John chapter 19

vs 21

Understandably, the Jewish leaders didn't want Jesus to be acknowledged as the king of the Jews. But they are now paying a price for the claim they made that "They have no king but Caesar". Now everyone who walks past will see that Rome has crucified their king - the Jews truly are subjugated.

vs 22

Pilate very possibly also wanted these Jews to see that the blood of Christ was on their own hands, and that he was being killed for no other reason than his claim to be king. And he wasn't about to change the sign. He bowed to their pressure, he killed the innocent man - let them suffer the indigity of having their king crucified.

vs 23

So Jesus wore 5 pieces of clothing. That's a lot. I'm guessing undergarment, undertunic, overtunic, sandals, and head covering. What's also interesting is that they're dividing up his clothes after he is crucified, but before he's dead. So you know that undergarment you see in all the Jesus films? Sounds to me like he wasn't wearing it.

vs 24

They don't want to tear the undergarment, because it's made of a nice piece of fabric. And so the soldiers fulfil some scripture and cast lots for it. It's not a coincidence that this is a reflection of a davidic messianic psalm - it speaks of the suffering that David went through even though he was king. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?

vs 25

So were there three women, or four women? The NIV doesn't make it clear at all. Thankfully, both the NASB and the KJV put an 'and' in the right place, and indicate that there were three women there, not four. And if you're wondering, that 'and' is there in the greek.

Another startling thing this shows is the huge number of people called Mary. The most popular names in America in 2005 were Jacob and Emily, and have been since 1999 - go figure. Expect lots of Jacobs and Emilies from America in the next few years.

(off topic, but Michael pushed Jacob to second place in 1997-1998, but Emily stays at the top till 1995 - if Emily works out to be the top name of 2006, then it will have had a reign of 10 years! Michael and Jessica get a similar run of a decade or so of popularity before that)

The point being, folks, that just because you find a tomb with Mary's name on it, doesn't mean it's Jesus' mother, or his aunt, or Mary Magdelene.

vs 26-27

It's obvious why John would record such a fact. Probably not for his own glory (I mean, he doesn't even name himself), but simply because he knew about it, and Mary would be a key major eyewitness source for legitimating the gospel account. Also it shows that a good jew looks after his mum. Aww.

vs 28

Jesus was really into fulfilling scripture. Good of him to remember to do so while nailed to a large tree, wasn't it? I am assuming that he was also thirsty. Seriously though, the idea that this event fulfils scripture is a testimony to Jews that it should be taken seriously.

vs 29

And I've got to say, I think their ingenuity regarding getting a drink to someone who's nailed to a cross is quite exemplary. I would never have thought of using a sponge. I wonder what they made sponges out of back then, and why one was hanging around (possibly for giving people on crosses drinks).

vs 30

I think almost every gospel records Jesus as saying something different as his last words. Each one, I am sure, has a specific meaning to that gospel. It's hard to work out which words he really said last. I guess it doesn't matter, as long as he said all of them. This is a good example, though, of the fact that the authors of the gospel, while interested in recording history, are not so tied to a modern historical writing pattern that they value accuracy above all else. They have purposes for their text beyond recording an event - they wish these writings to create a certain atmosphere and paint a certain picture in the hope of illiciting a certain response. As such, they record choice pieces of history which back up the point they want to make. This doesn't make thiem inaccurate - just specific.

So in this case, John records Jesus' words of finality. That the job he came to earth to do is finished. It's the end cap on the overarching sense of control over the whole affair that Jesus has been seen to display to this point, even to the point of him "giving up his spirit".