–a powermightier than all secularstates combined–a Kingdom like
the stone cut out of the mountain without hands which will break in pieces
every other power and fill the whole earth in God’s appointed time! Oh, that
we saw its powermore manifest nowadays in the hearts of men–the power of
that Kingdom of which Christ is the King, this blessedBook is the Law, the
Holy Spirit is the greatExecutive and eachof us is a servant in the courts of
the greatKing living and acting according to His will!
“Oh,” you say, “this is ridiculous!” Yes, I thought you would saythat. That is
what the world always says of the Kingdom of Christ–that it is ridiculous.
They can understand a kingdom in which there is a head like the Pope, and in
which there are cardinals, bishops and priests. They can understand the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Archbishop of York, and all that
appertains to Episcopalians, but to know that we are one with Christ, that He
has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father, that His saints are to
reign with Him forever and that the weapons ofour warfare, though not
eternal, are “mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds”–theydo
not understand it, nor do they want to understand it! This is why they still
hang up Christ the King and say, “If this is His Kingdom, we do not want to
belong to it and we do not believe in it. Away with it! It is not worthy of our
consideration, it is only a few lowminded fellows who will always be the
subjects of such a Kingdom as that.” This is “as it was in the beginning” and
“is now”–but not as it “evershall be, world without end,” for the King is
coming, a secondtime, in all the splendor of His Glory and He will let the
world know that although His Kingdom is not like others, and is not to be
kept up by gold, pomp, rank, dignity and physical force, yet it is a Kingdom
which shall last when earthly princes and thrones shall all have passedaway!
And everyone who belongs to that Kingdom shall possessa crown and a glory
before which all the pomp of this world shall pale forever!
II. Now, secondly, I have to ask your attention to the subject in quite another
way, IN REFERENCETO CHRIST. What did that inscription over His head
mean?

It meant, first, that Christ’s honor was clear. Look at the inscription over the
head of that thief who is hanging onthe next cross. “Putto death for robbery
in the mountains where he was takenred-handed, having stabbed one of the
guards who attempted to arrest him.” You quite understand that inscription
and you pass on to Jesus. You want to know about the crime of which He has
been guilty–you are quite sure that they will put over His head an accountof
theworstthing He has ever done. There are the chief priests and scribes and a
multitude of the Jews watching to see whatis written–and there is Pilate
wanting to excuse his own conscience. If he can write anything that will
exonerate him from the guilt of putting Christ to death, he will be sure to
write it. So he takes his pen in his hand and he writes, “This is Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” “Well,”you say, “is that all that can be
brought againstHim, that He is Jesus ofNazareth, the King of the Jews?”
Yes, that is His only offense–theycannotsum up His guilt in any other words.
His crime is that He is what He is, that He was a Savior, that He dwelt at
Nazarethand that He was the King of the Jews. Now,no exonerationof His
Charactercould be better than that of this official accusationagainstHim!
And if this accusationbrings nothing againstHim, think how much may be
said in His favor by His friends. When a man is brought before the judge, his
accuseris quite sure to say all he canagainsthim. And when Christ was about
to be put to death, those who were responsible for that colossalcrime had to
make out as grave a charge againstHim as they could. But this was all they
could do–they could not bring anything else againstHim exceptthat He was
Jesus ofNazareth, the King of the Jews. See,then, how absolutely without
blemish and without spotwas the Lamb of our Passover!See how He “knew
no sin,” though He was made a Sin-Offering for us, “that we might be made
the righteousnessofGod in Him.” Exult, Christians, in this public and official
testimony to the spotless purity of His whole life and Character!
Next, as far as Christ is concerned, we may view this inscription as the
explanation of His death as wellas theclearing of His Character. Keep that
superscription clearlyin your mind’s eye, “Jesus ofNazareth, the King of the
Jews.”Thatis the reasonwhy He died. Jesus died first because He was Jesus,
because He was the Savior. That is the meaning of it–not that He might
merely be made an example–notonly that He might bear witness to the Truth.

But that cruel death means Atonement and salvationby Atonement. Let us all
look up to Him upon the Cross. If we have done so before, let us look up to
Him, again, and say, “Yes, blessedLord, we see that You did die and that You
did die to save us. And we magnify You because this was the cause ofYour
death, that You were the Savior.” The whole title that Pilate wrote signified
that Christ was the Messiah–andHe died because He was the Messiah.
“Messiahshallbe cut off, but not for Himself.” This was the wonderful
language ofthe Prophet Daniel, “cut off, but not for Himself.” Cut off because
He was the Sent One of God, the Anointed of the MostHigh! The Prophet
Zachariah had also recordedthe Words of Jehovah, “Awake, O sword,
againstMy Shepherd, and againstthe Man that is My Fellow, says the Lord of
Hosts.” There, Beloved, you have the whole reasonfor Christ’s death
condensedinto a sentence!Jesus dies because He is the Savior, the anointed
and prophesied Messiah, sentofGod to be the King of the Jews and of the
Gentles, too!
But, thirdly, as far as Christ was concerned, this inscription over His head
was a claim which was there and thenannounced. He is hanging on the Cross
and there is no trumpeter to make a proclamationof His kingship, but He
does not need any such herald, for the same soldiers who fasten His hands to
the wood, fastenup an inscription which is the bestproclamation possible, for
it is in three different languages thatall mankind may read it, “This is Jesus,
the King of the Jews.” He claims to be King, so stand at the foot of the Cross, I
pray you, and acknowledgeHis claim! If you would have Jesus to be your
Savior, you must have Him as your King–you must submit to His government,
for He claims the right to rule over all who acknowledgeHim to be Jesus!
More than that, He claims to rule all mankind, for all poweris given unto Him
in Heaven and in earth, and we are bidden to proclaim His Kingdom
throughout the whole world and to say to all men, “Jesus ofNazarethis your
King, bow down before Him. You kings, bow before Him, for He is King of
kings!You lords and nobles, bow before Him, for He is Lord of lords! And all
you sons and daughters of men, bow at His feet, for He must reign! And even
if you are His enemies, He must reign over you! In spite of all your enmity and
opposition, you must be brought to lie at His feet. The claims of Christ,
therefore, were published evenfrom the tree on which He died, so do not

resistthem, but willingly yield yourselves up to Jesus, now, and let Him be
King to you henceforth and forever!
And then, not only was a claim of His Sovereigntymade by the affixing of this
title, but His reign was then and thereproclaimed. In an earthly monarchy, as
soonas one king is gone, it is usual to proclaim His successor. And by that
accusationwrittenup over the head of Christ, a proclamationwas made
throughout all the earth that Jesus had assumedthe Throne and He has never
ceasedto reign! He went back to His Fatherand returned againto the earth
and dwelt here for forty days. And then His feetleft Mount Olive and He
ascendedto His Throne, and there He sits “expecting till His enemies are
made His footstool.”His Kingdom is established–do you all belong to it? It is a
Kingdom that, in a certain sense, was recognizedon the Cross by Pilate’s
proclamation, though it had existedlong before, for His Kingdom is an
everlasting Kingdom! Do you belong to it, or are you outside of it, opposedto
it, or indifferent to it? Remember that he that is not with Christ is against
Him! Those who are not on His side, He reckons to be on the other side! Are
you, my Brothers and Sisters, in the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ? If so,
I know that you look with delight upon that inscription and as you trust to the
blood of Christ to cleanse you, you castyour eyes up to that dear head that
was crownedwith thorns and rejoice to think that Jesus ofNazareth, the King
of the Jews, is also your King and Lord and Savior!
I want to make just this other remark about this inscription. Inasmuch as
Pilate would not alter it, it seems to me that God setforth to mankind that He
would never have it altered. Pilate could have sent for that inscription and,
with a few strokes ofhis pen, could have inserted the words that the chief
priests wanted, “He said, I am King of the Jews.”ButPilate would not do it
and the High Priest could not do it–and the devil could not do it and all the
devils in Hell and all the wickedmen upon earth, with all their rage–cannotdo
it now! God has said it as well as Pilate “What I have written, I have written.”
“Yet have I setMy King upon My holy hill of Zion.” He must reign and no
powercan ever take awayHis Kingdom from Him! His Church still prays,
“Your Kingdom come,” and that Kingdom is yet to come in all its fullness
when the whole of Israel shall be gatheredtogetherand shall acceptHim as
their Lord and King! Yes, more than that, for “He shall have dominion also

from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell
in the wilderness shall bow before Him and His enemies shall lick the dust.
Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him.”
Dearly belovedFriends, this is the conclusionof the whole matter, let us
cheerfully acceptHim as our King. Have wedone so? Thenlet us try to push
His conquests on yet further and seek to extend the boundaries of His
Kingdom. Are you doing this? Then, do it yet mare earnestlyand do it with
the right instrument, for the greatweaponof conquestis the Cross. It was on
the Cross that the proclamation was first lifted up and it is by the Cross that it
must be carried to the ends of the earth–notby human learning or eloquence,
not by bribery, or the help of the State and I know not what besides, but by
the setting forth of Christ evidently crucified among the sons of men. The
Cross is its own battle-axe and weaponof war. “In this sign shall you
conquer.” Let the whole Church preach Christ more, live Christ more and
then the proclamationof His Kingdom, which was first fastenedup on that
Cross, shallbe emblazoned throughout the whole world and the power of His
Kingdom shall be felt to the very ends of the earth!
I lookedinto the darkness and I thought I saw a Cross before me. And I saw
Him who did once hang upon it. But, as I lookedat it, that Cross seemedto
grow. It seemedto become a tree and I saw it strike its roots down deep until
the lowestdepths of human misery had been touched and blessedby them.
Then I saw that tree tower on high, piercing the clouds, passing through the
very firmament up above the stars, lifting Believers up upon it and bearing
them to the very Throne of God by its majestic power!Then I saw that tree
stretch forth its mighty branches on every side. Their shadow fell across this
highly-favored land of ours and also fell across the land on the other side of
the sea. As I watched, the blessedbranches stretchedout to Europe, to Asia, to
Africa, to America and to Australia, also. I watchedit grow till it became so
vast a tree that its shadow seemedto coverthe whole earth! And I blessedand
adored the God of Heaven that He had instituted so mighty a powerfor the
blessing of the sons of men! O Jesus, once crucifiedbut now exalted, so let it
be! And let us be Your humble instruments in promoting the extension of
Your blessedreign! And we will always adore You, as we do now, not only as
“Jesus ofNazareth, the King of the Jews,” but as “the blessedand only

Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords to whom be honor and power
everlasting. Amen.”
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Three Crosses
John 19:18
J.R. Thomson
What a picture is this! At a place near Jerusalem, calledGolgotha, the Roman
soldiery have reared three crosses.And on these crosseshang three figures.
The sufferers have been doomed to die. With a criminal on either hand, the
Son of man is enduring, not only anguish of body, but agony of mind
unparalleled. The soldiers, with callous indifference, watchthe tortured
victims. The multitude gaze with vulgar curiosity upon the unwonted sight.
The Jewishrulers look exultingly upon him whose death their malignant hate
has compassed. Friendly disciples and tender-hearted women gaze with
sympathy and tears upon the dying woe of their beloved One. No wonder that
the scene shouldhave riveted the imagination and have elicitedthe pathetic
and pictorial powers of unnumbered painters. No wonder that every great
picture-gallery in every Christian land contains some masterpiece ofsome
famous painter, of one schoolor another, depicting the crucifixion of the Holy
One and the Just. Forus the scene has not only an artistic and affecting, but
also and far more a spiritual, significance.
I. ONE CROSS IS THE SYMBOL OF DIVINE LOVE AND OF HUMAN
SALVATION. The central figure of the three is that which draws to it every
eye.

1. There is in this cross whatevery spectatorcandiscern. A Being
undoubtedly innocent, holy, benevolent, is suffering unjustly the recompense
of the evildoer. Yet he endures all with patience and meekness, with no
complaint, but with sincere words of forgiveness for his foes. We conceive
Jesus saying, "All ye that pass by, behold, and see;was there ever sorrow like
unto my sorrow?"
2. What did Christ's enemies see in his cross? The fruit of their malice, the
successoftheir schemes, the fulfillment, as it seemedto them, of their selfish
hopes.
3. A more practicaland interesting question for us is - What do we behold in
the cross ofChrist? To all Christ's friends, their crucified Lord is the
Revelationof the powerand the wisdom of God, none the less so because his
enemies see here only an exhibition of weakness, offolly, and of failure. The
voice that reaches us from Calvary is the voice that speaks Divine love to all
mankind. Here Christians recognize the provision of full and everlasting
salvation;and here they come under the influence of the highest motive which
appeals to the spiritual nature, and calls forth an affectionate and grateful
devotion.
"From the cross uplifted high,
Where the Savior deigns to die:
What melodious sounds I hear,
Bursting on my ravished ear!
Love's redeeming work is done;
Come and welcome, sinner, come."
II. A SECOND CROSS IS THE SYMBOL OF IMPENITENCEAND
REJECTION OF DIVINE MERCY. In the blaspheming robber who hung by
the side of the Lord Jesus we have an awful example of human sin and crime;
an awful witness to human justice and to the penalty with which transgressors
are visited; and an awful illustration of the length to which sinners may carry
their callous indifference to sin. An impenitent criminal reviles the one Being

who has the power and the disposition to deliver him from his sin and from its
worstresults. Selfishness ofthe narrowestand meanestkind is left: "Save us!"
i.e. from torture and the impending fate. A degradedlife is followedby a
hopeless death. Severalterrible lessons are taughtby this felon's character
and fate.
1. How impossible it is for those to be savedwho rejectthe means of salvation!
2. How possible it is to be close to Christ, in body, in communication, in
privilege, and yet, because destitute of faith and love, to be without any benefit
from such proximity!
3. How foolishit is to rely upon a late repentance, seeing that sinners are
found to persevere in sin and unbelief even in the immediate prospectof
death!
III. A THIRD CROSS IS THE SYMBOLOF PENITENCE AND OF
PARDON. The story of the repentant malefactorshows us that, even when
human justice does its work, Divine mercy may have its way.
1. The process ofseeking God, even in mortal extremity. Conscienceworks;
conviction of sin ensues, and creates a new disposition of the soul; this
prompts a fearless rebuke of a neighbor's sin; faith - in the circumstances
truly amazing - is exercised;true, simple, fervent prayer is offered.
2. The manifestation of compassionand mercy. The dying Lord imparts to the
dying penitent an assurance offavor; free pardon is announced; bright hope
is inspired; immortal happiness is secured.
3. Lessons ofprecious encouragementare impressedupon the spectators of
this third cross. It is possible for the vilest to repent. It is certain that the
sincere penitent will be regardedwith favor. Even at the eleventh hour
salvationis not to be despairedof. There is a prospect before those who are
acceptedand pardoned, of immediate joy and Divine fellowshipafter this life
is over. - T.

Biblical Illustrator
And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross.
John 19:19-22
The superscription on the cross
D. Thomas, D. D.
I. A GLORIOUS FACT UNCONSCIOUSLYPUBLISHED TO THE
WORLD — the royalty of Jesus. This is one of the greatesttruths of the Bible,
although Pilate only meant it in scorn. How often the worstof men utter the
highest truths I Some event strikes on the soul, and the truth flashes out like
fire from flint. Hence the utterances of ungodly men may repay attention.
II. A REVENGEFULPASSION GRATIFYING ITSELF BY FRAUD. The
Jews compelledPilate to violate his conscience. Now it is over, his passion
finds vent in a falsehoodsuch as would torment the instigators of his crime.
He did not believe Jesus to be a king at all. No passionis more ravenous than
revenge;and fraud in the form of slander is, in these days, its most potent
weapon.

III. A WICKED TRANSACTION, BRINGING ITS OWN PUNISHMENT.
The accusationwas that Christ had made Himself a King, and now the Jews
find over the cross a statement that the Crucified was their King. How
intolerable to these descendents ofillustrious patriarchs and monarchs! How
bitterly they must have felt the haughty reply, "What I have written," &c. "I
have been pliable in working out your designs, now I am inexorable. I scorn
you." Thus a small instalment of their retribution came at once. "Be sure your
sin will find you out."
IV. A MORAL OBLIQUITY WHICH ESTIMATES WHAT IS TRULY
GLORIOUS A DISGRACE. Had the Jews seenthings in a right light they
would have gloried in this superscription. That Malefactorwas "the gloryof
His people Israel." As Sage, Saint, Hero, King, there never had been or would
be one like Him. Depraved men are ever acting thus. Sinners see degradation
when there is nobility. If men saw things as they are, they would often see
ignominy on thrones, and royalty in the beggar's hut.
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
J. P. Lange, D. D.
I. WHAT IT TESTIFIES— Of Jesus ofNazareth.
1. His Majesty.
2. His victory.
3. The foundation of His kingdom.
4. His jurisdiction and government.
II. IT WAS —
1. Readof all.
2. Vexatious to many.

3. Obstinately defended by one.
III. LEARN —
1. Wilt thou pass it unheeded?
2. Wouldst thou alter it?
3. Wilt thou not acceptit?
(J. P. Lange, D. D.)
The inscription on the cross
C. Spurgeon, jun.
This was what Pilate wrote on the cross of Christ. Instead of mourning over
your cross, write on it —
I. JESUS, i.e., Saviour. If He has delivered you from sin and its consequences
you need not be greatlyconcernedabout the mere scratches oflife.
II. NAZARETH. If you are poor, unknown, despised, remember that Christ
your Redeemercame from Nazareth. Despite your presentcondition, you may
yet do something in the world.
III. KING. Never forgetthat your Saviour is supreme. You, therefore, are
safe.
IV. JEWS. We owe much to the Jews. Bya Jew we are saved. Conclusion:Put
this inscription on your cross and it will lighten it. On the cross of —
1. Persecution. Youare not alone; your Masterbore this before you.
2. Public profession. RememberChrist, and you will find nothing to be
ashamedof.
3. Temptation.
4. Poverty and pain. Jesus bore them all and will surely keepyou.

