Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 19:14

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

14. the preparation ] i.e. the day before the Passover, the ‘eve,’ See Appendix A.

and about the sixth hour ] The best MSS. have ‘it was’ for ‘and;’ it was about the sixth hour. In two abrupt sentences S. John calls special attention to the day and hour; now it was the eve of the Passover: it was about the sixth hour. It is difficult to believe that he can be utterly mistaken about both. The question of the day is discussed elsewhere (Appendix A); the question as to the hour remains.

We have seen already (Joh 1:39, Joh 4:6; Joh 4:52, Joh 11:9), that whatever view we may take of the balance of probability in each case, there is nothing thus far which is conclusively in favour of the antecedently improbable view, that S. John reckons the hours of the day as we do, from midnight to noon and noon to midnight.

The modern method is sometimes spoken of as the Roman method. This is misleading, as it seems to imply that the Romans counted their hours as we do. If this were so, it would not surprise us so much to find that S. John, living away from Palestine and in the capital of a Roman province, had adopted the Roman reckoning. But the Romans and Greeks, as well as the Jews, counted their hours froth sunrise. Martial, who goes through the day hour by hour (iv. viii.), places the Roman method beyond a doubt. The difference between the Romans and the Jews was not as to the mode of counting the hours, but as to the limits of each individual day. The Jews placed the boundary at sunset, the Romans (as we do) at midnight. (Comp. Pliny Nat. Hist. ii. lxxvii.) The ‘this day’ of Pilate’s wife (Mat 27:19) proves nothing; it would fit either the Roman or the Jewish method; and some suppose her to have been a proselyte. In this particular S. John does seem to have adopted the Roman method; for (Joh 20:19) he speaks of the evening of Easter Day as ‘the same day at evening’ (comp. Luk 24:29; Luk 24:33). This must be admitted as against the explanation that ‘yesterday’ in Joh 4:54 was spoken before midnight and refers to the time before sunset: but the servants may have met their master after midnight.

But there is some evidence of a custom of reckoning the hours from midnight in Asia Minor. Polycarp was martyred ‘at the eighth hour’ ( Mart. Pol. xxi.), Pionius at ‘the tenth hour’ ( Acta Mart. p. 137); both at Smyrna. Such exhibitions commonly took place in the morning (Philo, ii. 529); so that 8.0 and 10.0 a.m. are more probable than 2.0 and 4.0 p.m.

McClellan adds another argument. “The phraseology of our present passage is unique in the Gospels. The hour is mentioned in conjunction with the day. To cite the words of St Augustine, but with the correct rendering of Paraskeu, ‘S. John does not say, It was about the sixth hour of the day, nor merely, It was about the sixth hour, but It was the Friday of the Passover; it was about the Sixth hour.’ Hence in the straightforward sense of the words, the sixth hour that he means is the sixth hour of the Friday; and so it is rendered in the Thebaic Version. But Friday in S. John is the name of the whole Roman civil day, and the Roman civil days are reckoned from midnight.” New Test. i. p. 742.

This solution may therefore be adopted, not as certain, but as less unsatisfactory than the conjecture of a false reading either here or in Mar 15:25, or the various forced interpretations which have been given of S. John’s words. If, however, the mode of reckoning in both Gospels be the same, the preference in point of accuracy must be given to the Evangelist who stood by the cross.

Behold your King.] Like the title on the cross and unlike the “ Ecce Homo,” these words are spoken in bitter irony. This man in His mock insignia is a fit sovereign for the miserable Jews. Perhaps Pilate would also taunt them with their own glorification of Him on Palm Sunday.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The preparation of the passover – See the notes at Mar 15:42.

The sixth hour – Twelve oclock noon. Mark says Mar 15:25 that it was the third hour. See the difficulty explained in the notes at that place.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Joh 19:14

It was the preparation of the passover.

–The name Paraskeue? was given to the day of the week, our Friday, the day before the Sabbath, and had absolutely nothing to do with any preparation for the passover. The Gospels show this beyond a doubt (Mar 15:42; Mt Luk 23:54). If any confirmation were wanted it may be found in the fact that the name is applied in a Greece-Roman decree quoted by Josephus (Ant. 16.6, sec. 2) to the week day which answers to our Friday. Even the phrase which seems most to suggest a different view, the preparation of the passover, here in John, does not mean more than Passover Friday; the Friday in Passover week, and coming, therefore, before a Sabbath more solemn than others (verse 31). It may be noted further that the term Paraskeue? was adopted by the Church, Western as well as Eastern, as a synonym for the Dies Veneris, or Friday. (Archdeacon Watkins.)

And about the sixth hour.–It is difficult to harmonize this statement with Matthews narrative, according to which, at mid-day, Jesus had been for some time on the cross, and still more with Mar 15:25, where it is said that it was the third hour, i.e., nine oclock, when Jesus was crucified. But let it be remembered

1. That the day as a whole was divided, like the night, into four parts of three hours each. This explains why mention is scarcely ever made in the New Testament of any hours except the third, sixth and ninth (cf. Mat 20:1-5)

, and why also the expressions almost or about are so frequent (Mat 27:46; Luk 23:44; Joh 4:6; Act 10:3-9). The , about, is expressly added here. It is therefore certainly allowable to take the mean here, both in Mark and John, especially if it be remembered that the apostles had not watch in hand. As Marks third hour may extend from eight to ten oclock, Johns sixth certainly includes from eleven to twelve.

2. But above all account must be taken of an important circumstance that Matthew and Mark have given to the scourging of Jesus, the meaning which it ordinarily had, and have regarded it as the beginning of the whole punishment. They have consequently identified the two judicial acts which are strictly distinguished by John, that whereby Pilate condemned Jesus to scourging, and that whereby He delivered Him over to the last penalty of death. It is easily conceivable that Mark, having lost sight of the entire interval between the two condemnations, has dated the pronouncing of the sentence of death at the time which was properly that of the sentence of scourging. (F. Godet, D. D.)

He saith unto the Jews, Behold your King

The two kingdoms

The words are words of scorn, at once angry and bitter. Pilate is exasperated by the obstinate determination of the Jews to have the blood of Jesus. He has an infidels contempt for the bigotry and fanaticism of these fierce zealots. He has the contempt of a Roman soldier for conquered provincials, writhing in vain under the heel of the conquerer. And yet, for the moment, these fierce fanatics are too strong for him. They know their own mind, and he does not know his. Thus, in this supreme moment, which (humanly speaking) sealed the fate of Jesus, there come into clear view two distinct kingdoms–two absolutely antagonistic forms of royal power: one, represented by the crown of thorns the other, by the imperial sceptre of Rome; one, impersonated, then and ever since, in Jesus the crucified–the other, for the moment, in a Tiberius. And the question–not then only, but at all times and for all men–is: To which of these two diverse and antagonistic kingdoms shall we yield the homage of our hearts–the indivisible loyalty of soul and will? There is a power which addresses itself to the eye–which dazzles, and by dazzling attracts. And, again, there is a power which addresses itself, not to the eye of sense, but to the spirit within; and which attracts, not by any external dazzling, but by an interior subjugation, to which conscience and heart yield themselves freely and joyfully. The empire of Borne was of the former kind; the empire of Jesus Christ was, and is, of the latter. Power of the former kind is essentially local and fleeting and transient; power of the latter kind may be universal and eternal. The kingdom of Christ has upon it the marks, which indicate, to say the very least, the possibility of such universal and everlasting empire. The ruins and debris of the Roman empire are all that survives to show where and what it once was. Christs kingdom grows stronger and stronger, larger and larger, with every passing century. Even now it is only in its infancy. What will it be? Now this kingdom is founded upon service and sacrifice. He stoops to conquer. He stoops to the likeness of men, in order to conquer humanity for God. The cross is His passport to the throne of our hearts. In our best moments we all acknowledge His right to reign over us. But ever and again, side by side with that kingdom of His, which is not of this world, there comes into view a kingdom which is of this world; the allurements of wealth, or pleasure, or interest, or power–the life lived to self, and not to God. This is our Caesar, brethren. It is of this, that we find ourselves, again and again, tempted to cry, We have no king but Caesar. More than this. According as we yield ourselves to the sway of the one kingdom or of the other–the kingdom which is of this world, or the kingdom which is not of this world–accordingly do we exercise, in nut own small place and day, the powersof that kingdom. They transmit themselves through us as their agents, and we become workers for the one kingdom or the other, as the case may be. Will we offer ourselves to Christ, our rightful king, in a truly loyal allegiance? Forthwith, behold, we become, as it were, a medium of communication between Him and the world around us. He works through us. He seats us, if we may say so, on the lowest step of His own throne. We share His present power, even now; as we shall share His future, final triumph, hereafter. If, on the other hand, we yield ourselves to the Caesar of this world, and allow him practically, in any one or more of his many forms, to rule over us; we do so, not for ourselves only and to the peril of our own souls, but for others also and to the peril of theirs. No man liveth to himself. No man can so isolate himself from his fellows, that no influence, either for evil or for good, shall pass through him to them. No man can either ruin or save his own soul, without doing something, it may be much, to ruin or to save the souls of others. The picture may seem to some overdrawn. True: it is an ideal picture. In actual experience, no life is wholly surrendered to the sway, either of the kingdom of Christ, or of the kingdom of this world. Motives, actions, characters–all, in real life, are, more or less, mixed. The worst have traits of goodness. The best bear at least the scars of conquered evil. Yet still, the weight of every human soul–the momentum of every human life–is flung distinctly andunmistakably, in its net result, either on Christs side or on Caesars. Brethren, which of these two alternatives do we embrace? (D. J.Vaughan, M. A.)

