All four gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John record an inscription on the cross that also Jesus was crucified upon. The epitaph was a memorial to those who passed by showing the reason for his conviction, punishment and sentence.
But what did the inscription actually say?
If we compare each of the biblical accounts we see what was actually said by contrasting the four records, with them being found in the New Testament, specifically: Matthew 27:37 , Mark 15:26 , Luke 23:38 and John 19:19-20 .
You can download a copy of both the highlighted version comparing and contrasting each of the gospel accounts, or a plain version if you wanted to perform a study within your own Sunday School group.
Comparing the Gospel Accounts
Out of the four accounts we can answer the following questions:
Who wrote the inscription?
According to John 19:19 Pilate was responsible for writing the inscription. John would have had good knowledge of this fact due to him being so close to Christ at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.
Where was the sign placed?
It was placed on the cross ( John 19:19 ) as a title (both in verse 19 and again in verse 20 ), above Christ’s head ( Matthew 27:37 over his head , Mark 15:26 superscription & Luke 23:38 over him ).
What did the sign say?
Each account differs slightly, and we’ll expand on this a little more later , but here is what each account records:
- Matthew 27:37 = THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Mark 15:26 = THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Luke 23:38 = THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- John 19:19 = JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
All four agree on the phrase THE KING OF THE JEWS , two accounts provide his name JESUS , and one account provides his home town NAZARETH .
Again, John’s record is the most verbose.
How many different languages was the sign written in?
Both Luke & John record that the sign was written in three different languages, namely, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. And what’s interesting is that both accounts give it in different orders (John has Hebrew, Greek and Latin – himself being a Jew; whereas Luke has Greek, Latin and Hebrew late – himself likely being a Roman).
Who wanted the sign taken down?
While we haven’t added this verse into the text above, if we do go to the next verse in John 19 we read:
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.
John 19:22
The chief priests found the inscription a mockery to their own Jewish culture, Pilate making as though the nation had killed their own king, hence why they wanted it changed to make the accusation represent what Jesus himself had stated, not what the nation had declared.
In other words instead of it stating plainly “THE KING OF THE JEWS” they wanted to state his accusation of his claim, by writing on the inscription: “I AM KING OF THE JEWS”.
Is There A Contradiction On The Superscription?
With all four accounts agreeing to the main thrust of the sign (THE KING OF THE JEWS), with Mark being the most succinct (which is very much like his gospel account), does that mean the other gospel accounts have it incorrect?
There are a couple of things to consider:
The sign was written in three different languages: Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Matthew and John were both Jewish and perhaps wrote down the Hebrew inscription, and this inscription would have likely contained his name and home town – both possibly known by the Jews passing by (as referenced in John 19:20 ).
Whereas Mark could have written the Latin inscription which would have been understood by his Roman audience, and Luke the Greek translation as his audience was the wider world because of the evidence he was compiling to his Greek recipient Theophilus .
John was also there on site and as his recount is the most detailed I would assume his would be the most accurate. Therefore, the other accounts just providing the necessary information needed to provide to their respective audience.
Summary
In the gospel accounts we have four versions of the sign on the cross of Jesus all having very slight variations in our English bible. By studying the four accounts we have pieced together who wrote the inscription, where it was placed, how many languages it had and the effect it had on the chief priests at the time.
If you haven’t already done so, grab a copy of the free PDF documents if you want to undertake this little study in your own small group or Sunday school class.