(C. Spurgeon, jun.)
U. R. Thomas.
illustrates —
I. THE UNCONSCIOUS TESTIMONYOF BAD MEN TO THE TRUTH.
Pilate the vacillating, the superstitious, the cowardly, the civil, causes a
statementto be written about Christ, than which no apostle's argument, no
angel's song could be more truthful. The Kingship of the carpenter's Son, the
royalty of the peasantteacherofNazareth. Similarly Balaamand Caiaphas,
and they who cavilledat Christ because He receivedsinners, were all
unconsciouslytestifying to greattruths, e.g., Balaamto the moral fascination
of a godly nation, Caiaphas to the necessityofvicarious sacrifice. the cavillers
to the mercy of the greatphilanthropist.
II. THE FAILURE OF MERE CULTURE TO EFFECTTHE HIGHEST
ENDS. These three languages the unlettered could not understand; but he
who could read all used his knowledge in the service ofthe deadliestmurder.
Culture without religion is but civilized barbarism and disguisedanimalism.
"Notby might nor by power," &c.
III. THE OMNISCIENT ARRANGEMENTSOF GOD'S PROVIDENCE.
The fact that these languages were employedreminds us of the historic marvel
that this was just the epochwhen most naturally Hebrew faith, Greek
eloquence, and Latin empire, could combine to serve the propagationof the
new evangel. Christ came "in the fulness of time."
IV. THE UNIVERSAL AVAILABLENESS OF CALVARY. The fact float
most concerns the peoples of all centuries and climes is not transcendental,
but an event which all can understand — a death —
1. The death of a Man. Its availableness is illustrated in its relation to the
population of the city then. For it happened not at the distance of a long
pilgrimage, but "nearthe city." And it was explained in three languages, one

or other of which the motley group that passedby could understand. So it is
with the spiritual meaning of that fact — "Saynot in thy heart who shall
ascend... the Word is nigh thee."
V. THE WORLD-WIDE VICTORIES OF THE CROSS.Jerusalem, Athens,
Rome, have known, or is gradually knowing, the triumph of Christ. And His
wondrous biography, infallible teaching, and redeeming power, is now
proclaimed not in three, but in hundreds of languages, and"every tongue
shall confess that Christ is Lord."
(U. R. Thomas.)
Jesus ofNazareth, the King of the Jews.
Jesus ofNazareth
DeanStanley.
(Preachedat Nazarethon Good Friday): — What are the lessons ofGood
Friday?
I. THE UNIVERSAL LOVE OF GOD TO HIS CREATURES.
1. That is why it is so truly called GoodFriday. It has its goodnews as much
as Christmas or EasterDay. It was by His death, more even than by His life,
that He showedhow His sympathy extended far beyond His own nation,
friends, family. "I, if I be lifted up," &c.
2. This is a truth which comes home to us with a peculiar force in Palestine.
What is it that has made this small country so famous; that has carried the
names of Jerusalemand Nazarethto the uttermost parts of the earth? The
death of Christ. Had He not died as He did, His religion, name, country,
would never have broken through all the bonds of time and place as they
have.
3. This universal love of God in Christ's death is speciallyimpressedupon us
in Nazareth. What Christ was in His death, He was in His life. And if we wish
to know the spirit which pervades both, we cannot do so better than consult

His first sermonat Nazareth(Luke 4:18). "The Spirit of the Lord was upon
Him" —(1) "To preach the gospelto the poor," the glad tidings of God's love
to the humble, neglected, dangerous classes, the friendless, the oppressed, the
unthought for, the uncared for.(2) "To heal the broken-hearted," as a good
physician heals, not with one medicine, but with all the various medicines and
remedies which Infinite Wisdom possesses, allthe fractures, and diseases, and
infirmities of our poor human hearts. There is not a weakness, a sorrow, a
grievance, for which the love of God, as seenin the life and death of Christ,
does not offer some remedy.(3) "To preachdeliverance to the captive."
Whateverbe the evil habit, inveterate prejudice, masterpassion, or the long
indulgence, which weighs upon us like a bondage, He feels for us, and will set
us free.(4) To "give sight to the blind." How few of us there are who know our
own failings, who see into our own hearts, who know what is really goodfor
us! That is the knowledge whichthe thought of Christ's death is likely to give
us. For every one of these conditions, He died. Not for those only who are
professedlyreligious, but for those who are the leastso. Christianity is the
only religion of which the TeacheraddressedHimself, not to the religious, the
ecclesiastical, the learnedworld, but to the careless, the thoughtless, the rough
publican, the wild prodigal, the hereticalSamaritan, the heathen soldier, the
thankless peasants ofNazareth, the swarming populations of Galilee.
II. WHATEVER GOOD IS TO BE DONE, IN THE WORLD, even though it
is God Himself who does it, CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT A SACRIFICE.
1. So it was especiallyin the death of Christ. So it was in His whole life, from
the time when He grew up, "as a tender plant," in the seclusionofthis valley,
to the hour when He died at Jerusalem, was one long struggle against
misunderstanding, opposition, scorn, hatred, hardship, pain. He had doubtless
His happier and gentler hours — we must not forgetthem: His friends at
Bethany, His apostles, His mother. But here, amongst His own people, He met
with angry opposition and jealousy. He had to bear the hardships of toil and
labour, like any other Nazarene artisan. He had here, by a silent preparation
of thirty years, to make Himself ready for the work which lay before Him. He
had to endure the heat and the cold, the burning sun, and the stormy rain, of
these hills and valleys. "The foxes" of the plain of Esdraelon"have holes,"
"the birds" of the Galileanforests "have their nests," but "He had," often,

"not where to lay His head." And in Jerusalem, though there were
momentary bursts of enthusiasm in His behalf, yet He came so directly across
the interests, the fears, the pleasures, and the prejudices of those who there
ruled and taught, that at last it costHim His life. By no less a sacrifice could
the world be redeemed and His work be finished.
2. In that work, in one sense, none but He cantake part. "He trod the
winepress alone." Butin another sense, oftenurged upon us in the Bible, we
must all take part in it, if we would wish to do goodto ourselves or to others.
We cannotimprove ourselves, we cannotassistothers, exceptby exertion. We
must, eachof us, bear our cross with Him. When we bear it, it is lightened by
thinking of Him. When we bear it, eachday makes it easierto us. Once the
name of "Christian," of "Nazarene," wasanoffence in the eyes of the world;
now it is a glory. But we cannot have the glory without the labour which it
involves.
(DeanStanley.)
Pilate preaching the gospel
C. Stanford, D. D., A. P. Peabody, D. D.
Pilate knew that "Jesus" wasthought to be a most despicable name; and that
"Nazareth" with the Jews was a proverb of condensedcontempt. But "God
held his hand while he did write." All unconscious, he was usedas an
instrument for publishing words of deep and mystic potency. First things are
significant things, especiallyin the history of a dispensation. The first voice we
hear speaking ofChrist after His crucifixion is the voice of an angel, and the
first title given to Him is Jesus of Nazareth. The first time that the Saviour
was preachedby man was under this title. Peterfell its infamy when "one of
the maids of the high priest" said to him, "Thou also wastwith Jesus of
Nazareth." But soonas the Spirit was poured out, Peterrang out the name
"Jesus ofNazareth." The first time that Jesus Himself, after His
enthronement, spoke, He made Himself known under these words (Acts 22:8).
Taking these things into consideration, we find that what was done by man

only in contempt, has been turned by God into the most effectualmeans of
exalting the Saviourand preaching the gospel.
I. "THE CROSS,"onwhich the writing was placed, first arrests our
attention.
1. Was it like the thing sometimes lookedat before the glass, put on
admiringly, then taken off, then dropped among the tinkling trinkets? Like
the thing that sparkles in the crown, or blows in the banner, or flames on the
spire? We need have no superstitious fancy about this artistic device; only let
us be carefulnot to allow the sight of it to deadenthe sense ofwhat Christ's
cross reallywas. It was a shame! And when it was lifted up, I should have
thought that any man would look another way. Any dying man is a sacred
being, any dying scene a sacredplace;but Jesus was nailedupright in a crowd
to die. And then it was that Pilate hammered over the dying head the mocking
proclamation.
2. I would not make the physical cross a theme for merely descriptive or
declamatorywards; nor do I make a venture into the sea of God's deep
thoughts about the atonement; but I know that Jesus onthat cross, dying for
sinners, did in some way suffer what is instead of His people dying. We may
enter this scene, but not as artists, sculptors, poets, musicians, talkers with a
hard, ready rattle of syllables, but as priests, with stilled hearts and
reverential steps;we may pause, but with prayer; we may look, but through
tears. Pilate was the instrument of the fulfilment of Christ's words — "I, if I
be lifted up from the earth," &c.
II. THE NAME "JESUS.""Joshua,"to which "Jesus"corresponds, means
"the Lord's salvation," or, "the Lord of salvation."
1. By the time of our Lord's advent, the Jews had gotto place the lowest
possible constructionon the predictions of a Saviour. They thought only of a
political salvation;and every leader of an insurrection was tempted to call
himself the Jesus of prophecy. There is some ground for the opinion that
Barabbas played the part of a false Christ, taking the name of Jesus. The
Roman governorof Judaea would know that the Jews lookedupon the name
Jesus as belonging to "the coming man," who should save them from the

