Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 19:18
Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
18. two other ] Robbers or bandits (not ‘thieves’), as S. Matthew and S. Mark call them, probably guilty of the same crimes as Barabbas (see on Joh 18:40). Jesus is crucified with them as being condemned under a similar charge of sedition and treason.
Jesus in the midst ] Here also we seem to have a tragic contrast the Christ between two criminals. It is the place of honour mockingly given to Him as King.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 18. Two other] Matthew and Mark in the parallel places calls them robbers or murderers; they probably belonged to the gang of Barabbas. See about the figure of the cross, and the nature of crucifixion, on Mt 27:35.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
See Poole on “Mat 27:38“.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. they crucified him, and twoothers with him“malefactors” (Lu23:33), “thieves” (rather “robbers,” Mat 27:38;Mar 15:27).
on either side one and Jesusin the midsta hellish expedient, to hold Him up as the worstof the three. But in this, as in many other of their doings, “thescripture was fulfilled, which saith (Isa53:12), And he was numbered with the transgressors“(Mr 15:28) though theprediction reaches deeper. “Then said Jesus”[“probablywhile being nailed to the CROSS,”][OLSHAUSEN], “FATHER,FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO” (Lu23:34) and again the Scripture was fulfilled which said, “AndHe made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa53:12), though this also reaches deeper. (See Act 3:17;Act 13:27; and compare 1Ti1:13). Often have we occasion to observe how our Lord is thefirst to fulfil His own preceptsthus furnishing the rightinterpretation and the perfect Model of them. (See on Mt5:44). How quickly was it seen in “His martyr Stephen,”that though He had left the earth in Person, His Spirit remainedbehind, and Himself could, in some of His brightest lineaments, bereproduced in His disciples! (Ac7:60). And what does the world in every age owe to these fewwords, spoken where and as they were spoken!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Where they crucified him,…. Namely, at Golgotha, the same with Calvary; and so had what they were so desirous of:
and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst: these other two men were thieves, as the other evangelists declare; among whom Christ was placed, being numbered and reckoned among transgressors: he was no transgressor of the law of God himself, but he was accounted as such by men, and was treated as if he had been one by the justice of God; he, as a surety, standing in the legal place, and stead of his people; hence he died in their room, and for their sins: this shows the low estate of Christ, the strictness of justice, the wisdom of God in salvation, and the grace and love of the Redeemer; who condescended to everything, and every circumstance, though ever so reproachful, which were necessary for the redemption of his people, and the glory of the divine perfections, and for the fulfilment of purposes, promises, and predictions.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
They crucified (). The soldiers just as in Ac 22:24f.; the scourging of Paul was to be done by the soldiers.
And Jesus in the midst ( ). Predicate adjective . A robber (, not a thief, ) was on each side of Jesus (Mark 15:27; Matt 27:38) like Barabbas (Joh 18:40) and probably members of his band, malefactors () Luke terms them (Lu 23:32).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
In the midst. All the Synoptists describe the character of the two who were crucified with Jesus. Matthew and Mark, robbers; Luke, malefactors [] . All three use the phrase, one on the right, the other on the left, and so, substantially, John : on either side one. John says nothing about the character of these two, but simply describes them as two others.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Where they crucified him,” (hopou auton estaurosan) “The place where they crucified him,” as He had Himself prophesied that they would, Mat 20:18-19; Mat 27:35.
2) “And two other with him,” (kai met’autou allous duo) “And two others with him,” called “The thieves also, which were crucified with him,” Mat 27:44; Mar 15:27.
3) “On either side one,” (enteuthen kai anteuthen) “One on each side,” or out at each side, as described Luk 23:33; Luk 23:37; They were both “robbers,” perhaps of the same class as Barabbas, who also had committed murder in pursuit of their crime.
4) “And Jesus in the midst.” (meson de ton lesoun) “Then Jesus in the midst,” or in between two other men, on the middle cross, of the three being crucified for alleged criminal, capital crimes that day, numbered or identified with the wicked, the transgressors, one on either side, Isa 53:12; Mat 27:38; Mar 15:28; Luk 22:37. Humanity was here represented in three ways:
1) The sinless Savior.
2) The saved penitent.
