There, at Golgotha, Pilate’s soldiers crucified Jesus with two other men, one on either side of him (John 19:18). The other men were robbers (G3027), according to Matthew and Mark (Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27), and malefactors or criminals (G2557), according to Luke (Luke 23:32). Thus, fulfilling the Scripture: he was numbered with the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12; cp. Mark 15:28). The accusation, which Pilate had written down to be nailed above Jesus’ head was: “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews” (John 19:19). Each of the Synoptics phrase the accusation slightly differently: This is Jesus King of the Jews (Matthew 27:37), King of the Jews (Mark 15:26), and This is the King of the Jews (Luke 23:38.
Some critics note these differences, seeking to show contradictions and a lack of divine inspiration, but this is a poor argument. Nothing here is contradictory. Mark has the basic charge against Jesus, while Matthew and John add identifying factors to the basic accusation. Luke and Mark basically say the same thing. Interestingly, however, since Pilate had the accusation written in three different languages, Hebrew/Aramaic, Greek and Latin, this could also account for the differences in phraseology. Aramaic was the universally spoken language in the East, while Greek was the language universally understood in the West. Roman or Latin was the language of official records kept by the Roman government. So, since executions were conducted in a prominent place near the gates of cities, many thousands of Jewish pilgrims would have read the official charges against Jesus and brought news of it back to their homes in the East and the West.
After the Jewish authorities read the charges Pilate wrote against Jesus, they returned to ask Pilate to change the charge to: “He said: ‘I am the King of the Jews,’” but Pilate was in no mood to cooperate with the men who threatened to report him to Caesar, which was basically a threat against his own life. The crowds were no longer present, and a sedition was no longer in the making, so Pilate returned to his uncooperative, bigoted self, refusing to oblige the local authorities of Jerusalem, saying: “What I have written, I have written!” (John 19:20-22).
Keep in mind that Pilate had found Jesus innocent of this charge (John 18:37-38). The last charge made against Jesus was that he was the Son of God (John 19:7), and it was immediately after this charge was made against Jesus that Pilate gave in to the demands of the chief priests (John 19:13, 16). Nevertheless, for the official records, he couldn’t record he had crucified a man to satisfy a local religious complaint. Therefore, the formal charge would be that Jesus usurped the title of royalty, when that could be permitted only by a decree of Caesar, and this is how Pilate phrased the charge before the crowd (John 19:14-15), in effect causing them to reject Jesus as King and embrace Caesar, and that was what would be placed in the official record.
John records that the soldiers divided up Jesus’ clothing among them. This practice was codified in Roman legal records, giving Jesus’ executioners the right to his personal items. Interestingly, they didn’t wish to divide up Jesus’ ceremonial robe, which was woven seamlessly from top to bottom, so they cast lots for it (John 19:23-24) in fulfillment of the scriptures (Psalm 22:18).
The Synoptics tell us that the women from Galilee stood afar of and included in these were Salome, Mary (the mother of James the Less and Joseph) and Mary Magdalene (Matthew 27:55-56; Mark 15:40-41), but John tells us four women stood by or near Jesus, Mary, Jesus’ mother, Salome (Mary’s sister), Mary (the wife of Cleophas) and Mary Magdalene (John 19:25-26). Roman law forbade friends and close relatives to stand near a crucified criminal, but the prerogative of motherhood was held in high esteem, throughout the ancient world. It is very likely the four Roman soldiers and the centurion would have looked the other way in matters such as this, if a threat of trouble wasn’t obvious. So, although they were afar off in the beginning, the four women and the beloved disciple were permitted to draw closer. There is a tradition that tells us Mary, the mother of James the less and Joseph (also the wife of Cleophas) were also relatives of Jesus’ mother, Cleophas, being Joseph’s brother, vis-à-vis Joseph was Jesus’ foster father.[1]
As they approached Jesus, and, when he saw his mother, he provided for her by leaving her in the care of his beloved disciple. As an executed criminal, any estate Jesus may have had would have been seized by Rome, and Mary would have been put out into the street. Moreover, since Jesus was the eldest son, and the heir of anything his foster father had left the family, Jesus’ half-brothers, at least in the beginning, would have been unable to care adequately for Mary. Therefore, her future care needed to be assured, and the beloved disciple was the willing recipient of that responsibility (John 19:27).
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[1] See Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 11.
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