When I Survey
H. Hoeksema
Book 2, Chapter 6
A Public Spectacle

"Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." (John 19:19)

When a person was condemned to death by crucifixion, it was customary to publish to all the world his crime as the ground for his punishment by preparing a superscription briefly describing his guilt, and affixing it to the cross of the victim. This superscription was written on a little board, sometimes before the victim was led to the place of execution, in which case it was hung on his breast; but more often, as was evidently also the case with the superscription above Jesus' head, it was prepared at the place of the crucifixion and nailed to the cross for all to read. All the gospel writers make mention of the superscription that was nailed to Jesus' cross. Matthew writes: "And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Matt 27:37. Mark has it in briefer form: "And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Mk. 15:26. Luke informs us that the superscription was written in "letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew," and reports it in this form: "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Lu. 23:38. And John, who as we know was a close eye witness of the crucifixion, is most elaborate about his superscription and the incident connected with its preparation. He writes as follows: "And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written." John 19:19-22. All the gospel narrators, therefore, attached special significance to this superscription, and all are agreed on this, that it presented Jesus to the world as condemned and crucified because He was the King of the Jews.

What may be the special significance of this superscription?

In answer to this question, we must consider what was written by the Roman governor as Jesus' accusation, first of all as the truth, that was proclaimed from the cross in all its terrible significance, according to God's own will, and by His own providential direction. Whatever may have been Pilate's motive in writing this accusation exactly in this form, he did write the truth! The Roman governor may have been impelled to write this superscription by hatred of the Jews, and by the desire to humiliate them in the eyes of all the world. Then, too, he may have been impressed by Jesus' affirmative answer so unhesitantly given to his question: "Art thou the king of the Jews?" Certain it is, that as he wrote this particular accusation, and that, too, in the language of the whole world, his hand was directed by God's all controlling providence to write the truth. And it is under the direction of that same providential power that he remains inflexible when the Jews' leaders protest against the form of the superscription, and answers them, "What I have written I have written." The truth was written and published to all the world by this superscription, not according to the distorted and corrupted version of it that was suggested by the Jewish leaders, but according to Christ's own testimony: "I am indeed the King of the Jews."

That understood, the superscription conveyed a terrible message, and so we need not be surprised that the chief priests insisted that it should be changed into some statement declaring that He claimed to be the King of the Jews! For consider what it all meant. First of all, as the matter was presented, it signified that Israel's hope was blasted completely and for ever! For what else was the hope of Israel than the coming of the Messiah, the King of the Jews, that would deliver them from all their enemies and miseries, and lead them on to the glory of the highest realization of the Davidic kingdom? For Israel was the Old Testament form of the kingdom of God. God was their King, and He was visibly represented by the King that sat on David's throne. Yet, all the kings of the old dispensation that occupied the throne of David, the theocratic throne, were but shadows of the King that was to come, the Anointed of God, the Messiah. But for Him mount Zion, the throne of David, all that ever sat on it, had no significance at all. There was really only one King of Israel, and that was the promised Messiah. He was the subject of all prophecy, the main theme of every psalm. He was the Seed of the woman that would crush the head of the serpent, the great Seed of Abraham, the Shiloh of which Jacob had spoken, the Lion of Judah's tribe, the King whose shout even Balaam had heard among them as they were encamped in the plains of Moab, and the rising of whose sceptre he had predicted; the root of David, the king that had been set by Jehovah upon God's holy hill of Zion. He was the King of the Jews! And according to that terrible superscription that King of the Jews was now breathing His last upon the accursed tree!

Upon the head of that King rested all the promises of God! To Him it was promised that He should have the heathen for His inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for His possessions, Ps. 2:8; that His throne should be for ever and ever, and the sceptre of His kingdom would be a right sceptre, Ps. 45:6; that He would have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, Ps. 72:8. They that dwell in the wilderness would bow before Him, and His enemies should lick the dust; and all the kings of the earth would fall down before Him, all nations would serve Him. His name would endure for ever, as long as the sun, and all men would be blessed in Him, so that all nations would call Him blessed. Ps. 72:9, 11, 17. For His reign would be in righteousness, He would save the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor. The blood of those that have no helper would be precious in His sight, and He would redeem their soul from violence and deceit. Ps. 72:4, 12-14. Of Him the inspired poet of Israel taught the people to sing in hope: that God had laid help upon Him, had exalted Him above the people, had anointed Him with holy oil, that God's hand would be established with Him, and His arm would strengthen Him, so that the enemy should not exact upon Him, nor the son of wickedness afflict Him; that the Most High would make Him His firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth, with whom God would keep mercy for ever, and confirm His covenant, Ps. 89:19-28. And a glorious and everlasting reign of righteousness and prosperity was promised Him. For He was the rod out of the stem of Jesse, and the Spirit of the Lord rested on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. With righteousness He would judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. Righteousness would be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. A kingdom of blessed peace would He establish, in which all creation would share, so that the wolf would dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a young child would lead them. The cow and the bear would feed, and their young ones would lie down together, and the lion would eat straw like the ox during His reign. There would be no more hurt or destruction in all God's holy mountain, for the earth would be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isa. 11:1-9.

The King of the Jews as the sole, the glorious hope of Israel!

And now read that superscription, Pilate's composition, yes, but by God's directing hand, and, therefore, His revelation. O, how its letters must have appeared flaming symbols of doom to the leaders of the Jews, who were at least perfectly aware that they had delivered Him in their hatred! JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS! The King! Not a king, but the King! The hope, the only hope of Israel! Beside this King of the Jews no other King was to be expected! And He was dying, affixed to the accursed tree, breathing His last! O, but will they not repent? Will they not beg Pilate to take Him down from the cross, while He is still alive, before their hope is blasted? But no! Not He must be released from that cross: the superscription must be changed. It must be given the lie! But to this they receive only one answer, God's answer through the Roman governor: it is irrevocable: what I have written I have written!