Ecce Rex

1. Pilate spake far more than he understood, and therefore we shall not confine ourselves to his meaning.

2. Everything concerning our Lord was more than ever full of meaning just then; the saying of Caiaphas, the fleeing of the disciples, the dividing of His garments, the soldier piercing His side, &c.

3. It was to the Jews that Jesus was brought forth, and by them He was rejected; yet was He distinctly declared to be their King.

4. The same is repeated at this day among those favoured with special privileges; but whether they accept Him or not, He is assuredly in some sense or other their King.

5. To the summons of the text the answer was mockery.

6. We would with deepest reverence draw near and behold our King. Behold Him

I. PREPARING HIS THRONE.

1. He lays the foundation of it in His suffering nature.

2. He makes it a throne of grace by His atoning griefs.

3. He prepares access to it through His ability to have compassion on those who come to Him, by partaking in all their sorrows.

4. He canopies and glorifies it by the shame to which He willingly and unreservedly yields Himself. Believe in the perpetuity of a throne thus founded.

II. CLAIMING OUR HOMAGE. By the right of

1. Supreme love.

2. Complete purchase.

3. Grateful consecration, which we heartily accord to Him under a sense of loving gratitude. Glory in rendering homage thus made due.

III. SUBDUING HIS DOMINIONS.

1. Jews and Gentiles are won to obedience by beholding His sufferings for them.

2. This brings in His own elect everywhere.

3. This restores backsliders. They look to Him whom they have pierced, and return to their allegiance.

4. This holds all His true servants captive; they glory in yielding their all to Him who was thus put to shame for them.

5. This subdues all things unto Him. By His Cross and Passion He reigns in heaven, earth, and hell. Bow low before the sceptre of His Cross.

IV. SETTING FORTH THE PATTERN OF HIS KINGDOM. He stands there the Prophet and the Type of His own dominion.

1. It is no earthly kingdom: the difference is palpable to all.

2. It is associated with shame and suffering, both on the part of the King and of His loyal subjects.

3. It is based on His love and self-sacrifice: this is His right of sovereignty, this His force of arms, this the source of His revenue.

4. It is made resplendent by His woes: these are the insignia and ornaments of His court; His glory even in heaven. Glory only in the Cross.

V. PROVING THE CERTAINTY OF HIS KINGDOM

1. Is He King there in His shame? Then, assuredly, He is King now that He has risen from the dead, and gone into the glory.

2. Is He King amid shame and pain? Then He is able to help us if we are in like case.

3. Is He King while paying the price of our redemption? Then, certainly, He is King now that it is paid, and He has become the Author of eternal salvation.

4. Is He King at Pilates bar? Then truly He will be so when Pilate stands at His bar to be judged. Conclusion:

1. Come hither, saints, and pay your accustomed worship!

2. Come hither, sinners, and adore for the first time! (C. H.Spureon.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 14. It was the preparation of the Passover] That is, the time in which they were just preparing to kill the paschal lamb. Critics differ widely concerning the time of our Lord’s crucifixion; and this verse is variously understood. Some think it signifies merely the preparation of the Sabbath; and that it is called the preparation of the passover, because the preparation of the Sabbath happened that year on the eve of the Passover. Others think that the preparation of the Sabbath is distinctly spoken of in Joh 19:31, and was different from what is here mentioned. Contending nations may be more easily reconciled than contending critics.

The sixth hour] Mark says, Mr 15:25, that it was the third hour. , the third, is the reading of DL, four others, the Chron. Alex., Seuerus Antiochen., Ammonius, with others mentioned by Theophylact. Nonnus, who wrote in the fifth century, reads , the third. As in ancient times all the numbers were written in the manuscripts not at large but in numeral letters, it was easy for three, to be mistaken for six. The Codex Bezae has generally numeral letters instead of words. Bengel observes that he has found the letter gamma, THREE, exceedingly like the episemon, SIX, in some MSS. Episemon = greek ‘st’ combined, similar appearance to final form sigma with a nearly flat top. Similar appearance to upper case gamma. The major part of the best critics think that , the third, is the genuine reading. See Clarke on Mr 15:25.

Behold your king!] This was probably intended as an irony; and, by thus turning their pretended serious apprehensions into ridicule, he hoped still to release him.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The preparation to any feast signifies the day before it, because on that day they prepared whatsoever according to the law was necessary for the solemnization. Some much doubt whether in this place the passover signifies strictly the paschal supper, which it could not do if the Jews strictly this year kept to the law; for the fourteenth day of the month Nisan at evening was the time when most certainly Christ kept it, who ate it the night before. It is therefore more probably thought, that by the passover here is meant their great festival, which was upon the fifteenth day. See Poole on “Joh 18:28“. John tells us it was

about the sixth hour; that is, in the latter part of the interval between nine oclock in the morning and twelve at noon: for the division of the day according to the Jews was in four parts; the first was from the rising of the sun till our nine in the morning, and was called the third hour; the other was from the third hour to the sixth, that is, twelve oclock at noon; the third division was from their sixth hour to the ninth, that is, three oclock with us in the afternoon; the fourth division was from the ninth hour to sunset, that is, with us six oclock in the evening, when the sun is in the equinox. Now, not only the time when any of these hours came was called either the third or sixth hour, but the space of three hours allotted to each division was so called, when the next division began: so the time of our Saviours crucifixion is recorded by Mark to be the third hour; that is, the whole space from nine oclock to twelve was not quite gone, though it was near at an end; and by the evangelist here it is said, that it was about the sixth hour, that is, near our twelve oclock. And thus the different relations are clearly reconciled.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

14. It was the preparationthatis, the day before the Jewish sabbath.

and about the sixth hourThetrue reading here is probably, “the third hour”ornine A.M.which agreesbest with the whole series of events, as well as with the otherEvangelists.

he saith to the Jews, Beholdyour King!Having now made up his mind to yield to them, hetakes a sort of quiet revenge on them by this irony, which he knewwould sting them. This only reawakens their cry to despatch Him.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And it was the preparation of the passover,…. So the Jews x say, that Jesus suffered on the eve of the passover; and the author of the blasphemous account of his life says y, it was the eve both of the passover and the sabbath; which account so far agrees with the evangelic history; but then this preparation of the passover was not of the passover lamb, for that had been prepared and eaten the night before. Nor do I find that there was any particular day which was called “the preparation of the passover” in such sense, and much less that this day was the day before the eating of the passover. According to the law in Ex 12:3 the lamb for the passover was to be separated from the rest of the flock on the tenth day of the month, and to be kept up till the fourteenth; but this is never called the preparation of the passover; and was it so called, it cannot be intended here; the preparing and making ready the passover the evangelists speak of, were on the same day it was eaten, and design the getting ready a place to eat it in, and things convenient for that purpose, and the killing the lamb, and dressing it, and the like, Mt 26:17 there is what the Jews call , which was a space of fifteen days before the passover, and began at the middle of the thirty days before the feast, in which they used to ask questions, and explain the traditions concerning the passover z: but this is never called the preparation of the passover: and on the night of the fourteenth month they sought diligently, in every hole and corner of their houses, for leavened bread, in order to remove it a; but this also never went by any such name: wherefore, if any respect is had to the preparation for the passover, it must either design the preparation of the “Chagigah”, which was a grand festival, commonly kept on the fifteenth day, and which was sometimes called the passover; or else the preparation for the whole feast all the remaining days of it; [See comments on Joh 18:28] but it seems best of all to understand it only of the preparation for the sabbath, which, because it was in the passover week, is called the passover preparation day: and it may be observed, that it is sometimes only called “the day of the preparation”, and “the preparation”,

Mt 27:62 and sometimes the “Jews’ preparation day”, Joh 19:42 and it is explained by the Evangelist

Mr 15:42. “It was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath”; on which they both prepared themselves for the sabbath, and food to eat on that day; and this being the time of the passover likewise, the preparation was the greater: and therefore to distinguish this preparation day for the sabbath, from others, it is called the passover preparation; nor have I observed that any other day is called the preparation but that before the sabbath: the Jews dispute about preparing food for the sabbath on a feast day, as this was; they seem to forbid it, but afterwards soften their words, and allow it with some provisos: their canon runs thus b;

“a feast day which falls on the eve of the sabbath, a man may not boil (anything) at the beginning of the feast day for the sabbath; but he may boil for the feast day; and if there is any left, it may be left for the sabbath; and he may make a boiling on the eve of a feast day, and depend on it for the sabbath: the house of Shamtoni say two boilings; and the house of Hillell say one boiling.”

