2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES
Wednesday in the Word
Second Baptist Church
May 6, 2026
John 19:9-24
Introduction: John’s gospel captures the final days of the Lord’s earthly ministry. In our last few lessons, we concentrated on the night before his betrayal and the day of his betrayal. We know that the population in Jerusalem has grown exponentially during that time. The people were anticipating the Passover celebration along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After the evening meal which we call the last supper, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane and was arrested by a mob led by Judas and members of the Sanhedrin. He was brought out to former High Priest, Annas, and then to the High priest at the time, Caiaphas. After the encounter with the high priest, Jesus was brought to Pilate. Pilate struggled to find a crime that Jesus had committed. The religious leaders were insistent that Pilate crucify Jesus. Even after giving Jesus a severe beating, the religious leaders insisted that Pilate have Jesus Crucified.
Verses 9-12. John’s gospel gives us the impression that Pilate didn’t think crucifying Jesus was a good idea. Pilate reluctantly approached Jesus again and asked some more questions. Pilate asked Jesus where he was from, but Jesus didn’t give Pilate an answer. Pilate responded by questioning why Jesus refused to speak. Pilate reminded Jesus that he had the power to set Jesus free. (the only problem was that Pilate was afraid of the crowd and didn’t want to get in trouble with the roman government). Jesus responded by letting Pilate know that the only power he had, God allowed him to have, and the reason Jesus was being crucified was because the religious leaders brought Jesus to Pilate. Pilate is just a tool of the Lord’s bigger plan. When Pilate heard this, he tried to set Jesus free, but the religious leaders threatened to send word to Ceasar that Pilate was acting in a treasonous way.
Verses 13-16. Feeling the political pressure, Pilate has been outmaneuvered, and he knows it. And so he has Jesus brought outside, and then he sits down on the judgment seat called Gabbatha, to render his verdict. Time is marching on, and time is of the essence, not so much for Pilate as for the Jews. It is the day of preparation for Passover. The crucifixion must be over by nightfall, and it was already almost noon. Was it out of malice that he said to the Jews, “Look, here is your king!”? Their response was predictable. They shouted out, “Away with him ! Crucify him !” Pilate then asked them, “Shall I crucify your king?" This was a foregone conclusion, wasn’t it? Why does Pilate go through all these seemingly needless motions? I think this is his attempt to endear himself to these folks (who had just threatened to destroy his career by registering their complaint with Caesar) by seemingly bowing to their will. They know they have this governor by the throat (or, “over a barrel,” as we would say), and that they have won. And so Pilate gives Jesus over to them to be crucified. In one final act of rebellion against God, the Jewish religious leaders have seemingly renounced all Messianic hope, placed their faith and hope in Caesar, rather than in Jesus, the Christ (the Messiah). They have exchanged Barabbas for Jesus of Nazareth, and Caesar for Christ.
Verses 17-22. In one verse (17), John takes us from the judgment seat of Pilate to the "Place of the Skull." John does not belabor the process of crucifixion, though we know it was the most cruel forrn of execution devised by man. The two robbers (whom Luke calls “criminals”) are crucified with our Lord, one on His left, and the other to His right. John chooses to expand his account concerning the written notice that was attached to the cross above the head of our Lord. The other Gospels mention it, but it is John who gives us the most detail and the greatest insight here. Indicating the charges for which the condemned was crucified was common practice. In this way, those who witnessed the crucifixion would be warned by seeing that Rome took this particular offense seriously. We do not know whether the two men beside Jesus had notices above their heads, but we are told by every Gospel that the charges against Jesus (with slight variations) were written out: "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” The place where Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem was not far from the city and was close to the road. Many Jews–a number of whom were pilgrims–were on their way to or from Jerusalem and therefore passed by the cross of our Lord. Messianic hopes ran high, especially at Passover, and so the words written above the head of Jesus caught the attention of those passing by. The words were written in Aramaic, the language of the Jews of Palestine, Latin, the language of the Romans, and Greek, the common language of the day in that part of the world. It would have been difficult to pass by that way and not look upon Jesus, and to read the notice above His head. Many of those who saw the sign paused to ponder its meaning, making Jesus the center of attention. This notoriety and publicity upset the Jewish religious leaders. They did not wish for Jesus’ claims to be advertised publicly. They especially did not like the inference of Pilate’s wording, which may have been intended as a barb for those who wanted Jesus crucified. Pilate’s words almost implied that Jesus’ claim to be the “King of the Jews" was true. Seeking to remedy the situation, the Jews appealed to Pilate, urging him to modify the words posted on the cross of Jesus. They wanted the notice to indicate only that Jesus claimed to be “King of the Jews,” the inference being that His claim was false. These Jews were highly skilled in debating over words and their meaning, but they did not win this battle of the wills. Pilate had had just about enough of them for one day; he was not going to let them tell him what to do this time. Pilate’s words would stand as they were written. And that was the end of this discussion.
Verses 23-24. The soldiers took the clothes of Jesus and divided them among themselves. The only piece left was his under tunic, which was seamless and made from one piece of cloth. It was too nice to tear, so they cast lots to see who would get his clothes. This was to fulfill the scripture in Psalm 22:18. Some scholars likened this under tunic to what the priest would wear. The priestly garments are woven (Exodus 28:4), made without any seams. John makes sure his reader doesn’t miss the symbolism of Jesus being the true priest in this moment and not Annas of Caiphas.
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