Romans. This to his mind would make it a name of scorn. At this hour the
Jews were also ashamedofit.
2. Neverwas greatermistake about a name than this. Its true interpretation
had been given by the angel, "ForHe shall save His people from their sins;"
and if the same angelwas the one who announcedHis resurrection, it is no
wonder that the first word of announcement was "Jesus."He would triumph
in that name. We share in this triumph. Some persons mainly think of Christ
as a Saviour from penalty. We know indeed that by the cross the Saviour
removes legalimpediments in the way of pardon; but is that all? Is He simply
like one who clears off old scoresfor us; wipes out the pastas a child wipes off
a false sum from his slate; who says, "Letbygones be bygones;" who holds the
paper with the dreadful writing on it in the flame until it burns right away
and says, "There, I have nothing againstyou!" Is that all? Not so. He will says
me by setting me right, and not merely by setting right my relation to His law.
"The blood of Jesus ChristHis Son cleansethus from all sin."
III. THE APPELLATIVE "OF NAZARETH." The Jews had objectedto part
of Pilate's superscription, but not to this, for it expressedexactlywhat they
were determined to affirm. According to His own account, He was "Jesus of
heaven" (John 8:23, 42). Just see what this implies.
1. A contradictionof Christ's claims to be the Heavenly Witness. Yet it was
overruled so as to be the means of their glorious vindication. Keep in mind the
distinction betweena teacherand a witness. A teacheris one who imparts
knowledge;a witness is one who gives evidence. We expecthim to tell us the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from what has passedin his
own personalpresence. This is what Christ claimedto be. When Nicodemus
said, "We know that Thou art a Teachersentfrom God," His answermeant,
"More than that, I am a Witness." "We speakthat we do," &c. So at last with
Pilate, He claimed to be the Heavenly Witness. "To this end was I born," &c.
Of course no mere mortal could give evidence about anything that happened
before He was born. God might sayto any one of us (Job38:4-7); but Christ,
being the Witness giving the gospelrevelation, had from the nature of the case
to give evidence as to facts that belong to a place far above this world, and to a
period far before it. Of course this claim includes the claim to be the Son of

God. If a real Witness, it is plain that His birth was not the point of emergence
from the blank of non-entity; but the arrival of a Traveller who said, "I am
crone forth from the Father, and am come into the world." Of course it is a
mystery — the doctrine that Eternity should clothe itself in the garment of
Time. But Mystery is the sign of the Infinite; and that which is not mysterious
is not Divine. The animus of the inscription on the cross is endorsed by the
Jews. "He is only Jesus ofNazareth." But this most public contempt of
Christ's claims only led to their most public and irresistible vindication. The
cross, whichcalled attention to the one, calls attention to the other. The death
on the cross led to the stupendous miracle of the Resurrection, by which He
has been "declaredto be the Son of God with power."
2. To insinuate the charge of sin; but it has been overruled to callattention to
His spotless holiness. Nazarethwas lookedupon as the very sink of Galilee.
There have been such Nazareths in old England. London had one in a place
calledAlsatia; many a nestof wreckersby the seaside was a socialNazareth.
There are Nazareths now, to be in which implies loss of character;places that
are like hells on earth; but Jesus lived thirty years in Nazarethof Palestine.
Even the candid Nathanaelsaid, "Canany good thing come out of Nazareth?
"But the critics of Christ canfind no spot in Christ even there. Christ's pure
life in polluted Nazarethwas a greatfact in the greatgospelapparatus. It
provided for the most searching chemistry of character;and after living so
long under the actionof such a test, He was found perfect. Such a human
diamond found in filth, yet drinking in and flashing out againthe pure light of
God, could owe nothing to the filth in which it was discovered. Suchholiness
in Nazareth must be that before which all angels cry aloud, Holy, Holy, Holy!
3. This appellative pleasedthose who scornedChrist as the "sonof a
carpenter," for as such He was wellknown at Nazareth; but it reminds us of
the honour due to Him as the Friend of poor and working people. It was as
much as to say, "a carpenter is not a king;" but, besides that, it was meant to
suggest, "Who wouldbelong to a religion that has for its sacredcentral
personage a carpenter?" The same spell would work in the same way now,
and thousands who now profess Christianity would not do so, if doing so
would make them look so low, socially, as did the first followers of the
Carpenter. Let us call to mind the significance ofthe factthat the man Christ

Jesus was a carpenter, and trace afreshthe reasons why we should glory in it.
It helps to make Him very realand homely; to make us feel that our religion is
not a thing that belongs to some mysterious world of its own; but a thing for
use, for the work-day world, for the majority. It helps to make us feel that He
belongs to us all. Human princes take territorial names for their own
distinction; Jesus takes a territorial name. And what is it? "Jesus of
Paradise?""Jesus ofGlory?" "Jesus ofJerusalemthe Golden?" No!but
"Jesus ofNazareth," the place where He was only known as "the Carpenter."
He was insulted by that name in His lasthour on earth, but, now, it is one of
the names by which He is known in the heraldry of heaven.
IV. THE TITLE, "The King of the Jews."In writing this, Pilate intended to
express the most extreme contempt. Not contempt for the religionof Jesus. In
matters of religion he had no bias one way or the other; in his opinion, one
religion was as goodas another. He was not consciousofany active contempt
for the person of Jesus;but he thought to use Him as an instrument to mortify
the Jews. Itwas as much as to say, "There, you vile Jews!Your King is that!
then what are you? Your own grand monarch is now nailed on His throne.
Know yourselves!" They would have made no objectionif Pilate had written,
"He said, I am King of the Jews!" At the time when Jesus was born, men were
eagerlyasking, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" No one,
however, thought for a moment of looking for Him at Nazareth. As was
shrewdly said in a London yard by one of its native evangelists, "Ifthe Prince
of Wales had lived thirty years in Raymond's Yard, folks would not have
believed that he was the Prince of Wales. I expect that Nazarethwas a poor
sort of place, like this; yet there He was. If you find a sovereignin the mud,
you think it only a farthing till you come to change it; and so, because they
found Jesus at Nazareth, they never thought that He could be a King!" Even
so. At the same time, it was not altogetherthe thought of Nazareth that made
the Jews refuse to bend the knee. There was a time when that was no
insuperable difficulty. The cause was in their own worldly nature, which He,
by disappointing, had infuriated. They were mad because they thought He
could break the Roman yoke for them, but would not. The priests thought
they had gottheir revenge on Jesus forrefusing to trample down the Romans.
But when the cross was lifted, to their amazement, the truths they had tried to

kill stoodwritten over it, and the Crucified One was proclaimed their King!
The wretchedPilate little knew that he had thus written one of the grandest
truths. Appearances did seemto be againstsuch a fact; yet, for God to be
manifest in one place is no greaterstoopof condescensionthan to be manifest
in the other; and only our vulgar ideas of the majestic make us feelit to be a
greatermystery there than anywhere else. The mystery was that He should
appear as man anywhere.
V. THE NOTICE placedover the head of Jesus "waswritten in Hebrew, and
Greek, and Latin." In the East, in the old time, when a government issueda
notice intended to be read by the different nations of a large empire, it was the
custom to write it on a tablet in the different languages ofthat empire, so that
if men speaking these different languageswould be able to read the
inscription. Like the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, showing one
inscription in three dialects;like the inscribed rocks atBehistan, recording
the fame of Darius Hystaspes in three forms of arrow-headedwriting, so as to
be understood by Assyrian, Median, and Persianreaders — the inscription on
the cross was writtenin three languages, and these were the three keys to
unlock all the languagesliving in the world. So, without knowing what he was
doing, Pilate thus began the publication of Christ to all the world; and all that
evangelists athome and abroad have to do is to do by the Holy Ghost, and do
thoroughly, what he beganto do. Let the real meaning of what he wrote in
these everlasting letters be brought out; and let all people in all languages
read it or hear it, and Christ's missionary law will be fulfilled.
(C. Stanford, D. D.)
In Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. —
I. THESE LANGUAGES REPRESENT IN THEIR STRUCTURE THREE
ENTIRELYUNLIKE TYPES OF CHARACTER.
1. The Hebrew has grandeur, but no grace.
2. The Greek is spokenbeauty, yet fit more for nymphs than angels.
3. The Latin is the language of command, resolute purpose and decisive
action, whose very study is a tonic. These three tongues were all familiar to

