John 19:17-27 Jesus' crucifixion part I

John 19:17-22 Jesus carried His own cross, at least part way. Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, and Luke 23:26 all record that Simon of Cyrene was pressed into service somewhere along the way. Most likely at this point Jesus was so weak from the beatings and torture that He lacked the physical strength needed. It must have been a bit scary for Simon. What if the soldiers got confused about who was supposed to be crucified? Normally the condemned carried their own cross. They came to Golgotha, the Hebrew word for skull, which was apparently the standard location for crucifixion.

          Of the two men crucified with Jesus, Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27 tell us they were robbers, Luke 23:33 only that they were criminals. Evidently neither was Barabbas.

          Pilate, in one final ironic act, had an inscription placed on the cross announcing that this was Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews, in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so all could read it. The priests wanted the sign to say that it was what Jesus claimed, but Pilate refused to concede this point. Whether he had an inkling of the reality of Jesus' true position, that He was born king of the Jews (cf. Matthew 2:2), or simply wanted to poke the priests in the eye, we do not know.

John 19:23-24 The dividing of Jesus' garments among the soldiers was probably a routine thing. But it tells us that He was crucified naked. The ultimate indignity? Perhaps not, but degrading nonetheless. This also fulfilled the prophecy of David in Psalm 22:18. Psalm 22 gives us a glimpse into the anguish of Jesus on the cross, from the first verse, quoted in Matthew 27:46, to the last verse, quoted in John 19:30. The intervening verses fill in the details of Jesus' interior state, which are not discussed in detail in the gospels.

John 19:25-27 Three women stood by Jesus in His hour of anguish, along with John. He speaks of himself again in the third person. Mary, Jesus' mother, must also have been broken-hearted. We have no idea where Mary had lived up to this point, since Jesus had been itinerant. In any event, He gave responsibility for her to the disciple who loved Him. The responsibility of caring for aging parents has been a social norm from time immemorial. (cf. Matthew 15:4-6) It is only since the introduction of governmental social insurance programs in the 20th century that this duty has been carelessly shirked. Jesus, as God, could have supernaturally provided for her, but that is not how the Kingdom of God works. (see Acts 6:1, I Timothy 5:1-16 for an implicit example of how the early church cared for older adults).