3) The dying impenitent.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
18. And two others with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. As if the severity of the punishment had not been sufficient of itself, he is hanged in the midst between two robbers, as if he not only had deserved to be classed with other robbers, but had been the most wicked and the most detestable of them all. We ought always to remember, that the wicked executioners of Christ did nothing but what had been determined by the hand and purpose of God; (167) for God did not surrender his Son to their lawless passions, but determined that, according to his own will and good pleasure, he should be offered as a sacrifice. And if there were the best reasons for the purpose of God in all those things which he determined that his Son should suffer, we ought to consider, on the one hand, the dreadful weight of his wrath against sin, and, on the other hand, his infinite goodness towards us. In no other way could our guilt be removed than by the Son of God becoming a curse for us. We see him driven out into an accursed place, as if he had been polluted by a mass of all sorts of crimes, that there he might appear to be accursed before God and men. Assuredly we are prodigiously stupid, if we do not plainly see in this mirror with what abhorrence God regards sin; and we are harder than stones, if we do not tremble at such a judgment as this.
When, on the other hand, God declares that our salvation was so dear to him, that he did not spare his only-begotten Son, what abundant goodness and what astonishing grace do we here behold! Whoever, then, takes a just view of the causes of the death of Christ, together with the advantage which it yields to us, will not, like the Greeks, regard the doctrlne of the cross as foolishness, nor, like the Jews, will he regard it as an offense, (1Co 1:23,) but rather as an invaluable token and pledge of the power, and wisdom, and righteousness, and goodness of God.
When John says, that the name of the place was Golgotha, he means that, in the Chaldaic or Syriac language, it was called גלגלתא, ( Gulgaltha.) The name is derived from גלגל, ( Gilgel, (168)) which signifies, to roll; because a skull is round like a ball or globe. (169)
(167) “ N ont rien fait qui n eust este decrete et ordonne par le conseil de Dieu;” — “did nothing which had not been decreed and appointed by the purpose of God.”
(168) The Pihel of, גלל, ( Galal.) — Ed.
(169) “The place where Christ was crucified appears to have received this name, not — as some have imagined — because the shape of the mountain resembled a human head, but because it was filled with the skulls of malefactors who had been put to death there.” — Schleusner on the word Γολγοθᾶ
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(18) Comp. Notes on Mat. 27:38; Mar. 15:27; Luk. 23:33-34.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
141. JESUS ON THE CROSS, Joh 19:18-30 .
Mat 27:35-50
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
Ver. 18. Where they crucified him ] An ignominious, accursed, and dolorous death; for he was nailed to the tree in the hands and feet, which are the most sensible parts, as fullest of sinews; and therefore (in so fine a body as his especially) of most exquisite sense. Look wistly upon sin in this glass, and love it if thou canst. For our sins were the nails and ourselves the traitors that fastened him to the tree. Pilate and his soldiers, Judas and the Jews, were all set to work by us. Learn to lay the blame on thyself, and say, It was my gluttony that reached a cup of gall and vinegar to his mouth; mine incontinence that provided stripes for his back; mine arrogance that platted a crown of thorns upon his head; mine inconstance that put a reed into his hand; my treachery that nailed his hands and feet; my vanity that grieved his soul to the death; my self-love that thrust a spear into his side, &c. Adsum ego qui feci. (Virgil.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joh 19:18 . . All information regarding the cross has been collected by Lipsius in his treatise De Cruce , Antwerp, 1595; Amstel., 1670; and in vol. ii. of his collected works, published at Lugduni, 1613. With Jesus were crucified “other two,” in Mat 27:38 , called “robbers,” probably of the same class as Barabbas. Jesus was crucified between them; possibly, to identify Him with the worst criminals. “The whole of humanity was represented there: the sinless Saviour, the saved penitent, the condemned impenitent.” Plummer.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
two other = other two. App-164.
other. Greek. altos. App-124.
with. Greek. meta. App-104.
on either side one. Greek. enteuthen kai enteuthen: literally hither and thither, i.e. on this side and on that side. This was before the parting of the garments (Joh 19:23). See App-164.
and, &c.: literally and the middle one, Jesus.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joh 19:18
Joh 19:18
where they crucified him,-The crucifixion consisted in nailing him to a cross. The hands were stretched out and a nail driven through the fleshly part of each hand into the crossbar nailed across the upper end of the post. The feet were then nailed to the post. A pin was put into the upright post between the legs to support the body. The person thus nailed to the cross frequently lingered four or five days before death relieved their sufferings.