the Jewishearin the time of Christ; the Hebrew as still the language of
worship, the Greek as the language ofeducatedmen, the Latin as the official
language ofthe Roman Government.
II. THESE LANGUAGES CORRESPOND TO THE FORMS OF CULTURE
which were grouped togetherin every land; for the Hebrews had long been a
migratory people;the Greeks were the preceptors of the world; while Roman
soldiers and officials swarmedin all parts of the empire.
1. The Hebrews were pre-eminently a religious people. Even their idolatry was
in sad earnest, and from the time of the Captivity their zeal for God and the
law has no parallel. Their first temple, long anterior to Greek art, was the
most magnificent edifice in the world, and their apparatus of worship the
most organized and majestic that the world has known. Nor was Judaism in
its earlier days a mere ritual — witness the psalms and prophets. But in the
time of Christ it had lapsedinto a punctilious formalism.
2. The Greek culture was distinguished by the sovereigntyof beauty. It gave
transcendentgrace and charm to daily life. But it lackedthe religious element;
and the reverence of the worshipper who gave credence to the myths
embodied in its art could only minister to his degradation. This culture
eventually lapsedinto a feeble sensualism, and Greek adventurers carried into
every land with their art and philosophy, luxury, effeminacy, and the vices
that follow in their train.
3. The Roman culture was that of unbending law, rigid discipline, and hardy
self-control;in their better days their religion was sincere, and their standard
of purity high. But their advancing knowledge soonoutgrew their faith, and
their religion became a nonentity to the enlightened, and a mere police force
to the populace. Rude and averse to refining influences, they at first resisted
the influence of Greeks, but eventually succumbed. At the Christian era moral
corruption had replacedthe robust virtues of the early Romans.
4. These were the effete forms of culture, whose signature was written over the
cross. Eachwas readyto perish for lack of the others.(1)Religionmay exist
alone in the individual soul; but as an element of socialand national life it
needs all the humanities, and canonly live as a working force.(2)Art needs

religion for its purity, grandeur and influence as an educationalagency, and
requires the element of law to blend vigour with grace.(3)Law demands a
higher sanctionthan its own, and requires that its sternness be relieved by the
humanizing influence of art.
III. JESUS COMBINES IN HIS PERSONTHESE THREE FORMS OF
CULTURE.
1. He is emphatically King of the Jews;for the intensity of the religious life is
betrayed in His every utterance.
2. He is more than Grecianin the grace, amenity, and sweetnessofHis Spirit.
3. He is more than Roman in the perfectness with which He is the incarnate
law of God, and alone finishes the work God gave Him to do.
IV. THESE ELEMENTS ARE BLENDED IN THE CHRISTIAN
CHARACTER WORTHY OF THE NAME.
1. It has the fervent religiousnessofthe Hebrew psalmists and Jews, only with
less of the Sinai than of the Zion type.
2. Howeverdestitute of the wonted means of culture, it takers in a culture of
its own, so that the grace ofGod assumes forms which man canrecognize as
graceful.
3. It is also a law-abiding Spirit, submitting not as to a hard yoke, but as to a
loving service.
V. WE HAVE IN THE THREEFOLD CAPTION OF THE CROSS OUR
OWN DIRECTORYOF DUTY.
1. Religion, the inmost consecrationofthe soul to God, is the main element.
2. But religion is a power which should diffuse itself; and this it can only do by
alliance with whateveradorns, sweetens andelevates the life of man. There
has been a religiousnessdestitute of grace, and even repulsive; but if those
who seek to be Christians would only prize and cultivate the beauty of
holiness, they would be much more efficiently missionaries for the faith.

3. We need equally the Romanelement of law to make us Christians indeed. A
thoroughly obedient life, pervaded by the spirit of service, is the result of
nurture in the schoolofChrist.
(A. P. Peabody, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(19) Comp. Notes on Matthew 27:37;Mark 15:26;Luke 23:38. St. John
speaks ofthe title placed over the cross. This was the common Roman name
for an inscription of the kind, which was meant to give information of the
crime for which the sentence ofcrucifixion had been given. St. Matthew calls
it the “accusation;” St. Mark, “the superscription of the accusation;” St.
Luke, “the superscription.” (Comp. Luke 23:38.)The inscription varies in
word, though not in sense, in eachof the narratives; i.e., the Evangelists, in
dealing with a written inscription, in which there could have been neither
doubt nor difficulty, have not been carefulto give us the exactwords. The fact
is significant, as bearing upon the literary characteristicsofthe Gospels, and
upon the value which the writers setupon exactaccuracyin unimportant
details. The reasonof the variations may, of course, be traced to the factthat
one or more of the accounts may be a translation from the Hebrew
inscription.
MacLaren's Expositions
John
AN EYE-WITNESS’S ACCOUNT OF THE CRUCIFIXION

THE TITLE ON THE CROSS
John 19:19.
This title is recordedby all four Evangelists, in words varying in form but
alike in substance. It strikes them all as significant that, meaning only to fling
a jeer at his unruly subjects, Pilate should have written it, and proclaimed this
Nazarene visionary to be He for whom Israelhad longedthrough weary ages.
John’s accountis the fullest, as indeed his narrative of all Pilate’s shufflings is
the most complete. He alone records that the title was tri-lingual {for the
similar statementin the Authorised Version of Luke is not part of the original
text}. He alone gives the Jews’requestfor an alteration of the title, and
Pilate’s bitter answer. That angry reply betrays his motive in setting up such
words over a crucified prisoner’s head. They were meant as a savage taunt of
the Jews, notas an insult to Jesus, whichwould have been welcome to them.
He seems to have regardedour Lord as a harmless enthusiast, to have had a
certain liking for Him, and a languid curiosity as to Him, which came by
degrees to be just tinged with awe as he felt that he could not quite make Him
out. Throughout, he was convinced that His claim to be a king contained no
menace for Caesar, andhe would have let Jesus go but for fear of being
misrepresentedat Rome. He felt that the sacrifice ofone more Jew was a
small price to pay to avert his accusationto Caesar;he would have sacrificed
a dozen such to keephis place. But he felt that he was being coercedto do
injustice, and his angerand sense of humiliation find vent in that written
taunt. It was a spurt of bad temper and a measure of his reluctance.
Besides the interest attaching to it as Pilate’s work, it seems to John
significant of much that it should have been fastenedon the Cross, and that it
should have been in the three languages, Hebrew {Aramaic}, Greek, and
Latin.

Let us deal with three points in succession.
I. The title as throwing light on the actors in the tragedy.
We may considerit, first, in its bearing on Jesus’ claims. He was condemned
by the priests on the theocratic charge of blasphemy, because He made
Himself the Son of God. He was sentencedby Pilate on the civil charge of
rebellion, which the priests brought againstHim as an inference necessarily
resulting from His claim to be the Son of God. They drew the same conclusion
as Nathanaeldid long before: ‘Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God,’ and therefore
‘Thou art the King of Israel.’And they were so far right that if the former
designationis correct, the latter inevitably follows.
Both charges, then, turned on His personalclaims. To Pilate He explained the
nature of His kingdom, so as to remove any suspicionthat it would bring Him
and His subjects into collisionwith Rome, but He assertedHis kingship, and it
was His own claim that gave Pilate the material for His gibe. It is worth
notice, then, that these two claims from His ownlips, made to the authorities
who respectivelytook cognisanceofthe theocratic and of the civic life of the
nation, and at the time when His life hung on the decisionof the two, were the
causes ofHis judicial sentence. The people who allege that Jesus never made
the preposterous claims for Himself which Christians have made for Him, but
was a simple Teacherof morality and lofty religion, have never fairly faced
the simple question: ‘For what, then, was He crucified?’ It is easyfor them to
dilate on the hatred of the Jewishofficials and the gross earthliness of the
masses, as explaining the attitude of both, but it is not so easy to explain how
material was found for judicial process.One can understand how Jesus was
detestedby rulers, and how they succeededin stirring up popular feeling
againstHim, but not how an indictment that would hold waterwas framed
againstHim. Nor would even Pilate’s complaisancehave gone so far as to

have condemned a prisoner againstwhom all that could be said was that he
was disliked because he taught wiselyand well and was too goodfor his
critics. The question is, not what made Jesus disliked, but what set the Law in
motion againstHim? And no plausible answerhas ever been given exceptthe
one that was nailed above His head on the Cross. It was not His virtues or the
sublimity of His teaching, but His twofold claim to be Son of God and King of
Israelthat haled Him to His death.
We may further ask why Jesus did not clearup the mistakes, if they were
mistakes, that led to His condemnation. Surely He owedit to the two tribunals
before which He stood, no less than to Himself and His followers, to disown
the erroneous interpretations on which the charges againstHim were based.
Even a Caiaphas was entitled to be told, if it were so, that He meant no
blasphemy and was not claiming anything too high for a reverent Israelite,
when He claimed to be the Son of God. If Jesus let the Sanhedrim sentence
Him under a mistake of what His words meant, He was guilty of His own
death.
We note, further, the light thrown by the Title on Pilate’s action. It shows his
sense ofthe unreality of the charge which he basely allowedhimself to be
forcedinto entertaining as a ground of condemning Jesus. If this enigmatical
prisoner had had a sword, there would have been some substance in the
charge againstHim, but He was plainly an idea-monger, and therefore quite
harmless, and His kingship only fit to be made a jestof and a means of girding
at the rulers. ‘Practicalmen’ always under-estimate the powerof ideas. The
Title shows the same contempt for ‘mere theorisers’as animated his question,
‘What is truth?’ How little he knew that this ‘King,’ at whom he thought that
he could launch clumsy jests, had lodged in the heart of the Empire a power
which would shatter and remould it!

