John 19:1-4

Pilate Tries to Release Jesus

19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely. ¹  19:2 The soldiers ²  braided ³  a crown of thorns ⁴  and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. ⁵  19:3 They ⁶  came up to him again and again ⁷  and said, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ⁸  And they struck him repeatedly ⁹  in the face.

19:4 Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, ¹⁰  “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation ¹¹  against him.”

[19:1]  ¹ tn Or “had him flogged,” or (traditional), “scourged him.” The verb should be read as causative. Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged. A Roman governor would not carry out such a sentence in person. BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1. states, “If J refers to the ‘verberatio’ given those condemned to death (TMommsen, Röm. Strafrecht 1899, 938f; Jos., Bell. 2, 308; 5, 449), it is odd that Pilate subsequently claims no cause for action (vs. 6); but if the latter statement refers only to the penalty of crucifixion, μ. vs. 1 may be equivalent to παιδεύω (q.v. 2bγ) in Lk 23:16, 22 (for μ. of a non-capital offense PFlor I, 61, 61 [85ad]=Mitt-Wilck. II/2, 80 II, 61).”

[19:2]  ² tn Grk “And the soldiers.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:2]  ³ tn Or “wove.”

[19:2]  ⁴ sn The crown of thorns was a crown plaited of some thorny material, intended as a mockery of Jesus’ “kingship.” Traditionally it has been regarded as an additional instrument of torture, but it seems more probable the purpose of the thorns was not necessarily to inflict more physical suffering but to imitate the spikes of the “radiant corona,” a type of crown portrayed on ruler’s heads on many coins of the period; the spikes on this type of crown represented rays of light pointing outward (the best contemporary illustration is the crown on the head of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor).

[19:2]  ⁵ sn The purple color of the robe indicated royal status. This was further mockery of Jesus, along with the crown of thorns.

[19:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:3]  ⁷ tn The words “again and again” are implied by the (iterative) imperfect verb ἤρχοντο (hrconto).

[19:3]  ⁸ tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[19:3]  ⁹ tn The word “repeatedly” is implied by the (iterative) imperfect verb ἐδιδοσαν (edidosan).

[19:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to them.” The words “the Jewish leaders” are supplied from John 18:38 for clarity.

[19:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”