John 19

Thus in the end the Jewish leaders got their wish. Pilate handed Jesus over to them—that is, to the Roman soldiers—to be crucified.

(Matthew 27:32-44; Mark 15:21-32; Luke 23:26-43)

17-24 See Mark 15:21-32 and comment.

25 Four women were standing watching while Jesus was crucified. One was Jesus’ mother Mary. Think of Mary’s sorrow to see her son dying on the cross. The prophecy of Simeon had indeed come true: And a sword will pierce your own soul too (Luke 2:35).

The second woman at the cross was the sister of Jesus’ mother. Some Bible scholars believe that this sister was Salome (Mark 15:40), who was the mother of James and John,¹²² the sons of Zebedee (Matthew 27:56). If this is so, then John was related to Jesus.

The third woman at the cross was another Mary, the wife of Clopas. Some think that this Clopas is the same as the Cleopas mentioned in Luke 24:18.

The fourth woman at the cross was Mary of Magdala, called Mary Magdalene by the other Gospel writers (see Mark 15:40,47; Luke 8:2; John 20:1,11).

26 Even as He was dying, Jesus thought of His mother. She was standing there with the disciple whom he loved—that is, John, the writer of this Gospel. So He told His mother, “Dear woman, here is your son; that is, from now on John is going to be like your own son and care for you.” From this, we can surmise that Jesus’ father Joseph had died sometime before; otherwise, he would have been the one responsible for Jesus’ mother. Jesus didn’t place His mother in the care of His own brothers (Mary’s other sons), because they were not yet believers (John 7:5). Only after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension did His brothers come to believe in Him (Acts 1:14).

27 Then Jesus said to John, “Here is your mother.” In this way Jesus placed His mother in John’s care. And from then on John took responsibility for her, as if he were her own son.

28-30 See Mark 15:36-37 and comment.

31 Jesus died on the day of Preparation, that is, Friday (see verse 14). According to Jewish law, an executed criminal’s body could not be left hanging on a tree or cross overnight. To do so was considered to be “defiling” the land (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). It was especially important to observe this law in Jesus’ case, because the next day was the Sabbath of Passover week. Therefore, the Jews asked permission¹²³ to break the legs of Jesus and the two robbers who had been crucified with Him, so that they would all die quickly, thus making it possible to bury the bodies before sunset.¹²⁴

32-33 However, the soldiers found that Jesus was already dead, so it was not necessary to break His legs.

34 One of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear. Perhaps he wanted to make sure Jesus was really dead. Blood and water came out of the wound. It is possible that the soldier pierced Jesus’ stomach; this would explain why blood and water came out together.

35 The man who saw it is the Apostle John, the writer of this Gospel. He tells this story to show that Jesus had a real human body and that He really died. He also testifies to these things so that you also may believe (see John 20:31). And his testimony is true (see John 21:24).

36 The fact that Jesus had no bones broken was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. According to Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12, no bone was to be broken in the animal sacrificed at the Passover feast. John considered Jesus to be the true Passover sacrifice (see John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7 and comments); therefore, it was fitting that none of His bones were broken. Thus the soldiers, by not breaking Jesus’ legs, fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 34:20, in which it is written: … he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

37 The piercing of Jesus’ side also fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah: They will look on me, the one they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10).

(Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56)

38-42 See Mark 15:42-47 and comment.