What did Pilate write over the cross?

Difficult Passages · Accounts of the Same Event

What did Pilate write over the cross?

It was written in three languages, and each Gospel gives the charge; together they read, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.”

The Passages

Matthew 27:37

37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 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.

The Difficulty

Each Gospel gives the writing over the cross differently. Matthew: “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matthew 27:37). Mark: “THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Mark 15:26). Luke: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Luke 23:38). John: “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19). Which did Pilate write?

The Answer

The title was written “in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin” (John 19:20; Luke 23:38): three writings, not one, and there’s no reason three in three tongues should agree word for word (Haley). No evangelist says he gives the whole. Each gives the charge itself, “the King of the Jews,” which was what it was for: Mark calls it “the superscription of his accusation” and gives just that. Put together, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews,” the words hold every word of all four, and nothing in one is denied by another.

Sources

John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament, vol. 2 (1746–48), p. 104, on John 19:19

Luke calls it a superscription, Mark the superscription of his accusation, and Matthew the accusation itself; it contained the substance of the charge against him

Checked against: Internet Archive scan of the first edition, 2026-10-28
John W. Haley, An Examination of the Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible (1874), p. 154

It is altogether improbable that three inscriptions, in three different languages, should correspond word for word.

Checked against: Internet Archive scan of the 1874 edition, 2026-10-28