John 19:19

“And Pilate wrote a title, etc.] 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, (<510214>Colossians 2:14). The form of it was drawn up by Pilate, his judge, who ordered it to be transcribed upon a proper instrument, and placed over him: and put it on the cross; not with his own hands, but by his servants, who did it at his command; for others are said to do it, (<402737>Matthew 27:37). It was put upon “the top of the cross”, as the Persic version reads it; “over him”,…”

“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. These were the chief languages of the earth, and this secured that all spectators should be able to read it. Stung by this, the Jewish ecclesiastics entreat that it may be so altered as to express, not His real dignity, but His false claim to it. But Pilate thought he had yielded quite enough to them; and having intended expressly to spite and insult them by this title, for having got him to act against his own sense of justice, he peremptorily refused…”

“See the notes at Matthew 27:32-37. John 19:22 What I have written ... - This declaration implied that he would make no change. He was impatient, and weary of their solicitations. He had yielded to them contrary to the convictions of his own conscience, and he now declared his purpose to yield no further. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews - Undoubtedly these were the very words, although the other evangelists do not express them at large. John 19:20”

“19:19-22 Pilate posted a sign on the cross: It was customary for the Roman soldiers to provide a written public notice of the criminal’s name and crimes. Perhaps as a final act of revenge against the Jewish high council, Pilate ordered that the sign should identify Jesus of Nazareth as the King of the Jews. Jesus’ kingship was posted in three languages for the whole world to understand.”

“wrote: Mat 27:37; Mar 15:26; Luk 23:38 And the: The apparent discrepancy between the accounts of this title given by the Evangelists, which has been urged as an objection against their inspiration and veracity, has been most satisfactorily accounted for by Dr. Townson; who supposes that, as it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, it might have slightly varied in each language; and that, as Luke and John wrote for the Gentiles, they would prefer the Greek inscription, that Matthew, addressing the Jews, would use the Hebrew, and that Mark, writing to the Romans, would naturally give the Latin. Jesus: Joh 19:3, Joh 19:12, Joh 1:45, Joh 1:46, Joh 1:49, Joh 18:33; Act 3:6, Act 26:9 John 19:20”