Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 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.
6. and officers ] Better (as in Joh 18:18), and the officers. The leaders take the initiative, to prevent any expression of compassion on the part of the crowd. The sight of ‘the Man’ maddens rather than softens them.
cried out ] The verb ( kraugazo) expresses a loud cry, and (excepting Mat 12:19; Act 22:23) occurs only in this Gospel in N.T. Comp. Joh 11:43, Joh 12:13, Joh 18:40, Joh 19:12; Joh 19:15.
Crucify him ] Omit the pronoun, which is not in the Greek. The simple imperative better expresses the cry which was to give the cue to the multitude. According to all four Evangelists the demand for crucifixion was not made at first, but after the offer to release Jesus in honour of the Feast.
Take ye him ] Better, Take Him yourselves, as in Joh 18:31. We may admit that it ought to have been beneath the dignity of a Roman judge to taunt the people with a suggestion which he knew that they dare not follow; but there is nothing so improbable in it as to compel us to believe that the Jews had the power of inflicting capital punishment (see on Joh 18:31). Pilate is goaded into an exhibition of feeling unworthy of his office.
for I find ] As in Joh 18:38, the ‘I’ is emphatic; ‘for I do not find in Him a ground of accusation.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They cried out, saying, Crucify him … – The view of the Saviours meekness only exasperated them the more. They had resolved on his death; and as they saw Pilate disposed to acquit him, they redoubled their cries, and endeavored to gain by tumult, and clamor, and terror, what they saw they could not obtain by justice. When men are determined on evil, they cannot be reasoned with. Every argument tends to defeat their plans, and they press on in iniquity with the more earnestness in proportion as sound reasons are urged to stay their course. Thus sinners go in the way of wickedness down to death. They make up in firmness of purpose what they lack in reason. They are more fixed in their plans in proportion as God faithfully warns them and their friends admonish them.
Take ye him … – These are evidently the words of a man weary with their importunity and with the subject, and yet resolved not to sanction their conduct. It was not the act of a judge delivering him up according to the forms of the law, for they did not understand it so. It was equivalent to this: I am satisfied of his innocence, and shall not pronounce the sentence of death. If you are bent on his ruin – if you are determined to put to death an innocent man – if my judgment does not satisfy you – take him and put him to death on your own responsibility, and take the consequences. It cannot be done with my consent, nor in the due form of law; and if done, it must be by you, without authority, and in the face of justice. See Mat 27:24.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 19:6
When the chief priests therefore and officers saw Him
Pilate at bay
I.
THE CLAMOUR. Crucify Him!
1. Its occasion: the presentation of Christ therefore. One would have expected, as Pilate doubtless did, that revenge would be satiated by the bleeding form of One who had offended them by His teaching, and by the humiliation of One whom they had charged with kingly ambition. Here surely was an end of His prestige–the people would never listen to Him again, or shout hosannahs any more. Instead of this, these human tigers having tasted bleed, only thirsted for more.
2. Its nature.
(1) Cowardly, inasmuch as its object was an innocent defenceless prisoner.
(2) Ferocious, for it called for a death, of all deaths the most humiliating and cruel. To have cried Drown! Behead! Pelson! would have argued some relic of pity; for these would have been comparatively painless means of putting their victim out of His misery.
3. Its accordance with the Divine plans. This was the form of death deliberately chosen and predicted by Jesus. Hence the clamour was an unconscious means of helping to fulfil His prophecies of being lifted up. He causeth the wrath of man to praise Him.
II. PILATES RESPONSE TO THE CLAMOUR. Take ye Him, &c. A response
1. Contemptuous: showing the governors repugnance to being the dirty tool of an unscrupulous and fanatical mob. All the Romans sense of right and pride of race come out here.
2. With a merciful design. It meant I have nothing to crucify Him for; crucify ye Him if ye dare! It was something like the reply of a British officer in India to a Brahmin who consulted him with reference to a Sutee. It was represented that the burning of a certain widow was in conformity with the laws of their religion. Very good, said the officer, you carry out your laws and I will execute mine. According to mine, to burn a widow is murder, and I will hang every man connected with the murder. Pilate doubtless thought that this would be an end to the matter. He little knew, apparently, those with whom he had to deal.