and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.-[Matthew and Mark say they were robbers, and Luke malefactors. Probably they were accomplices of Barabbas, who had escaped occupying the place of Jesus through the determined malice of the chief priests. (See Isa 53:12).]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
They Crucified Him
Joh 19:18-24
Just outside the city gates, beside the main road, was a little conical eminence, which from its resemblance to a skull was called in Aramaic, Golgotha, and in Latin, Calvary. As we speak of the brow of a hill, they called the bald eminence a skull. The three languages in which the inscription was written stand for religion, government, and science. Note that every one of us is unconsciously writing his verdict about Jesus Christ; and when once it is written, there is no altering it. We may be forgiven, but the past cannot be obliterated.
The clothes of the crucified were the perquisite of the soldiers. But Christs were so poor that they were not worth keeping entire, except the inner tunic, the gift of someones-it may well have been His mothers-love. What a contrast! Above, the consummate evidence of love working out the plan of eternity; below, the appeal of ignorance and brutality to chance.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Joh 18:32, Psa 22:16, Isa 53:12, Mat 27:35-38, Mat 27:44, Mar 15:24-28, Luk 23:32-34, Gal 3:13, Heb 12:2
Reciprocal: Mat 27:38 – General Mar 15:26 – The King of the Jews Mar 15:27 – General Luk 23:33 – when Joh 8:28 – When Joh 19:32 – of the first Heb 13:12 – suffered
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
The two other were thieves according to Mat 27:38.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 19:18. Where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. On the lingering torture of death by crucifixion it is unnecessary to dwell. We learn from the earlier Gospels that the two crucified along with Jesus were robbers (Mat 27:38; Mar 15:27). To this death they too must have been doomed by the Roman power, and as we find the Roman governor writing the inscription and Roman soldiers taking part in the crucifixion and dividing the spoils (comp. Joh 19:23), it is reasonable to think that it was also a Roman, not a Jewish, arrangement by which the two robbers were suspended on either side of Jesus. If so, the object must have been still more to bring out that idea of His royalty with which Pilate to the last mocked the Jews. Not only, however, did he mock them thus. Following the custom of the time, by which an inscription describing the crime for which a malefactor suffered was nailed to the cross, he ordered this to be done now, and he himself dictated the words.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
CXXXIII.
THE CRUCIFIXION.
Subdivision B.
JESUS CRUCIFIED AND REVILED. HIS THREE
SAYINGS DURING FIRST THREE HOURS.
(Friday morning from 9 o’clock till noon.)
aMATT. XXVII. 35-44; bMARK XV. 24-32; cLUKE XXIII. 33-43; dJOHN XIX. 18-27.
b25 And it was the third hour, and cthere {d18 where} cthey crucified him. b27 And a38 Then are there crucified {bthey crucify} awith him dtwo others, cthe malefactors, arobbers, one on the right hand, and one {cthe other} on the {bhis} left. don either side one, and Jesus in the midst. [These were doubtless robbers of the class of Barabbas. They were those who, led on by fanatical patriotism, had become insurrectionists and then outlaws. Large numbers of them were crucified during the Jewish wars (Jos. Wars, xiii. 2. 3). These two may have been crucified at this time for convenience’ sake, but the fact that Jesus was placed between them suggests that they were crucified with him to heighten his shame and indignity. For, though Pilate had no personal ill will toward Jesus, he wished to show contempt for Judah’s King.] c34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. [Our Lord’s prayer here reminds us of the word at Isa 53:12. It accords with his own teachings ( Mat 5:44), and it was echoed by Stephen ( Act 7:59, Act 7:60). Peter and Paul both speak of the Jewish ignorance ( Act 3:17, 1Co 2:8). Ignorance mitigates, but does not excuse, crime.] b24 And they crucify him, d23 The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part [A quaternion or band of four soldiers did the work of the actual crucifixion. The Roman law awarded them the garments of the condemned as their perquisites]; band part {aparted cparting} bhis garments among them, casting {cthey cast} lots. [725] bupon them, what each should take. [The sandals, girdle, outer robe, head-dress, etc., of Jesus were divided into four parts and lots were cast of the parts.] dand also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. [This was the tunic or undergarment. It reached from the shoulders to the knees. Ordinarily it was in two pieces, which were fastened at the shoulders by clasps; but Josephus tells us that the tunic of the high priest was an exception to this rule, being woven without seam (Ant. iii. 7. 4). Thus in dividing the Lord’s garments, they found a suggestion of his high priesthood.] 24 They said therefore one to another, 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 garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots. [See Psa 22:18.] 