But even so the meaning of this superscription is not exhausted. For mark you well, that superscription is affixed to the cross! It proclaims to all the world, not merely that the King of the Jews, the only Hope of Israel, is dying, but that He is killed! He is murdered by whom? By the Romans, yes; for that very cross, which was a Roman form of punishment, testifies to that fact. But by the Romans because and as He was delivered to them by the Jews! The King of the Jews, God's Holy One, upon Whom were all the promises of God, the only Hope of Israel, murdered by His own people! Still more! That superscription is not even a mere announcement that the King of the Jews is murdered; it means to proclaim to all the world the ground and reason of His being killed. It states why the Jews kill this Jesus of Nazareth: He is put to death by the Jews because He is the King of the Jews! ....

O, horror!

When God realizes His glorious promise, and sends His Holy One to His people Israel, they despise Him, reject Him, pour their contempt upon this gift of God, will not have Him to be king over them, and say: "This is the Son, let us kill Him!" That is God's meaning and interpretation of this superscription! It is the sentence, His sentence of judgment, against the carnal Jews. The measure of iniquity is now filled. With the death of Christ in the flesh, the judgment of the old dispensational Church has come. When the King of the Jews breathes His last presently upon that accursed tree, Israel according to the flesh dies with Him. Temple and altar, priest and king, earthly mount Zion and throne of David, may and must perish with the flesh of Christ, and that, too, for ever, never to return. The King of the Jews in human flesh perishes on the cross by the hands of carnal Israel: it must needs perish with Him! No longer is there sense or reason, no longer is there room for a separate, national Israel. The axe that was laid at the root of Israel's tree even in the days of John the Baptist, is about to deliver its finishing stroke. And the same wicked hands that murder the King of the Jews must, in God's justice, by killing this King, also swing the axe that will hew down to the ground the proud tree of Israel's theocracy and national existence!

Such is the meaning of the superscription! God's meaning!

But wait! Is this then the end of this King of Israel? Do all the glorious and blessed promises of God then perish with Him on the cross? God forbid! On the contrary, here they find their realization, and that, too, through the instrumentality of wicked, carnal Israel, that kill the King of the Jews! For the Stone which the builders rejected must become the head of the corner! The King of the Jews must perish, in order that the difference between Jew and Greek may be eliminated for ever, and He may become one Lord over all, rich unto all that call upon Him! Rom. 10:12. And this, too, is already dimly predicted by the fact that this superscription was written in Hebrew and Latin and Greek.

I say dimly, for this certainly was not the meaning Pilate intended to put into the superscription, neither did those that watched the cross, or those that passed by there and stopped a moment to utter a curse or a prayer, discern this meaning. Even the disciples would have paid no further attention to this superscription had they not received a new and greater light of understanding the cross after the resurrection of the Lord. That title on the cross was man's word, and man's word was very loud on Calvary. And so, each would put his own meaning into Pilate's writing. Many would read it, for Golgotha was near the city, just aside from the main road from Jerusalem to the north. And it was the passover. Crowds from all over the world, Jews and proselytes, would come and congregate in the holy city, and many would pass the scene on the Hill of the Skull. Hence, the superscription was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, that all might have an opportunity to read. Thus the crucified Lord, the Royal Sufferer, became a universal, public spectacle, and all would explain Pilate's cross-title in their own light. Hebrew was the language of the Church, of religion, and the Jew, looking at that cross and its superscription would hate and despise the Nazarene as an imposter, one who falsely pretended to be the Messiah, but was finally exposed as a liar, and justly put to death as a blasphemer. Though Pilate would not alter what he had written, the Jew would, nevertheless, read the superscription as if it accused the Nazarene of being a false Christ: He said that He was the King of the Jews! Latin was the language of the worldpower, and the Roman would look with contempt on such a king, without power, and without glory! And Greek was the vehicle of human philosophy, of the wisdom of the world. And the wise man of the world would consider that cross and its superscription mere foolishness, and its victim a poor fool, that reaped the reward of His folly. And thus the superscription in its triple world-language transformed the cross into a universal spectacle, and exposed the Royal Sufferer to the hatred and scorn of all the religious and civilized world!

Nevertheless, there is also in this triple universal speech, the Word of God, which is especially evident if you read it in the light of still another sentence that is affixed to this cross. For do but look closely, not now with your natural, but with your spiritual eyes, the eyes of faith. Do you not clearly discern a second superscription, even over that of Pilate, affixed to the cross, not by human hand, but directly by the finger of God? It is the hand writing of ordinances that was against us, together with this title: THE LAMB OF GOD THAT TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD. That title is God's reason for the cross, His logos of the accursed tree. It is God's accusation against this man, yet not against Him personally, but against the world, and against Him as He came to represent His own, given Him by the Father. And there are not from the Jews only, but from Hebrews, and Latins, and Greeks, from all the nations of the world. For their sake He is the Royal Sufferer. For their sake God has delivered Him. For their sake He allowed Himself willingly to be affixed to this cruel tree, that He might lay down His life, and obtain eternal righteousness and everlasting life for all that believe on His name!

Adorable mystery!

O, the depth of riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. The King of the Jews perishes on the cross in order that out of the depth of that death He may presently issue forth the Lord of all, Hebrews, Latins, and Greeks, and be rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!