Life-spark: Jesus and the cross are signs for seekers. (John 19:19-22)
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the jews. (John 19:19, NIV)
What caused Pilate to have these words fastened to the cross? The same people who blackmailed Pilate into issuing an order for the crucifixion of Jesus threw a fit when they saw the sign. They wanted Pilate to insert the words “HE SAID HE WAS” before the words “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Did Pilate’s wife talk him into telling it? Did Pilate himself write the notice? (See verse 22) Did his guilty conscience cause him to do it? Was there a tiny grain of faith embedded in his heart? Or did God the Father just put His foot down and say “That’s what I want the sign to say.”
The sign message on the sign was written in three languages. First, Aramaic, the common language among Jews, whose culture was paramount in monotheistic religion. The notice also went forth in Greek and Latin, the languages of Greece and Rome, two empires unsurpassed in jurisprudence and education.
“All roads lead to Rome” was a medieval statement referring to the Roman road system where all the empire’s roads radiated out from the capital city. The statement is still used today to mean, “Everything leads to the center of things.”
Was the notice posted on Christ’s cross God’s way of saying, “What is happening here is the center of things for all of mankind”?
The Bible says that many Jews, many of the people, read the sign. I wonder how many Greek foreigners read it? The Roman soldiers surely read the Latin version. One day, the scriptures say, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is ‘lord,’ a common title for kings.
I got on my knees just now. I said, “Lord God, I’m not waiting until that day to bow. Thank you for your signs of life. Thank you that people from every tribe and nation have seen the signs. Thank you for opening my eyes to the signs and the King.”
Life Challenge: Thank God for the cross and what it signifies.