65. Was the exact wording on the cross, as ( Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38, and John 19:19) all seem to have different wordings?

(Category: misread the text)

This seeming contradiction takes on the question, 'What was the exact wording on the cross?' It is argued that Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38, and John 19:19 all use different words posted above Jesus's head while hanging on the cross. This can be better understood by looking at John 19:20 which says;

"Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek."

It is interesting that Pilate is said to have written the sign and may have written different things in each of the languages according to Pilate's proficiency in each of the languages. The key charge brought against Jesus in all of the Gospels is that he claimed to be 'King of the Jews'. If this had been missing from any of the accounts then there may have been a possible concern for a contradiction here; but this is not the case. For a further explanation of this see Archer's explanation.

(Archer 1982:345-346).

John 19:19—What did the sign on the cross really say?

(See discussion on Matt. 27:37.)

Luke 23:38
—What did the sign on the cross really say?
(See comments on
Matt. 27:37
.)

Problem: The wording of the accusation above Christ’s head on the cross is rendered differently in each Gospel account.

Matthew: “This is Jesus the king of the Jews” (27:37).

Mark: “The king of the Jews” (15:26).

Luke: “This is the king of the Jews” (23:38).

John: “Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews” (19:19).

Solution: While there is a difference in what is omitted, the important phrase, “the king of the Jews,” is identical in all four Gospels. The differences can be accounted for in different ways.

First, John 19:20 says, “Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.” So then, there are at least three different languages in which the sign above Christ’s head was written. Some of the differences may come from it being rendered in different languages.

Further, it is possible that each Gospel only gives part of the complete statement as follows:

Matthew: “This is Jesus [of Nazareth] the king of the Jews.”

Mark: “[This is Jesus of Nazareth] the king of the Jews.”

Luke: “This is [Jesus of Nazareth] the king of the Jews.”

John: “[This is] Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews.”

Thus, the whole statement may have read “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.” In this case, each Gospel is giving the essential part (“the king of the Jews”), but no Gospel is giving the whole inscription. But neither is any Gospel contradicting what the other Gospels say. The accounts are divergent and mutually complementary, not contradictory.

Why do the inscriptions on Jesus’s cross differ among the four gospels?

The relevant passages are:

> Matthew 27:37
And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

> Mark 15:26
And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

> Luke 23:38
And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

> John 19:19
Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

There is no reason to suppose that all four of these verses can’t be true concerning the inscriptions on the cross. John (John 19:20) tells us that the charge against Jesus was written in three different languages: Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Since Matthew’s audience was mainly Jewish he likely quoted the Hebrew inscription (the common language of Palestine): “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Since Luke’s audience was mainly the Gentiles he likely quoted the Greek inscription-“THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

John mentions that Pilate wrote an inscription (likely someone wrote it for him), and since Latin was the official language of the Romans, John likely quoted the Latin inscription:“JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Mark could have quoted any of the inscriptions, but merely abbreviated his version to the most relevant portion of the inscription: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

Although all four inscriptions are slightly different in English, they all contain the statement, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” This was the charge brought by the Jewish leaders against Jesus in the Roman trials (Luke 23:2), and by itself is sufficient to describe Jesus’s “crime.”

Thus, the content of the four inscriptions is identical, and the minor differences can be attributed to the language of the inscription being quoted by the author or the author’s liberty to quote the part of the sign that he thought was sufficient in his historical account of the events.

The relevant passages are:
Matthew 27:37
And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Mark 15:26
And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Luke 23:38
And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
John 19:19
Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
There is no reason to suppose that all four of these verses can’t be true concerning the inscriptions on the cross. John (
John 19:20
) tells us that the charge against
Jesus
was written in three different languages: Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Since Matthew’s audience was mainly Jewish he likely quoted the Hebrew inscription (the common language of Palestine): “THIS IS
JESUS
THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Since Luke’s audience was mainly the Gentiles he likely quoted the Greek inscription-“THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
John mentions that Pilate wrote an inscription (likely someone wrote it for him), and since Latin was the official language of the Romans, John likely quoted the Latin inscription:“
JESUS
OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Mark could have quoted any of the inscriptions, but merely abbreviated his version to the most relevant portion of the inscription: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Although all four inscriptions are slightly different in English, they all contain the statement, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” This was the charge brought by the Jewish leaders against Jesus in the Roman trials (
Luke 23:2
), and by itself is sufficient to describe
Jesus
’s “crime.”
Thus, the content of the four inscriptions is identical, and the minor differences can be attributed to the language of the inscription being quoted by the author or the author’s liberty to quote the part of the sign that he thought was sufficient in his historical account of the events.