When and how the Jews lost

ST. JOHN.

their power of life and death.

sentence any one to death within the space of seven years, is || adhered to their own rules and constitutions; Thither they betermed a destroyer. R. Eliezer ben Azariah saith it is so, if took themselves sometimes upon urgent necessity. The gloss bethey should but condemn one within seventy years. Maccoth, fore quoted excepts only the case of murder, with which, fǝl. 7. 1. amongst all their false accusations, they never charged Christ. "II. It is obvious to any one how this foolish remissness, "But however, suppose it were granted that the great and letting loose the reins of judgment would soon increase council met either in the Taberne, or some other place, the numbers of robbers, murderers, and all kinds of wicked- || (which yet agreed by no means with their own tradition,) ness; and indeed they did so abundantly multiply, that the did they deal truly, and as the matter really and indeed was, Sanhedrin neither could nor durst, as it ought, call the crimi- || with Pilate, when they tell him, It is not lawful for us to put nals to account. The law slept while wickedness was in the any man to death? He had said to them, Take ye him, and height of its revels, and punitive justice was so out of coun-judge him according to your laws. We have indeed judged tenance, that as to uncertain murders they made no search; and condemned him, but we cannot put any one to death. and against certain ones they framed no judgment. Since Was this that they said, in fact true? How came they then the time that homicides multiplied, the beheading the heifer to stone the proto-martyr Stephen? How came they to stone ceased. Sotoh, fol. 47. 1. And in the place before quoted in Ben Sarda at Lydda? Hieros. Sanhed. fol. 25. 4. How Avodah. When they saw the numbers of murderers so greatly came they to burn the priest's daughter alive that was taken increase, that they could not sit in judgment upon them; they said, in adultery? Bab. Sanhed. fol. 52. 1. and 51. 1. It is proLet us remove, &c. fol. 8. 2. So in the case of adultery, which bable they had not put any one to death as yet, since the time we also observed in our notes on chap. viii. Since the time that that they had removed out of Gazith; and so might the easier adultery so openly advanced under the second temple, they left|| persuade Pilate in that case. But their great design was to off trying the adulteress by the bitter water, &c. Maimon. in throw off the odium of Christ's death from themselves; at Sotoh, cap. 3. least among the vulgar crowd; fearing them, if the council "So that we see, the liberty of judging in capital matters was themselves should have decreed his execution. They seek no more taken from the Jews by the Romans, than the be- this evasion therefore, which did not altogether want some heading of the heifer, or the trial of the suspected wife by colour and pretext of truth; and it succeeded according to the bitter waters, was taken away by them, which no one what they desired. Divine Providence so ordering it, as the will affirm. It is a tradition of R. Chaia, From the day where- Evangelist intimates, ver. 32. That the saying of Jesus might in the temple was destroyed, though the Sanhedrin ceased; yet be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should the four kinds of death (which were wont to be inflicted by die: that is, be crucified according to the custom of the Rothe Sanhedrin) did not cease. For he that had deserved to be mans. While I am upon this thought, I cannot but reflect stoned to death, either fell off from some house, or some wild upon that passage, than which nothing is more worthy obserbeast tore and devoured him. He that had deserved burning, || vation in the whole description, of the Roman beast in the either fell into some fire or some serpent bit him. He that had|| Revelation, chap. xiii. 4. The dragon which gave power to the deserved to be slain (i. e. with the sword) was either delivered beast. We cannot say this of the Assyrian, Babylonish, or into the hands of some heathen king, or was murdered by robbers. any other monarchy; for the Holy Scriptures do not say it. He that had deserved strangling, was either drowned in some ri- But reason dictates, and the event itself tells us, that there ver, or choaked by a squinancy. was something acted by the Roman empire in behalf of the dragon, which was not compatible with any other, that is, the putting of the Son of God to death. Which thing we must remember, as often as we recite that article of our creed, "He suffered under Pontius Pilate," that is, was put to death by the Roman empire."

"This must be observed from the Evangelists, that when they had Christ in examination in the palace of the high-priest all night; in the morning the whole Sanhedrin met that they might pass sentence of death upon him. Where then was this that they met ? Questionless in the room Gazith—at least if they

CHAPTER XIX.

