The Inscription on the Cross

Things I Never Knew (TINK)

The Inscription on the Cross

(There are so many truths in this one post that you need to know as a believer!)

Remember that inscription placed upon the cross above Jesus?

“And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.”

John 19:19-20

This fascinated me when I first understood it. In that day and time, most people spoke their native language, in the tongue from where they were born, AND a second trade language such as Greek or Latin that enabled them to do business with people from all over the Roman Empire.

In D.F. Hudson’s book, New Testament Greek, he reminds us that when Jesus was crucified an inscription was put on the cross in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. To people living in a country of one language that needs explanation. “It was an everyday matter to put notices in Palestine in three languages, the language of the province (Hebrew, or more correctly, Aramaic), the official language of the Roman Empire (Latin), and the common lingua franca of the Mediterranean world (Greek)…. Therefore it is very likely that the disciples and Jesus himself, who were inhabitants of Galilee, would be equally at home when speaking in Greek as in Aramaic, and probably knew enough of Latin to get along with official business.”

Pilate wrote the title on the cross in three languages. Why? Because he wanted everyone, of every tongue, including the Jews, of many different provinces, who were in town to celebrate the Passover, to be able to read it.

The Hebrew language is very interesting. First, it is written from right to left, which seems so strange for Americans.

Secondly, there is such a thing as Hebrew acrostics:

QUICK DEFINITION: An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter (or syllable) of each line spells out a word, message, or the alphabet. Such acrostics can aid as a mnemonic device to aid in memory retrieval. This is where we get our word “acronym”.

Ok. Check out your Bible, Psalms 119. You will see that every eight verses are set apart by the next occurring letter of the Hebrew alphabet….AND each letter in each section begins with the letter of the corresponding section. Go look up Psalm 119 in your Bible. I’ll wait.

That’s pretty neat in and of itself, right? Hold on. We haven’t gotten to the good part yet.

Let’s go back to that inscription Pilate put on the cross. Remember, he wrote “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews” and the Jewish priests did not like it. Why? The Jewish language does not include the little articles and such that the English language has, so to most of us it would have read:

“The Jews The King The Nazarene Jesus”

In Hebrew it would read

“HaYehudim v Melech HaNazarei Yeshua”

So if we take the first letter of each word to form the acrostic (or acronym as we call it) we have the word HVHY. That means nothing. But WAIT…..Hebrew reads RIGHT to LEFT!! So then we would have what letters??? YHVH. Where have we heard that????

YHVH is the tetragrammaton of the Jewish language (YHWH-W is only in the modern) . It is the divine name given to Moses at the burning bush.  It is how the Hebrews wrote down the name of God. They did not use vowels so it is only consonants. This is also where we get our word Jehovah or YehWeh.

“Then said the CHIEF PRIESTS OF THE JEWS to Pilate….” Don’t write that!!! (My translation) (John 19:21)

Oh my goodness, friends, do you see it? Those Jewish priests knew the acrostic system. They knew exactly what that acronym spelled out when Pilate wrote it. Don’t you wonder if that’s why they got upset?  They did not want a sign on the cross that labeled Jesus as Jehovah or YehWeh!! Pilate, however, said, “What I have written I have written.” Meaning….”I’m not changing it.” “It is written…” And so once more Jesus proved who He was through language, through the alphabet, through His Word.

One more tidbit to add.

The Hebrew alphabet dates back to the late 2nd millennia BC. It is the language in which God chose to record His Holy Word. It is the language the Ten Commandments would have been written in. It is the language found on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

There is a pictograph system that underlies each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each letter also has a meaning.

Check out the meanings behind the letters of the Tetragrammaton YHWH (YHVH).

Y=Yod=Arm or hand

H=Hey=Behold

W (V) =Vav=Nail or Peg

H=Hey=Behold

“Behold the hand. Behold the nail.”

Coincidence?? Not a chance. YHVH left no doubt as to his identity.

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