John 19

Thought on This Chapter

JN 19:4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

JN 19:5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

Pilate had already questioned Jesus and found no fault in Him. Pilate wanted to release Jesus but the Jews were in an uproar and clamoring for His death. Pilate then had Jesus scourged. Jesus took the beating and ridicule different than other men. Jesus bore it with patience and meekness. Pilate then brings Jesus out to plainly declare that Jesus is innocent. I think that maybe Pilate was hoping that when they seen how severely Jesus had been punished that they would be satisfied and that Pilate could let Jesus go. But they were not satisfied with a severe beating. They would accept nothing but murder.

JN 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

JN 19:8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

Pilate is worried now, and goes and ask Jesus about His origin.

JN 19:9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

JN 19:10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

JN 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Jesus now plainly tells Pilate that what he is doing is a sin. He says that those that delivered Him to Pilate hath the greater sin. Pilate was still committing sin by treating Jesus this way and sending Him to die, but those who were clamoring for His death were committing a greater sin.

Pilate now has enough evidence to know who Jesus is. Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent. He knows that Jesus has claimed to be the Son of God (a term claiming deity). Pilate has witnessed Jesus handle a beating like no other man. He has been told that what he is doing is a sin. We can tell that this greatly affected Pilate by his reaction.

JN 19:12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

Pilate wanted to stand for Jesus, but he decided not to. He would have a revolt on his hands if he released Jesus. That would cause him all kinds of problems. Instead of standing for Jesus, he sent Him to be crucified. In the end Pilate felt the price was too high.

What about you? If you are really going to stand for Jesus, you will have to pay a price. There are people who will think less of you. There are others who will throw rocks your way or even worse. Is bearing some reproach a price you are willing to pay?

Thought On This Chapter

JN 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

JN 19:27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

There were a few that stood by the cross. There was a few women, one of which was the Lord's mother. They were not alone. One disciple was also there. One man out of 11 braved the danger and endured the shame of the cross. The crowd was hostile. Anyone standing in support of Jesus would have been a target. I greatly admire those women and that one solitary man. I admire their love for Jesus. I admire their courage. I admire them taking the hard stand and standing in the place of danger for the Lord. What a testimony! What a great example for us! Too many today will not even hand out gospel tracks for the Lord. The persecution that we might get for standing for Jesus is nothing like it was standing at the cross that day. They did not just dislike Jesus or disagree with Him. They were murdering Him and reveling in the awful dark deed. Can you image what it must have been like to stand there that day in support of Jesus?

But notice something else. God kept them safe. God does provide the grace and the protection to stand for Him. May we all pray for more boldness to stand for Jesus.

King James Bible Main Index:

John 19 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

JN 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

JN 19:2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

JN 19:3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

JN 19:4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

JN 19:5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

JN 19:6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

JN 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

JN 19:8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

JN 19:9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

JN 19:10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

JN 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

JN 19:12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

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

JN 19:14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

JN 19:15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

JN 19:16 Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

JN 19:17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

JN 19:18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

JN 19:19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

JN 19:20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.

JN 19:21 Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.

JN 19:22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

JN 19:23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

JN 19:24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

JN 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

JN 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

JN 19:27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

JN 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

JN 19:29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.

JN 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

JN 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

JN 19:32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.

JN 19:33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:

JN 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

JN 19:35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.

JN 19:36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

JN 19:37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

JN 19:38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

JN 19:39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.

JN 19:40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

JN 19:41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

JN 19:42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

JN 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Look at the part of the verse that I put in bold. You will see that this was not a normal sabbath day that was coming. The day after Jesus died was a high day.

Any day that was set apart to God was a sabbath day. We usually only think of the weekly sabbath but there were many others. Passover was also a sabbath day. Passover was always to be held on the 14th day of the month. So the high sabbath day of Passover could fall on a Monday, or a Tuesday, or any other day of the week.

The year that Jesus died Passover fell on a Thursday. So Jesus died on Wednesday before the high sabbath day of Passover which on that year was Thursday.

Jesus was in the grave for 3 full days just like He said He would be. Jesus was in the grave for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and then rose again on Sunday.

Why is this important? If Jesus was not in the grave for 3 days, then Jesus lied. If Jesus lied, then He was a sinner and could not die for your sins.

Those that believe in Good Friday are not good students of the Word of God.