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João 19

ARC · Chapter 19/21

1Pilatos pois tomou então a Jesus, e o açoitou:

2E os soldados, tecendo uma corôa de espinhos, lh'a pozeram sobre a cabeça, e lhe vestiram uma veste de purpura.

3E diziam: Salve, Rei dos Judeos. E davam-lhe bofetadas.

4Então Pilatos saiu outra vez fóra, e disse-lhes: Eis aqui vol-o trago fóra, para que saibaes que não acho n'elle crime algum.

5Saiu pois Jesus fóra, levando a corôa de espinhos e o vestido de purpura. E disse-lhes Pilatos: Eis-aqui o homem.

6Vendo-o pois os principaes dos sacerdotes e os servos, clamaram, dizendo: Crucifica-o, crucifica-o. Disse-lhes Pilatos: Tomae-o vós, e crucificae-o; porque eu nenhum crime acho n'elle.

7Responderam-lhe os judeos: Nós temos uma lei, e, segundo a nossa lei, deve morrer, porque se fez Filho de Deus.

8E Pilatos, quando ouviu esta palavra, mais atemorisado ficou.

9E entrou outra vez na audiencia, e disse a Jesus: D'onde és tu? Mas Jesus não lhe deu resposta.

10Disse-lhe pois Pilatos: Não me fallas a mim? não sabes tu que tenho poder para te crucificar e tenho poder para te soltar?

11Respondeu Jesus: Nenhum poder terias contra mim, se de cima te não fosse dado; porém aquelle que me entregou a ti maior peccado tem.

12Desde então Pilatos procurava soltal-o; mas os judeos clamavam, dizendo: Se soltas este, não és amigo do Cesar: qualquer que se faz rei contradiz ao Cesar.

13Ouvindo pois Pilatos este dito, levou a Jesus para fóra, e assentou-se no tribunal, no logar chamado Lithostrótos, e em hebraico Gabbatha.

14E era a preparação da paschoa, e quasi á hora sexta; e disse aos judeos: Eis aqui o vosso Rei.

15Mas elles bradaram: Tira, tira, crucifica-o. Disse-lhes Pilatos: Hei de crucificar o vosso Rei? Responderam os principaes dos sacerdotes: Não temos rei, senão o Cesar.

16Então entregou-lh'o, para que fosse crucificado. E tomaram a Jesus, e o levaram.

17E, levando elle ás costas a sua cruz, saiu para o logar chamado Caveira, que em hebraico se chama Golgotha,

18Onde o crucificaram, e com elle outros dois, um de cada lado, e Jesus no meio.

19E Pilatos escreveu tambem um titulo, e pôl-o em cima da cruz; e n'elle estava escripto: JESUS NAZARENO, REI DOS JUDEOS.

20E muitos dos judeos leram este titulo; porque o logar onde Jesus estava crucificado era proximo da cidade; e estava escripto em hebraico, grego e latim.

21Diziam pois os principaes sacerdotes dos judeos a Pilatos: Não escrevas, Rei dos Judeos; mas que elle disse: Sou Rei dos Judeos.

22Respondeu Pilatos: O que escrevi, escrevi.

23Tendo pois os soldados crucificado a Jesus, tomaram os seus vestidos, e fizeram quatro partes, para cada soldado uma parte, e a tunica. Porém a tunica, tecida toda d'alto a baixo, não tinha costura.

24Disseram pois uns aos outros: Não a rasguemos, mas lancemos sortes sobre ella, para vêr de quem será. Para que se cumprisse a Escriptura que diz: Dividiram entre si os meus vestidos, e sobre a minha vestidura lançaram sortes. E os soldados, pois, fizeram estas coisas.

25E junto á cruz de Jesus estava sua mãe, e a irmã de sua mãe, Maria, mulher de Cleophas, e Maria Magdalena.

26Ora Jesus, vendo ali a sua mãe, e o discipulo a quem elle amava estando presente, disse a sua mãe: Mulher, eis ahi o teu filho.

27Depois disse ao discipulo: Eis ahi tua mãe. E desde aquella hora o discipulo a recebeu em sua casa.

28Depois, sabendo Jesus que já todas as coisas estavam acabadas, para que a Escriptura se cumprisse, disse: Tenho sêde.

29Estava pois ali um vaso cheio de vinagre. E encheram de vinagre uma esponja, e, pondo-a n'um hyssope, lh'a chegaram á bocca.

30E, quando Jesus tomou o vinagre, disse: Está consummado. E, inclinando a cabeça, entregou o espirito.

31Os judeos, pois, para que no sabbado não ficassem os corpos na cruz, porque era a preparação (pois era grande o dia de sabbado), rogaram a Pilatos que se lhes quebrassem as pernas, e fossem tirados.

32Foram pois os soldados, e, na verdade, quebraram as pernas ao primeiro, e ao outro que com elle fôra crucificado;

33Mas, vindo a Jesus, e vendo-o já morto, não lhe quebraram as pernas.

34Porém um dos soldados lhe furou o lado com uma lança, e logo saiu sangue e agua.