Jesus is scourged, crowned with thorns, and mocked by the soldiers, 1-3. He is brought forth by Pilate, wearing the purple robe; and the Jews clamour for his death, 4-8. Conversation between our Lord and Pilate, 9—11. Pilate expostulates with the Jews on their barbarous demands; but they become more inveterate, and he delivers Christ into their hands, 12-16. He, bearing his cross, is led to Golgotha, and crucified, 17-22. The soldiers cast lots for his raiment, 23, 24. Jesus commends his mother to the care of John, 25-27. Jesus thirsts, receives

Jesus is scourged and

CHAP. XIX.

crowned with thorns.

vinegar, and dies, 28-30. The Jews request that the legs of those who were crucified might be broken; the soldiers break those of the two thieves, and pierce the side of Christ: the scriptures fulfilled in these acts, 31-37. Joseph of Arimathea begs the body of Christ; and Nicodemus brings spices to embalm it, 38-40. He is laid in a new sepulchre, 41, 42.

A.M. 4053.
A. D. 29.
An. Olymp.

CCII. 1.

TH

a

C

A. D. 29.

A. M. 4033. An. Olymp.

CCII. 1.

HEN Pilate therefore took Je- || saith unto them, Behold the man!
sus, and scourged him.
6 When the chief priests therefore
and officers saw him, they cried out,
saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith
unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for

2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they I find no fault in him. smote him with their hands.

4 ¶ Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, b that ye may know that I find no fault in him. 5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate

7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

8 ¶ When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

9 And went again into the judgment hall, and

Matt. 20. 19. & 27. 26. Mark 15. 15. Luke 18. 33.

ch. 18. 38. ver. 6.

Acts 3. 13. Lev. 24. 16.- Matt. 26. 65. ch. 5. 18. & 10. 33.

NOTES ON CHAP. XIX. Verse 1. Pilate-took Jesus, and scourged him.] That is, caused him to be scourged: for we cannot with Bede suppose that he scourged him with his own hand.

As our Lord was scourged by order of Pilate, it is probable he was scourged in the Roman manner, which was much more severe than that of the Jews. The latter never gave more than thirty-nine blows; for the law had absolutely forbidden a man to be abused, or his flesh cut in this chastisement, Deut. xxv. 3. The common method of whip ing or flogging in some places, especially that of a military kind, is a disgrace to the nation where it is done; to the laws, and to humanity. See Matt. xxvii. 26. and the note there. Though it was customary to scourge the person who was to be crucified; yet it appears that Pilate had another end in view by scourging our Lord. He hoped that this would have satisfied the Jews, and that he might then have dismissed Jesus. This appears from Luke xxiii. 16.

Verse 2. Platted a crown of thorns] See on Matt. xxvii. 29.

Verse 5. And Pilate saith] The word Pilate, which we supply in our version, is added by one MS. the latter Syriac, latter Arabic, and the Coptic.

text, and which is wanting in the common editions, and is supplied by our version in Italics, is added here on the authority of almost every MS. and version of importance. As it is omitted in the common editions, it affords another proof, that they were not taken from the best MSS.

Verse 7. We have a law] In Lev. xxiv. 14-16. we find that blasphemers of God were to be put to death and the chief priests having charged Jesus with blasphemy, they therefore voted that he deserved to die. See Matt. xxvi. 65, 66. They might refer also to the law against false prophets, Deut. xviii. 20.

The Son of God.] It is certain that the Jews understood this in a very peculiar sense. When Christ called himself the Son of God, they understood it to imply positive equality to the Supreme Being; and if they were wrong, our Lord never attempted to correct them.

Verse 8. He was the more afraid] While Jesus was accused only as a disturber of the peace of the nation, which accusation Pilate knew to be false; he knew he could deliver him, because the judgment in that case belonged to himself: but when the Jews brought a charge against him of the most capital nature, from their own laws; he then saw that he had every thing to fear, if he did not deliver Jesus to their will. The Sanhedrin must not be offended-the populace must not be irritated: from the former a complaint might be sent against him to Cæsar: the latter might revolt, or proceed to some acts of violence, the end of which could not be foreseen. Pilate was certainly to be pitied: he saw what was right, and he wished to do it; but he had not sufficient firmness of mind. Verse 6. Crucify HIM] AUTOV, which is necessary to the He did not attend to that important maxim, Fiat justitia; 3

Behold the man!] The man who, according to you, affects the government, and threatens to take away the empire from the Romans. Behold the man, whom ye have brought unto me as an enemy to Cæsar; and as a sower of the seeds of sedition in the land! In him I find no guilt; and from him ye have no occasion to fear any evil.

