HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1345
JOHN 19
page 975
8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus back into the
headquarters* again and asked him, “Where are
you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. 10 “Why
don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t
you realize that I have the power to release you
or crucify you?”
11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power
over me at all unless it were given to you from
above. So the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin.”
12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you
are no ‘friend of Caesar.’* Anyone who declares
himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”
13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus
out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the
judgment seat on the platform that is called the
Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 It was
now about noon on the day of preparation for
the Passover. And Pilate said to the people,*
“Look, here is your king!”
15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with
him! Crucify him!”
“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading
priests shouted back.
16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be
crucified.
The Crucifixion
So they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying the cross
by himself, he went to the place called Place
of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18 There they
nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus
between them. 19 And Pilate posted a sign on the
cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth,* the King of
the Jews.” 20 The place where Jesus was crucified
was near the city, and the sign was written in
Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people
could read it.
21 Then the leading priests objected and said
to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’
to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have written,
I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they
divided his clothes among the four of them.
They also took his robe, but it was seamless,
woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they
said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw
dice* for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that
says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.”* So that
is what they did.
19:9 Greek the Praetorium. 19:12 “Friend of Caesar”
is a technical term that refers to an ally of the emperor.
19:14 Greek Jewish people; also in 19:20. 19:19 Or Jesus
the Nazarene. 19:24a Greek cast lots. 19:24b Ps 22:18.
19:28 See Pss 22:15; 69:21. 19:35 Some manuscripts read
that you also may believe. 19:36 Exod 12:46; Num 9:12;
Ps 34:20. 19:37 Zech 12:10.
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother,
and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of
Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus
saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman,
here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple,
“Here is your mother.” And from then on this
disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am
thirsty.”* 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there,
so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop
branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus
had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he
bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there
the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very
special Sabbath, because it was Passover week).
So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by
ordering that their legs be broken. Then their
bodies could be taken down. 32 So the soldiers
came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. 33 But when they came to Jesus,
they saw that he was already dead, so they
didn’t break his legs. 34 One of the soldiers,
however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. 35 (This
report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate
account. He speaks the truth so that you also
may continue to believe.*) 36 These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say,
“Not one of his bones will be broken,”* 37 and
“They will look on the one they pierced.”*
• Persecution
JOHN 19:1-11
From a human perspective, Pilate indeed
possessed great power. With a wave of his
hand, he could send people to freedom
or execution. But Jesus spoke of a power
that Pilate knew nothing about. It is the
power of God to use even human sin to
fulfill his divine will. Pilate’s considerable
earthly power was puny and pitiful when
viewed in light of the power of the Cross
and the empty tomb. As believers, we
must never trust in human power to save
us nor despair when we are victimized by
this same earthly power. Rather, we must
remember that the power of God that
raised Jesus from the dead is not only
available to us now, but will guarantee our
eternal future where no earthly power will
ever corrupt or oppress again.