In his blindness to the radiant truth that stoodbefore him, in the tragedy of
his condemnationof that to which he should have yielded himself, Pilate
stands out as a beaconfor all time, warning the world againstlooking for the
forces that move the world among the powers that the world recognisesand
honours. If we would not commit Pilate’s fault over again, we must turn to
‘the base things of this world’ and the ‘things that are not’ and find in them
the transforming powers destined to ‘bring to nought things that are.’
Pilate’s gibe was an unconscious prophecy. He thought it an exquisite jest, for
it hurt. He was an instance of that strange irony that runs through history,
and makes, atsome crisis, men utter fateful words that seemput into their lips
by some higher power. Caiaphas and he, the Jewishchief of the Sanhedrim
and the Roman procurator, were foremostin Christ’s condemnation, and
eachof them spoke such words, profoundly true and far beyond the speaker’s
thoughts. Was the Evangelistwrong in saying: ‘This spake he not of himself?’
II. The Title on the Cross as unveiling the ground of Christ’s dominion.
It seemeda ludicrous travesty of royalty that a criminal dying there, with a
crowdof his ‘subjects’ gloating on his agonies andshooting arrowy words of
scornat him, should be a King. But His cross is His throne. It is so because
His death is His greatwork for the world. It is so because in it we see, with
melted hearts, the sublimest revelationof His love. Absolute authority belongs
to utter self-sacrifice. He, and only He, who gives Himself wholly to and for
me, thereby acquires the right of absolute command over me. He is the
‘Prince of all the kings of the earth,’ because He has died and become the
‘First-begottenfrom the dead.’ From the hour when He said, ‘I, if I be lifted
up, will draw all men unto Me,’ down to the hour when the seerheard the
storm of praise from ‘ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands’ breaking round the throne, every New Testamentreference to
Christ’s dominion is accompaniedwith a reference to His cross, and every

reference to His cross merges in a reference to His throne. The crown of
thorns was a revelation of the inmost nature of Christ’s rule. The famous Iron
Crown of Milan is a hard, cold circletwithin a golden covering blazing with
jewels. Christ’s right to swaymen, like His power to do so, rests on His
sacrifice for men. A Christianity without a Cross is a Christianity without
authority, as has been seenover and over againin the history of the Church,
and as is being seenagain today, if men would only look. A Christ without a
Cross is a Christ without a Kingdom. The dominion of the world belongs to
Him who can swaymen’s inmost motives. Hearts are His who has bought
them with His own.
III. The Title as prophesying Christ’s universal dominion.
The three tongues in which it was written were chosensimply to make it easy
to read by the crowd from every part of the Empire assembledat the
Passover. There were PalestinianJews there who probably read Aramaic
only, and representatives from the widely diffused Jewishemigration in
Greek-speaking lands, as wellas Romanofficials and Jews from Italy who
would be most familiar with Latin. Pilate wanted his shaft to reachthem all. It
was, in its tri-lingual character, a sign of Israel’s degradationand a
flourishing of the whip in their faces, as a government order in English
placarded in a Bengaleevillage might be, or a Russianukase in Warsaw. Its
very wording betrayed a foreign hand, for a Jew would have written ‘King of
Israel,’not ‘of the Jews.’
But John divined a deepermeaning in this Title, just as he found a similar
prophecy of the universality of Christ’s death in the analogouswordof
Caiaphas. As in that saying he heard a faint prediction that Jesus should die
‘not for that people only, but that He might also gatherinto one the scattered
children of God,’ so he feels that Pilate was wiserthan he knew, and that his
written words in their threefold garb symbolised the relation of Christ and

His work to the three greattypes of civilisation which it found possessedof the
field. It bent them all to its own purposes, absorbedthem into itself, used their
witness and was propagatedby means of them, and finally suckedthe life out
of them and disintegrated them. The Jew contributed the morality and
monotheism of the Old Testament;the Greek, culture and the perfected
language that should contain the treasure, the fresh wine-skin for the new
wine; the Roman made the diffusion of the kingdom possible by the pax
Romana, and at first shelteredthe young plant. All three, no doubt, marred as
well as helped the development of Christianity, and infused into it deleterious
elements, which cling to it to-day, but the prophecy of the Title was fulfilled
and these three tongues became heralds of the Cross and with ‘loud, uplifted
trumpets blew’ gladtidings to the ends of the world.
That Title thus became an unconscious prophecy of Christ’s universal
dominion. The Psalmistthat sang of Messiah’s world-wide rule was sure that
‘all nations shall serve Him,’ and the reasonwhy he was certainof it was ‘for
He shall deliver the needy when he crieth.’ We may be certainof it for the
same reason. He who candeal with man’s primal needs, and is ready and able
to meet every cry of the heart, will never want suppliants and subjects. He
who can respond to our consciousnessofsin and weakness, andcan satisfy
hungry hearts, will build His swayover the hearts whom He satisfies on
foundations deep as life itself. The history of the past becomes a prophecy of
the future. Jesus has drawn men of all sorts, of every stage ofculture and
layer of civilisation, and of every type of characterto Him, and the power
which has carried a peasantof Nazarethto be the acknowledgedKing of the
civilised world is not exhausted, and will not be till He is throned as Saviour
and Ruler of the whole earth. There is only one religion in the world that is
obviously growing. The gods of Greece and Rome are only subjects for studies
in Comparative Mythology, the labyrinthine pantheon of India makes no
conquests, Buddhism is moribund. All other religions than Christianity are
shut up within definite and comparativelynarrow geographicaland
chronologicallimits. But in spite of premature jubilations of enemies and
much hasty talk about the need for a re-statement{which generallymeans a
negation} of Christian truth, we have a clear right to look forward with quiet

confidence. Often in the pasthas the religionof Jesus seemedto be wearing or
worn out, but it has a strange recuperative power, and is wont to startle its
enemies’paeans over its grave by rising againand winning renewedvictories.
The Title on the Cross is for ever true, and is written againin nobler fashion
‘on the vesture and on the thigh’ of Him who rides forth at lastto rule the
nations, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’
BensonCommentary
John 19:19-22. And Pilate wrote a title, &c. — The governor, as usual, put a
title or writing on the cross, signifying the crime for which Jesus was
condemned. This writing probably was in black characters ona whitened
board. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE
JEWS — Here, as Bengelius has observed, John gives us the very words
ordered to be written by Pilate, (and without doubt the same in the three
languages,)althoughthe other evangelists do not express them at large. This
title then read many of the Jews — Who came up to the feastof the passover;
for the place was nigh to the city — Lying but just without the gates;and, that
the inscription might be generallyunderstood, it was written in Hebrew,
Greek, and Latin — So that it might easilybe read by Jews, Romans, and
most other foreigners. It was written in Latin, for the majesty of the Roman
empire; in Greek, for the information of the Hellenists, who spoke that
language, and came in greatnumbers to the feast;and, in Hebrew, because it
was the language of the nation. The inscription set up in the temple, to
prohibit strangers from coming within those sacredlimits, was written in all
these three languages. It is remarkable, that, by the influence of Providence,
the cross ofChrist bore an inscription in the languages ofthose nations which
were soonto be subdued to the faith of it; for not only the Jewishreligionwas
to give place to it, but likewise the Grecianlearning, and the Roman strength.
Then said the chief priests, Write not, The King of the Jews, &c. — “When
the priests read this title, they were exceedinglydispleased;because, as it
representedthe crime for which Jesus was condemned, it intimated that he
had been acknowledgedforthe Messiah. Besides,being placed over the head
of one who was dying by the most infamous punishment, it implied that all
who attempted to deliver the Jews should come to the same end. Wherefore,
the faith and hope of the nation being thus publicly ridiculed, the priests

thought themselves highly affronted, and came to Pilate in greatconcern,
begging that the writing might be altered. But he, having intended the affront,
because they had constrainedhim to crucify Jesus, contraryboth to his
judgment and inclination, would not hear them, but rejectedtheir application
with some warmth, and with that inflexibility which historians represent as
part of his character.” — Macknight.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
19:19-30 Here are some remarkable circumstances ofJesus'death, more fully
related than before. Pilate would not gratify the chief priests by allowing the
writing to be altered; which was doubtless owing to a secretpowerof God
upon his heart, that this statement of our Lord's characterand authority
might continue. Many things done by the Roman soldiers were fulfilments of
the prophecies of the Old Testament. All things therein written shall be
fulfilled. Christ tenderly provided for his mother at his death. Sometimes,
when God removes one comfort from us, he raises up another for us, where
we lookednot for it. Christ's example teaches allmen to honour their parents
in life and death; to provide for their wants, and to promote their comfort by
every means in their power. Especiallyobserve the dying word wherewith
Jesus breathedout his soul. It is finished; that is, the counsels ofthe Father
concerning his sufferings were now fulfilled. It is finished; all the types and
prophecies of the Old Testament, which pointed at the sufferings of the
Messiah, were accomplished. It is finished; the ceremoniallaw is abolished;
the substance is now come, and all the shadows are done away. It is finished;
an end is made of transgressionby bringing in an everlasting righteousness.
His sufferings were now finished, both those of his soul, and those of his body.
It is finished; the work of man's redemption and salvationis now completed.
His life was not takenfrom him by force, but freely given up.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
See the notes at Matthew 27:32-37.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary

19-22. Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross … Jesus ofNazareth, the
King of the Jews … and it was written in Hebrew—orSyro-Chaldaic, the
language ofthe country.
and Greek—the current language.
and Latin—the officiallanguage. These were the chief languages ofthe earth,
and this securedthat all spectatorsshould be able to read it. Stung by this, the
Jewishecclesiasticsentreatthat it may be so alteredas to express, not His real
dignity, but His false claim to it. But Pilate thought he had yielded quite
enough to them; and having intended expresslyto spite and insult them by
this title, for having got him to actagainsthis own sense ofjustice, he
peremptorily refused them. And thus, amidst the conflicting passions of men,
was proclaimed, in the chief tongues of mankind, from the Cross itselfand in
circumstances whichthrew upon it a lurid yet grand light, the truth which
drew the Magito His manger, and will yet be ownedby all the world!
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Matthew 27:37".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And Pilate wrote a title,.... Luke calls it a superscription, Mark, the
superscription of his accusation, and Matthew, the accusationitself;it
containedthe substance of the charge againsthim, and was written upon a
table or board, and nailed to the cross, as Nonnus suggests;to this is the
allusion, Colossians 2:14. The form of it was drawn up by Pilate, his judge,
who ordered it to be transcribed upon a proper instrument, and placedover
him:
and put it on the cross;not with his own hands, but by his servants, who did it
at his command; for others are said to do it, Matthew 27:37. It was put upon
"the top of the cross", as the Persic versionreads it; "overhim", or "over his
head", as the other evangelists say;and may denote the rise of his kingdom,
which is from above, the visibility of it, and the enlargementof it, through the
cross:

and the writing was;the words written in the title were,
Jesus ofNazareth, the King of the Jews:Jesus was his name, by which he was
commonly calledand known, and signifies a Saviour, as he is of all the electof
God; whom he saves from all their sins, by bearing them in his own body on
the cross, andof whom he is the able and willing, the perfect and complete,
the only and everlasting Saviour: he is said to be of Nazareth; this was the
place of which he was an inhabitant; here Josephand Mary lived before his
conception;here he was conceived, though born in Bethlehem; where he did
not abide long, but constantly in this place, till he was about thirty years of
age;this title was sometimes given him as a term of reproach, though not
always:"the King of the Jews";which both expresseshis accusation, and
asserts him to be so.
Geneva Study Bible
{6} And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was,
JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
(6) Christ, sitting upon the throne of the cross, is publicly proclaimed
everlasting King of all people by the hand of him who condemned him for
usurping a kingdom.
Meyer's NT Commentary
John 19:19-20. Ἔγραψε]Nota supplemental statement:he had written (De
Wette, Tholuck), but: he wrote (causedto be written), whilst the crucifixion
took place without; and when it had takenplace, he causedthe τίτλος (solemn
Roman expressionfor a public inscription, particularly for the tablets,
naming the criminal and his offence, see Lipsius, de cruce, p. 101, and
Wetstein)to be placed on the cross. He himself was not present at the
crucifixion, Mark 15:43-44.
ὁ βασιλ. τῶν Ἰουδ.]Consistentbitterness in the designationof Jesus. John
19:20. τῶν Ἰουδαίων]of the hierarchic party.

ἐγγὺς ἦν κ.τ.λ.]See on Matthew 27:33.
καὶ ἦν γεγραμμ., κ.τ.λ.]No longer dependent on ὅτι, since τῶν Ἰουδαίων, John
19:20, unlike John 19:19, is not to be takenin a generalsense. It rather
attaches to the first circumstance, onaccountof which the ἀρχιερεῖς made
their proposal, John 19:21, to Pilate (τοῦτον… Ἰουδαίων, John 19:20), a
secondassigning a reasontherefor, namely: it (that which ran on the τίτλος)
was written in three languages,so that it could be read by everybody,
including foreigners. Foran inscription, even in four languages, onthe tomb
of Gordian, see in Jul. Capitolin. 24.
Expositor's Greek Testament
John 19:19. Ἔγραψε δὲ καὶ τίτλονὁ Πιλάτος. “And Pilate wrote a ‘title,’ also,
and setit on the cross.” The “title,” αἰτία, was a board whitened with gypsum
(σανίς, λεύκωμα)such as were commonly used for public notices. Pilate
himself, meaning to insult the Jews, orderedthe precise terms of the
inscription. καὶ τίτλον, “a title also,” in addition to all the other insults he had
heaped on them during the trial.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
19. a title] Better, a title also. It was commonto put on the cross the name and
crime of the person executed, after making him carry it round his neck to the
place of execution. S. John alone tells us that Pilate wrote the title himself. The
meaning of the ‘also’is not quite clear;perhaps it looks back to John 19:16. S.
John uses the Latin term, titulus, in a Greek form, titlos. S. Matthew has ‘His
indictment’ (Matthew 27:37); S. Mark, ‘the inscription of His indictment’
(Mark 15:26);S. Luke, ‘an inscription’ (Luke 23:38).
the writing was]Literally, there was written (see on John 2:17). The other
three give the inscription thus;—S. Matthew, ‘This is Jesus the King of the
Jews;’S. Mark, ‘The King of the Jews;’ S. Luke, ‘This is the King of the
Jews.’

Bengel's Gnomen
John 19:19. Ἔγραψε, wrote)not caring what would he likely to please the
Jews.—Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων, Jesus ofNazareththe
King of the Jews)Mark expressedthe predicate alone, the King of the Jews;
Luke also the same, prefixing, This is [See my note, Luke 23:38];Matthew,
This is Jesus the King of the Jews. Johnexpressesthe actualwords of Pilate,
which without doubt were the same in the three tongues.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 19-22. -(b) The title on the cross Verse 19. - The evangelistturns to an
event of which the synoptists say little, and quietly attribute to the Jews
themselves. John, from the specialaccesswhichhe had to information about
the high priest and the court of Pilate, says, Now Pilate wrote a title also (the
Latin technical word τίτλονis used in preference to the Greek word ἐπιγραφή,
"superscription"), and he put it, by the hands of his own soldiers, on the cross.
We cannottranslate ἔγραψε as a pluperfect, and therefore it becomes
probable that after the processionhad gone howling and cursing awayto
Golgotha, he had had the τίτλον, prepared. And there was written upon the
parchment, or the tablet, in letters all could read, JESUS OF NAZARETH
THE KING OF THE JEWS, thus Pilate resolvedto sting these murderous
Jews to the last point of exasperation, in harmony with the charactergiven
him by Philo-Judaeus;but perhaps this motive was also stimulated by another
- though he sought to punish their pride with scornand scoffat their
hypocritical charge, he may have had some strange irresistible conviction that
there was reality in the royal supremacy of this marvelous Being, who
throughout was conspicuouslytriumphant in his patient dignity. He seems
muttering to himself, "Let him be Chief of malefactors, but he is and will be
King of the Jews nevertheless, and I do not ignore the memories of either
David or Solomon, Zerubbabel, Hyrcanus, or Idumaean Herod." The title
differs slightly in its phrase in the four evangelists, yetthey all preserve
literatim the centralfact of the change, "the King of the Jews." Johnalone
mentions the circumstance, whichmay explain the minute differences (so
Gresswell, 'Diss.,'42.), viz. that it was written in three languages,

(a) the vernacular, or "Hebrew;"
(b) the official, or "Latin;"
(c) the speechgenerallyunderstood by all strangers, or"Greek."
The minute differences may be representedby Matthew using the Hebrew,
Mark the Latin, and Luke and John the Greek, the latter simply adding the
personalname of the crucified. Whether this hypothesis explaining the "this
is" of Matthew, the "RexJudaeorum" of Mark, the "this" of Luke, and the
fuller statement of John, which gives what was contained in one of the
languages, be verified or not, it should be observedthat the four evangelists
agree as to the verbatim form of the αἰτία, John more abundantly
supplementing the information by recording the full τίτλος. Even Strauss does
not regardthese differences as discrepancies.
Vincent's Word Studies
Title (τίτλον)
Only here and John 19:20, in the New Testament. Johnuses the technical
Roman term titulus, a placard or notice. Used for a bill or notice of sale
affixed to a house. Thus Ovid, of a heartless creditor:"She sentour household
goods under the placard (sub-titulum);" i.e., put the house and furniture up
for sale ("Remedia Amoris," 302). Meaning also the title of a book;an
epitaph. Matthew has αἰτίαν, accusation;Mark, ἐπιγραφὴ τῆς αἰτίας
superscription of the accusation;Luke, ἐπιγραφὴ superscription. John alone
mentions the fact that Pilate wrote the inscription.
Jesus ofNazareth the King of the Jews
The wording of the title is differently given by eachEvangelist.

Matthew:This is Jesus the King of the Jews.
Mark: The King of the Jews.
Luke: This is the King of the Jews.
John: Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.
The essentialelementof the superscription, King of the Jews, is common to
all. It expressed, on its face, the main intent of Pilate, which was to cast
contempt on the Jews. "In the sense of the man Pilate, it meant: Jesus, the
King of the Jewishfanatics, crucifiedin the midst of Jews, who should all be
thus executed. In the sense ofthe Jews:Jesus, the seditionary, the King of the
rebels. In the sense ofthe political judge: Jesus, for whose accusationthe
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" (Lange).
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR
Verses 19-22
John 19:19-22
And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross
I.

