Analysis of the Gospel of John

Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity died on the cross so that sinners may be saved - according to John the “beloved” .Chapter 19 of the gospel of John is written by John the “beloved” and tells of what happened after Jesus’ arrest and before his resurrection- his crucifixion.
The death of Jesus has had a great impact on the world- it is because of his exemplary sacrifice for the lives of perfect strangers that many Christians around the world dedicate their lives for caring for other-physically, mentally and spiritually. Professors spend half a lifetime analyzing the life of Jesus and sinners find consolation and peace when they hear of the Messiah’s sacrifice. The reason why Jesus died on the cross is summed up very well in John 3:16- “For god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This verse gives hope to all those who believe, regardless of their past.
The details mentioned in John’s account of the condemnation, crucifixion and burial of Jesus are such that only an eyewitness could have retold what happened. Small conversations that took place after Jesus’ crucifixion- “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother’.” (Jn 19 vs. 26-27)- are also recorded in John’s account. This shows that John was indeed present at the site, because he mentions himself as being addressed to by Jesus, and if he wasn’t witnessing the scene he would not have mentioned other followers of Jesus who witnessed the crucifixion such as his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.
The crucifixion of Jesus, according to John, happened on the eve of that year’s Passover, and indecently the eve of Sabbath too. After being sentenced to crucifixion, “In John, Jesus carries his own cross as was customary (but cf. Mark 15:21 and parallels), to the place of his execution, Golgotha (v.17). Its site may now be marked by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre” (Smith 983). This shows that the places mentioned in this chapter are true and that they do in fact exist today. This quote also tells us that the customs during that time was very similar to that day and age, and so Jesus was crucified because he was condemned to die the death of a traitor, which in those days, under the Romans, was one of the gravest crimes committable.
After being nailed to the cross, and experiencing the highest degree of physical pain possible, Jesus was offered a drink of
John’s account in chapter 19 also includes Jesus’ questioning by Pontius Pilate- the 5th Roman prefect of Judea under Tiberius. Pilate had absolute authority over the non-Roman citizens of the province and was not very popular among the Jews, and so when faced with the decision to save or condemn Jesus, he chose to let the Jews decide. In my opinion, Pilate made this decision to win over the favor of the Jews. When Pilate heard that Jesus “claimed to be the Son of God” (Jn 19vs.7), he “was even more afraid”, and soon tried to save Jesus, but when the Jews told him that if he let Jesus go, he was “no friend of Caesar” and that “anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar” (Jn 19vs.12), Pilate handed Jesus over to the Jews. He refused to save Jesus when he had the chance.
Ultimately the reason why Jesus died on the cross is mentioned in chapter 20- he died so that “we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and through him we may have eternal life.”