25 These things therefore the soldiers did. [Even their small part was the subject of minute prophecy.] a36 and they sat and watched him there. [They were on guard to prevent any attempt at rescue.] d19 And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. cover him, a37 And they set up over his head bthe {ca} superscription bof his accusation written, aAnd there was written, cTHIS IS aJESUS dOF NAZARETH, bTHE KING OF THE JEWS. [It was a well-established Roman custom to thus place a writing above the heads of the crucified to indicate the cause for which they died. Pilate writes the accusation so as to clear his own skirts before Csar and so as to show his contempt for the Jewish people. They had forced him to crucify an innocent man, and he retaliates by giving to that man the title which his enemies accused him of professing.] d20 This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and in Latin, and in Greek. [These three languages were respectively those of religion, law and philosophy; but Pilate made use of them because all three were spoken by people then in Jerusalem.] 21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to [726] Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. 22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. [The rulers smarted under this title which Pilate had tauntingly written. They had insisted that Jesus’ kingship was dangerous enough to justify his crucifixion; but now (if politically and temporally interpreted) they admit that his kingship was an idle claim, a mere matter of words.] c35 And the people stood beholding. [The scene had an awful fascination which they could not resist.] a39 And they that passed by [Jesus was evidently crucified near the highway] railed on him, wagging their heads, 40 and saying, bHa! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 save thyself, aif thou art the Son of God, band come down from the cross. 31 In like manner also the chief priests cAnd the rulers also scoffed at him, bmocking him among themselves with the scribes aand elders, said, {csaying,} He saved others; bhimself he cannot save. clet him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen. aHe is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him. b32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. a43 He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God. c36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar, 37 and saying, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself. [Thus one and all unite in mocking Jesus, using both word and gesture. They bring forth echoes from the trial of Jesus and take other incidents from his life, little dreaming the deep significance of what they utter. They reminded Jesus of his words about destroying the temple, when they were committing that very act. They speak of his building it again when Jesus was about to die that he might rise. They taunt him with saving others, yet being unable to save himself, which is the great truth of the atonement which the Lord [727] was then making. They promised to believe if he will come down from the cross, yet his being lifted upon the cross was the very act which would convince them– Joh 8:28.] a44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him breproached him. acast upon him the same reproach. c39 And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us. 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. 43 And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. [It seems that at first both robbers reviled Christ, but one repenting spoke in his favor and prayed to him. It is not likely that this robber had any conception of the spiritual kingdom of Jesus, but he somehow arrived at the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah, and would come into his kingdom despite his crucifixion. Jesus answered his prayer by a solemn promise that they would, that day, be together in that portion of the invisible world where those who are accepted of God await the resurrection. Many thoughtlessly make this dying robber the model of death-bed repentance, arguing that others may also be saved in this irregular manner. But Christ had not yet died, and the new testament or covenant was not sealed. Jesus then could change its terms to suit the occasion. It is therefore no evidence whatever that after his death and in his present glorified state our Lord will in any way change the covenant so as to do away with a single one of the terms required for obtaining remission of sins ( Heb 9:15-18). Moreover, the example of the penitent robber is a difficult one to follow; he professed faith in Christ and his kingdom when there was no other voice in the whole wide world willing to do such a thing. Any one having such a faith in Christ will not put off his confession until the hour of [728] death.] dBut there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [For comment on these four women, see note on Joh 2:4). Thus he cut her off from all parental authority over him. In this last hour our Lord bestows upon his helpless mother the disciple whom he loved, who was then in the flower of his manhood. All of Christ’s disciples are thus appointed by him protectors of the helpless, but few recognize the behest as John did.]