III. THE GROUND FOR PILATES RESPONSE, I find no fault in Him. This is the third time that Pilate made this confession. It should go for something, for it came from an experienced Roman judge–after a personal examination; after a trial, when all the odds were against the prisoner; after excruciating torture; and was made to a people whom Pilate had every reason to desire to propitiate. The only inference that can be drawn is that there was no fault in Jesus. And if Pilate found no fault in Him can we? (J. W. Burn.)
I find no fault in Him.
The faultlessness of Jesus
I. OF WHOM THIS IS SAID.
1. The Man Christ Jesus. Behold the Man! Can you find any fault
(1) With His character, which was holy, harmless, &c. Which of you convinceth Me of sin?
(2) With His words, which were untainted by falsehood, malice, wrath (except for hypocrisy and evil doing), but were full of grace, love, and truth.
(3) With His actions, which were all straightforward, righteous, beneficent.
2. The Teacher. Will you find fault with
(1) The matter of His teaching. Produce its like from pagan sages or even inspired prophets!
(2) The manner: so tender, illustrative, interesting, forceful. Never man spake as this Man.
3. The Saviour. Can you find fault with
(1) His power to save. He is able to save to the uttermost.
(2) His willingness. Come unto Me. This Man receiveth sinners–now.
4. The King. No fault can be found with One the principle of whose government is to cause all things to work together for His subjects good.
II. BY WHOM THIS IS SAID.
1. Pilate, the Roman judge, after the most careful examination. What would Pilate not have given had it been possible to find fault, and so extricate himself.
2. Judas His betrayer. I have shed innocent blood. What would not that guilty conscience have given to have found one flaw on that spotless innocence.
3. The saved sinner who has trusted in Him and found mercy.
4. The afflicted believer who finds His grace sufficient.
5. The dying saint. Yea, though I walk through the valley, &c.
6. Angels and glorified spirits. Worthy is the Lamb.
What then is the conclusion to be drawn from all this?
1. All other men–the most wise and the most saintly–are faulty somewhere. But this Man had no fault.
2. Upon no other man has this verdict been passed. Friends or enemies, or himself, have found some fault. But neither friend nor foe could find fault with Jesus. Nor did He find fault with Himself. Was He not then the Holy One of God? (J. W. Burn.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. Crucify HIM] , which is necessary to the text, and which is wanting in the common editions, and is supplied by our version in Italics, is added here on the authority of almost every MS. and version of importance. As it is omitted in the common editions, it affords another proof, that they were not taken from the best MSS.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Our Lord finds more compassion from Pilate, though a heathen, than he found from those of his own nation; yea, those that pretended highest to religion amongst them: Pilate would have saved him; they cry out for his blood. Pilate leaves another testimony behind him, that what he did, at last overborne with a great temptation, he did contrary to the conviction of his own conscience, and as yet declineth the guilt of innocent blood.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6, 7. When the chief priests . . .saw him, they cried outtheir fiendish rage kindling afresh atthe sight of Him.
Crucify him, crucify him(SeeMr 15:14).
Pilate saith unto them, Takeye him, and crucify him; for I find no fault in himas if thiswould relieve him of the responsibility of the deed, who, bysurrendering Him, incurred it all!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
When the chief priests therefore, and officers, saw him,…. In this piteous condition, in his mock dress, and having on him all the marks of cruel usage, enough to have moved an heart of stone: and though they were the principal men of the priesthood, and who made great pretensions to religion and piety, and the officers were their servants and attendants, and all of them used to sacred employments; which might have been thought would have at least influenced them to the exercise of humanity and compassion to fellow creatures; yet instead of being affected with this sight, and wrought upon by it, to have agreed to his release, as Pilate hoped,
they cried out, saying, Crucify him, Crucify him; which was done in a very noisy and clamorous way; and the repetition of their request shows their malignity, vehemence, and impatience; and remarkable it is, that they should call for, and desire that kind of death the Scriptures had pointed out, that the Messiah should die, and which was predicted by Christ himself.
Pilate saith unto them, take ye him, and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. This was not leave to do it, as appears from the reason he gives, in which the innocence of Christ is again asserted; nor did the Jews take it in this light, as is evident from their reply; and it is clear, that after this Pilate thought he had a power either to release or crucify him; and he did afterwards seek to release him; and the Jews made a fresh request to crucify him; upon which he was delivered to be crucified: but this was said in a way of indignation, and as abhorring the action; and is an ironical concession, and a bitter sarcasm upon them, that men that professed so much religion and sanctity, could be guilty of such iniquity, as to desire the death of one that no fault could be found in; and therefore, if such were their consciences, for his part, he desired to have no concern in so unrighteous an action; but if they would, they must even do it themselves.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Crucify him, crucify him (, ). First aorist active imperative of for which verb see Mt 29:19, etc. Here the note of urgency (aorist imperative) with no word for “him,” as they were led by the chief priests and the temple police till the whole mob takes it up (Mt 27:22).