Bartenora on the passage observes, that some say the reason of this boiling on the evening of a feast day, is for the honour of the sabbath; for because from the evening of the feast day, the sabbath is remembered, that which is best is chosen for the sabbath, that the sabbath may not be forgotten through the business of the feast day. The account Maimonides c gives of this matter is,

“on a common day they “prepare” for the sabbath, and on a common day they prepare for a feast day; but they do not prepare on a feast day for the sabbath, nor is the sabbath, , “a preparation” for a feast day.”

This seems to be contrary to the practice of the Jews in the time of Christ, as related by the evangelists, understanding by the preparation they speak of, a preparation of food for the sabbath; but what he afterwards says d makes some allowance for it:

“a feast day, which happens to be on the eve of the sabbath, (Friday,) they neither bake nor boil, on a feast day what is eaten on the morrow, on the sabbath; and this prohibition is from the words of the Scribes, (not from the word of God,) that a man should not boil any thing on a feast day for a common day, and much less for the sabbath; but if he makes a boiling (or prepares food) on the evening of a feast day on which he depends and boils and bakes on a feast day for the sabbath, lo, this is lawful; and that on which he depends is called the mingling of food.”

And this food, so called, was a small portion of food prepared on a feast for the sabbath, though not less than the quantity of an olive, whether for one man or a thousand e; by virtue of which, they depending on it for the sabbath, they might prepare whatever they would, after having asked a blessing over it, and saying f,

“by this mixture it is free for me to bake and boil on a feast day what is for the morrow, the sabbath; and if a man prepares for others, he must say for me, and for such an one, and such an one; or for the men of the city, and then all of them may bake and boil on a feast day for the sabbath.”

And about the sixth hour; to which agrees the account in Mt 27:45,

Lu 23:44 but Mr 15:25 says that “it was the third hour, and they crucified him”; and Beza says, he found it so written in one copy; and so read Peter of Alexandria, Beza’s ancient copy, and some others, and Nonnus: but the copies in general agree in, and confirm the common reading, and which is differently accounted for; some by the different computations of the Jews and Romans; others by observing that the day was divided into four parts, each part containing three hours, and were called the third, the sixth, the ninth, and the twelfth hours; and not only that time, when one of these hours came, was called by that name, but also from that all the space of the three hours, till the next came, was called by the name of the former: for instance, all the space from nine o’clock till twelve was called “the third hour”; and all from twelve till three in the afternoon “the sixth hour”: hence the time of Christ’s crucifixion being supposed to be somewhat before, but yet near our twelve of the clock, it may be truly here said that it was about the sixth hour; and as truly by Mark the third hour; that space, which was called by the name of the third hour, being not yet passed, though it drew toward an end. This way go Godwin and Hammond, whose words I have expressed, and bids fair for the true solution of the difficulty: though it should be observed, that Mark agrees with the other evangelists about the darkness which was at the sixth hour, the time of Christ’s crucifixion, Mr 15:33 and it is to be remarked, that he does not say that it was the third hour “when” they crucified him, or that they crucified him at the third hour; but it was the third hour, “and” they crucified him, as Dr. Lightfoot observes. It was the time of day when they should have been at the daily sacrifice, and preparing for the solemnity of that day particularly, which was their Chagigah, or grand feast; but instead of this they were prosecuting his crucifixion, which they brought about by the sixth hour. And about this time Pilate said, and did the following things:

and he saith unto the Jews, behold your king; whom some of your people, it seems, have owned for their king, and you charge as setting up himself as one; see what a figure he makes; does he look like a king? this he said, in order to move upon their affections, that, if possible, they might agree to release him, and to shame them out of putting such a poor despicable creature to death; and as upbraiding them for their folly, in fearing anything from so mean and contemptible a man.

x T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 43. 1. & 67. 1. y Toldos Jesu, p. 18. z Misn. Shekalim, c. 3. sect. 1. & Bartenora in ib. T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 6. 1. a Misn. Pesachim, c. 1. sect. 1, 2, 3. b Misn. Betza, c. 2. sect. 1. c Hilchot Yom Tob. c. 1. sect. 19. d Ib. c. 6. sect. 1. e Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Betza, c. 2. sect. 1. f Maimon. Hilchot Yom Tob, c. 6. sect. 8.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Preparation of the passover ( ). That is, Friday of passover week, the preparation day before the Sabbath of passover week (or feast). See also verses John 19:31; John 19:42; Mark 15:42; Matt 27:62; Luke 23:54 for this same use of for Friday. It is the name for Friday today in Greece.

About the sixth hour ( ). Roman time, about 6 A.M. (a little after 6 no doubt) when Pilate rendered his final decision. Mark (Mr 15:25) notes that it was the third hour (Jewish time), which is 9 A.M. Roman time, when the crucifixion began. Why should John give Jewish time writing at the close of the first century when Jerusalem and the Jewish state passed away in A.D. 70? He is writing for Greek and Roman readers.

Behold your king ( ). is here an exclamation with no effect on the case of just as in 1:29. The sarcasm of Pilate is aimed at the Jews, not at Jesus.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Sixth hour. See on 1 39.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

THE KING REJECTED BY THE JEWS V. 14, 15

1) “And it was the preparation of the passover,” (hen de paraskeue tou pascha) “Now it was the passover preparation time,” the very day on which our Lord was crucified, Mat 27:62, the “feast preparation,” not the regular sabbath.

2) “And about the sixth hour,” (hora hen hos hekte) “Which was about the sixth hour,” according to the Roman computation, used by John, and referred to as the third hour by Mark, Mar 15:25, who used the Hebrew marking of time.

3) “And he saith unto the Jews,” (kai legei tois loudaiois) “And he said to the Jews,” from the open judgment seat, Joh 19:13, to the masses there waiting for the end of Jesus.

4) “Behold, your King!” (ide ho basileus humon) “Behold the king who is yours,” a statement of sarcasm and rage, the one who is yours, to dispose of, to use as you choose, to feed to the lions of Caesar, if you please. Behold the hate of any who would seek to usurp kingly rule under Roman rule, without Caesar’s sanction! That is what you charge that this Jesus has done and is doing, Luk 23:2.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

14. About the sixth hour. The Evangelists appear to differ, and even to contradict each other, in the computation of time. The other three Evangelists say that the darkness came on about the sixth hour, while Christ was hanging on the cross, (Mat 27:45; Mar 15:33; Luk 23:44.) Mark, too says expressly that it was the third hour when the sentence was pronounced on him, (Mar 15:25.) But this may be easily explained. It is plain enough from other passages that the day was at that time divided into four parts, as the night also contained four watches; in consequence of which, the Evangelists sometimes allot not more than four hours to each day, and extend each hour to three, and, at the same time, reckon the space of an hour, which was drawing to a close, as belonging to the next part. According to this calculation, John relates that Christ was condemned about the sixth hour, because the time of the day was drawing towards the sixth hour, or towards the second part of the day. Hence we infer that Christ was crucified at or about the sixth hour; for, as the Evangelist afterwards mentions, (Joh 19:20,) the place was near to the city. The darkness began between the sixth and ninth hour, and lasted till the ninth hour, at which time Christ died.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(14) And it was the preparation of the passover.Comp. Note on Mat. 26:17, and Excursus F: The Day of the Crucifixion of our Lord.

And about the sixth hour.Comp. Notes on Mat. 27:45; Mar. 15:25; Luk. 23:44. St. Johns statement of time (twelve oclock) seems opposed to that of St. Mark, who states that the Crucifixion took place at the third hour (nine oclock); and no solution of the discrepancy is wholly satisfactory.

There are, as we may have expected, some variations of MSS., and as early as the time of Eusebius we find a suggestion that third should be here read for sixth. No competent critic would, however, for a moment admit that either in the parallel in St. Mark, or in this passage, there is even a strong presumption in favour of any reading except that of the Received text.

The common supposition that St. John adopted the Roman division of hours, and that by sixth hour he meant six oclock is equally unsatisfactory. (Comp. Notes on Joh. 1:39; Joh. 4:6; Joh. 4:52; Joh. 11:9.) Even if it could be proved that this method was in use at the time, the fact would not help us; for if we read this text as meaning six oclock, it is as much too early for the harmony as twelve oclock is too late.

