“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him along with two others–one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had a notice written and fastened to the cross. Which read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Thus many of the Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the notice was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write “The King of the Jews,” but rather that this man said “I am king of the Jews.”’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’” —John 19:17–22
The cross—an instrument of the most terrible and agonizing torture, commonly used by the Romans for slaves and criminals. Persons sentenced to crucifixion were first beaten and then compelled to carry their own cross to the place of execution. Crucifixion was reserved for the worst and most hardened of criminals and a sign was usually placed on the chest of or over the head of the one being executed. What humiliation Christ endured as our substitute.
Jesus was considered a sinner and a curse for us. He was the most significant sin offering ever to be seen—bearing our disgrace. In the book of Hebrews we find this summary:
“For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesus also suffered outside the camp. We must go out to him, then, outside the camp, bearing the abuse he experienced.” —Hebrews 13:11–13
We must choose to follow Jesus regardless of the humiliation or suffering that being His disciple might involve. We may be asked to leave the security of our traditions and ceremonies, or friends and family, or location and lands. We may be deserted by all, persecuted for our doctrine and practice, and yet we must be willing to stand alone. As we carry our cross, we embrace His rule over our lives and in so doing take hold of the life that is truly life. Whatever cross He calls us to, we must remember that He carried His cross first. He died with criminals, fulfilling the prophecy found in Isaiah:
“So I will assign him a portion among the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of the victory with the powerful, because he willing submitted to death, and was numbered with the rebel, when he lifted up the sin of many, and intervened on behalf of the rebels.” —Isaiah 53:12
How incredible that the words Pilate chose to place on the cross of our Lord would be the exact proclamation God would have the world to know! How symbolic that those words were nailed to the wood on which Jesus bore ours sins. How like God to use someone such as Pilate to accomplish His purpose!
“JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” the proclamation read. Jesus came to be a King, and as a King, He lived and suffered and died for His subjects. The sign eliminates any confusion about who He is. The myriads who pass by, those who witness the crucifixion, see that Jesus really did suffer. and that He was not at the last moment released, or another punished in His place, or His death taken away by miraculous intervention.
Jesus’ death blotted out the requirements of the law which were held against us. Paul tells us Christ nailed them to the cross:
“And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.” —Colossians 2:13–14
Become More
“The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours. Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive–He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm … Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.” —Oswald Chambers
Further Reflection
The crucifixion takes place prominently near the city where all those attending the Passover will pass by. Written in three languages—Hebrew (Aramaic), the language of the Jews; Greek, the language most known in all the eastern countries as well as the language of the educated; and Latin, the language of the Romans, the ruling nation of the world at that time—there is no confusion. All who read the sign understand and spread the news in their own language that Jesus–the King of the Jews—has been put to death by crucifixion at the Passover Feast.