Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 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.
24. that the scripture ] It was in order that the Divine purpose, already declared by the Psalmist, might be accomplished, that this twofold assignment of Christ’s garments took place. S. John quotes the LXX. verbatim, although there the difference, which both he and the original Hebrew mark between the upper and under garment, is obliterated. It is from this passage that the reference to Psa 22:18 has been inserted in Mat 27:35; none of the Synoptists refer to the Psalm.
my raiment ] A capricious change of translation; the same word is rendered garments in Joh 19:23.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let us not rend it – It would then have been useless. The outer garment, being composed of several parts – fringes, borders, etc. Deu 12:12 – could be easily divided.
That the scripture … – Psa 22:18.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 24. That the scripture might be fulfilled] These words are found in the common printed text, in Mt 27:35; but they are omitted by ABDEFGHKLMSU, Mt. BHV, 150 others; the principal versions, Chrysostom, Titus Bost., Euthymius, Theophylact, Origen, Hilary, Augustin, Juven. See Griesbach’s second edition. But in the text of John they are not omitted by one MS., version, or ancient commentator.
The words are taken from Ps 22:18, where it appears they were spoken prophetically of this treatment which Jesus received, upwards of a thousand years before it took place!
But it should be remarked that this form of speech, which frequently occurs, often means no more than that the thing so fell out that such a portion of Scripture may be exactly applied to it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This made them choose rather to cast lots for that, than to divide it, as they had done his inward garments. But there was something more in it than the soldiers knew; Christ hereby proved a true Antitype to David, who said of himself figuratively, Psa 22:18, They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture; by which he meant no more, than that his enemies loaded themselves with his spoils: those words which figuratively were true of David, proved literally true as to Christ. Thus vile and wicked men are fulfilling the Scriptures when they little think of it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. Let us not rend it, but castlots . . . whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilledwhich saith, They parted my raiment among them; and for my vesturethey did cast lots (Ps22:18). That a prediction so exceedingly specificdistinguishingone piece of dress from others, and announcing that while thoseshould be parted amongst several, that should be given by lotto one personthat such a prediction should not only be fulfilledto the letter, but by a party of heathen military, withoutinterference from either the friends of the enemies of the CrucifiedOne, is surely worthy to be ranked among the wonders of thisall-wonderful scene. Now come the mockeries, and from fourdifferent quarters:(1) “And they that passed byreviled Him, wagging their heads” in ridicule (Psa 22:7;Psa 109:25; compare Jer 18:16;Lam 2:15). “Ah!””Ha,”an exclamation here of derision. “Thou that destroyest thetemple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself and come downfrom the cross” (Mat 27:39;Mat 27:40; Mar 15:29;Mar 15:30). “It is evidentthat our Lord’s saying, or rather this perversion of it (forHe claimed not to destroy, but to rebuild the templedestroyed by them) had greatly exasperated the feeling which thepriests and Pharisees had contrived to excite against Him. It isreferred to as the principal fact brought out in evidence against Himon the trial (compare Act 6:13;Act 6:14), as an offense forwhich He deserved to suffer. And it is very remarkable that now whileit was receiving its real fulfilment, it should be made morepublic and more impressive by the insulting proclamation of Hisenemies. Hence the importance attached to it after the resurrection,Joh 2:22” [WEBSTERand WILKINSON]. (2)”Likewise also the chief priests, mocking Him, withthe scribes and elders, said, He saved others, Himself He cannotsave” (Mat 27:41; Mat 27:42).There was a deep truth in this, as in other taunts; for bothHe could not do, having “come to give His life a ransomfor many” (Mat 20:28;Mar 10:45). No doubt this addedan unknown sting to the reproach. “If He be the king of Israel,let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him”(Mt 27:42). No, they wouldnot; for those who resisted the evidence from the resurrection ofLazarus, and from His own resurrection, were beyond the reach of anyamount of merely external evidence. “He trusted in Godthat He would deliver him; let Him deliver Him now if He will haveHim [or ‘delight in Him,’ compare Psa 18:19;Deu 21:14]; for He said, I am theSon of God” (Mt27:41-43). We thank you, O ye chief priests, scribes, and elders,for this triple testimony, unconsciously borne by you, to our Christ:first to His habitual trust in God, as a feature in Hischaracter so marked and palpable that even ye found upon it yourimpotent taunt; next, to His identity with the Sufferer of thetwenty-second Psalm, whose very words (Ps22:8) ye unwittingly appropriate, thus serving yourselvesheirs to the dark office and impotent malignity of Messiah’senemies; and