Why did the sign on Jesus' crucifix read "king of the jews"?

Answer 1

The Romans wanted to show that they were the rulers of Judea, and even someone who had popular support among the population was insignificant compared to their power. Jesus was known as the King of the Jews, and the Romans felt that advertising that fact would suppress the population in effect saying that if we can crucify the King of the Jews, we can do it to anyone. It backfired on them though, as it made Jesus a martyr.

Answer 2

Hi Jane,

A few people here are not reading the Bible text closely enough.

No, it was not to mock him. The Jews did NOT Place the inscription there. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who oversaw Jesus' crucifixion, did it as a snub of the Jews, whom he really didn't like very much (they didn't think much of HIM either...).

Pilate said he could find no basis of a charge against Jesus, and all he heard that Jesus did wrong was claim to be the king of the Jews. So he ordered the inscription "King of the Jews" be placed on his crucifix.

The Jews complained to him about this, but he told them basically to buzz off - he said "I wrote it, it's STAYING there. So SHAADAP."

See John 19:19-22.

Love, Jack

Answer 3

It was put there by the Jews as a mockery to the fact that Christ was considered to be the and called "The King of the Jews' by non-Jews (and a few converts) at the time. It was done to kind of show the remaining Jews what happens when you speak out against the ways and the beliefs of the old testament. It was a threat to all of those who would look to convert after Jesus died.

Basically it was in mockery of Jesus to shame him publically, punish him for saying it to begin with and as and a Tony Soprano-type and kind of warning at the same time.

Answer 4

Well, most will say to MOCK HIM. This is only partially correct.

The fact is: He actually WAS, the King of the Jews. He was a DIRECT MALE DESCENDANT of the line of King David from BOTH his Father (Joseph) and Mother (Mary). You may say, why name Joseph if God was his Father? Well, lol, the nation DID NOT recognize God as his father, did they? And Joseph WAS married to her, thus ACCEPTING Yeheshua as HIS SON. So it WAS important that Joseph's lineage be noted. Also, even MORE than the Mormons, the JEWS kept their Genealogies located at the Temple and knew EXACTLY whom they were descended from, and which TRIBE. So, the Priests could confirm everything.

The reason MARY'S genealogy is important is that in Judaism is that if a family has only a single child and that child is female, the female is allowed to INHERIT. So, therefore, Mary was in line to INHERIT from the line of David, and thus, through her, Jesus. So Jesus would have become King, legally, through EITHER parent. And doubly so, since both PARENT'S were doubly in line to inherit!

So we see here, HE REALLY WAS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

So, why wasn't he? Because around 500 B.C.E. Babylon carried off 10 tribes and everything got out of whack for the Jews. After the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed around 76 A.D., ALL RECORDS were destroyed and now, NO ONE KNOWS WHAT TRIBE THEIR FROM. PERIOD. Nada.

Answer 5

There was certainly the intent to mock Him. There were a couple of other reasons, too.

First, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, saw no fault in Jesus. In other words, Jesus commited no civil crime and was thus not guilty of a capital offense under Roman law. Pontius wanted it made clear that the reason he was allowing Jesus to be crucified was because the Jew's demanded his death under their laws. According to the Jewish leaders' interpretation of Jewish law, when Jesus admitted during his trial before the Sanhedrin that He was the Son of God, He was guilty of blasphemy. This is not true, of course, because He could only blaspheme if He were not the Son of God, but many of the Jewish leaders at that time didn't see it that way. Blasphemy was a capital offense under Jewish law, but the Jews had to request the execution of the Roman authorities. Since Pontius Pilate saw no fault with anything Jesus did, he wanted to make sure that everyone knew that Jesus was being crucifed because the Jews present at the trial demanded it. Pilate even made a big deal of publicly washing his hands of the matter in front of the Jews.

The second reason for the label "King of the Jews" was because it was a tradition at the time to put the name of the capital offense over the head of those who were crucified and then leave their decaying bodies outside the city so that people who entered the city would see what offenses they should not commit under penalty of a terrible, horrendous death. Of course, Jesus' body was taken down by Joseph of Aramethea and Nicodemus and placed in a tomb, but they had to obtain a special dispensation from Pilate to do this. Normally, the bodies were left to rot in the elements and at the mercy of vultures. Anyone entering the city from near Golgotha would see what crimes the crucifed had committed and this was an incentive to behave and not cause trouble, lest one find oneself nailed to a cross amid the putrid decay and stench to die an agonizing death. Since the offense for which Jesus had been convicted was blasphemy, the phrase "King of the Jews" was placed over His head.

May God bless and keep you.

Answer 6

19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:|sc JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 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.
21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
22Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
John19: 19-22

Pilate made it... to clarify the priest for whom they have said... Jesus called himself as King of JEWS... so Pilate made it clear as per their words....

Answer 7

They were mocking him for the Jews were waiting for a long time for a king to rescue them from the bondage of other nations. They didn't expect that this king was the heavenly king. And so the Romans/Pharisees mocked them/him by saying this is the king you have been waiting for and now he is dying. They were mocking him, but he got victory over death. Even though they killed him he rose again.

Answer 8

Jesus was sentenced to die because He claimed to be the Messiah... the King of the Jews that has been promised to come to save his people but the religious leaders of his time was jealous of him thats why they made an effort to kill him and their case against Jesus is that he claimed to be the Christ which is the promised King that will establish the kingdom of Israel.

Answer 9

Because they wanted to mock him or else the Romans were stating that he claimed to be the king of the Jews. He really is the king of all.

Answer 10

When they crucified people back then, on the sign under them they would put what they did wrong on a sign. So they were saying that he was crucified because he is the King of the Jews.