THE INSCRIPTION ON THE CROSS | JESUS FULFILLED THE PROPHECIES

1. The Inscription On The Cross

a) Pilate wrote an inscription, and put it on the cross of Jesus. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city.

b) The inscription was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (John 19:19-20). 

JESUS THE NAZARENE,
THE KING OF THE JEWS

c) There is perhaps much more in this inscription than meets the eye. It seems that Pilate intended more to be read into it than he actually wrote. And more still can properly be read into it, than even Pilate might have intended. Of course the five truths below cannot be deduced from the sign on the cross. However, when these truths are revealed to us in the gospel, then we are able to see them embedded in the words on the sign.

2. Jesus Fulfilled The Prophecies

a) No doubt Pilate's inscription describes Jesus as "THE NAZARENE" simply to identify him in terms of geographical address. But, perhaps unknown to Pilate, there survived an old prophecy that the Messiah (or Christ, the coming King) would "be called a Nazarene" (Matthew 2:23). It is only one detail, but it points to the fact that Jesus was the Christ of whom the prophets spoke.

b) Unfortunately the populace was in no mood to reflect upon this at the time. We, however, removed from the heat of the moment, should reflect upon it soberly. For the prophets also called him, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief... pierced through for our transgressions" (Isaiah 53:3, 5).