John Chapter 19 of 21 about 5 min read

John 19

What happens in this chapter

John 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. The 42-verse chapter records the sentencing, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus.

The chapter opens with Pilate having Jesus flogged. The soldiers press a crown of thorns on him, dress him in a purple robe, and mock him as king. Pilate brings Jesus out to the crowd, saying, "Here is the man!" but the chief priests shout for his crucifixion. Pilate, increasingly afraid, questions Jesus again and tries to release him, until the crowd warns that freeing a self-declared king defies Caesar. Pilate presents Jesus once more, "Here is your King!" and the chief priests answer, "We have no king but Caesar." Pilate hands him over to be crucified.

Carrying his own cross, Jesus goes to Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, where he is crucified between two others. Pilate posts a notice naming Jesus the King of the Jews and refuses to change it: "What I have written, I have written." The soldiers divide his garments and cast lots for his seamless tunic. Nearby stand his mother and Mary Magdalene, and Jesus entrusts his mother to the disciple he loved. Knowing that all is accomplished, Jesus says, "I am thirsty," and after receiving sour wine, "It is finished," and yields up his spirit.

Because of the approaching Sabbath, the soldiers break the legs of the two others but find Jesus already dead, so instead one pierces his side with a spear, and blood and water flow out. The chapter closes with the burial: Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple, asks Pilate for the body, and Nicodemus, who had once come to Jesus at night, brings about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes. They wrap the body in linen with the spices and lay it in a new tomb in a nearby garden.

People & Beings in John 19

Pontius Pilate Mary Magdalene Joseph of Arimathea Nicodemus

Pontius Pilate The Roman governor of Judea who sentenced Jesus to be crucified after repeatedly finding no basis for the charges against him.
Mary Magdalene A follower of Jesus, healed by him, who was among the first witnesses of his resurrection.
Joseph of Arimathea A member of the Jewish council who gave his own tomb for Jesus' burial.
Nicodemus A Pharisee and leader of the Jews who comes to Jesus at night.

Verse 1. Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged.

Verse 2. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.

Verse 3. And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.

Verse 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.”

Verse 5. When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

Verse 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.”

Verse 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.”

Verse 8. When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,

Verse 9. and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked. But Jesus gave no answer.

Verse 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?”

Verse 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.”

Verse 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.”

Verse 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 is Gabbatha.

Verse 14. It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”

Verse 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.

Verse 16. Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away.

Verse 17. Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.

Verse 18. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.

Verse 19. Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Verse 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.

Verse 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.’”

Verse 22. Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Verse 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.

Verse 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.” So that is what the soldiers did.

Verse 25. Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.

Verse 26. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.”

Verse 27. Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.

Verse 28. After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

Verse 29. A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth.

Verse 30. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

Verse 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.

Verse 32. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.

Verse 33. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

Verse 34. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

Verse 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.

Verse 36. Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”

Verse 37. And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”

Verse 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.

Verse 39. Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

Verse 40. So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

Verse 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.

Verse 42. And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.

Last updated: August 20, 2026