It is better, therefore, simply to admit that there is a difficulty arising from our ignorance of the exact order of events, or, it may be, of the exact words which the Evangelists wrote.
Candidly admitting this, and not attempting to explain it away, we may still note:

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

(14) Behold your King!The words are spoken in bitter irony towards the Jews, as those in the following verse and those written over the cross (Joh. 19:19). (Comp. Note on Mat. 27:37.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

14. It was the preparation The day before the Jewish (Saturday) Sabbath, that is, Friday, the day of crucifixion. As the Jewish Sabbath commenced on the evening of the preceding Friday, so the latter part of Friday was originally devoted to a preparation for the Sabbath. But, gradually, the time of preparation was extended, and, finally, the whole day became the preparation.

Of the passover That is, it was the Sabbath-preparation in the Passover week.

About the sixth hour That is, toward noon. But Mar 15:25, says it was the third hour when they crucified him. Attempts have been made to show this to be a contradiction. The third hour would be nine o’clock. But Mark does not say precisely that he was crucified at nine o’clock. He truly says that the preceding events brought it to nine o’clock, and after that they crucified him. The process resulting in his crucifixion commenced about nine o’clock, and John says the crucifixion took place not exactly at twelve, but about that time. Precise measurement of time, brought about by modern science and accurate timepieces, was unknown to antiquity.

Behold your King! One of the sarcastic expressions of the indignant Pilate against the Jews.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Now it was the Friday (or preparation) of the Passover, it was about the sixth hour.’

The word for ‘preparation’ (paraskeue) meant primarily ‘Friday’, as it still does in modern Greek, and had done from time immemorial. This was because it was the day before the Sabbath. Thus this need mean no more than that it was the Friday of Passover week. It could, however also mean ‘preparation day’, i.e. preparation for a festival, in this case the Passover.

‘About the sixth hour’. This is the comment of someone who vaguely remembers roughly the time of day. There were no watches or public clocks and time was not as important then as it is now. If ‘about the sixth hour’ is in Roman time indicating around six in the morning, this would be about 6:00 am on a Friday morning, but it probably means nothing more than a vague ‘early in the day’. If it is Jewish time it is ‘about noon’. In this case it may be simply John’s intention to link the time in the reader’s mind with the time when the Passover sacrifices could commence, stressing that Jesus is the Passover lamb, without being too specific as to time. The former seems more probable as John appears constantly to use Roman time.

The term ‘paraskeue’ could be used for the ‘preparation day’ for a festival, and some would see it as referring to the day for preparing for the Passover feast. If in this particular year two Passovers were celebrated on successive days then this could be its meaning, but it is not required by the Greek (see on Joh 18:28). The idea that John would actually seek to change the well established tradition in the early church, recognised in all three Synoptic Gospels, that this was the day after Jesus’ celebration of the Passover, is ludicrous and could only be considered if there were no evidence to the contrary.

The good detective and the good historian do not jump to conclusions on just ‘the obvious’. They try to fit all the pieces together. It is often the unwillingness to reject the clue that appears out of line that results in the truth being discovered. This is the basis of true scholarship (and true detective work).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

‘And he says to the Judaisers, “Look, see your king.” They therefore cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him.” Pilate says to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The Chief Priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

Today we would call it mob rule, except that sadly the mob were the judicial authorities. There were no witnesses called, there was no evidence laid, the verdict was based on passion and political expediency. Pilate felt he could no longer resist. He made one final feeble attempt and then gave up. The Jewish leaders were determined to have blood, and not only to have blood but to have it by a method that would bring a curse on the One Who died, by His hanging on a cross. They wanted Him shamed.

There is no way in which they can be exonerated, although attempts have been made to do so. Every good Jew must equally condemn them for their behaviour. And the truth is unavoidable because it is not based on the Gospel records but on the facts of what actually happened, that Jesus actually lived an outstanding life, as revealed by His teachings, that He was crucified, and that Pilate and Rome had nothing to gain by His death. The records simply verify what we would already surmise.

‘We have no king but Caesar’. It was a good job that the common people did not hear this statement. Any Pharisees present must have been squirming. This ran contrary to the whole of Jewish belief. They were betraying their own people. They were rejecting the hope of the Messiah. To most Jews God was king and Caesar an intruder whom they longed to get rid of, and they looked for God to send their Messiah to set them free. But to the Chief Priests Caesar was important because he maintained the status quo and thus their power base. In less than forty years they would be totally disillusioned, and their power would be broken.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Joh 19:14. And it was the preparation The governor being frightened into compliance, contrary to his inclination, was angry with the priests for stirring up the people to such a pitch of madness, and resolved to affront them. He therefore brought Jesus out a second time on the pavement, wearing the purple robe and crown of thorns, with his hands manacled; and, pointing to him, said, Behold your king; either in ridicule of the national expectation, or, which is more probable, to soften the Jews, and shew them how vain the fears were which they pretended to entertain about the emperor’s authority in Judea; the person who was the occasion of them, shewing, in the whole of his deportment, a temper of mind no way consonant to the ambition wherewith they branded him. Augustus’s rescript to the governors of provinces preserved by Josephus, Antiq. Joh 16:10 shews in what manner the Jews computed their preparation for the sabbath; for, among other things, it is therein ordered, that the Jews should not be compelled to appear in courts of judicature, either on the sabbaths, or on the day before the sabbaths, after the ninth hour of the preparation. The preparation therefore began at the ninth hour, or at three o’clock in the afternoon, which is the reason that the Jews were then freed from attendance in law-suits. Nevertheless, the manner in which the rescript is worded shews, that the whole of the day was called the preparation, consequently the evangelist wrote accurately, when he tells us, it was the preparation, and about the sixth hour. The Roman sixth hour is here meant, or our six o’clock in the morning, answering to the first Jewish hour, when Pilate brought Jesus out on the pavement.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Joh 19:14 . Day and hour of the decisive moment, after which the narrative then proceeds with , . . ., without the necessity of placing in a parenthesis (rather, with Lachm. and Tisch., between two points).

. ] That the may not be understood of the weekly one, referable to the Sabbath (Joh 19:31 ; Joh 19:42 ; Luk 23:54 ; Mar 15:42 ; Mat 27:62 ; Josephus, Antt . xvi. 6. 2, et al .), but may be referred to the Passover feast-day, of which it was the preparation-day, John expressly subjoins . It was certainly a Friday , consequently also a preparation-day before the Sabbath; but it is not this reference which is here to be remarked, but the reference to the paschal feast beginning on the evening of the day, the first feast-day of which fell, according to John, on the Sabbath. The expression corresponds to the Hebr. , not indeed verbally (for = ), but as to the thing. Those expositors who do not recognise the deviation of John from the Synoptics in respect of the day of Jesus’ death (see on Joh 18:28 ), explain it as: the Friday in the Passover week (see especially Wieseler, p. 336 f.; Wichelhaus, p. 209 f., and Hengstenberg in loc., also Riggenbach). But it is in the later ecclesiastical language that . first denotes directly Friday (see Suicer, Thesaur.), as frequently also in the Constitt. ap., and that in virtue of the reference to be therewith supplied to the Sabbath; which, however, cannot be here supplied, since another genitival reference is expressly given. An appeal is erroneously made to the analogy of Ignat. Phil. 13. interpol., where it is said that one should not fast on the Sunday or Sabbath, ; for (1) in and of itself is a complete designation of a day; (2) . here denotes by no means the Sabbath in the Easter-tide, but the Sabbath of the Easter-day, i.e. the Saturday which precedes Easter-day, Easter Saturday. All the more decidedly, however, is this harmonistic and forced solution to be rejected, since, further, all the remaining statements of time in John place the death of Jesus before the first feast-day (see on Joh 13:1 , Joh 18:28 ); and since John, if he had had the first feast-day before him as the day of death, would not have designated the latter (subtle evasions in Hengstenberg), with such a want of distinctness and definiteness, as “the Friday in Passover” (which in truth might have also been any other of the seven feast-days), especially here, where he wishes to proceed with such precision that he states even the hour. Comp. further Bleek, Beitr. p. 114 f.; Rckert, Abendm. p. 31 ff.; Hilgenfeld, Paschastr. p. 149 f., and in his Zeitschr. 1867, p. 190. Against Schneckenburger, Beitr. p. 1 ff., who, by referring . to the feast of harvest, likewise brings out the 15th Nisan as the day of death, but makes it a Wednesday, see Wieseler, p. 338 f.

