John 19

What’s Happening?

From the very beginning of his Gospel, John has shown us that Jesus is God in the flesh—the King of the universe who has come to rule his people and free them from darkness, slavery, and death itself. Every miracle in John’s Gospel has pointed to this reality. When Jesus turned water into wine, he revealed that his kingdom would be one of joy and abundance. When he healed the paralyzed man on the Sabbath, he showed that as King of the Sabbath he had authority to bring true rest. When he fed the multitude in the wilderness, he demonstrated that he is the new and greater King of Israel who provides for his people. And when he raised Lazarus from the dead, he proved that his reign would conquer even death.

Now, in John 19, the time has come for this King to be enthroned. But the way it happens is not what anyone expected. Pilate and the soldiers think they are mocking Jesus when they dress him in a purple robe and press a crown of thorns onto his head. They parade him before the crowd and ridicule him with shouts of “Behold, your King!” The Jewish leaders sneer and shout back, “We have no king but Caesar.” And when Jesus is lifted up on the cross, they see only shame and defeat. But John wants us to see something else. Every act of humiliation is actually a proclamation of truth: Jesus is King. His crown is real. His robe is royal. The sign over his head is accurate. And the cross is not his downfall but his throne.

John also highlights that Jesus’ death takes place during Passover. In Israel’s story, the sacrifice of a lamb marked their escape from the land of death in Egypt into God’s family of life. At Passover, God didn’t just rescue Israel; he claimed them as his people and became their King. Now John tells us that another Passover has come. This time, the King himself has become the Lamb. He is providing another exodus—not from Pharaoh’s slavery but from sin and death. By laying down his life, the King brings people into his kingdom and into covenant with God.

Where is the Gospel?

Jesus is both King and Passover Lamb. He rules his people not with the violence of Rome or the authority of Caesar, but with sacrificial love. He desires so deeply to have a people for himself that he gives his own life to bring them in. The robe, crown, and cross that looked like mockery were in fact his coronation. The throne of his kingdom is the cross.

And this King doesn’t just bring life to the earth; he expands his rule into the very realm of the dead. Earlier in John 5, Jesus promised that the dead in their graves would hear his voice and rise. In his death, Jesus descends into the land of the dead to confront it with the power of his eternal life. If the King can bring life to those already swallowed by death, then there is no corner of creation that lies outside his reign.

This is the good news of John 19. What looked like humiliation was actually enthronement. What looked like defeat was actually victory. The cross was the coronation of the King who rescues his people from death and brings them into God’s family of life.

See for Yourself

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the God who rules through suffering and triumphs through love. And may you see Jesus as both King and Passover Lamb—the one who leads you out of death and into eternal life.