35E aquelle que isto viu o testificou, e o seu testemunho é verdadeiro; e sabe que é verdade o que diz, para que tambem vós o creiaes.

36Porque estas coisas aconteceram para que se cumprisse a Escriptura, que diz: Nenhum dos seus ossos será quebrado.

37E outra vez diz a Escriptura: Verão o que traspassaram.

38Depois d'isto, José de Arimathea (o que era discipulo de Jesus, mas occulto, por medo dos judeos) rogou a Pilatos que lhe permittisse tirar o corpo de Jesus. E Pilatos lh'o permittiu. Então foi e tirou o corpo de Jesus.

39E foi tambem Nicodemos (aquelle que anteriormente se dirigira de noite a Jesus), levando quasi cem arrateis d'um composto de myrrha e aloes.

40Tomaram pois o corpo de Jesus e o envolveram em lençoes com as especiarias, como os judeos teem por costume preparar para o sepulchro.

41E havia um horto n'aquelle logar onde fôra crucificado, e no horto um sepulchro novo, em que ainda ninguem havia sido posto.

42Ali pois (por causa da preparação dos judeos, e por estar perto aquelle sepulchro), pozeram a Jesus.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus is scourged, crowned with thorns, and handed over by Pilate to be crucified, despite his declared innocence. He is crucified at Golgotha, entrusts his mother to the beloved disciple, and dies. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepare his burial.

Explanation

Pilate repeatedly tries to release Jesus, recognizing his innocence, but yields to the political pressure of the crowd and the religious leaders, fearing accusations of disloyalty to Caesar. On the cross, Jesus cares for his mother, entrusting her to the beloved disciple's care, showing filial responsibility even amid extreme suffering. The final declaration, 'it is finished' (v.30), represents in Greek a word used on commercial receipts of the time to indicate 'debt paid in full,' symbolizing that the work of redemption was complete. The blood and water that flow from his side (v.34) confirm his actual physical death. The practical application today is that Christ's work of salvation is fully accomplished, with nothing left to add.

Fun facts

  • The Greek word 'tetelestai,' translated 'it is finished' (v.30), was used on commercial documents and receipts of the Roman era to mark a debt as fully paid — a detail that illuminates the theological meaning of the phrase as complete payment for sin.
  • The Roman practice of breaking the legs of crucified prisoners (v.31-33) hastened death by suffocation, since the victim could no longer push up to breathe; the fact that Jesus' legs were not broken, since he was already dead, fulfilled the prophecy that 'not one of his bones would be broken' (Exodus 12:46, Psalm 34:20).