Pilate seeks to release Christ, but

A.M. 4933.
A. D. 29.
An. Olymp.
CCII. 1.

a

ST. JOHN.

10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

с

the Jews clamour for his death.

d

A. M. 4033.
A. D. 29.

CCIL 1.

saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? | lease him: but the Jews cried
out,
But Jesus gave him no answer.
saying, If thou let this man go, thou An. Olymp.
art not Cæsar's friend: whosoever
maketh himself a king, speaketh against Cæsar.
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying,
he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the
judgment seat in a place that is called the Pave-
ment, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

с

14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith

12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to re- unto the Jews, Behold your king!

Isai. 53. 7. Matt. 27. 12, 14.b Luke 22. 53. ch. 7. 30.

с

Luke 23. 2.- d Acts 17. 7.- Matt. 27.62.

ful princes in the world. During his reign, accusations of conspiracies were much in fashion they were founded on the silliest pretences, and punished with excessive rigour. See Calmet, Tacit. An. I. i. c. 72, 73, 74. Sueton. in Tiber. c. 58.

ruat cælum. Let justice be done, though the heavens should be dissolved. He had a vile people to govern, and it was not an easy matter to keep them quiet. Some suppose that Pilate's fear arose, from hearing that Jesus had said, he was the Son of God: because Pilate, who was a polytheist, believed that it was possible for the offspring of the gods to visit mor- Verse 13. The Pavement] AdworEwTor, literally, a stone tals; and he was afraid to condemn Jesus, for fear of offend-pavement: probably it was that place in the open court, ing some of the supreme deities. Perhaps the question in the where the chair of justice was set, for the præfects of prosucceeding verse refers to this. vinces always held their courts of justice in the open air; and which was paved with stones of various colours, like that of Ahasuerus, Esth. i. 6. of red, blue, white, and black marble; what we still term Mosaic work, or something in imitation of it; such as the Roman pavements frequently dug up in this and other countries, where the Romans have had military

Verse 9. Whence art thou?] This certainly does not mean, From what country art thou? for Pilate knew this well enough: but it appears, he made this enquiry to know who were the parents of Christ; what were his pretensions, and whether he really were a demigod, such as the heathens believed in. To this question we find our Lord gave no answer. He had already told him that his kingdom was not of this world; and that he came to erect a spiritual kingdom, not a temporal one: chap. xviii. 36, 37. This answer he deemed sufficient, and he did not chuse to satisfy a criminal curiosity, nor to enter then into any debate concerning the absurdity of the heathen worship.

Verse 11. Hath the greater sin ] It is a sin in thee to condemn me, while thou art convinced in thy conscience that I am innocent but the Jews who delivered me to thee, and Judas who delivered me to the Jews, have the greater crime to answer for. Thy ignorance in some measure excuses thee; but the rage and malice of the Jews put them at present, out| of the reach of mercy.

Verse 12. Pilate sought to release him] Pilate made fire several attempts to release our Lord; as we may learn from Luke xxiii. 4, 15, 20, 22. John xix. 4, 12, 13.

stations.

Gabbatha.] That is, an elevated place; from na gabah, high, raised up and it is very likely that the judgment seat was considerably elevated in the court, and that the governor went up to it by steps: and perhaps these very steps were what was called the Pavement. John does not say that Lithostroton, or the Pavement, is the meaning of the word Gabbatha; but that the place was called so in the Hebrew. The place, was probably called Lithostroton, or the Pavement: the seat of judgment, Gabbatha, the raised or elevated place.

In several MSS. and Versions, the Scribes not understanding the Hebrew word, wrote it variously, Gabbatha, Gabatha, Kapphatha, Kappata, Gennetha, Gennaesa, and Gennesar. Lightfoot conjectures that the Pavement here, means the room Gazith in the temple, in which the grand council, called the Sanhedrin, held their meetings.

