John 19:19

Pilate also wrote a title. Here is noted the second principal point, namely the dignity of the one suffering, and it is indicated in the title, because the title was that of a king. The inscription of the title, therefore, is touched upon when he …

Wherein was shown that His kingdom was not, as they thought, destroyed, but rather strengthened.

2418 The Evangelist just told of Christ's crucifixion; now he mentions things that accompanied and followed it: first, as they relate to Pilate; secondly as they relate to the soldiers; and finally, he tells about Christ's friends who were standing by (v 25). Concerning Pilate, …

Pilate writes a title on the cross, that is, the charge, the inscription, the declaration. The inscription indicated whose cross it was. So Pilate makes this inscription, on the one hand, in order to take revenge on the Jews for not having listened to him, …

And Pilate wrote a title,.... Luke calls it a superscription, Mark, the superscription of his accusation, and Matthew, the accusation itself; it contained the substance of the charge against him, and was written upon a table or board, and nailed to the cross, as Nonnus suggests; to this is the allusion, Col 2:

IT was the usual custom of the Romans, when a man was put to death by crucifixion to affix to the cross, somewhere where it might be read, an account of his crime. His name and title would be given and the accusation that had been brought against him so that all who passed by might read the reason why he had been put to such an ignominious death. Our Savior, therefore, being numbered with the transgressors, must be treated in all respects as they were.

Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross . . . Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews . . . and it was written in Hebrew--or Syro-Chaldaic, the language of the country. and Greek--the current language. and Latin--the official language.

He that can read a passage like this without a deep sense of man's debt to Christ, must have a very cold, or a very thoughtless heart. Great must be the love of the Lord Jesus to sinners, when He could voluntarily endure such sufferings for their salvation. Great must be the sinfulness of sin, when such an amount of vicarious suffering was needed in order to provide redemption. We should observe, first, in this passage, how our Lord had to bear His CROSS when He went forth from the city to Golgotha.

He that can read a passage like this without a deep sense of man's debt to Christ, must have a very cold, or a very thoughtless heart. Great must be the love of the Lord Jesus to sinners, when He could voluntarily endure such sufferings for their salvation. Great must be the sinfulness of sin, when such an amount of vicarious suffering was needed in order to provide redemption. We should observe, first, in this passage, how our Lord had to bear His CROSS when He went forth from the city to Golgotha. We need not doubt that there was a deep meaning in all this circumstance. For one thing, it was part of that depth of humiliation to which our Lord submitted as our substitute. One portion of the punishment imposed on the vilest criminals, was that they should carry their own cross when they went to execution; and this portion was laid upon our Lord. In the fullest sense He was reckoned a sinner, and counted a curse for our sakes. For another thing, it was a fulfillment of the great type of the sin-offering of the Mosaic law. It is written, that "The bull and goat given as sin offerings , whose blood Aaron brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement for Israel, will be carried outside the camp to be burned." (Lev. 16:27.) Little did the blinded Jews imagine, when they madly hounded on the Romans to crucify Jesus outside the gates, that they were unconsciously perfecting the mightiest sin-offering that was ever seen. It is written, "So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates in order to make his people holy by shedding his own blood." (Heb. 13:12.) The practical lesson which all true Christians should gather from the fact before us, is one that should be kept in continual remembrance. Like our Master, we must be content to go forth "outside the camp," bearing His reproach.

IT was the usual custom of the Romans, when a man was put to death by crucifixion to affix to the cross, somewhere where it might be read, an account of his crime. His name and title would be given and the accusation that had been brought against him so that all who passed by might read the reason why he had been put to such an ignominious death. Our Savior, therefore, being numbered with the transgressors, must be treated in all respects as they were. If their accusations were published, so must He have His accusation published among the sons of men. How wondrous was the condescension that He, whom all Heaven adored as the ever-blessed Son of the Highest, should be hanged upon a tree and that He should have His accusation written up over His head just as if He had been a common malefactor! I wish we could realize both the dignity of His Person and the shame to which He was exposed. If we could realize this we would be filled with grief for Him and with thankfulness to Him that He condescended to die the death of the Cross. I wish it were possible for us to now stand at the foot of the Cross with Mary and John and the other disciples, and to hear the ribaldry and scorn for a moment—and then to look up and see that sorrowful face and that tortured body— and to read in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." It was a very remarkable thing that Pilate should have written, as Matthew and Luke say that he did, "This is the King of the Jews," and we do not at all wonder that the chief priests said to Pilate, "Write not, the King of the Jews, but that He said, I am King of the Jews." But Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." Divine Providence always has its way! It matters not who may be the persons concerned, God knows how to work His own will with them.

Pilate wrote a title - See on Mat 27:37 (note).