Catholic Commentary on John 19

"When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished.' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:30)

Behold the Man

Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd with the words Ecce Homo: Behold the man. He intends it as a kind of pathetic spectacle: look at this beaten, bloodied figure who claimed to be a king. But John intends it as theology. Behold the man: the New Adam, the representative of all humanity, the one who wears a crown of thorns as the first Adam wore the thorns and thistles of his curse. The suffering of Christ is not the story of one innocent man destroyed by an unjust system. It is the story of God taking on himself every wound that sin has inflicted on the human race.

The Catechism teaches that the death of Christ is the unique and definitive sacrifice, which accomplishes the redemption of all humanity once and for all (CCC 614). Every Mass makes present this one sacrifice across time. When we stand at the altar, we stand at the foot of the Cross.

Woman, Behold Your Son

From the Cross, Jesus looks down at his mother and the beloved disciple and speaks words of extraordinary gentleness in the midst of agony: Woman, behold your son...Behold your mother (v.26-27). In this moment, Mary becomes the mother not only of John but of every disciple who will ever stand at the foot of the Cross. The Church has always received this as the definitive giving of Mary as mother to the whole Church. To receive her is to receive the gift Christ gave with his last breath.

Then: It is finished. The Greek word is tetelestai: accomplished, completed, perfected. This is not a cry of defeat. It is a declaration of victory. The work the Father sent him to do is done. The debt of sin is paid. The new covenant is sealed. The door is open.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, John tells us that a soldier pierced Jesus' side with a spear, and blood and water immediately came out (v.34). The Fathers of the Church, from Tertullian to Augustine, saw in this detail the birth of the Church: water as Baptism, blood as the Eucharist, flowing from the pierced heart of Christ. You and I were born from that wound. Every time we receive the sacraments, we return to the side of Christ crucified and receive what flows from his open heart. Do not stand far off from the Cross.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, crucified for our sins and pierced for our salvation: we stand at the foot of your Cross in gratitude and in love. Receive our lives as a response to your finished work. Give us, through the intercession of Mary our Mother, the grace to remain close to you through every suffering, until we share in your resurrection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

19
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
(Isaiah 50:4–11; Matthew 27:27–31; Mark 15:16–20; Luke 22:63–65)
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe. 3 And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.
 
4 Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
 
6 As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
 
“You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
 
7 “We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
 
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked.
 
But Jesus gave no answer.
 
10 So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”
 
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
 
12 From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”
 
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew * 19:13 Or in Aramaic; also in verses 17 and 20 is Gabbatha. 14 It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour.† 19:14 That is, about noon And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”
 
15 At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!”
 
“Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked.
 
“We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.
The Crucifixion
(Psalms 22:1–31; Matthew 27:32–44; Mark 15:21–32; Luke 23:26–43)
 
16 Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away. 17 Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
 
18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.
 
19 Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read:
 
JESUS OF NAZARETH,
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
 
20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but only that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’ ”
 
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
 
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture:
 
“They divided My garments among them,
and cast lots for My clothing.”‡ 19:24 Psalms 22:18
 
So that is what the soldiers did.
 
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
(Psalms 22:1–31; Matthew 27:45–56; Mark 15:33–41; Luke 23:44–49)
 
28 After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”§ 19:28 See Psalms 22:15. 29 A jar of sour wine * 19:29 Or A jar of wine vinegar; similarly in verse 30 was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth.† 19:29 See Psalms 69:21. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.
Jesus’ Side Is Pierced
(Zechariah 12:10–14)
 
31 It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.
 
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. 35 The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
 
36 Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”‡ 19:36 Psalms 34:20; see also Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12. 37 And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”§ 19:37 Zechariah 12:10
The Burial of Jesus
(Isaiah 53:9–12; Matthew 27:57–61; Mark 15:42–47; Luke 23:50–56)
 
38 Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body. 39 Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.* 19:39 Greek about a hundred litras; that is, approximately 34 kilograms 40 So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
 
41 Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.

*19:13 19:13 Or in Aramaic; also in verses 17 and 20

†19:14 19:14 That is, about noon

‡19:24 19:24 Psalms 22:18

§19:28 19:28 See Psalms 22:15.

*19:29 19:29 Or A jar of wine vinegar; similarly in verse 30

†19:29 19:29 See Psalms 69:21.

‡19:36 19:36 Psalms 34:20; see also Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12.

§19:37 19:37 Zechariah 12:10

*19:39 19:39 Greek about a hundred litras; that is, approximately 34 kilograms

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