For I find no crime in him ( ). This is the third time Pilate has rendered his opinion of Christ’s innocence (John 18:38; John 19:4). And here he surrenders in a fret to the mob and gives as his reason (, for) for his surrender the innocence of Jesus (the strangest judicial decision ever rendered). Perhaps Pilate was only franker than some judges!
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
They cried out. See on 18 40.
Crucify. The best texts omit Him.
Take ye Him [ ] . According to the Greek order, “take Him ye.” Rev., take Him yourselves. See on 18 31.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him,” (hote oun eidon auton hoi archiereis kai hoi huperetai) “Then when the administrative priests and officers (attendants) saw him,” as He came forth in a gory, blood-besmirched, grisly condition, from the stripes of His scourging, the thorn pierced brow that caused blood to run down His face, from the thorny reed pressed in His hand as a mock sceptre, and the slapping of His face, following a long cruel sleepless night of betrayal and arraignment.
2) “They cried out, saying,” (ekraugasan legontes) “They shouted out, repeatedly;” These administrative priests and their aids, not the laity, led the demands for His death, inciting the people to cry out to “release Barabbas, crucify the Christ” Like a pep-squad for a sporting event, these wicked rulers cried out, Mat 27:20-22; Mar 15:11-14.
3) “Crucify him, crucify him:” (stauroson) “Crucify, crucify;” Though Pilate had found in Him nothing worthy of death, and had said so. Repeatedly they said it, as they paced the street area like blood thirsty lions or tigers bent on destroying their prey, making the kill, for they had long since decreed His death; Like a mafia mob, they trailed Him, Joh 11:47-53.
4) “Pilate saith unto them,” (legei autois ho Pilatos) “Pilate replied directly to them,” as a time-server and a face-saver, evading responsibility for the dastardly cruel deed himself, but setting Jesus up for their kill.
5) “Take ye him, and crucify him:” (labete auton humeis kai staurosate) “You all take him and crucify him:” In angry sarcasm Pilate said it, for he did not consider Jesus to be guilty of treason. I will furnish the soldiers, you all be both witnesses and judge against Him, if you may, but leave me out of it, out of your religious prejudices; But did he do justly? 1Th 2:14-15.
6) “For I find no fault in him.” (ego gar ouch heurisko en auto aitian) “For I do not find a crime in him.” For the third time Pilate had publicly acquitted Jesus of any wrong, yet he released Him, gave his consent for the Jews to take Him, witness against Him, and crucify Him, at the hand of the Roman soldiers, Joh 18:38; Joh 19:4; Joh 19:6.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. Take you him. He did not wish to deliver Christ into their hands, or to abandon him to their fury; only he declares that he will not be their executioner. This is evident from the reason immediately added, when he says that he finds no guilt in him; as if he had said, that he will never be persuaded to shed innocent blood for their gratification. That it is only the priests and officers who demand that he shall be crucified, is evident from the circumstance that the madness of the people was not so great, except so far as those bellows contributed afterwards to kindle it.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him.Comp. Joh. 18:3. The spectacle, so far from moving their pity, excites their passionate hatred, and they frustrate any other cry which may arise by that of Crucify Him! (Comp. Mat. 27:22.)
Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.Comp. Notes on Joh. 18:31; Joh. 18:38. Crucify Him, the words mean, if you dare to do so; there is no charge on which I can condemn Him; and I will be no party to your act.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. They cried Crucify him As Jesus stands the representative of suffering for sin, so these are the representative sinners. All our sins have cried, in the words of these men, “Crucify him, crucify him.”
Take ye him Crucify him then yourselves, Pilate in effect says, for I cannot perpetrate the deed. There is a tone of impatience in the words that shows how indignantly the Roman felt their exacting and obstinate cruelty.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him they cried out, saying, “Crucify him, crucify him.” Pilate says to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no crime in him.” The Judaisers answered, “We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” When Pilate therefore heard this saying he was the more afraid.’
