John 19.1-42 tells us about Yeshua’s scourging, condemnation, crucifixion and death; the removal of his body from the cross and burial by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.
v 1… Then Pilate therefore took Yeshua and scourged him (Isa 50.6, 53.5).
v 2… And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head (like the ram caught in the thicket-Gen 22. This was not done for torture only, but to imitate the spikes of the “radiant corona” as seen on rulers’ heads on coins. They symbolized the rays of light pointing up, like on the Statue of Liberty), and arrayed him in a purple robe (Matthew calls it a scarlet robe. The Arabic and Persic versions have red. It was probably one of the soldier’s coats);
v 3… and they began to come up to him, and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give him blows in the face (mocking his kingly office).
v 4… And Pilate came out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no guilt in him (beating him, putting a crown of thorns on him, and scourging him was a strange way of showing a person was innocent; all of this was done to appease their thirst for blood).”
v 5…Yeshua therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold, the man (like in Zech 6.12 where it says “Behold, a man whose name is the Branch”; innocent and blameless, like a sheep led to the slaughter)!”
v 6…When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him (in this grisly condition), they cried out, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and crucify him, I find no guilt in him (leave me out of your religious hatred and prejudices).”
v 7…The Jews (rulers) answered him, “We have a law (in the Torah-Exo 20.7; Lev 24.16), and by that law he ought to die because he made himself out the Son of God (which they said was blasphemy).”
v 8… When Pilate therefore heard this statement, he was the more afraid (his own conscience telling him he was innocent. His wife had warned him to have nothing to do with this in Matt 27.19. He may have had a fear that Yeshua may indeed be one of the “gods” who came down in the likeness of a man. It was a common belief in paganism-Acts 14.12);
v 9… and he entered into the Praetorium again, and said to Yeshua, “Where are you from (he knew what country he was from, and where he was born didn’t matter. He wanted to know if he descended from the gods or men; who were his ancestors)?” But Yeshua gave him no answer.
v 10… Pilate therefore said to him, “You do not speak to me (his question didn’t deserve an answer and Pilate wasn’t worthy of one because knowing he was innocent, he let him be treated this way. Besides, Yeshua was not going to hinder his death, that is why he came)?” Do you not know that I have the authority (from Caesar) to release you, and I have the authority to crucify you?”
v 11… Yeshua answered, “You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given to you from above; for this reason he (Judas and Caiaphas, etc) who delivered me up to you has the greater sin (we see here that there is a difference in sin, all are not equal. Also, Yeshua is in control of his trial, and he is not the one on trial anyway. It was Rome, Israel, the people, Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, etc).”
v 12… As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release him (he was impressed by Yeshua), but the Jews (the rulers) cried out, saying, “If you release him this man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar (not really; there were many kings besides Caesar, like King Herod or King Agrippa; they were seeing that blasphemy charges were not having their desired effect, they turn to charges of sedition. But Yeshua never said he was a king leading a rebellion against Rome. His kingdom was not of this world, and Pilate knew that. Yeshua rejected anyone’s efforts to make him king in any Roman territory).”
v 13…When Pilate therefore heard these words (he feared they would go to Tiberius and say that Pilate refused to do anything about a man in his dominion who made himself out to be the king of the Jews and was guilty of sedition), he brought Yeshua out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha (or “pavement of stones” in front of the Praetorium in the fortress Antonia).
v 14… Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover (the day the lambs are killed in the temple); it was about the sixth hour (6 am Roman time). And he said to the Jews (the rulers), “Behold, your King!”
v 15… They (the rulers) therefore cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests (part of the rulers there) answered, “We have no king but Caesar (the rulers were denying Yehovah).”
v 16… And so he then delivered him to them (the rulers) to be crucified.
v 17…They took Yeshua therefore, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha (this word is related to “Gilgal” where Israel was circumcised with Joshua,” rolling away their reproach”-Josh 5.9. Gilgal is also the place where the kingdom is renewed-1 Sam 11.14. At Golgotha, the reproach of sin is “rolled away” by the circumcision of the heart, a Hebrew idiom meaning “born again.” Stephen may have been stoned there, and stones for the temple were quarried there).
v 18… There they crucified him; and with him two other men (they were crucified along the road there-Matt 27.39 and just outside the Damascus Gate, north of the altar. That area is paved today, and most likely, they were near the front of a hill known as Gordon’s Calvary, not on top of it. Romans crucified people along roads so that people would see it. Later thousands of followers of Spartacus were crucified along the Appian way leading to Rome. Jeremiah’s Grotto is near there, where the prophet wept over the city destroyed by the Babylonians, and where he wrote Lamentations. Read that book with the crucifixion of Yeshua in mind), one on either side, and Yeshua in between.
v 19… And Pilate wrote an inscription also, and put it on the cross. And it was written, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews (Hebrew it would have said, “Yeshua Ha Notzri v’melek Ha Yehudim. Written a certain way, it had the letters for Yehovah in it, YHVH. Strangely, Yeshua was rejected by the leaders of the nation as king, but was proclaimed as a king by a Gentile ruler; however, Pilate was mocking the God of Israel and Yeshua as king, saying he is crucifying your God and king).
v 20… Therefore this inscription many of the Jews read (the people of Israel), for the place where Yeshua was crucified was near the city (and the Temple) and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek (and many coming for Passover would be walking along that road and reading it).