] According to the Jewish reckoning of hours, therefore twelve o’clock at noon, again a deviation from the Synoptics, according to whom (see Mar 15:25 , with which also Mat 27:45 , Luk 23:44 agree) Jesus is crucified as early as nine o’clock in the morning, which variation in the determination of this great point of time includes much too large a space of time to allow us to resolve it into a mere indefiniteness in the statement of the hour, and, with Godet, following Lange, to say lightly: “the apostles had no watch in hand,” especially as according to Matt. and Luke the darkening of the earth is already expressly ascribed to the sixth hour. Since, however, with Hofmann, [239] with whom Lichtenstein agrees, we cannot divide the words: , , but it was preparation-day, it was about the sixth hour of the paschal feast (reckoned, namely, from midnight forwards), which forced and artificial explanation would absolutely set aside , in spite of therewith expressed, and would yield an unexampled mode of computation of hours, namely, of the feast , not of the day (against Joh 1:40 , Joh 4:6 ; Joh 4:52 ); since, further, the reading in our present passage is, both externally and internally, certain, and the already ancient assumption of a copyist’s mistake (Eusebius, Beza, Exo 5 , Bengel; according to Ammonius, Severinus, in Theophylact, Petavius: an interchange of the numeral signs and ) is purely arbitrary; since, further, as generally in John (comp. on Joh 1:40 , Joh 4:6 ; Joh 4:52 ), the assumption is groundless, [240] that he is reckoning according to the Roman enumeration of hours (Rettig, Tholuck, Olshausen, Krabbe, Hug, Maier, Ewald, Isenberg; substantially so Wieseler, p. 414, who calls to his aid the first feast-day, Exo 12:29 , which begins precisely at midnight); since, finally, the quarter of a day beginning with this hour cannot be made out of the third hour of Mark (Calvin, Grotius, Jansen, Wetstein, and others, comp. Krafft, p. 147; see in opposition, Mar 15:33-34 ), and just as little (Hengstenberg, comp. Godet) can the sixth hour of John (comp. Joh 4:6 ) be taken into consideration only as the time of day in question; [241] the variation must thus be left as it is, and the preference must be given to the disciple who stood under the cross. The Johannean statement of the hour is not, however, in itself improbable, since the various proceedings in and near the praetorium, in which also the sending to Herod, Luk 23:7 ff., is to be included (see on Joh 18:38 ), may probably have extended from , Joh 18:28 , until noon (in answer to Brckner); while the execution, on the adjacent place of execution, quickly followed the judicial sentence, and without any intermediate occurrence, and the death of Jesus must have taken place unusually early, not to take into account the space which leaves open. Comp. Marcus Gnost. in Irenaeus, Haer . i. 14. 6 : , . For the way, however, in which even this statement of time is deduced from the representation of the paschal lamb (the writer desired to bring out the , Exo 12:6 ; Lev 23:5 ; Num 9:3 ), see in Weisse, Evangelienfrage , p. 131.

. !] Pilate is indeed determined, on ascending his judicial seat, to overcome his sentiment of right; but, notwithstanding, in this decisive moment, with his moral weakness between the twofold fear of the Son of God and of the Caesar, he still, before actually yielding, makes the bitter remark against the Jews: see, there is your king ! imprudently, without effect, but at least satisfying in some degree the irony of the situation, into the pinch of which he sees himself brought.

[239] In the Zeitschr. f. Prot. u. Kirche , 1853, Oct. p. 260 ff., and Schriftbew . II. 2, p. 204 f.

[240] In fact, it is precisely in the present passage that the inadmissibility of the Roman enumeration of hours is shown. For if Jesus was brought , Joh 18:28 , to the praetorium, it is impossible that after all the transactions which here took place, including the scourging, mocking, and also the sending to Herod (who questioned Him , Luk 23:9 , and derided Him), the case can have been matured for sentence as early as six o’clock in the morning, that is, at the end of about two, or at most three hours.

[241] On this theory Hengstenberg forms the certainly very simple example: the combination of the statements of Mark and John yields the result, that the sentence of condemnation and the leading away falls in the middle , between the third and sixth hour, therefore about 10.30 o’clock . Were this correct , the statements of both evangelists would be incorrect , and we should avoid Scylla to fall into Charybdis. Godet only renews the idle subterfuge that in Mar 15:25 the crucifixion is reckoned from the scourging forwards .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

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

Ver. 14. Behold your King ] q.d. A likely matter that this poor man should affect the kingdom; and not rather that he is like to lose his life, by forged cavillation. Christ himself was misreported and falsely accused, saith Father Latimer, both as touching his words and meaning also. Korah and his complices object to the meekest of men with one breath, pride, ambition, usurpation of authority, Invenies apud Tacitum frequentatas accusationes maiestatis: unicum crimen eorum qui crimine vacabant. (Lips. in Tacit.)

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

14. . ] The signification, ‘Friday in the Passover week’ (using for ‘day before the sabbath,’ as reff. Matt., Luke, and . as in . Ps.-Ign. ad Philip. c. 13, p. 937, ed. Migne), has found many and some recent defenders: see especially Wieseler, Chron. Synops. i. 335 ff. But this is not its natural meaning, nor would it ever have been thought of in this place, but for the difficulty arising from the whole Passover question, which I have discussed on Mat 26:17-19 , and on ch. Joh 18:28 .

. . answers to , and is ‘ the vigil of the Passover ,’ i.e. the day preceding the evening when the passover was killed. And so it must be understood here, especially when connected with ch. Joh 18:28 . See on the whole matter the notes above referred to.

] There is an insuperable difficulty as the text now stands. For Mark relates, ch. Joh 15:25 , that the crucifixion took place at the third hour: and that it certainly was so, the whole arrangement of the day testifies. For on the one hand, the judgement could hardly have taken the whole day till noon: and on the other, there will not thus be time left for the rest of the events of the day, before the sabbath began. We must certainly suppose, as did Eusebius, Theophylact, and Severus (in the Catena, Lcke, ii. 756), that there has been some very early erratum in our copies; whether the interchange of (3) and (6), or some other, cannot now be determined. Lcke and Friedlieb defend the sixth hour: but the above difficulties seem to me decisive against it.

We certainly may approximate the two accounts by recollecting that as the crucifixion itself certainly did not (as in Mark) take place exactly at the third hour, and as here it is , some intermediate time may be described by both Evangelists. But this is not satisfactory: see note on Mar 15:25 . The solution given by Bp. Wordsworth after Townson and others, that St. John’s reckoning of the hours is different, and like our own, so that the sixth hour = 6 A.M., besides being unsupported by any authority (see ch. Joh 1:39 ; Joh 4:6 ; Joh 4:52 ; Joh 11:9 , and notes), would leave here the difficulty that there must thus elapse three hours between the hearing before Pilate and the Crucifixion. Besides which, we may ask, is it possible to imagine St. John, with the other Gospels before him as these expositors believe him to have had, adopting without notice an independent reckoning of his own which would introduce utter confusion into that history which (again on their hypothesis) he wrote his Gospel to complete and clear up?

The words . . seem to have been spoken in irony to the Jews in the same spirit in which afterwards the title was written over the cross: partly perhaps also, as in that case, in consequence of the saying in Joh 19:12 , to sever himself altogether from the suspicion there cast on him.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Joh 19:14 . , “now it was the preparation of the Passover”. was the usual appellation of Friday, the day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. Here the addition shows that it is used of the day preceding the Passover. This day was, as it happened, a Friday, but it is the relation to the feast, not to the ordinary Sabbath, that is here indicated. Cf. Joh 19:42 . . “It was about the sixth hour,” i.e. , about 12 o’clock. But Mark (Mar 15:25 ) says: “It was the third hour and they crucified Him”. The various methods of reconciling the statements are given in Andrew’s Life of Our Lord , p. 545 ff. Meyer leaves it unsolved “and the preference must be given to the disciple who stood under the cross”. But if the crucifixion took place midway between nine and twelve o’clock, it was quite natural that one observer should refer it to the former, while another referred it to the latter hour. The height of the sun in the sky was the index of the time of day; and while it was easy to know whether it was before or after midday, or whether the sun was more or less than half-way between the zenith and the horizon, finer distinctions of time were not recognisable without consulting the sun-dials, which were not everywhere at hand. Cf. the interesting passages from rabbinical literature in Wetstein, and Professor Ramsay’s article in the Expositor , 1893, vol. vii., p. 216. The latter writer found the same conditions in Turkish villages, and “cannot feel anything serious” in the discrepancy between John and Mark. “The Apostles had no means of avoiding the difficulty as to whether it was the third or the sixth hour when the sun was near mid-heaven, and they cared very little about the point.” , “and he says to the Jews: Behold your king!” words uttered apparently in sarcasm and rage. If he still wished to free Jesus, his bitterness was impolitic.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

the preparation: i.e. the day before the Passover was eaten “at even” on the 14th Nisan. All four Gospels state that our Lord was entombed on the Preparation Day (verses: Joh 19:31, Joh 19:42. Mat 27:62. Mar 15:42. Luk 23:54). See App-165.

the sixth hour: i.e. midnight. The hours in all the Gospels are according to Hebrew reckoning: i.e. from sunset to sunset. See App-156. Some have thought that the events from Joh 13:1 could not be crowded into so brief a space, but the Jews were in deadly earnest to get all finished before the Passover, and in such a case events move quickly.

he saith, &c. In irony here, as in pity (Joh 19:5). Some have thought that, in Joh 19:13, “sat” should be “set Him”. Justin Martyr says, “They set Him on the judgment-seat and said, ‘ Judge us’ “(First Apology, xxxv). But out of forty-eight occurrences of the verb kathiza, only one other (Eph 1:20) is, without question, used transitively.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

14. .] The signification, Friday in the Passover week (using for day before the sabbath, as reff. Matt., Luke, and . as in . Ps.-Ign. ad Philip. c. 13, p. 937, ed. Migne), has found many and some recent defenders: see especially Wieseler, Chron. Synops. i. 335 ff. But this is not its natural meaning, nor would it ever have been thought of in this place, but for the difficulty arising from the whole Passover question, which I have discussed on Mat 26:17-19, and on ch. Joh 18:28.

. . answers to , and is the vigil of the Passover, i.e. the day preceding the evening when the passover was killed. And so it must be understood here, especially when connected with ch. Joh 18:28. See on the whole matter the notes above referred to.

] There is an insuperable difficulty as the text now stands. For Mark relates, ch. Joh 15:25, that the crucifixion took place at the third hour: and that it certainly was so, the whole arrangement of the day testifies. For on the one hand, the judgement could hardly have taken the whole day till noon: and on the other, there will not thus be time left for the rest of the events of the day, before the sabbath began. We must certainly suppose, as did Eusebius, Theophylact, and Severus (in the Catena, Lcke, ii. 756), that there has been some very early erratum in our copies; whether the interchange of (3) and (6), or some other, cannot now be determined. Lcke and Friedlieb defend the sixth hour: but the above difficulties seem to me decisive against it.

We certainly may approximate the two accounts by recollecting that as the crucifixion itself certainly did not (as in Mark) take place exactly at the third hour, and as here it is , some intermediate time may be described by both Evangelists. But this is not satisfactory: see note on Mar 15:25. The solution given by Bp. Wordsworth after Townson and others, that St. Johns reckoning of the hours is different, and like our own, so that the sixth hour = 6 A.M., besides being unsupported by any authority (see ch. Joh 1:39; Joh 4:6; Joh 4:52; Joh 11:9, and notes), would leave here the difficulty that there must thus elapse three hours between the hearing before Pilate and the Crucifixion. Besides which, we may ask, is it possible to imagine St. John, with the other Gospels before him as these expositors believe him to have had, adopting without notice an independent reckoning of his own which would introduce utter confusion into that history which (again on their hypothesis) he wrote his Gospel to complete and clear up?

The words . . seem to have been spoken in irony to the Jews-in the same spirit in which afterwards the title was written over the cross:-partly perhaps also, as in that case, in consequence of the saying in Joh 19:12,-to sever himself altogether from the suspicion there cast on him.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

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

They had accused him of being a King, or of pretending to be one. Pilate had scourged him, the soldiers had mocked him, and there he stood piteous spectacle of woe. What cruel sarcasm there was in the tones of the Governor when he said to the Jews, Behold your King.

Joh 19:15. But they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?

How could you call him King, and bring against him a charge of setting up a rival kingdom when you, who would be his subjects, are all crying out, Crucify him? Shall I crucify your King? How false they were their own actions proved.

Joh 19:15. The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caesar.

They said this with all the coolness in the world. The mob had been stirred up and excited, but the chief priests, the principal ecclesiastics of the day, coolly said, We have no king but Caesar. Did they not recollect that the scepter was not to pass away from Judah until Shiloh came, so that, as it had evidently passed away, Shiloh must have come? After all their Bible-reading, did they not know that? Oh, how easy it is to read much of Scripture and yet to know little about its teaching! Dear friends, let us not join the Jews in refusing to have Christ as King. They cried, Away with him, away with him, when he was set before them as King. Let us not do that, but let us rather accept the Crucified as our Master and Lord, and cheerfully bow at his feet.

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

So was he led as a sheep to the slaughter, as Isaiah had long before foretold that he would be.

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

Probably a knoll of rock which today stands outside the city gate looking wonderfully like a skull, with two depressions in the rock which at distance appear like eyes. This was the common place of execution, the Tyburn, the Old Bailey of Jerusalem.

Joh 19:18-19. Where they crucified him, and two others with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus Of Nazareth The King Of The Jews.

What could have moved Pilate to write that title? Perhaps he did it just to let the Jews know that they had forced him to put the Christ to death; he would put over him their accusation without any endorsement of his own: JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS; and so he is, and King of the Gentiles, too.

Joh 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.

So that everybody could read it, for some one or other of these languages would be known to everybody in the crowd; they were not dead languages then as they are now.

Joh 19:21-22. 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. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

He could sometimes be firm; perhaps when there was least excuse for it but when there was need of firmness, this vacillating Governor was swayed by the will of cruel men.

Joh 19:23. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments.

It was the custom with executioners to take the garments of the criminal.

Joh 19:23. And made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat woven without seam, woven from the top throughout.

The common robe of the country, for Christ assumed no garment or vesture that would make him seem great. He was too great to need the adornment of any special style of clothes.

Joh 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.

Those rough Roman soldiers knew nothing about the ancient prophecy, yet a divine destiny guided them. Gods Word must be fulfilled; and they, in the freedom of their will, did exactly what God had ordained, and the Spirit had long before prophesied. There are two things that are true; that men act freely and are therefore responsible when they sin, but that there is a divine predestination that rules all things according to the purpose and will of God. It would have puzzled us to explain how such a prophecy could be fulfilled at all, parting Christs raiment among them, and then casting lots for his vesture; yet so it was, they divided what could be divided, and they cast lots upon what would have been spoilt if they had rent it. I think that no Christian man will ever like the rattle of dice when he remembers that they were used at the cross; all games of chance should be put away from us, for we can, as it were, see our Masters blood bespattered upon them.

Joh 19:25-26. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mothers sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

See in John one who will act as a son to thee.

Joh 19:27. Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!

John, take her home, and treat her as a mother should be treated.

Joh 19:27. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

He was the disciple whom Jesus specially loved, so as a token of Christs great love to him, he left his mother to his charge. Have you any poor folk dependent upon you? Do you know any of Gods very poor people? Take care of them, and do not think the charge a burden; but do it for the sake of him who loves you so much that he entrusts his poor ones to you. Oh, that everybody would look at this matter of caring for Gods poor in that light!

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

It seems a strange thing that Jesus should have said, I thirst, because, out of all the pains that he endured upon the cross, and they were very many and very sharp, he never mentions one except thirst. A person in such terrible agony as he was enduring might have mentioned fifty things, but he singles out this one because there was a prophecy concerning it.

Joh 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.

Why is hyssop mentioned here? You remember that the hyssop was used in the cleansing of the leper, and that David prayed, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. The hyssop was also used in the sprinkling of blood under the law, so it is introduced here with a set purpose. The spunge is introduced here too; it always seems to me very remarkable that, in the death of Christ the circle of life was completed. The spunge is the very lowest form of animal life, and Christ is the very highest type of life of any kind. The spunge was lifted to the lip of the King of glory, and carried refreshment to him; and you and I, like the spunge, the very least of Gods living ones, may yet bring refreshment to our Saviours lips.

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

It is not that he died, and that then his head fell forward; but while he yet lived, having before maintained an erect, noble bearing even in the pangs of death, he now, to show his perfect resignation to his Fathers will bows his head, and yields up that saved spirit of his which dwelt within his body.

Joh 19:31. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain on 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.

The breaking of the legs was intended to hasten death, a very cruel method, but a very effectual one. Passing by Christ hanging in the center it was a strange thing for them to do, yet it had to be done, although they were quite unconscious of the reason why they so acted.