The sight of Jesus reawakened the hatred of the Judaisers and their supporters. Pilate saw a pathetic figure. They saw a thorn in their sides. He saw someone relatively harmless. They saw the man whose teaching had often brought them into such ridicule that they could never forgive Him. He saw someone powerless to do anything. They saw the man whose miracles had won Him allegiance from the crowds and even support from among their own. He saw a quiet philosopher. They saw One who had challenged their status and sought to ruin their prosperous trading in the Temple. So they had only one thing in mind. “Crucify him, crucify him,” was their cry. They were beyond reason. They were beyond thought. They simply wanted to get rid of Him. Their minds were tired and they had worked themselves up in the previous few weeks to a state of such frustration and vindictiveness that any possibility of retraction was absent.
We note that this was not an average baying crowd. It was made up of the Chief Priests and their officers and supporters, and supporters of the insurrectionists like Barabbas. The former had lost all dignity and abased themselves. And now for the first time they were truthful with Pilate. Up to this point they had presented Jesus as a troublemaker, and a possible insurrectionist. Now they admitted the truth. It was a question of theology after all. He had made Himself out to be the Son of God, and this was against their law of blasphemy (Lev 24:16). But even that was not the real charge, that was the one that was used to convince the Sanhedrin. The real reason that He was there was because He had exposed their teaching and their ways. What greater blasphemy could there be than that?
There is little reason to doubt that the final thing that had infuriated them was His claim that He would be seen as the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God and coming in the clouds of Heaven (Mar 14:62; Mat 26:64; Luk 22:69-70), as the King Who would come to the throne of God to receive glory and kingship (Dan 7:1-14). They saw this as a snub to them and as a claim to be the Son of God in a unique sense and as a further claim to be destined to share God’s power. And they were in fact right. Where they were wrong was in not recognising the validity of His claim as evidenced by the signs that He had performed.
‘You take Him and crucify Him according to your law.’ Pilate was angry and somewhat afraid. Angry because they had been dishonest with him, and afraid because of the uneasy feeling he had about this man. He did not like coming up against something to do with unearthly powers. So he essentially derided them. ‘That is your sentence,’ he says, ‘passed on the basis of your laws. So you crucify him.’
But he knew perfectly well that they could not. Their powers were limited. Blasphemy against Judaism was not a Roman offence. Rome’s laws were not intended to enforce non-earthly superstitions. Why then should Rome do the job for them?
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 19:6-7. When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, The priests, whose rage and malice had extinguished not only the sentiments ofjustice, and all the feelings of pity, but that love which countrymen bear to one another,no sooner saw Jesus, than they began to fear that the fickle populace might relent; and therefore, laying decency aside, they led the way to the mob, crying out with all their might, Crucify him! crucify him! The governor, vexed to find the rulers thus obstinately bent on the destruction of a person who appeared to him perfectly innocent, told them plainly, with great indignation, that, if they would have him crucified, they must do it themselves, because he would not suffer his people to murder a man who was guilty of no crime. But they refused this also, thinking it dishonourable to receive permission to punish one, who had been more than once publicly declared innocent by his judge. Besides, they considered with themselves, that the governor afterwards might have called it sedition, as the permission had been extorted from him. Wherefore they told him, that, though none of the things alleged against the prisoner were true, he had committed such a crime, in the presence of the council itself, as by their law, Lev 24:16 deserved the most ignominious death: he had spoken blasphemy, calling himself the Son of God; a title which no mortal could assume without the highest degree of guilt; “therefore, (say they,) since by our law blasphemy merits death, you ought by all means to crucify this blasphemer; for, though Caesar is our master, he governs us by our own laws.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 19:6-8 . Of the presence of the people (who perhaps kept silence , Lcke thinks; comp. Luthardt, according to whom the high priests desired to forestall any possible expressions of compassion on the part of the people) the text says nothing; the , Joh 18:31 ; Joh 18:38 , were just pre-eminently the of the present passage.
] The spectacle, instead of calming their bitterness, goads them on.
, . . .] A paradox , amounting to a peevish and irritated refusal, since the Jews did not possess the right of execution, and crucifixion was certainly not a Jewish capital punishment. Crucify him yourselves, if you will have him crucified!
Now, however, they introduce the authority of their law, according to which Jesus (as being a blasphemer, namely, of God, Lev 24:16 ; Mat 26:63-64 ) must die. They thus prudently give to their demand another legal basis, to be respected by the procurator in conformity with Roman policy, and to the accusation the corresponding religious sanction. An admission, however, that their political suspicion of Jesus had only been a pretext (Steinmeyer), is not contained in this; it is only another turn given to the charge.