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. João 19:1Flogging was a common Roman punishment, sometimes applied before crucifixion, but in this case Pilate seems to be hoping this alone would be enough to satisfy the crowd without having to kill Jesus.
  2. João 19:2The soldiers stage a cruel mockery of royalty: the crown of thorns imitates a real crown, and the purple robe was precisely the color associated with kings and emperors.
  3. João 19:3They continue the mockery, hailing Jesus as king while physically abusing Him — a combination of verbal and physical humiliation.
  4. João 19:4Pilate repeats the same conclusion he had already given before: he finds no crime at all in Jesus, perhaps hoping that showing Him already punished would be enough to calm the crowd.
  5. João 19:5The famous line, the KJV’s “Behold the man!”, may have been said to stir the crowd’s pity, or even ironically, since Jesus appears exactly as the humble, suffering king He truly is.
  6. João 19:6Faced with the insistent demand for crucifixion, Pilate insists on not taking responsibility, suggesting that the accusers themselves do it, since he sees no legal grounds to condemn Him.
  7. João 19:7The Jews shift the charge from political, being a king, to religious: under their law, Jesus deserved to die for blasphemy, for calling Himself the Son of God.
  8. João 19:8This new charge, involving a possible divine origin, leaves Pilate even more afraid — the Romans took this kind of claim seriously within their own religion.
  9. João 19:9Pilate asks where Jesus really comes from, but He chooses silence — a silence that recalls the image of the suffering servant described earlier in the book of Isaiah.
  10. João 19:10Pilate presses further, reminding Jesus of the power he holds over His life and death, trying to provoke some response.
  11. João 19:11Jesus answers that Pilate’s power only exists because it was granted from above, by God, but points out that whoever handed Him over to Pilate, most likely Caiaphas, carries an even greater guilt.
  12. João 19:12From that point on Pilate tries to release Jesus, but the Jews use a dangerous political threat: releasing someone who claims to be king would be betraying the Roman emperor himself — a real risk for Pilate’s already shaky standing with Rome.
  13. João 19:13Faced with this political pressure, Pilate formally sits down at the judgment seat, in a place identified in both Greek and Hebrew, showing the account’s historical care with the exact details of the location.
  14. João 19:14The detail of the time, around noon, and of the day of preparation for the Passover, helps pinpoint precisely the moment when Pilate, still in a provocative tone, the KJV’s “Behold your King!”, presents Jesus to them as their king.
  15. João 19:15In a shocking moment, the chief priests go so far as to declare, in the KJV’s wording, “We have no king but Cesar,” no king besides the pagan emperor — an extreme statement, showing just how far they were willing to go to condemn Jesus.
  16. João 19:16After so much resistance and hesitation, Pilate finally gives in and hands Jesus over to be crucified.
  17. João 19:17The KJV’s “Golgotha” is an Aramaic word meaning skull, and the other Gospels give the same explanation. The name likely comes either from the shape of the hill or from the place being traditionally linked to executions, but the text does not specify which of the two explanations is correct.
  18. João 19:18Jesus is crucified between two other condemned men, one on each side — the same detail recorded in the other Gospels about His position in the middle.
  19. João 19:19Pilate orders the charge to be written officially above the cross, following the Roman custom of publicly announcing a condemned man’s crime.
  20. João 19:20The inscription was written in three languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, precisely so it could be read by the whole mix of people present there: local Jews, Greek merchants, and Roman authorities.
  21. João 19:21The chief priests try to have the text corrected, asking that it make clear this was only Jesus’s own claim, not an officially recognized fact.
  22. João 19:22Pilate refuses to change what he had already written, one of the few moments in the whole trial when he resists the religious leaders’ constant pressure.
  23. João 19:23A tunic woven in one piece, without seams, was a more elaborate and valuable garment to make, which is why the soldiers prefer to cast lots for who gets it whole instead of tearing it into pieces as they did with the other clothes. The Gospel notes that this scene also fulfills a line from an ancient psalm about dividing garments and casting lots for them.
  24. João 19:24The soldiers decide to cast lots for the seamless tunic instead of tearing it, unknowingly fulfilling an ancient prophecy from Psalm 22 about dividing someone’s clothes and casting lots for their garment.
  25. João 19:25Identifies the small group of faithful women present at the cross, contrasting with the absence of most of the male disciples, except for the beloved disciple mentioned next.
  26. João 19:26Even while suffering on the cross, Jesus is concerned about His mother’s future, entrusting her care to the beloved disciple — the KJV’s “Woman” here is simply a respectful form of address, the same one used in chapter 2.
  27. João 19:27Jesus completes His instruction for the disciple to care for His mother, and the text confirms that he did in fact welcome her into his own home from that moment on.
  28. João 19:28The words “I thirst,” the KJV’s own phrasing, tie a real physical need of a dying man to the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, most likely from Psalm 69.
  29. João 19:29The hyssop used to bring the drink to Jesus’s mouth is the same plant used at the first Passover, in Egypt, to put blood on the doorposts — a possible symbolic link to the Passover season in which all of this takes place.
  30. João 19:30The KJV’s “It is finished” translates a single Greek word that also appeared on commercial receipts of the time, in the sense of paid in full or completed with nothing owing. It is not a cry of defeat, it is one of completion: the task He had come to do was done.
  31. João 19:31Breaking the legs of the crucified was a Roman practice used to speed up death, by preventing the person from pushing themselves up to breathe — a request made urgently because the Sabbath, made even more important by coinciding with Passover, was approaching.
  32. João 19:32The soldiers carry out this request as usual with the other two men crucified beside Jesus.
  33. João 19:33When they reach Jesus, they see that He is already dead and so do not break His legs — a detail the text soon ties to the fulfillment of a prophecy.
  34. João 19:34This detail, described by an eyewitness, serves, among other things, to confirm that Jesus was truly already dead before being taken down from the cross, since the Romans were experienced at recognizing the signs of death. It is also cited as the fulfillment of an Old Testament passage mentioned right afterward.
  35. João 19:35The narrator, most likely the beloved disciple himself, personally affirms having witnessed this scene, reinforcing that his account is true so that readers too may believe.
  36. João 19:36A direct link to the Passover lamb, whose bones could not be broken according to Jewish law — once again the Gospel connects Jesus’s death to that ancient sacrifice.
  37. João 19:37Quotes yet another prophecy, from the book of Zechariah, about looking on the one who was pierced — a direct reference to the spear thrust the soldier gave into Jesus’s side.
  38. João 19:38Joseph of Arimathea, until then a secret follower out of fear of the authorities, decides to act with courage at this moment, openly asking Pilate for Jesus’s body for a proper burial.
  39. João 19:39Myrrh and aloes were aromatic substances used to soften the smell of decomposition, since bodies were not embalmed as in Egypt but wrapped in linen cloths with these spices placed over and inside the wrappings. About a hundred pounds, more than 30 kilograms, is a huge amount, fit for the burial of someone important, not a simple funeral.
  40. João 19:40Wrapping the body in linen cloths with spices was the standard Jewish custom for preparing a body for burial.
  41. João 19:41The detail that the tomb was new, never used before, matters for avoiding any future confusion about whose body was found there later at the resurrection.
  42. João 19:42The urgency to use this particular tomb, because it was nearby and the Sabbath was approaching, explains why Jesus ended up being buried there, rather than somewhere more fitting for His own family.

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