Joh 19:32-34. Then came the soldier, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side,-

To make sure that he should not survive,

Joh 19:34-37. And forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

So his side must be pierced, but his bones must not be broken. See how the hand of God carries out the Word of God, and value every line of Scripture. Our Lord Jesus Christ seemed to go out of his way so as to ensure that every single word in the Old Testament in reference to himself should be fulfilled, so mind that you do not think little of the Old Testament which he so highly prized.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Joh 19:14. , now it was) This assigns the reason why both the Jews and Pilate were anxious that the proceeding should be brought to an issue. The Preparation was close at hand. So , it was a feast, in ch. Joh 5:1. Every Friday or sixth day of the week is called the Preparation [Mar 15:42; Luk 23:54 : whence with the Rabbins, the whole day which is succeeded by the Sabbath is called the evening (of the Sabbath): Harm., p. 557]; and as often soever as the Passover fell on the seventh day, it was the Preparation of the Passover. [But in this passage, when the Passover fell on the Friday (sixth day) itself, the , or Preparation, was not a preparation for the Passover, or before the Passover, but rather on the Passover, a preparation for the Sabbath (as Luther rightly renders it). Mark and Luke, in the passages quoted above, carefully guard against our understanding it of the Preparation for the Passover; and even John himself, expressly mentions the , Preparation for the Sabbath, Joh 19:41-42 (with which comp. Joh 19:31). The Passover fell at one time on this, at another time on that day of the week; but then, just as in the exodus from Egypt, according to the testimony of the most ancient of the Hebrews, the Passover fell upon the beginning of the Friday (the sixth day, which began on Thursday evening), so, as often soever as the Passover claimed to itself this day of the week (the sixth day), the fact was considered worthy of note. Christ is our Passover: the first Passover in Egypt, and the Passover of the Passion of Christ, have such a correspondence with one another (in falling on the same day of the week, the sixth), as was worthy to be marked by John by means of this very phrase. Comp. Ord. Temp., p. 266 (ed. ii., p. 230).-Harm., p. 557, et seqq].-, third) Most copies read , the sixth, which is unquestionably an error; that it is an error, is acknowledged by that most learned person, Charl. Gottlob Hofmann in his Introductio Pritiana N. T., pp. 370, 377. The Evangelists everywhere mention hours of the same kind, and so also John; and in this passage especially, where he is treating of the , the Jewish kind of hour must be meant. Now the Jews did not use or apply the name to any other hours than those of which the first was in the early morning, the twelfth in the evening; so Joh 11:9, Are there not twelve hours in the day? whence the sixth, seventh, and tenth occur, Joh 4:6; Joh 4:52; Joh 1:39. The third hour was decidedly the hour in which our Lord was crucified; and afterwards, from the sixth to the ninth hour, darkness prevailed; Mar 15:25; Mar 15:33.[388] We acknowledge with pious and grateful feelings, O Lord Jesu, the lengthened continuance of the time that Thou didst drink the cup of suffering to the dregs, hanging on the cross!- , and he saith) Pilate did not say this in derision, and yet at the same time he did not believe; but in every way tried to move the Jews to pity.

[388] LX and second-rate authorities alone support . The Chron. Alex. alleges that the accurate copies contain it, as also the autograph of the Evangelist himself preserved at Ephesus. Nonnus (fifth cent.), Severus of Antioch (sixth cent.), Ammonius of Alexandria (third cent.), and Theophylact (eleventh cent.), support ; the last three say that transcribers confounded the numeral (or ) with (or ). But AB Vulg. and all the Versions have , which sets aside the notion of coming from transcribers. Besides, the very difficulty of the reading, according to Bengels own canon, proves it is not an interpolation. The sixth hour in John is no doubt six oclock in the morning. St John begins the day as the Romans did, at midnight; but counted the hours, as the Asiaties about Ephesus, where he was Bishop, did, after the Macedonian method, which came into use there through Alexanders conquests. See Townsons Harm., viii. 1, 2, 3, where he shows the probability that the hours are so to be understood in ch. Joh 1:39, Joh 4:6-7, Joh 4:52-53, in opposition to Bengel.-E. and T.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

sixth hour

(See Scofield “Mar 15:25”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

the preparation: Joh 19:31, Joh 19:32, Joh 19:42, Mat 27:62, Mar 15:42, Luk 23:54

the sixth: Instead of [Strong’s G1623], sixth, several manuscripts and fathers have [Strong’s G5154], third, as in the parallel place. Mar 15:25, Mar 15:33, Mar 15:34

Behold: Joh 19:3, Joh 19:5, Joh 19:19-22

Reciprocal: Isa 53:2 – he hath no Mic 5:2 – that is Zec 13:6 – I was Mat 26:68 – thou Mat 27:22 – What Mar 15:9 – Will Mar 15:12 – What Mar 15:18 – Hail Joh 18:28 – eat 1Co 5:7 – Christ

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

4

The meaning of preparation will be fully explained at verse 31. The present verse puts the time of the crucifixion about the sixth hour, which seems to disagree with the account in Mar 15:25 which puts it at the third hour. There is no contradiction in thought when the various kinds of calendars that were used are considered. One method of dividing the day was by the single hours, starting in the morning at what corresponds with our six o’clock, which was the first hour in New Testament times. The hours were then numbered from one to twelve, and a reference to any certain hour (such as 3rd or 6th) meant a period of one hour only. Another form of calendar divided the twelve hours into four periods of three hours each and each period was named by the last hour of that period. By that method, the sixth hour would mean the period that really began with the hour that was called the third in the single hour method. John’s statement is based on this calendar. As the source of my information, I will quote from Owen C. Whitehouse, Professor of Hebrew, Chesnut College, near London, on the Hebrew Calendar: “The later division of the day was: Third hour, 6 to 9 A. M.; Sixth ‘hour, 9 to 12 A. M.; Ninth hour, 12 to 3 P. M.; Twelfth hour, 3 to 6 P. M.” This same information is given by The Oxford Cyclopedic Concordance, under article “Day.”

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

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

[And it was, etc.] The preparation of the Passover; that is, of the Chagigah; as we have already noted at Joh 18:28; and more largely at Mar 14:12; where also we took notice of the following passage, About the sixth hour.

Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels

Joh 19:14. And it was Preparation-day of the passover; it was about the sixth hour. It is not to be denied that the difficulties connected with each of these two clauses are very great; and we have again to regret, as at chap. Joh 18:28, that in a commentary such as this it is impossible to do justice to the question. We shall endeavour to indicate as clearly as our space will permit the solution that we propose.

1. It is urged that the first clause means, It was the preparation of the Passover, that is, the day before it. Difficulties are thus removed at the cost of making John contradict the earlier Evangelists as to the night when the Last Supper was instituted, and the day when Jesus was crucified. Apart from all consideration of the new difficulty thus created, we observe(1) That the interpretation thus offered makes the Evangelist contradict himself (comp. what has been said on chap. Joh 18:39; and bear in mind that Pilate at the moment there spoken of released Barabbas, Mat 27:26; Mar 15:15; Luk 23:25). The Passover was therefore then begun. To speak now of the day preceding it is impossible. (2) The translation the preparation cannot be accepted. There is no article in the original. The Greek term must be rendered either a preparation, or it must be taken in its well-known sense of Friday. (3) It has never been shown that the day before the Passover was called The preparation of the Passover. It has been conjectured that it was, because it is believed that the day before the Sabbath was called The preparation of the Sabbath. No such name as this last has been pointed out. It did notwe may venture to say that, without a different mode of connecting the two words, it could notexist. The whole foundation upon which rests the idea of a day called the preparation of the Passover is removed.

2. A second solution is offered. By preparation we are to understand Friday; by the Passover the Paschal feast; by the whole expression, It was Friday of the Paschal feast. There is much in this to be accepted, for it appears from Josephus that the seven days festival was often designated the Passover, and there can be no doubt as to the rendering Friday. The difficulties, if nothing more can be said, are(1) To see why the words of the Paschal feast should be added; they are unnecessary; and they do not occur at Joh 19:31, although the day there spoken of is the same as that before us here. (2) That it is not easy to exclude from the original the thought of the Paschal lamb. That is the proper rendering of the Greek, and the rendering which lies closest to the whole conception and drift alike of the chapters with which we are now dealing and of the special verses in which mention of the Passover is made. Notwithstanding these difficulties, we accept this rendering as in part at least the meaning of the Evangelist. The difficulties will vanish when we consider that it is not all his meaning. For, in truth, he seems to be led to his choice of the particular form of expression which he employs by the tendency that we have so frequently had occasion to observe in him,the tendency to see things in the doubles presented by symbols and their realities. Both the leading words of the clause before us are susceptible of this double meaning; and it is because they are so that we find them here. Thus(1) The former word is to be taken in its double sense, a preparation or Friday. (2) The words rendered the Passover, or as it might be simply the Pasche, are to be taken in their double sense, the Paschal lamb or the Paschal feast or week. At the time when John wrote, if not also much earlier, both senses were in use in the Christian Church. Exactly then as in chap. Joh 3:8 John has in view the double meaning of the Greek word for spirit or wind, so here he has in view the double meaning of these expressions. The day now dawning, and the events now occurring, were a preparation of the Paschal lambyet not of the lamb of the Jewish feast, but of the true Paschal Lamb, Jesus Himself,of the Lamb now on His way to be sacrificed for the life of His people. It was also Friday of the Pasche. Both these meanings are prominent to the eye of the Evangelist; and as, with the ready appreciation of symbolism possessed by the symbolic mind, he sets that one of his deepest thoughts can be expressed by words which shall at the same time express an outward incident of the scene, he chooses his language for the sake of the richer meaning to which he is thus able to give utterance.