] With haughty emphasis, opposed to the preceding . On , . . ., comp. Joh 5:18 , Joh 10:33 .
.] His fear only became the greater ( ., see Joh 5:18 ), namely, of suffering Jesus to be executed. To the previous fear of conscience was now, in truth, added the fear of the vengeance of a God , namely, of Jehovah, the God of the Jews, in case the assertion mentioned should turn out to be true. He explained to himself the after the analogy of pagan heroes , like the centurion, Mat 27:54 . That he was moved by the idea of the unity of God (Hengstenberg) has nothing to support it; nay, viewed in the light of the wanton words, Joh 18:38 , very improbable.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
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.
Ver. 6. Crucify him, crucify him ] So afterwards the primitive persecutors cried out, Ad bestias, ad bestias, Christianos ad leones, To the beasts, to the beasts, Christians, to the lions, imputing the cause of all public calamities to them, as Tertullian testifieth. So they cried out at Geneva against Farellus, when the bishop first convented him, In Rhodanum, in Rhodanum, Into the Rhone River, into the Rhone, as the Papists still cry out against the professors of the truth, Ad ignem, ad ignem, to the fire with them, to the fire with them. Tollantur sacrilegi, tollantur. Let the wicked be destroyed, destroyed. Indeed in the form and style of their own sentence condemnatory, they pretend a petition to the secular power, In visceribus Iesu Christi ut rigor iuris mitigetur, atque ut parcatur vita; In the body of Jesus Christ so softened the rigour of the law and so that life was spared, so they will seem outwardly to be lambs, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Witness that chancellor of Salisbury, Dr Jeffery, who was not only contented to give sentence against certain martyrs, but also hunted after the high sheriff, not allowing him to spare them, though he would. So Harpsfield, archdeacon of Canterbury, being at London when Queen Mary lay dying, made all post-haste home to despatch those six whom he had then in his cruel custody; and those were the last that suffered for religion in Queen Mary’s reign.
I find no fault in him ] No wonder! For he was (as Peter saith) “A lamb without blemish” (of original sin), “and without spot” (of actual sin), 1Pe 1:18 . Neither was it without a sweet providence of God that he should be so often absolved from the desert of death, that thereby we might escape the manifold deaths that we had so well deserved.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6. ] This had been cried before, see Mat 27:22 and parallels. Possibly St. John had not heard the cry. According as men have been in different parts of a mob, they will naturally report differently, according as those nearest to them cried out.
. . . ] The words of Pilate shew vacillation between his own sense of the innocence of Jesus and his fear of displeasing the Jews and their rulers. He now, but in ironical mockery, as before, ch. Joh 18:31 , delivers the matter entirely into their hands: perhaps after having received the message from his wife, Mat 27:19 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 19:6 . Instead of allowing him to release the prisoner, “the chief priests and their officers,” not “the people,” who were perhaps moved with pity (Lcke), “roared” ( ) “Crucify, crucify”; “To the cross”. To this demand Pilate, “in angry sarcasm” (Reynolds), but perhaps rather merely wishing strongly to assert, for the third time, that he for his part would not condemn Jesus to death, “If He is to be crucified, it is you who must do it,” retorts, , “Take ye Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
chief priests. These would, no doubt, include Caiaphas.
officers. See 18. s. These temple guards are con spicuous for their zeal, due perhaps to the Lord’s interference with the sellers of Mat 21:12-15.
saw. Greek. eidon. App-133.
cried out. See Joh 18:40.
Crucify. See App-162. Omit “Him” in each case.
Take ye Him = Take Him yourselves.
no = not. Greek. ou. App-105.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6.] This had been cried before, see Mat 27:22 and parallels. Possibly St. John had not heard the cry. According as men have been in different parts of a mob, they will naturally report differently, according as those nearest to them cried out.
. . .] The words of Pilate shew vacillation between his own sense of the innocence of Jesus and his fear of displeasing the Jews and their rulers. He now, but in ironical mockery, as before, ch. Joh 18:31, delivers the matter entirely into their hands: perhaps after having received the message from his wife, Mat 27:19.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 19:6. , when) Pilate had wished to move their compassion, but he only augments (exasperates) their cruelty.-, , saying. Crucify Him) Mat 17:22. For they rejected one appeal of Pilate to them after another, with this cry (common party-cry or watch-word), Crucify Him. [From the scourging that had taken place, according to the received custom (which made scourging to precede crucifixion), they draw the conclusion of crucifixion.-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 19:6
Joh 19:6
When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him!-Instead of appeasing or satisfying them, it seemed the more to infuriate them and with increased wrath. Pilate knew they had no right to crucify him, neither did Pilate, when he was innocent. So they demanded that he should be crucified without cause.
Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no crime in him.-His crucifixion on these testimonies is unlawful, you demand it, you do the deed. [Pilates patience was evidently giving out. As they were disregarding all law and justice in demanding that he should crucify him, they might just as well disregard law and crucify him themselves. Perhaps he meant to intimate that as governor he would not hold them responsible; but they were too wily to take such a risk.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the chief priests: Joh 19:15, Mat 27:22, Mar 15:12-15, Luk 22:21-23, Act 2:23, Act 3:13-15, Act 7:52, Act 13:27-29
Take: Pilate neither did nor could say this seriously; for crucifixion was not a Jewish but a Roman mode of punishment. The cross was made of two beams, either crossing at the top, at right angles, like a T, or in the middle of their length like an X; with a piece on the centre of the transverse beam for the accusation, and another piece projecting from the middle, on which the person sat. The cross on which our Lord suffered was of the former kind, being thus represented on all old monuments, coins, and crosses. The body was usually fastened to the upright beam by nailing the feet to it, and on the transverse piece by nailing the hands; and the person was frequently permitted to hang in this situation till he perished through agony and lack of food. This horrible punishment was usually inflicted only on slaves for the worst of crimes. Joh 18:31, Mat 27:24
Reciprocal: 1Sa 29:3 – found Psa 64:4 – the perfect Isa 10:1 – them Isa 49:7 – to him whom man despiseth Dan 6:5 – General Mar 15:3 – the chief Mar 15:14 – Why Joh 9:24 – we know Joh 18:35 – what Joh 18:38 – I find Joh 19:4 – that ye
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6
When the chief priests had their attention especially directed to Jesus, it had the opposite effect upon them to what Pilate expected. They were enraged and caused to repeat their demand that Jesus be crucified. Take ye him and crucify him. This was not a judicial sentence; that came later. But it was another effort of Pilate to evade responsibility for punishing a man in whom he still found no fault.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 19:6. When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify! Crucify! The advance from what is stated at chap. Joh 18:40 to the present point is at once perceptible. Then the Jews refused to have Jesus released to them, and cried out for Barabbas. Now their cry reaches its culmination, Crucify! Crucify!
Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him; for I find no crime in him. The words do not seem to contain any serious authorisation on the part of Pilate to the Jews to crucify Jesus. The latter at least did not understand them in that sense, or they would probably have at once availed themselves of the permission given. The emphatic yourselves guides us to the true interpretation. There is in the words partly scorn of the Jews, partly the resolution of Pilate to free himself from all responsibility in the guilty deed which he began to see could hardly be avoided. It is as if he would say,
Is He to be crucified? then it shall be by yourselves, and not by me. The Jews, accordingly, are sensible that they dare not avail themselves of the permission. They must adduce fresh reasons for the sentence of condemnation which they desire.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 6
Take ye him, &c. This was not intended as a serious proposal, but was an expression of Pilate’s indignation at the cruel wrong which they insisted on committing.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
19:6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, {a} Crucify [him], crucify [him]. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify [him]: for I find no fault in him.
(a) They will have him crucified whom, by an old custom of theirs, they should have stoned and hanged up as convicted of blasphemy: but they desire to have him crucified after the manner of the Romans.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
If Pilate had thought that the sight of Jesus bruised and bleeding would satisfy Israel’s rulers, he was wrong. The sight of His blood stirred their appetites for even greater revenge. They cried out repeatedly for the ultimate punishment: crucifixion.
"Well-meaning preachers have often said that the crowd that on Palm Sunday shouted ’Hosannah!’ turned right around and shouted ’Crucify Him!’ on Good Friday. However, it was two different crowds. The Palm Sunday crowd came primarily from Galilee where Jesus was very popular. The crowd at Pilate’s hall was from Judea and Jerusalem where the religious leaders where very much in control." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:381.]
Pilate’s reply reflected his disgust with the Jewish leaders. It was really an expression of frustration with them. They had brought Jesus to him for a decision, he had given it, and now they refused to accept it. Pilate knew that the Jews could not crucify Jesus without his permission.