One event, four witnesses
The Crucifixion
Jesus is crucified at Golgotha between two criminals, and a written charge is placed over Him. All four Gospels record the crucifixion; the wording of the sign differs across all four, Luke alone records the penitent thief, and John alone gives Jesus entrusting His mother to the beloved disciple.
“And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,”Matthew 27:33
“And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.”Mark 15:22
“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.”Luke 23:33
“And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:”John 19:17
The event
The event. Jesus is led to Golgotha, the place of a skull, and there crucified. They offer Him wine mingled with gall or myrrh, which He tastes but will not drink. They nail Him to the cross and part His garments, casting lots for His seamless coat, fulfilling the Scripture. Over His head is placed the written accusation of His crime. Two others, malefactors, are crucified with Him, one on either side. Those who pass by rail at Him, wagging their heads, and the chief priests mock, saying He saved others but cannot save Himself, and challenging Him to come down from the cross. In Luke, one of the crucified criminals joins the mocking, but the other rebukes him, confesses his own guilt and Jesus' innocence, and asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into His kingdom; Jesus promises him paradise that day. In John, Jesus sees His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, and entrusts them to one another, "Behold thy mother," "Behold thy son." The Gospels together show the King enthroned upon a cross, mocked by men yet reigning in mercy even there.
Read side by side: what is the same, what differs
Read side by side: what is the same, what differs. All four agree that Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, that soldiers divided His garments and cast lots, that two others were crucified with Him, and that He was mocked as one who could not save Himself. A frequently noted difference is the wording of the sign, the titulus, placed over Him. Matthew reads, "This is Jesus the King of the Jews"; Mark, "The King of the Jews"; Luke, "This is the King of the Jews"; and John, "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." These are not contradictory; John tells us the sign was written in three languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and each Evangelist gives the essential charge, "The King of the Jews," with the fuller or shorter form. A trilingual inscription naturally yields slightly varied renderings, and each writer preserves the heart of it. Other differences are of selection: Luke alone records the two thieves' words and the promise of paradise to the penitent one; John alone records Jesus entrusting His mother to the beloved disciple. Matthew and Mark note that both malefactors reviled Him, while Luke tells of the one who turned; this is naturally explained if both mocked at first and one later repented. Each Gospel preserves what it knew of the same crucifixion, and together they give the fullest picture.
What it shows of Christ
What it shows of Christ. On the cross Jesus is revealed as the King reigning through suffering, and the sign that mocks Him tells the truth in every tongue: He is the King of the Jews. Even as He is nailed and derided, He shows the character of that kingdom. Luke's penitent thief displays Christ saving to the uttermost, welcoming a dying criminal into paradise on nothing but faith, the Gospel of compassion showing that no one is beyond His mercy at the last hour. John's word to His mother and the beloved disciple shows the Son, in His own agony, tenderly providing for those He loves, and reveals a new family formed at the foot of the cross. Matthew and Mark set His suffering amid the mockery of rulers and passersby, the innocent One bearing scorn in the place of sinners. The parted garments and the cast lots fulfill the ancient Scriptures, showing that even here nothing is outside God's purpose. The crucified King saves others precisely by not saving Himself.
Questions people ask
Why does the wording of the sign over the cross differ in each Gospel?
John tells us the inscription was written in three languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Each Evangelist gives the essential charge, "The King of the Jews," in a fuller or shorter form: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each preserve the heart of it. A trilingual sign naturally yields slightly varied renderings, and the differences are of length and language, not of contradiction.
Matthew and Mark say both criminals reviled Jesus, but Luke tells of one who repented. How can both be true?
Most naturally, both criminals mocked Jesus at first, and then one of them, moved by what he saw, turned and rebuked the other, confessed his guilt, and asked to be remembered. Matthew and Mark note the initial reviling by both; Luke records the change of heart in the one. There is no contradiction in a man who began by mocking and ended by believing.