Joh 19:17 | KingComments | STEP | The word of Christ’s rejection is out. They have nothing in common with Him, they deny any connection with Him. At the same time, God’s Word is thus fulfilled and they can take Him. Again we see the exaltedness of the Son of God. They can take Him, but in fact He Himself goes out. He is not led, but takes the lead Himself, while He also carries His cross Himself. In this Gospel we see no signs of human weakness that the Lord also had. Here we see how He takes the path of suffering in the exaltedness of the Son of God. He Himself goes to the goal, the place of execution. He is not brought there. The name Place of a Skull is the symbol of the end of all human glory. That is what remains of the once celebrated human being. The Lord goes to that place with the cross on His back. The cross is and speaks of the most humiliating and painful way to die. Not only is the end humiliating, but so is the manner in which this end occurs. As a Roman invention, crucifixion expressed prideful contempt. Barbarians were nailed to the cross like vermin and tortured to death. And to that death Christ is handed over by the Jewish leaders. In rendering the name of the place of execution in the Hebrew language, we again see their involvement in His being handed over. John does not say much about the crucifixion itself. Nor do we hear any reaction from bystanders. His concern is to bring out the glory of the Son of God as a perfectly devoted Man to God. To this end, his reference to the two others who are crucified with Him also serves. It does not matter what they did wrong. It is enough that they are two “other men”, men so completely different from Him. They only matter in order to make the glory of the Lord Jesus stand out all the more. When John describes the two other men each being crucified one on either side of the Lord, it is clear that He is hanging in between. John places additional emphasis on this by stating that Jesus hangs “in between”. All light shines on Him.

‏ John 19:17

The Crucifixion

The word of Christ’s rejection is out. They have nothing in common with Him, they deny any connection with Him. At the same time, God’s Word is thus fulfilled and they can take Him. Again we see the exaltedness of the Son of God. They can take Him, but in fact He Himself goes out. He is not led, but takes the lead Himself, while He also carries His cross Himself.

In this Gospel we see no signs of human weakness that the Lord also had. Here we see how He takes the path of suffering in the exaltedness of the Son of God. He Himself goes to the goal, the place of execution. He is not brought there. The name Place of a Skull is the symbol of the end of all human glory. That is what remains of the once celebrated human being.

The Lord goes to that place with the cross on His back. The cross is and speaks of the most humiliating and painful way to die. Not only is the end humiliating, but so is the manner in which this end occurs. As a Roman invention, crucifixion expressed prideful contempt. Barbarians were nailed to the cross like vermin and tortured to death. And to that death Christ is handed over by the Jewish leaders. In rendering the name of the place of execution in the Hebrew language, we again see their involvement in His being handed over.

John does not say much about the crucifixion itself. Nor do we hear any reaction from bystanders. His concern is to bring out the glory of the Son of God as a perfectly devoted Man to God. To this end, his reference to the two others who are crucified with Him also serves. It does not matter what they did wrong. It is enough that they are two “other men”, men so completely different from Him. They only matter in order to make the glory of the Lord Jesus stand out all the more.

When John describes the two other men each being crucified one on either side of the Lord, it is clear that He is hanging in between. John places additional emphasis on this by stating that Jesus hangs “in between”. All light shines on Him.