again, to the true sense of that august title which Hetook to Himself, “THESON OF GOD,”which He rightly interpreted at the very first (see Joh5:18) as a claim to that oneness of nature with Him, anddearness to Him, which a son has to his father. (3) “Andthe soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him and offering Himvinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save Thyself”(Luk 23:36; Luk 23:37).They insultingly offer to share with Him their own vinegar, or sourwine, the usual drink of Roman soldiers, it being about the time oftheir midday meal. In the taunt of the soldiers we have one of thoseundesigned coincidences which so strikingly verify thesehistorical records. While the ecclesiastics deride Him for callingHimself, “the Christ, the King of Israel, theChosen, the Son of God,” the soldiers, to whom allsuch phraseology was mere Jewish jargon, make sport of Him as apretender to royalty (“KINGof the Jews”), an office and dignity which it belonged to themto comprehend. “The thieves also, which were crucifiedwith Him, cast the same in His teeth” (Mat 27:44;Mar 15:32). Not both ofthem, however, as some commentators unnaturally think we mustunderstand these words; as if some sudden change came over thepenitent one, which turned him from an unfeeling railer into atrembling petitioner. The plural “thieves” need not denotemore than the quarter or class whence came this lastand cruelest tauntthat is, “Not only did scoffs proceed fromthe passers-by, the ecclesiastics, the soldiery,but even from His fellow-sufferers,” a mode of speakingwhich no one would think necessarily meant both of them. Compare Mt2:20, “They are dead which sought the child’s life,”meaning Herod; and Mr 9:1,”There be some standing here,” where it is next tocertain that only John, the youngest and last survivor of theapostles, is meant. And is it conceivable that this penitent thiefshould have first himself reviled the Saviour, and then, on his viewsof Christ suddenly changing, he should have turned upon his fellowsufferer and fellow reviler, and rebuked him not only with dignifiedsharpness, but in the language of astonishment that he shouldbe capable of such conduct? Besides, there is a deep calmness in allthat he utters, extremely unlike what we should expect from one whowas the subject of a mental revolution so sudden and total. On thescene itself, see on Lu 23:29-43.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They said therefore among themselves,…. When they saw what a curious piece of work it was, and that it was pity to divide it into parts: and besides, that it would have been rendered entirely useless thereby: they moved it to each other, saying,
let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: not that they knew anything of the Scripture, or had any intention of fulfilling it hereby, but they were so directed by the providence of God, to take such a step; whereby was literally accomplished the passage in Ps 22:18
which saith, they parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. The whole psalm is to be understood of the Messiah, not of David, as some do f; many passages in it cannot be applied to him, such as speak of the dislocation of his bones, the piercing of his hands and feet, and this of parting his garments, and casting lots for his vesture: all which had their literal accomplishment in Jesus: nor can it be understood of Esther, as it is by some Jewish g interpreters; there is not one word in it that agrees with her, and particularly, not the clause here cited; and there are some things in it which are manifestly spoken of a man, and not of a woman, as Ps 22:8 nor can the whole body of the Jewish nation, or the congregation of Israel be intended, as others say h; since it is clear, that a single person is spoken of throughout the psalm, and who is distinguished from others, from his brethren, from the congregation, from the seed of Jacob and Israel,
Ps 22:22 and indeed, no other than the Messiah can be meant; he is pointed at in the very title of it, Aijeleth Shahar, which words, in what way soever they are rendered, agree with him: if by “the morning daily sacrifice”, as they are by the Targum; he is the Lamb of God, who continually takes away the sins of the world; and very fitly is he so called in the title of a psalm, which speaks so much of his sufferings and death, which were a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of his people: or by the morning star, as others i interpret them; Christ is the bright and morning star, the day spring from on high, the sun of righteousness, and light of the world: or by “the morning help”, as by the Septuagint; Christ had early help from God in the morning of his infancy, when Herod sought his life, and in the day of salvation of his people; and early in the morning was he raised from the dead, and had glory given him: or by “the morning hind”, which seems best of all, to which he may be compared, as to a roe or hart, in So 2:9 for his love and loveliness, and for his swiftness and readiness in appearing for the salvation of his people; and for his being hunted by Herod in the morning of his days; and being encompassed by those dogs, the Scribes and Pharisees, Judas and the band of soldiers; see