Verse 14. It was the preparation of the pass-over] That is, Thou art not Cæsar's friend] Thou dost not act like a per- the time in which they were just preparing to kill the passon who has the interest of the Emperor at heart. Ambassa-chal lamb. Critics differ widely concerning the time of our dors, præfects, counsellors, &c. were generally termed the Lord's crucifixion; and this verse is variously understood. friends of the Emperor. This insinuation determined Pilate Some think it signifies merely the preparation of the sabbath; to make no lenger resistance: he was afraid of being accused, and that it is called the preparation of the pass-over, because and he knew Tiberius was one of the most jealous and distrust-the preparation of the sabbath happened that year on the eve

Christ is crucified. The

A. M. 4033.

A. D. 29.

CCII. 1.

A. D. 29.

CCII 1.

15 But they cried out, Away with 18 Where they crucified him, and A. M. 4033, An. Olymp. him, away with him, crucify him. Pi-two other with him, on either side An. Olymp. late saith unto them, Shall I crucify one, and Jesus in the midst. your King? The chief priests answered, have no king but Cæsar.

b

a

We

16 Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they And they took Jesus,

19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it T on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.

d Numb. 15. 36. Heb. 13. 12.- Matt. 27. 37. Mark 15. 26. Luke 23. 38.

of the pass-over. Others think that the preparation of the sabbath, is distinctly spoken of in ver. 31. and was different from what is here mentioned. Contending nations may be more easily reconciled, than contending critics.

The sixth hour] Mark says, chap. xv. 25. that it was the third hour. Tern, the third, is the reading of DL. four others, the Chron. Alex. Severus, Antiochen. Ammonius, with others mentioned by Theophylact. Nonnus, who wrote in the fifth century, read ren, the third. As in ancient times, all the numbers were written in the Manuscripts, not at large, but in numeral letters, it was easy for three, to be mistaken for six. The Coder Beza has generally numeral letters instead of words. Bengel observes that he has found the letter I gamma, THREE, exceedingly like the episemon, SIX, in some MSS. The major part of the best critics think that girn, the third, is the genuine reading. See the note on Mark xv. 25.

Behold your king!] This was probably intended as an irony; and by thus turning their pretended serious apprehensions into ridicule, he hoped still to release him.

John omits this circumstance, together with the insults which
Christ received from the soldiers. See Matt. xxvii. 26, &c.
Mark xv. 16, &c.

Verse 17. Bearing his cross] He bore it all alone first; when he could no longer carry the whole through weakness, occasioned by the ill usage he had received, Simon, a Cyrenian, helped him to carry it: see the note on Matt. xxvii. 32. Golgotha.] See on Matt. xxvii. 33.

Verse 18. Two other] Matthew and Mark in the parallel places call them robbers or murderers; they probably belonged to the gang of Barabbas. See about the figure of the cross, and the nature of crucifixion on Matt. xxvii. 35.

Verse 19. Pilate wrote a title] See on Matt. xxvii. 37. Verse 20. Hebrew,-Greek,-Latin.] See on Luke xxiii. 38. On Matt. xxvii. 37. I have given this title in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, as mentioned by this Evangelist. The Reader, however, will not be displeased to find the same title repeated here, in a character which was written in the fourth century, and is probably nearly resembling that used in the earliest ages of Christianity. The Greek and Latin character, which is inserted here, is an exact fac-simile of that in the Coder Beza, cut and cast at the expense of the University of Cambridge, for Dr. Kipling's edition of that most venerable MS. which contains the Greek text of the four Evangelists and Acts; and the Verse 16. Then delivered he him] This was not till after he Latin text of the same, as it existed before the time of St. Jerom. had washed his hands, Matt. xxvii. 24. to shew by that sym- Having examined the MS. myself, I can say that these types bolical action, that he was innocent of the death of Christ. I are a very faithful representation of the original.

Verse 15. Away with him] Agov: probably this means, kill him. In Isai. lvii. 1. it is said, xa άνδρες δικαιοι αιρονται, and just men are taken away; that is, according to some, by

a violent death.

ST. JOHN.

24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They 22 Pilate answered, What I have written, I parted my raiment among them, and for my have written. vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.