Bible Strands
John 19:19
Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Pilate issues a written notice to be placed on the cross at the moment Jesus is crucified between two others. The sign is positioned where it can be read by many Jews because the site is near the city.
The words — Ἔγραψεν (Egrapsen) means "wrote," and ἔθηκεν (ethēken) means "put," describing Pilate’s actions in drafting and affixing the title.
The thread — This inscription appears in parallel accounts at Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, and Luke 23:38, each recording the charge posted above Jesus during the crucifixion.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that Jesus’ execution was officially recorded under the charge of claiming kingship over the Jews. It requires the reader to confront the political and theological weight of that title at the moment of death.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Cross-references
- Matthew 27:37 Above His head they posted the written charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Mark 15:26 And the charge inscribed against Him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Luke 23:38 Above Him was posted an inscription: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- John 19:14 It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”
- John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- John 1:49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
- John 18:33 Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
- John 19:3 And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.
- John 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”
- John 19:21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but only that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”