Thoughts on the Gospel of John (194) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write, The King of the Jews, but, He said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written.
John 19:20–22

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (194)
“The Victim, nailed to the accursed tree” is how one songwriter put it. We can hardly imagine a greater disgrace. And what can people watching the spectacle read at the top of the cross? A caption, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. Pilate had written the text and had affixed it to the cross.

Clearly, the chief priests do not agree with this wording. But they have been pressuring Pilate to condemn Jesus; now he repays them by publicly stating that the hated Jesus of Nazareth is the King of the Jews. Pilate is asked to correct this but to no avail. His harsh answer has become a common saying.

In all this the hand of God is seen. He has ensured at all times that honour has been given to His Son. Even at the birth of Jesus, when hardly anyone in Israel was interested in the “King of the Jews”, God had the magi from the East come and pay homage to His Son. Here, it is a wooden tablet that widely ‘preaches’ that the despised Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the King of the Jews.

The caption is in the three predominant languages of the day: Hebrew, the language of religion in which the Old Testament is written; Greek, the language of culture throughout the Roman Empire; and Latin, the language of political power. Seen in this way, the whole world is involved in the event of the cross.

(to be continued next Sunday)

Today’s reading: Daniel 2:1-16 · Psalms 37:30-40