The view now taken derives confirmation from the fact that at Joh 19:31 of this chapter, where the word a preparation or Friday is again used, the addition of the Passover is dropped. Why is this? Because by the time we come to that verse the true Paschal Lamb has been slain: it is no longer possible, therefore, to speak of a preparation of Jesus. If, on the other hand, the word denotes the weekly day of preparation (Friday), it is clear that in Joh 19:31 any explanatory addition would be superfluous. The particular view to be taken of chap. Joh 19:28-37 also lend confirmation to what has been said.

The second clause of the words with which we now deal is much more easily explained than the first: and it was about the sixth hour. If this hour be according to Jewish modes of reckoning (noon), we are in direct conflict with Mar 15:25, and it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. There, at 9 A.M., the crucifixion takes place. Here, at noon, the sentence is not yet pronounced. The main elements of the solution are to be found in what has been already said with regard to the mode of reckoning time employed in this Gospel. The sixth hour is thus 6 a.m., an hour supplying us, as nearly as it is possible for us to imagine, with the space of time needed for the events already past that night, as well as with that needed for things still to be done before the crucifixion at 9 A.M. To these considerations has to be added the fact, that Pilate now for the first time took his formal place upon the judgment seat, and pronounced sentence with the suitable solemnities of law. But by Roman law this could not be done before 6 A.M.; and it is much more likely that Pilate would embrace the earliest opportunity of ridding himself of a disagreeable case than that he would carry on the process until noon.

Both the place and the time for the last step in the trial of Jesus have now been mentioned. Pilate is on his judgment seat, on a spot elevated above the people. The true Lamb of God is before him ready for the sacrifice. The awful hour is come.

And he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your King! The words are not spoken sarcastically of Jesus, but contemptuously of the Jews. Pilate had no motive for being sarcastic with regard to the former. He had been impressed by the spectacle of meekness and innocence which Jesus presented. He would have set Him free had he possessed sufficient earnestness and depth of moral character to carry into effect what he knew to be right. We cannot, therefore, suppose that he has any wish to treat Jesus with contempt. But all the more that this was the case, and that his own conscience was reproving him for his weakness, would his contempt be increased for those who were urging him to act unjustly. His secret displeasure with himself would seek satisfaction in his indignation and disgust with them. He had shown his contempt for the Jews from the first (comp. Joh 19:35), and now, with that contempt raised to its highest point, he says, Behold, your King. It is possible also that in these words the Evangelist sees one of those unconscious prophecies or Divine declarations concerning Jesus of which we have had repeated illustrations in this Gospel.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Observe here, how careful the Holy Ghost is to record and set down the time when Pilate gave sentence against Christ.

In general, it was on the day of the preparation for the passover; that is, the day immediately before it, when they prepared everything needful for the solemnization: and, in particular, it was about the sixth hour of that day.

St. Mark calls it the third hour, St. John the sixth; but this is easily reconciled thus: the Jews divided the day into four quarters, which they called hours; the first was called the third hour, which answers to our ninth; the second, called the sixth hour, answering to our twelfth: the third, called the ninth hour, answering our three in the afternoon: the fourth, called the twelfth hour, which was the time of their retirement from labour, and beginning of the first night watch.

Now the whole time from the third hour to the sixth, that is, from nine to twelve, was called the third hour; and the whole intervening time from the sixth to the ninth, that is from twelve to three, is called the sixth hour; and so of the rest.

Now when St. John says, it was about the sixth hour when Christ was condemned by Pilate, and led away to be crucified, and St. Mark says it was the third hour, we are to understand, that St. Mark takes in the whole time of the third hour, from nine to twelve: and St. John saying it was about the sixth hour, implies that it was near twelve; so that between the hours of nine and twelve our Lord was sentenced, and led away to his cross; about twelve, fastened to his cross, upon which he hung till the ninth hour, that is, till about three in the afternoon; during which time there was such an eclipse of the sun, as did occasion darkness over all the earth.

Learn hence, the great love and condescension of Christ, in stooping so low, to have his sufferings lengthened out upon our accounts, to expiate our guilt, which deserveth eternal sufferings: that he might, by his example, warn us to prepare for trials of long continuance, and sanctify a state of continual affliction to us. Behold the Son of God harassed all night before he suffered, hurried from place to place, posted backward and forward, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod to Pilate, wearied, scourged, buffeted, crowned with thorns, at last nailed to his cross, and hanging thereupon from about twelve to three, in exquisite torture of body, and under the sense of his Father’s wrath in his soul.

O Lord! thy kindness towards us in matchless an inimitable; never was love like thine.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

John has appeared to many readers of his Gospel to be contradicting the Synoptics and his own account of Jesus’ observance of the Passover meal with His disciples (cf. 13:1, 27). However the phrase "the day of preparation" normally described the day before the Sabbath. [Note: C. C. Torrey, "The Date of the Crucifixion According to the Fourth Gospel," Journal of Biblical Literature 50:4 (1931):241; A. J. B. Higgins, "The Origins of the Eucharist," New Testament Studies 1 (1954-55):206-8; Westcott, The Gospel . . . Greek Text . . ., 1:343; Hoehner, p. 70.] The day in view then would be Friday. Likewise "the Passover" can refer to the whole eight-day feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread as well as the Passover day (cf. 18:28; Luk 22:1). [Note: Cf. Josephus, Antiquities of . . ., 14:2:1; 17:9:3.] The day of preparation for the Passover, therefore, evidently refers to the Friday of the eight-day feast. This harmonizes with the other chronological references to the Passion Week.

Why did John make this chronological reference here? Apparently he did so to encourage the reader to connect Jesus with the Passover lamb. Secondarily, this reference helps to explain why the Jews wanted the body of Jesus removed from the cross prematurely (Joh 19:31-37). It was the day before the Sabbath, and a special Sabbath at that, since it fell during Passover week. A similar early reference to a Sabbath followed by a later explanation of the significance of that reference is in 5:9 and 16-18.

Mark wrote that the soldiers placed Jesus on the cross "about the third hour" (i.e., 9:00 a.m., Mar 15:25). Here John wrote that Pilate sentenced Jesus about "the sixth hour." Obviously Jesus’ sentencing preceded His crucifixion. What is the solution to this apparent contradiction?

One explanation is that John used the Roman method of reckoning time whereas Mark and the other Synoptic writers used the Jewish method. [Note: E.g., Westcott, The Gospel . . . Greek Text . . ., 2:324-26; and Tasker, p. 209.] In the Roman method, the sixth hour would be 6:00 a.m. The problem with this view is that apparently this Roman system of reckoning time was not common. The only documentary evidence that the Romans used it appears in a few legal documents. [Note: Morris, p. 708.] Nevertheless this seems to be the best explanation. Another explanation is that a scribe miscopied the Greek numerals and inadvertently substituted "six" for "three." [Note: Barrett, p. 545.] However there is no manuscript evidence to support this theory. A third view is that both evangelists intended only approximate time references and did not expect their readers to be too fussy about the differences. [Note: Carson, The Gospel . . ., p. 605; Tenney, "John," p. 178; Morris, pp. 708-9; A Dictionary of the Bible, "Numbers, Hours, Years, and Dates," by W. M. Ramsay, extra volume: 479.] Nevertheless time references as well as other factual statements are usually capable of harmonization in the Bible. A high view of inspiration has led most conservative interpreters to conclude that Mark and John meant just what they said. A fourth view is that the Synoptic writers used a Galilean method of reckoning time that began the day with sunrise while John used a Judean method that began it with sunset. [Note: Hoehner, pp. 77-90.]

Before passing sentence on Jesus, Pilate presented Him to the Jews as though this was a mock coronation ceremony. He knew that the Jews did not acknowledge Caesar as their king even though they had just professed to do so (Joh 19:12). His announcement was therefore an expression of contempt for both Jesus and the Jews. Ironically Jesus was their King. Pilate spoke more truly than he knew.

"Unlike the presentation of Jesus in 19:4-6, this [presentation] was not intended to ridicule Jesus. Since that occasion, Pilate had been moved by Jesus and defeated in his attempt to rescue him. Now he makes the moment of his decision the moment of decision for the Jews. They have a final and crucial opportunity of declaring their mind on Jesus and recanting, if they will, on their unjust and bitter accusations of him." [Note: Beasley-Murray, p. 342.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)