Anchor My Faith

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Author: Stephen Weller
644 words, 3 minutes read time

The Inscription

Scripture: Mark 15:26; John 19:19-22

In the previous lesson we determined that the period of time from the third hour to the sixth hour covered the judgment, scourging, travel to Golgotha, and being nailed to the cross. The time from the sixth hour to the ninth, when darkness covered the land, Jesus was alive on the cross. In this lesson we find Pilate again on the scene with an inscription for the cross.

^{Jn 19:19} Pilate also wrote an inscription, ^{Mk 15:26} of the charge against him, ^{Jn 19:19} and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.

The inscription indicated the crime Jesus supposedly committed. Inscriptions, when attached to the cross not only indicated the person’s crime but were presumably placed there to deter others from committing a similar crime. The inscription for Jesus indicated that he claimed to be “King of the Jews,” which was true. Claiming to be a king under Rome was seen as a crime worthy of death. Jesus was, however, no threat to Caesar because his kingdom was not of this world. To be the king as he claimed, he had to die to purchase our salvation so that his kingdom could be populated.

The inscription was written in three languages: Aramaic, Latin and Greek. Aramaic was widely understood by the Jewish population of Palestine or the common people. Latin was probably the language of the Roman occupying force and Greek the international language of the Roman empire. By writing the inscription in all three languages, Pilate was making sure that everyone understood the crime Jesus was being charged with.

One can be sure that this inscription was not going to satisfy the chief priests of the Jews. The inscription clearly stated that Jesus of Nazareth was King of the Jews, which was a true statement and profound beyond the imagination of either Pilate or the Jews. The Son of God stood before them in the body of a man that caused them shame and in their minds was worthy of death.

^{Jn 19:21} So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

Pilate, without realizing it, wrote the truth about Jesus and refused to change it to “This man said, I am King of the Jews.”

The inscription “King of the Jews” is another example of John’s frequent use of a double meaning. The Jews saw his claim as an earthly king not as a King of spiritually born people. Examples of this double standard in which the physical and spiritual are pictured together are found in 3:7-8 in connection to being born again (physical birth/spiritual birth and physical wind/the Holy Spirit); 3:14 (the serpent being lifted up/the Son of Man being lifted up); 4:10 (physical water/living water); 8:24 “die in your sin” (you die and go to hell/Jesus dies in your place and you go to heaven); and 11:50-51 “one man should die” (whole nation should not perish/people saved spiritually).

Conclusion

Hanging on the cross, Jesus has been identified by name and title. The inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” was true, but was he guilty of a crime? No, but God allowed evil men to nail him to a cross because his death was necessary to purchase our salvation. Have you experienced evil being allowed to cause you to suffer so that God could produce good from it as he did with Jesus?