At the Cross (John 19:17-27)

It is the case that there are many reactions to the cross of Jesus today just as there was when he was crucified. And we can see that John describes several initial responses to the crucifixion of Jesus, some hostile to him, some indifferent about him, and some very concerned over him. But John first reminds us that Jesus had to carry his own cross to Golgotha.

His own cross

It was customary for those about to be crucified to carry their own crosses to the place of execution. Such a practice added to the contempt with which the person was regarded. The cross could have been carried on a cart or by an animal, but the victim was regarded as unworthy of such help. On the journey to Golgotha, the victims would have been jeered and taunted. It is possible that the two criminals were near Jesus on this journey, and if they were, then the onlookers made no distinction between the good and the bad. Jesus was numbered with transgressors in different ways during his public ministry, and the road he was now walking on was only taken by the condemned. Was he number 1, 2 or 3 in the parade? It did not matter to the onlookers in the main.

Yet we also know that the cross belonged to Jesus in a way that was very different from how other crucified people were linked to their crosses. Jesus had chosen the cross long before he was arrested, long before he had become a public figure. He had chosen the cross in eternity, long before he became a man. We must remember that the One who chose the cross possessed all things and therefore could have selected from a wide range of options. Yet he freely and willingly chose to have his cross and all its implications. And that was still his outlook as he made his way to Golgotha.

We must remember too that carrying the cross was a challenge to Jesus and that from a variety of perspectives. It was a challenge to him physically and other Gospels tell us that he was so weak from the beatings he had received that he was unable to carry the cross by himself for the full distance. The soldiers ensured that someone would help Jesus carry the cross, but when he reached the place of execution he would discover that he would have to go through the stages of divine punishment moment by moment. No help seemed to come into his consciousness as he endured the cross and despised its shame. We know that the human nature of Jesus was upheld by the Holy Spirit through the hours of the cross. Nevertheless his own cross was the most challenging cross that was ever carried.

With the nameless (v. 18)

It is impossible to discover if John ever knew the names of the soldiers who crucified Jesus (some of the Gospel reports indicate that some of them became believers in Jesus and therefore John may have met them later). But he could have known the names of the two criminals because they would have been written above their heads so that people would know the crimes of which they were guilty. In all likelihood, they had been companions of Barabbas and they would have noticed that he had a substitute taking his place. John however does not say their names and in doing so informs that Jesus was not only identified with the sinful but was also identified with the nobodies.

We can imagine someone up in Capernaum or Nazareth, or even in Jerusalem because not everyone there would be aware of the decision regarding Jesus, asking, ‘I wonder who Jesus is with today.’ We could supply the answer, ‘He is with the nobodies.’ Why was he with the nameless? Because he was dying for a numerous number of nobodies, for individuals whose lives had been so insignificant that they are only called ‘they’ and ‘them’.

Yet we know that God in heaven had his eye on some of those nobodies in order to give them a new name. We can think about the penitent criminal beside Jesus who asked him for an entrance into his kingdom. That nobody became a significant somebody when he died, a brand plucked from the burning and given an eternal crown. God, too, during those hours on the cross would teach a nameless centurion that the One he crucified was the Son of God, and that among the ones he would have regarded as nobodies was the most important person possible. The office of the most powerful army on earth recognised a really important Person for the first time.

The Inscription (vv. 19-22)

No doubt, Pilate wrote the inscription in the way he did because he wanted to show his contempt for the Jewish religious leaders. He may have known their opinions regarding a crucified person, that to be hanged on a tree indicated God had cursed the victim. Whether Pilate did or not, the chief priests (Annas and Caiaphas) certainly would have. They could not tolerate the notion that a king of Israel could be regarded as a curse.

Yet the readers know that Pilate inadvertently wrote the truth about Jesus. It is ironic that the sceptic about truth – Pilate – wrote one of the truest sentences ever written when he insisted that the inscription say that Jesus was the king of the Jews. Here was a King becoming a curse, not because of the literal cross, but because of what would happen to him when on the cross as he paid the penalty for sin.