Ps 22:16. The first words of the psalm were spoken by Jesus the true Messiah, when he hung upon the cross, and are truly applied to himself; his reproaches and sufferings endured by him there, are particularly and exactly described in it, and agree with no other; the benefits which the people of God were to enjoy, in consequence of his sufferings, and the conversion of the Gentiles spoken of in it, which is peculiar to the days of the Messiah, show to whom it belongs. The Jews “themselves” are obliged to interpret some parts of it concerning him; they sometimes say k, that by Aijeleth Shahar is meant the Shekinah, a name that well suits with the Messiah Jesus, who tabernacled in our nature; the Ps 22:26 is applied by Jarchi to the time of the redemption, and the days of the Messiah; so that upon the whole, this passage is rightly cited with respect to the Messiah, and is truly said to be fulfilled by this circumstance, of the soldiers doing with his garments as they did:
these things therefore the soldiers did; because they were before determined and predicted that they should be done: and therefore they were disposed and directed by a superior influence, in perfect agreement with the freedom of their wills to do these things. The whole of this account may be spiritually applied. The Scriptures are the garments of Christ; or, as a prince of Anhalt said, the swaddling clothes in which the infant of Bethlehem was wrapped; these exhibit and show forth Christ in his glory, and by which he is known and bore witness to, and are pure and incorrupt, fragrant, and savory. Heretics are the soldiers that rend and tear the Scriptures in pieces, part them, add unto them, or detract from them; who corrupt, pervert, wrest, and misapply them; but truth is the seamless coat; it is all of a piece, is of God, there is nothing human in it; though it may be played with, betrayed, sold, or denied, it cannot be destroyed, but is, and will be preserved by divine providence: or the human nature of Christ is the vesture, with which his divine person was as it were covered, was put on and off, and on again as a garment; is of God, and not man; is pure and spotless; and though his soul and body were parted asunder for a while, this could never be parted from his divine person: or else the righteousness of Christ may be signified by this robe, which is often compared to one, because it is put on the saints, and they are clothed with it: it covers, keeps warm, protects, beautifies, and adorns them; this is seamless, and all of a piece, and has nothing of men’s works and services tacked unto it; is enjoyed by a divine lot by some men, and not all, and even such as have been sinful and ungodly; it is pure, perfect and will last for ever.
f R. R. in Kimchi in Psal. 22. g R. R. in Jarchi in Psal. 22. h Kimchi & Ben Meleeh in ib. i Vid. Kimchi & Abendana in ib. k Zohar in Lev. fol. 5. 4. & Imre Bina in ib.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Let us not rend it ( ). with first aorist active volitive subjunctive of , to split. It was too valuable to ruin.
Cast lots (). Second aorist active volitive subjunctive of . The usual meaning is to obtain by lot (Luke 1:9; Acts 1:17). Field (Ot. Norv. 72) holds that no example has been found where it means “cast lots” as here, but Thayer cites Isocrates, p. 144b and Diod. 4, 63. John here quotes with the usual formula Ps 22:18 (LXX verbatim) and finds a fulfilment here. The enemies of the Lord’s Anointed treated him as already dead (Westcott) and so cast lots ( , the common phrase as in Mt 27:35).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Vesture [] . Clothing, collectively. Rev., garments, for iJmatia, is better than raiment, which is collective, while the word is used of the separate pieces of clothing.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “They said therefore among themselves,” (eipan oun pros allelaus) “They then said to one another,” as they were negotiating the dividing of the garments of our Lord among themselves, and appropriating them for their own use.
2) “Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it,” (me skisomen auton alla lachomen peri autou) “Let us not tear it apart, but let us cast lots concerning it,” or “let us obtain by lot,” which of the four may have it, by chance-gambling, as they squandered their time waiting for Jesus to die, instead of tearing it into four pieces, Psa 22:18.
3) “Whose it shall be:” (tinos estai) “Whose it shall come to be:” by chance.
4) “That the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith,” (hina he graphe pleruthe) “In order that the scripture might be fulfilled,” since all are “true from the beginning,” Psa 119:160; Psa 119:162.
5) “They parted my raiment among them,” (diemerisanto ta himatia mou heautois) “They parted my garments, appropriating them to themselves,” Psa 22:18. The four parts were 1) the headgear, 2) the sandals, 3) the girdle, and 4) the square outer garment with fringes.
6) “And for my vesture they did cast lots.” (kai epi ton himatismon mou ebalon kleron) “And over my vesture (who should have it, my outer garment) they cast a single lot,” a single chance type of gambling, by which only one, according to an agreed chance method won.
7) “These things therefore the soldiers did.” (hoi men oun stratiotai tauta epoiesen) “Then the soldiers (the four) did these things,” these kind of things, as definitively foretold in prophecy of Psa 22:18.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(24) That the scripture might be fulfilled.Comp. Note on Mat. 1:22.