v 21… And so the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’: but that he said, ‘I am King of the Jews (God’s name was above his head, YHVH, so they wanted what was written changed so that it did not have that. Also, they did not believe him to be their king).'”
v 22… Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written (Pilate knew what he was doing, and he also wanted it known to the people that if I can do this to your king, what do you think I will do to anyone else if you step out of line).”
v 23… The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Yeshua, took his outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier (so we know four were involved here) and also the tunic; now the tunic (his tallit carrying the tzitzit, or fringes, on the corners-Num 15.37-41) was seamless, woven in one piece. He was probably crucified naked, like Adam was in Eden. Yeshua recoiled at this shame. To “clothe us” he reached back to Eden. The story echoes back to Eden with the garden, the thorns, the tree, the nakedness; the first Adam and the second Adam, etc).
v 24… They said therefore to one another, “Let us not tear it (the garments of the High Priest was not to be torn-Lev 21.10. This speaks of the righteousness of Yeshua and that it was intact), but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled (confirmed, given meaning), “They divided my outer garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots (Psa 22.18).”
v 25… Therefore the soldiers did these things. But there were standing by the cross of Yeshua, his mother and his mother’s sister (sister-in-law Salome-Mark 15.40), Mary the wife of Clopas (not the Cleopas of Luke 24.18, but the father of James and Joses-Mark 15.40) and Mary Magdalene.
v 26…When Yeshua therefore saw his mother, and the talmid whom he loved (meaning John) standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son (he didn’t call her “mother” so that the people would not know who she was. This is also an echo back to Eden, and the seed of the woman. Satan has literally “bruised his heel” with the nails, but he is going to crush his head-Gen 3.15. He is also referring to John, he wants her to know that she can count on him)!”
v 27… Then he said to the talmid, “Behold, your mother (none of Yeshua’s brothers or sisters were there at the cross. Yeshua had already said that those who believe in him were his family-Matt 12.48-50. Yeshua was interested in her spiritual well-being as well, so that is why he left her in the care of John who had already demonstrated a family-like affection and care for her)!” And from that hour the talmid took her into his own household (to care for her; for how long, no one knows).
v 28… After this, Yeshua, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled (Psa 22.15, 69.21), said, “I am thirsty.”
v 29… A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon hyssop (called the “striking plant” and used in the ceremony of the Red Heifer and Yom Kippur. It was used to strike the blood to the door in the first Passover-Exo 12.22), and brought it up to his mouth.
v 30… When Yeshua therefore had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished (“teleo” meaning “to end a debt, pay, discharge” and it is related to the word “telos” meaning target, goal, which is found in Rom 10.4 where it says that the Messiah is the end, or telos, target, goal, object of the Torah. In other words, he is what the Torah teachings are all about-Psa 40.7; Luke 24.27. But, it was translated with the word “end” to give people the impression that Yeshua did away with the Torah, which he didn’t do, and said he didn’t come to do that. Yeshua is the “aleph and the tav” or the first and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, meaning the beginning and the end, the head of the covenant. The letter “tav” in ancient Hebrew script is written with a cross)!” And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
v 31… The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation (when all things for the Passover must be done in order to eat that night); so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day) (this is not the seventh day Sabbath, this is the high Sabbath of the 15th of Nisan, which started at sundown. Not knowing this gave people the impression that he was crucified on a Friday, and that is where Good Friday comes from, a misinterpretation of the Scriptures and not knowing the biblical festivals), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken (so that they could not push up to breathe anymore, hastening death), and that they might be taken away (and buried).
v 32… The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other man who was crucified with him;
v 33… but coming to Yeshua, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs (fulfilling the Torah concerning the Passover lamb-see v 36);
v 34…but one of the soldiers pierced his side (the left side, near the heart) with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water (it had not congealed yet. At Sukkot, a ceremony was conducted where water and wine were poured out on the altar, obviously symbolic of this event).
v 35… And he (John himself) who has seen has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
v 36… For these things came to pass that the Scripture might be fulfilled (confirmed, given meaning), “Not a bone of him shall be broken (Exo 12.46; Num 9.12; Psa 34.20).”
v 37… And again another Scripture says, “They shall look upon him whom they pierced (Zech 12.10 and 13.1 would explain the water and the “fountain of cleansing”).”
v 38… And after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a talmid of Yeshua, but a secret one, for fear of the Jews (the rulers), asked Pilate (being a member of the Sanhedrin) that he might take away the body of Yeshua (Arimathea means “high place” and related to Ramah, possibly a Hellenized version of “haramathiam”-now Egypt was a high place for idolatry and Pharaoh knew Israel wasn’t coming back because the tomb of Joseph was empty, and in a few days Satan will know that believers aren’t coming back under his dominion because another tomb of Joseph of the “high place” will be empty); and Pilate granted permission. He came therefore, and took away his body.
v 39… And Nicodemus came also (also a member of the Sanhedrin), who had first come to him by night; bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
v 40…And so they took the body of Yeshua, and bound it in linen wrappings (plural, not a shroud, wrapped like a mummy, like Lazarus-John 11.44) with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews (these spices would harden, like plaster, and form a “cocoon” with the outline of his body. This will be an important point at the resurrection).
v 41… Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb (a clean place, he was also conceived in a new womb. Womb and tomb are related in Hebrew by the word “kever”) in which no one had yet been laid.
v 42…Therefore on account of the Jewish day of preparation, because the tomb was nearby, they laid Yeshua there.
Leave a Reply