Moreover a real king would be engaged in a battle on behalf of his people. Pilate would have laughed at the possibility that the crucified Jesus was engaged in a cosmic battle, but he was as he defeated the powers of darkness. In fact, the crucified King was the only victor that day, and he won the battle of the cross on behalf of all his people.

John also reminds us that Pilate wrote the inscription in three languages, a kind of universal announcement regarding what was taking place. Aramaic was the language of the Jews, Latin was the language of the Romans, and Greek was the common language of the people at that time. All who passed by could see that a king was dying for his cause, yet it was not a last stand against superior forces but the road to total victory.

The Garments of Jesus

After the soldiers crucified Jesus, they proceeded to divide his clothes among themselves. At a basic level, keeping such possessions would be a part of their reward for engaging in the process of execution. It also reveals to us the insensitivity that they had developed in their characters – their activities had made them hard. These were the men that Jesus prayed for and who later confessed that he was very different from others they had crucified. The obvious lesson for us is that the suffering Saviour can change the hardest of hearts, which means that we can never say that someone is too hard to be converted.

The actions of the soldiers were a fulfilment of prophecy. Of course, they did not know that was the case at the time. Yet the fact that it was a fulfilment of prophecy is a reminder to us that behind the scenes someone was in charge. The soldiers would have imagined that they were in charge because they represented the Roman authorities, the most powerful government in the world at that time. Nevertheless there was a far greater authority in charge of what was taking place, and that was God, and he described the events accurately centuries before the soldiers fulfilled them.

There are two other details that the actions of the soldiers convey to us. The first concerns the humiliation of the Saviour. Since his clothes had been taken from him, it means that he was naked as he hung on the cross. Artists in their paintings have tried to cover him with small amount of clothes. Yet such attempts are misguided because we are meant to consider the depths to which Jesus was prepared to descend, and to which he had to go down, in order for us to be set free.

The other detail concerns the soldier who won the right to wear the Saviour’s seamless tunic. Here we have a picture of the doctrine of justification in which a sinner wears the garments of the righteousness of Jesus. His righteousness is his life of perfect obedience that gives each of his people a perfect and permanent and personal standing in God’s sight. And the fact that soldier received this garment at the cross tells us where we get it as well. We go by faith to Calvary and ask God to give us the perfect righteousness of Jesus.

Family and friends

The first matter that we can consider is the number of women that John mentions. At first glance, we might think that John mentions three women called Mary. Yet we should also ask if ‘the sister of Mary’ means someone else. We know from other Gospels that Salome, the mother of John, was also at the cross. So if it was Salome that John is describing, it would mean that he was a cousin of Jesus, and could also indicate why Jesus asked John to take care of his mother since she would be John's aunt.

The presence of those women and John at the cross causes us to reflect on what compelled them to be there. After all, it would have been dangerous to identify with a condemned criminal. Yet they persisted in doing so. We know that they did not expect him to rise from the dead, so we cannot say that their faith was strong. Yet their love was strong, and love shows itself by clinging to its object even if everyone else is against that person. A few politicians and soldiers and hostile religious leaders were not strong enough to quench the love that these women and John had for Jesus.

I would mention two other aspects that come out of what Jesus did here. First, he kept the fifth commandment. If there ever was a place where one would expect such a detail to slip his mind, it would have been when he was on the cross. Yet he knew that difficulties are not an excuse to disobey God. He also knew that his Father would be delighted by the obedience of his Son. No doubt Mary would treasure the memories of this care throughout the rest of her life. And we should as well because this action of loving obedience is part of the perfect righteousness that he provides for his people, which is given to them when they trust in him for salvation.

Jesus, when on the cross, also gave an instruction to his beloved disciple John to look after Mary. John did so for the rest of his life and tradition has it that she is buried in Ephesus, the place where John eventually went as an apostle. It was love to a crucified Saviour that made John do this, and a visit to the cross by us will usually make it easier for us to obey his requirements of us. When we find ourselves reluctant to obey him, it is an indication that we have not been to Calvary for a while. So we go there out of love for Jesus, as John did, we will find the spiritual energy and desire to obey the commandments of the Master who suffered for us there.