They parted my raiment among them.The quotation is from Psa. 22:18, closely following the Greek translation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24. They said therefore Amid the most solemn scene of human history, the unconscious actors sit down to gamble.
Scripture Psa 22:18. This is one of the seven psalms which, as prefiguring the Messiah, are commonly called the Messianic Psalms. In this psalm David utters, as of his own person, sufferings he never endured, and glories too great for himself or any other merely human being. He undergoes the most terrible assaults from the most wicked and brutal of men, and through his deliverance brings about the conversion of the Gentiles to Jehovah. Hence the Jewish Church, as well as Christ and his apostles, held the psalm as describing the suffering Messiah. The fact that the Saviour’s tunic was a single woven piece, produced one of those literal fulfilments of the very words of prophecy by which its object is designated too plainly for the dullest mind to fail of seeing. Thereby the application of the more figurative parts is more decisively fixed.
Cast lots Each man’s name, token, or lot was placed in some receiver, an urn or perhaps a helmet, and either the receiver was so shaken as to throw out a lot, or the lot was fortuitously drawn from the receiver.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
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.
Ver. 24. That the Scripture might be fulfilled ] So exactly is the Old Testament fulfilled in the New. The testimonies whereof are cited not only by way of accommodation, but because they are the proper meaning of the places. The soldiers could not cast the dice upon our Saviour’s garments, but it was foretold. This shows that our redemption by Christ is no imposture, but a plot of God’s own contriving. Let this settle us against all doubtings.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joh 19:24 . The soldiers therefore said, , “let us not rend it but cast lots”. is, properly, not “to cast lots,” but “to obtain by lot”. See Field, Otium Norv. , 72. In this John sees a fulfilment of Psa 22:18 , the LXX. version of which here quoted verbatim.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
among themselves = to (Greek. pros. App-104.) one another.
for = concerning. Greek. peri. App-104.
the scripture, &c. See Joh 13:18; Joh 17:12; Joh 18:9, Joh 18:32. The quotation is from Psa 22:18.
raiment. Same word as “garments” in Joh 19:23.
for = upon. Greek. epi. App-104.
These things, &c. = The soldiers therefore indeed did these things. The Greek particle men is ignored both by Authorized Version and by Revised Version It marks a contrast with what follows.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joh 19:24. [, cast lots for it) A rare event, and yet not unforetold.-V. g.]-, these things) which they had spoken of among themselves.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 19:24
Joh 19:24
They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be:-[Some see in this a symbol of the unity of the church and superintending providence that the symbol might be preserved.]
that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.-These soldiers knew nothing of this prophecy, yet fulfilled it in following their own idle fancies. The Jews fulfilled the scriptures and proved him to be the Son of God while gratifying their bitterness toward him by crucifying him. [The quotation is from Psa 22:18, according to the Septuagint. Luke records that the soldiers mocked him, offering him vinegar, and bidding him to save himself. Here we may mention the prayer of Jesus for his enemies, given only by Luke, the derision of chief priests, scribes, elders, people and robbers, and the episode of the penitent thief.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
that: Joh 19:28, Joh 19:36, Joh 19:37, Joh 10:35, Joh 12:38, Joh 12:39
They parted: Psa 22:18, Isa 10:7, Act 13:27
Reciprocal: Exo 28:32 – that it be not rent 1Ki 2:27 – that he 1Ki 12:15 – that he might 2Ki 15:12 – And so 2Ch 10:15 – that the Lord Mat 26:24 – Son of man goeth Mat 27:35 – parted Mar 15:24 – they parted Luk 23:34 – And they Luk 24:44 – that all Act 2:23 – being Eph 4:10 – fill Rev 17:17 – until
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4
In the case of the one-piece garment, the soldiers agreed to decide the question by casting lots for it. That the scripture might be fulfilled means, “and in so doing the scripture was fulfilled,” etc.; the prediction is in Psa 22:18.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 19:24. They said therefore to one another. Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be. Both in the dividing and in the casting of lots the Evangelist sees Scripture fulfilled.
That the scripture might be fulfilled, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast lots. The quotation is from Psa 22:18, and is accurately reproduced from the Septuagint.
These things therefore the soldiers did. The words may either be intended to emphasize the presence of God in the scene, as He made the Roman soldiers fulfil His Scripture; or may simply arise out of the intense interest with which John narrates each particular of these eventful hours.Another scene is now presented to us.