This title therefore many of the Jews did read: because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city. And it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin.
τουτον ουν τον τιτλον πολλοι ανεγνωσαν των ιουδαιων οτι εγγυς ην ο τοπος της πολεως οπου εσταυρωθη ο ιησους και ην γεγραμμενον εβραιστι ελληνιστι ρωμαιστι
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Pilate proclaimed this not in one language, but in three. Since it was natural to suppose that many foreigners were among the Jews because of the feast, Pilate announced the madness of the Jews in every language, so that none of them would remain ignorant of His vindication.
They crucified Him with robbers, wishing to dishonor His name. Pilate declares that He was not a robber, but their King, and he declares this not in one language, but in three. For it was natural to suppose that, because of the feast, many Gentiles had come with the Jews. Earlier the Evangelist also mentions certain Greeks who came to see Jesus (Jn 12:20-21).
Therefore, so that all might know the frenzy of the Jews, Pilate proclaimed it in every language. The inscription written in three languages also hints at something higher. It shows that the Lord is King of practical, natural, and theological philosophy.
The Roman letters are an image of practical philosophy, for the power of the Romans was most manly and active in warfare. The Greek letters are an image of natural philosophy, for the Greeks devoted themselves to the study of nature. The Hebrew letters are an image of theological philosophy, for to the Hebrews the knowledge of God was entrusted.
Therefore glory be to Him who through the Cross revealed Himself as possessing such a Kingdom. He conquered the world, strengthened our activity, grants knowledge of nature, and through it leads us within the veil, into His own knowledge and contemplation, that is, theology.
Everyone, of course, will say that this inscription was set up with great skill and by a certain divine and ineffable providence. It had a threefold script: "in Hebrew, in Roman, and in Greek." By this it plainly invited confession of the Savior's kingdom in the three languages then best known of all.
It brought to the Crucified One, as it were, a firstfruits of the prophecy spoken concerning Him. For the most wise Daniel said in one place that "honor and kingdom were given to Him, and all tribes and tongues shall serve Him" (Dan 7:14). Likewise, the most sacred Paul cries out to us in one Epistle that "every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:10-11).
Thus, by proclaiming Jesus as King, this inscription was a certain true firstfruits of the confession of the tongues. Yet on the other hand, it was also an accuser of the Jews' impiety. It almost cried aloud to those who came together to read it that they had crucified their King and Lord, utterly disregarding love for Him and, wretched as they were, falling into the most extreme insensibility.
Three languages stood out from all the others: Hebrew, because the Jews boasted in the Law of God; Greek, because there were wise men among the Gentiles; and Latin, because the Romans at that time ruled many, almost all, nations.
Indeed, these three languages were used there more than the others: Hebrew because of the Jews, who boasted in the Law of God; Greek because of the wise men among the Gentiles; and Latin because of the Romans, who already then ruled many, and almost all, peoples.
"And it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Roman." The inscription, which set forth the accusation made against the Savior, clearly showed that the Lord is King of practical, natural, and theological philosophy. For, as the holy Evangelist John says, it was written in Roman, Greek, and Hebrew.
I think that "in Roman" implies practical philosophy, for the Roman kingdom, as the prophet Daniel defined it (Dan 2:36-45), is the most manly of all earthly kingdoms. Manliness, more than anything else, belongs to practical philosophy.
"In Greek" signifies natural contemplation, for, compared with the other nations, the Greeks devoted themselves more than others to natural philosophy. Finally, "in Hebrew" signifies theological initiation into mystery, since from their forefathers this people had manifestly devoted themselves from the beginning to the worship of God.
All this has been properly explained in the interpretation of the same chapter, namely of the words: "And they put over His head His written accusation: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews" (Mt 27:37).
The inscription on the Cross of Jesus: To the Cross of Jesus, above His head, the soldiers nailed an inscription composed by Pilate: "This is the King of the Jews" (Lk 23:38). It was written in three languages: Hebrew, that is, Aramaic, Greek, and Roman, that is, Latin. Pilate acted in this way so that foreigners who had come to Jerusalem for the feast could also read that the King of the Jews had been crucified. They could then understand how the Jews treat their kings.