[FFG 725-729]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
THE CRUCIFIXION
Mat 27:35-38; Luk 23:33-38; Joh 19:18-24; Mar 15:24-28. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. Here you see the bloody work of death began at 9 A.M., and they remained on the cross till 3 P.M. And they crucify along with Him two thieves; the one on His fight, and the one on His left. And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying, He was numbered with the transgressors. Thus the high priests maneuvered to do their utmost to cover Him with ineffaceable disgrace, having Him crucified between two robbers. N.B. If you would follow Him up to heaven, you must go with Him to Gethsemane, and there give up all the world, your will sinking away into the Divine. Then you must go with Him to Calvary, and be crucified between two robbers; i. e., if you would get sanctified, you may expect the people to pronounce you a thief robber, or some other vile reprobate. They will so misunderstand and misjudge you as to identify you with the worst people. All this you must bear patiently and unmurmuringly, like Jesus, if you are going up to live with Him in heaven.
Luk 23:34. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing. How true! If those preachers had known that they were killing their own Christ, they would not have done it for a million of worlds. They were so blinded by the devil that they did not know what they were doing. So have the people claiming to be Gods elect slaughtered about two hundred millions of Gods people. They killed them all under criminal charges, believing them to be bad people. What is the solution of this wonderful mystery? Satan, as in the case of the Jews when they crucified Jesus, had so deluded them as to make them follow him, thinking he is God. Amid these delusions, are the people inculpatory? Certainly they are. Having rejected the light and believed Satans lies, they have drifted into the awful dilemma where they call evil good, and good evil.
Joh 19:23-24. Then the soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His garments, and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier; also His tunic. For the tunic was seamless, woven from the top throughout. Then they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but gamble for it, whose it shall be; in order that the Scriptures may be fulfilled, saying, They parted My garments among themselves, and upon My vesture they did cast the lot. Indeed, then, the soldiers did these things. Roman law gave the garments of the crucified to the quaternion, consisting of four soldiers, who took charge of each criminal and executed the bloody work. In that day, when there were no factories, clothing was not only very valuable, but quite scarce. The vesture or tunic was the inner garment, and, as you see here, it was seamless throughout, beautifully illustrating the absolute unity of the true Church, the body of Christ, the divisions all having been made by Satan, and, so far as they go, represent the Satanic phase of the true Church. The soldiers having divided all of His other garments, now recognized this seamless vesture, and concluded that it will spoil it to tear it into pieces; consequently they agreed to settle the ownership by a game of dice. O that all religious people could only have the gumption of these heathen barbarians, and see that they can not divide up the Church of Christ without serious detriment! Luk 23:38 : And the superscription was written over Him in Greek, Roman, and Hebrew letters, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Roman law claimed pre-eminent justice in all things. Consequently the crime for which every culprit was crucified was written on the cross over his head, so the multitudes could all read it and know the reason why he suffered this awful death. Though the Jews had condemned Him for blasphemy, they could not use that charge against Him under Roman administration, as their law knew no such a crime. Though both Pilate and Herod had positively vetoed the charge of treason against Caesar which the Jews tried so hard to get them to recognize, yet in the finale, Pilate had it written over Him simply to fill a vacancy, as he had nothing else. As you pass by Roman Catholic cemeteries and churches, you frequently see a cross, superscribed I.N.R.I. This is an abbreviation of Jesus Nasarenus Rex Judaeorum, Jesus of Nazereth, King of the Jews.
These are the very words which were superscribed on the cross above the head of Jesus, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, the language of religion, learning, and law, for the convenience of all the multitudes, as they could all find it out from these three languages.
Joh 19:20-21. Then many of the Jews read this title; because the place was near the city where Jesus was crucified. Calvary overlooks the city, the prominence rising only about one hundred yards from the north wall, the Jericho road running between, and then the hill about one hundred yards more to its summit, which is somewhat level on top, uniformly and gradually descending, actually resembling a human, skull, for which it is named, and is the most conspicuous place about Jerusalem, lying in the angle of the two most important roads i. e., those leading to Damascus and Jericho in harmony with the Roman policy of crucifying criminals in the most conspicuous places. I emphasize these, specifications because the Greek, Roman, and all other Oriental Churches, locate Calvary some distance within the present wall of the city, where there is no mountain, but rather a subsidence, between Zion and Akra, within the great Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which has stood there since the days of Constantine, the most magnetic pilgrim-resort in all the Holy Land, as they believe that Jesus there laid down His life to save a guilty world. I believe they are mistaken as to the location of Calvary; and this lonely hill, outside of the wall, for more than a thousand years a Moslem cemetery, is, beyond doubt, the true Calvary. You remember that the Romans utterly destroyed the city, A. D. 73, verifying the prophecy of Jesus, leaving it utterly desolate fifty years. Then the Emperor Adrian went there, and founded a Roman colony, using the ruins to rebuild the city, calling it Elia Capitolina, thus even burying the name Jerusalem in (as they supposed). hopeless oblivion. So two hundred years rolled away during the nonexistence of Jerusalem, this Roman city occupying the site. When the Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity, A. D. 325, he and his royal mother, Queen Helena, came to this sacred spot, revived and rebuilt the city, and restored the heaven-born name, Jerusalem. During these three hundred years there were no people there who knew the sacred places. Hence the confusion with reference to the locations. For an exhaustive elucidation of this matter, see Footprints of Jesus.
Then the high priest of the Jews said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that He said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate responded, What I have written, I have written. In Oriental dialect, this is the very strongest negative, bluntly and stubbornly muttered out by the impatient proconsul. The truth of the matter is, they had browbeaten Pilate from the beginning, and run over him like a dog. Fearful of official depreciation, deposition, arraignment before the emperor, and untold humiliation, with which the high priests and elders threatened him, despite all his protestation of the innocence of Jesus, and the diversity of stratagems to which he resorted for His release, they treated all his efforts with utter contempt; having yielded to their imperious clamors again and again, and finally, though with the utmost reluctance, signed His death-warrant, and, pursuant to the Roman custom, superscribed the only accusation they had brought against Him on the cross above His head, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, and still they are dissatisfied and clamored for a change, his patience broke down, and he positively and abruptly refused. No wonder Pilate refused to change that writing. He could not change it; Jesus is King of tile Jews, and will be forever. In coming eternity, as well as through the bright millennial centuries, when God will honor the patriarch and prophets, the elect custodians of His Revealed Oracles, amid a world of darkness and sin, Jesus will be King of the Jews forever, encumbering and honoring the Theocratic throne of David.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 18
They placed him in the midst, as the most atrocious of the criminals.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2. The men crucified with Jesus 19:18 (cf. Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:33b)
The horrors and shame of crucifixion are difficult for people who have grown up hearing pleas against "cruel and unusual punishment" to appreciate. It was a deliberately long and painful form of death that humiliated the sufferer as well as torturing him. Its purpose was to discourage others from rebelling against Rome, the main reason for crucifixion. John’s original readers would have been only too familiar with it, which probably accounts for his lack of elaboration.
"It was so brutal that no Roman citizen could be crucifed [sic] without the sanction of the Emperor. Stripped naked and beaten to pulpy weakness . . ., the victim could hang in the hot sun for hours, even days. To breathe, it was necessary to push with the legs and pull with the arms to keep the chest cavity open and functioning. Terrible muscle spasm [sic] wracked the entire body; but since collapse meant asphyxiation, the strain went on and on. This is also why the sedecula [a piece of wood that served as a small seat in some cases] . . . prolonged life and agony: it partially supported the body’s weight, and therefore encouraged the victim to fight on." [Note: Carson, The Gospel . . ., p. 610. Cf. M. Hengel, Crucifixion.]
"Crucifixion was probably the most diabolical form of death ever invented." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 181. For an extended description of crucifixion, see ibid, pp. 180-81.]
"Popular piety, both Protestant and Catholic, has often emphasized the sufferings of Jesus; it has reflected on what happened and has dwelt on the anguish the Savior suffered. None of the Gospels does this. The Evangelists record the fact and let it go at that. The death of Jesus for sinners was their concern. They make no attempt to play on the heartstrings of their readers." [Note: Morris, p. 713.]
All the Gospel writers mentioned the men crucified with Jesus (Mat 27:38; Mat 27:44; Mar 15:27; Mar 15:32; Luk 23:32-33; Luk 23:39-43). They were evidently robbers (Gr. lestai) and terrorists, such as Barabbas (cf. 18:40). John may have mentioned them to remind his readers of the fulfillment of Isa 53:12. [Note: However see D. J. Moo, The Old Testament in the Gospel Passion Narratives, pp. 154-55.] Their mention also prepares the reader to understand John’s description of the breaking of their legs but not Jesus’ legs (Joh 19:32-33).