John 19:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him."

NIV: As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."

NASB: So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, 'Crucify, crucify!' Pilate *said to them, 'Take Him yourselves and crucify Him; for I find no grounds for charges in His case!'

CSB: When the chief priests and the temple servants saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" Pilate responded, "Take him and crucify him yourselves, since I find no grounds for charging him."

NLT: When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' 'Take him yourselves and crucify him,' Pilate said. 'I find him not guilty.'

KJV: 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 I find no fault in him.

NKJV: Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

The Roman governor, Pilate, is resisting the Jewish leadership's efforts to have Jesus killed. He knows this is a personal vendetta (Matthew 27:18), and Jesus is not a political revolutionary (John 18:36–38). History suggests Pilate was under intense pressure to avoid civil unrest. Now, at the start of a major religious holiday, he's looking to appease a mob demanding the death of an innocent man. With that in mind, Pilate had Jesus brutally scourged (John 19:1) and allowed soldiers to bully and mock Him (John 19:2–3). When Pilate presented this mangled figure to the crowd, he assumed it would be enough to satisfy their anger (John 19:4–5).

Instead, they call for Jesus to suffer the worst of all Roman punishments: crucifixion. This sadistic process was not only agonizing, but also designed to stretch pain and embarrassment into a days-long ordeal. What the crowd seeks here is not just death, but a hateful, ugly death.

Even the notoriously vindictive Pontius Pilate is taken aback at this nasty, spiteful demand. His reply of "do it yourself!" is rhetorical; he knows the Jewish people cannot and will not do so on their own.

A partial explanation for this anger comes in the following verse (John 19:7). And yet, it will give Pilate another reason for pause.

John 19:1–16 continues Jesus' interrogation by the Roman governor, Pilate. Pilate has already recognized Jesus' innocence and continues to look for ways to release Him without an execution. Religious leaders refuse this, using the threat of a riot to coerce the governor. Eventually, Pilate gives in and orders Jesus to be crucified. Parallel accounts are found in Matthew 27:24–30, Mark 15:12–15, and Luke 23:20–25.

Pilate recognizes Jesus' innocence, but fears the mob assembled by Jewish religious leaders. He attempts to satisfy them by having Jesus viciously whipped and mocked. This only results in more cries for Jesus' death. The governor then shifts to protect his own reputation, ordering Jesus to be crucified on a charge of being "King of the Jews." John is directly present as Jesus is executed. He notes the fulfillment of several prophecies as Jesus dies. Once He is confirmed to be dead, Jesus' body is taken by two friendly members of the ruling council. They hastily bury Him in the borrowed crypt of a rich man.

When Jesus was first brought to Pilate, His innocence was obvious (John 18:36–38). However, the mob refuses to be satisfied with anything less than crucifixion. Pilate gives in to these demands. John, who is present for the entire gory spectacle, notes several instances of fulfilled prophecy (Psalm 22:18; Psalm 69:21; Exodus 12:46; Zechariah 12:10). Jesus is then buried in the borrowed tomb of a rich man (Isaiah 53:9) to complete yet another Old Testament prediction. A guard will be posted to ensure no one steals the body (Matthew 27:62–68), which will only serve to confirm that Jesus' eventual resurrection was a true miracle (John 20:1–8).

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.