A GLORIOUS FACT UNCONSCIOUSLYPUBLISHED TO THE WORLD--
the royalty of Jesus. This is one of the greatesttruths of the Bible, although
Pilate only meant it in scorn. How often the worstof men utter the highest
truths I Some event strikes on the soul, and the truth flashes out like fire from
flint. Hence the utterances ofungodly men may repay attention.
II. A REVENGEFULPASSION GRATIFYING ITSELF BY FRAUD. The
Jews compelledPilate to violate his conscience. Now it is over, his passion
finds vent in a falsehoodsuch as would torment the instigators of his crime.
He did not believe Jesus to be a king at all. No passionis more ravenous than
revenge;and fraud in the form of slander is, in these days, its most potent
weapon.
III. A WICKED TRANSACTION, BRINGING ITS OWN PUNISHMENT.
The accusationwas that Christ had made Himself a King, and now the Jews
find over the cross a statement that the Crucified was their King. How
intolerable to these descendents ofillustrious patriarchs and monarchs! How
bitterly they must have felt the haughty reply, “WhatI have written,” &c. “I
have been pliable in working out your designs, now I am inexorable.
I scornyou.” Thus a small instalment of their retribution came at once. “Be
sure your sin will find you out.”
IV. A MORAL OBLIQUITY WHICH ESTIMATES WHAT IS TRULY
GLORIOUS A DISGRACE. Had the Jews seenthings in a right light they
would have gloried in this superscription. That Malefactorwas “the gloryof
His people Israel.” As Sage, Saint, Hero, King, there never had been or would
be one like Him. Depraved men are ever acting thus. Sinners see degradation
when there is nobility. If men saw things as they are, they would often see
ignominy on thrones, and royalty in the beggar’s hut. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

I. WHAT IT TESTIFIES--OfJesus ofNazareth.
1. His Majesty.
2. His victory.
3. The foundation of His kingdom.
4. His jurisdiction and government.
II. IT WAS
1. Readof all.
2. Vexatious to many.
3. Obstinately defended by one.
III. LEARN
1. Wilt thou pass it unheeded?
2. Wouldst thou alter it?
3. Wilt thou not acceptit? (J. P. Lange, D. D.)
This was what Pilate wrote on the cross of Christ. Instead of mourning over
your cross, write on it
I. JESUS, i.e., Saviour. If He has delivered you from sin and its consequences
you need not be greatlyconcernedabout the mere scratches oflife.

II. NAZARETH. If you are poor, unknown, despised, remember that Christ
your Redeemercame from Nazareth. Despite your presentcondition, you may
yet do something in the world.
III. KING. Never forgetthat your Saviour is supreme. You, therefore, are
safe.
IV. JEWS. We owe much to the Jews. Bya Jew we are saved. Conclusion:Put
this inscription on your cross and it will lighten it. On the cross of
1. Persecution. Youare not alone; your Masterbore this before you.
2. Public profession. RememberChrist, and you will find nothing to be
ashamedof.
3. Temptation.
4. Poverty and pain. Jesus bore them all and will surely keepyou. (C.
Spurgeon, jun.)
illustrates
I. THE UNCONSCIOUS TESTIMONYOF BAD MEN TO THE TRUTH.
Pilate the vacillating, the superstitious, the cowardly, the civil, causes a
statementto be written about Christ, than which no apostle’s argument, no
angel’s song could be more truthful. The Kingship of the carpenter’s Son, the
royalty of the peasantteacherofNazareth. Similarly Balaamand Caiaphas,
and they who cavilledat Christ because He receivedsinners, were all
unconsciouslytestifying to greattruths, e.g., Balaamto the moral fascination
of a godly nation, Caiaphas to the necessityofvicarious sacrifice the cavillers
to the mercy of the greatphilanthropist.

II. THE FAILURE OF MERE CULTURE TO EFFECTTHE HIGHEST
ENDS. These three languages the unlettered could not understand; but he
who could read all used his knowledge in the service ofthe deadliestmurder.
Culture without religion is but civilized barbarism and disguisedanimalism.
“Notby might nor by power,” &c.
III. THE OMNISCIENT ARRANGEMENTSOF GOD’S PROVIDENCE.
The fact that these languages were employedreminds us of the historic marvel
that this was just the epochwhen most naturally Hebrew faith, Greek
eloquence, and Latin empire, could combine to serve the propagationof the
new evangel. Christ came “in the fulness of time.”
IV. THE UNIVERSAL AVAILABLENESS OF CALVARY. The fact float
most concerns the peoples of all centuries and climes is not transcendental,
but an event which all can understand--a death--1. The death of a Man. Its
availableness is illustrated in its relation to the population of the city then. For
it happened not at the distance of a long pilgrimage, but “near the city.” And
it was explained in three languages,one or other of which the motley group
that passedby could understand. So it is with the spiritual meaning of that
fact--“Saynot in thy heart who shall ascend… the Word is nigh thee.”
V. THE WORLD-WIDE VICTORIES OF THE CROSS.Jerusalem, Athens,
Rome, have known, or is gradually knowing, the triumph of Christ. And His
wondrous biography, infallible teaching, and redeeming power, is now
proclaimed not in three, but in hundreds of languages, and“every tongue
shall confess that Christ is Lord.” (U. R. Thomas.)
Jesus ofNazareth, the King of the Jews
Jesus ofNazareth
(Preachedat Nazarethon Good Friday):--What are the lessons ofGood
Friday?

I. THE UNIVERSAL LOVE OF GOD TO HIS CREATURES.
1. That is why it is so truly called GoodFriday. It has its goodnews as much
as Christmas or EasterDay. It was by His death, more even than by His life,
that He showedhow His sympathy extended far beyond His own nation,
friends, family. “I, if I be lifted up,” &c.
2. This is a truth which comes home to us with a peculiar force in Palestine.
What is it that has made this small country so famous; that has carried the
names of Jerusalemand Nazarethto the uttermost parts of the earth? The
death of Christ. Had He not died as He did, His religion, name, country,
would never have brokenthrough all the bonds of time and place as they
have.
3. This universal love of God in Christ’s death is speciallyimpressedupon us
in Nazareth. What Christ was in His death, He was in His life. And if we wish
to know the spirit which pervades both, we cannot do so better than consult
His first sermonat Nazareth(Luke 4:18). “The Spirit of the Lord was upon
Him”
Wisdom possesses,allthe fractures, and diseases, andinfirmities of our poor
human hearts. There is not a weakness,a sorrow, a grievance, for which the
love of God, as seenin the life and death of Christ, does not offer some
remedy.
II. WHATEVER GOOD IS TO BE DONE, IN THE WORLD, even though it
is God Himself who does it, CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT A SACRIFICE.
1. So it was especiallyin the death of Christ. So it was in His whole life, from
the time when He grew up, “as a tender plant,” in the seclusionofthis valley,
to the hour when He died at Jerusalem, was one long struggle against
misunderstanding, opposition, scorn, hatred, hardship, pain. He had doubtless
His happier and gentler hours--we must not forget them: His friends at
Bethany, His apostles, His mother. But here, amongst His own people, He met

with angry opposition and jealousy. He had to bear the hardships of toil and
labour, like any other Nazarene artisan. He had here, by a silent preparation
of thirty years, to make Himself ready for the work which lay before Him. He
had to endure the heat and the cold, the burning sun, and the stormy rain, of
these hills and valleys. “The foxes” of the plain of Esdraelon“have holes,”
“the birds” of the Galileanforests “have their nests,” but “He had,” often,
“not where to lay His head.” And in Jerusalem, though there were momentary
bursts of enthusiasm in His behalf, yet He came so directly across the
interests, the fears, the pleasures, andthe prejudices of those who there ruled
and taught, that at last it costHim His life. By no less a sacrifice couldthe
world be redeemedand His work be finished.
2. In that work, in one sense, none but He cantake part. “He trod the
winepress alone.” Butin another sense, oftenurged upon us in the Bible, we
must all take part in it, if we would wish to do goodto ourselves or to others.
We cannotimprove ourselves, we cannotassistothers, exceptby exertion. We
must, eachof us, bear our cross with Him. When we bear it, it is lightened by
thinking of Him. When we bear it, eachday makes it easierto us. Once the
name of “Christian,” of “Nazarene,” wasanoffence in the eyes of the world;
now it is a glory. But we cannot have the glory without the labour which it
involves. (DeanStanley.)
Pilate preaching the gospel
Pilate knew that “Jesus” wasthought to be a most despicable name; and that
“Nazareth” with the Jews was a proverb of condensedcontempt. But “God
held his hand while he did write.” All unconscious, he was usedas an
instrument for publishing words of deep and mystic potency. First things are
significant things, especiallyin the history of a dispensation. The first voice we
hear speaking ofChrist after His crucifixion is the voice of an angel, and the
first title given to Him is Jesus of Nazareth. The first time that the Saviour
was preachedby man was under this title. Peterfell its infamy when “one of
the maids of the high priest” said to him, “Thoualso wastwith Jesus of
Nazareth.” But soonas the Spirit was poured out, Peterrang out the name
“Jesus ofNazareth.” The first time that Jesus Himself, after His
enthronement, spoke, He made Himself known under these words (Acts 22:8).

JESUS THE KING

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