Jesus, King of the Jews
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In theKoine Greek of the New Testament, e.g. in John 19:3, this is written Basileus ton Ioudaion (βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων).[1]
Both uses of the title lead to dramatic results in the New Testament accounts. In the account of the Nativity of Jesus in theGospel of Matthew, the wise men (i.e. Magi) who come from the east call Jesus the "King of the Jews", causing King Herod to order the Massacre of the Innocents. Towards the end of the accounts of all four Canonical Gospels, in the narrative of thePassion of Jesus, the use of the "King of the Jews" title leads to charges against Jesus that result in his Crucifixion.[2][3]
The acronym INRI represents the Latin inscription IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum), in English reads as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews".
John 19:20 states that this was written in three languages:
Hebrew, Latin and Greek and was put on the cross of Jesus. The Greek version reads ΙΝΒΙ.