When the cross had already been raised, the leaders of the Jews for the first time clearly noticed the mortal insult to themselves from Pilate. In their blind frenzy they imagined that crucifixion was an outrage directed against Jesus. But now, seeing Him hanging between two robbers, yet on a higher cross, they immediately understood that this execution was a public outrage against themselves.
On a white wooden board, covered with gypsum and standing out so clearly above Jesus' head, a black inscription was visible on the cross in the three civilized languages of the ancient world. At least one of these languages was certainly known to everyone in the crowd gathered there: official Latin, common Greek, and native Aramaic.
The inscription declared that this man, who was enduring such a shameful slave's death, this man crucified before the eyes of the whole world between two criminals. Was "the King of the Jews." The inscription read: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." This threefold inscription probably read thus: ישוע הנצרי מלך היהודים οὗτος ἐστίν Ἰησοῦς Βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰουδαίων Rex Judaeorum.
When the Jews understood what malicious mockery Pilate had subjected them to, it completely poisoned the pleasure of their spiteful triumph. They sent a delegation to Pilate, asking him to change the inscription that outraged them. "Do not write," they said, "the King of the Jews, but that He said, I am King of the Jews."
But Pilate's courage, which had so quickly evaporated at the name of Caesar, now revived again. He was glad by any means to annoy and thwart the men whose rebellious cries had forced him that morning to act against his wish and conscience. Few could express their haughty contempt with such force as the Romans.
Without even deigning to justify his action, Pilate at once dismissed the proud hierarchs with a brief and arrogant answer: "What I have written, I have written."
John supplements the brief accounts of the first Evangelists with several particular details concerning the inscription on the cross.
Pilate wrote, that is, ordered an inscription to be written, and placed it on the cross. According to Roman custom, a man condemned to crucifixion carried, on the way to the place of execution, a board inscribed with the charge for which he was condemned. After the crucifixion, this board was nailed to the upper horn or end of the cross.
Pilate used this custom to wound the members of the Sanhedrin once more. Since they accused the Lord of claiming royal dignity for Himself, Pilate ordered this charge to be written, to the Sanhedrin's shame: the King of the Jews was crucified at the demand of the representatives of the Jewish people.
Contrary to custom, the inscription was made in three languages: Hebrew, the national and local tongue; Greek, the widely used tongue; and Roman, the language of the victors. Pilate's purpose may have been that every foreigner also could read this inscription, since Hebrew was little known to outsiders.
Yet in this, without doubt, a higher purpose was fulfilled. In the moments of His uttermost humiliation, the Lord was proclaimed to the whole world as King in three languages, two of which were the most widespread in the world.
"Pilate placed on the cross, as upon a monument of victory, an inscription that sends forth a bright voice, proclaims His victory, and announces the Kingdom" (Chrysostom).
The Lord's accusers took this inscription as a malicious mockery of them by Pilate. They came to him asking that it be changed in a sense more favorable to them. But from the proud and offended Roman they received a decisive refusal, sharply expressed. By it the Sanhedrin was again made to feel its dependence on a foreign pagan power.
The inscription was written in three languages so that anyone who did not know one might understand it in another or in a third. At that time not all Jews understood Hebrew. Greek was commonly used throughout the Roman Empire. Roman was necessary at least so that it might be understood what authority condemned Jesus.
If the inscription said the same thing in three whole languages, merely so that it might be understood by all, this meant that the person of whom the inscription spoke was an important person. Among the Romans such inscriptions were written only for the highest persons, for victorious generals and kings.
Consequently, the appearance of the inscription added its own bitterness for the Sanhedrin. "Many of the Jews" read this inscription, and it quickly became known. Golgotha was so near Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem there were now multitudes of Jews from various countries. Therefore the ambiguity of the inscription could not be corrected by explaining its meaning according to the Sanhedrin's thoughts.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 25 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS