Verse 19 This inscription is recorded by the evangelists in the following forms:-- "This is Jesus the King of the Jews," . . . . . . . . Matthew 27:37 "The King of the Jews," . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark 15:26 "This is the King of the Jews," . . . . . . . . . . Luke 23:38 "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews," . . . . . . John 19:19 A very important principle is illustrated by this diversity, viz., that it is the custom of the sacred writers to use the form of a quotation of words from others, when, in fact, the words are their own, used only to express in a more distinct and vivid manner the general ideas of their own minds. This was their mode of relating events,--clothing their own conceptions of the facts in language attributed to the actors. Even where they are recording real dialogue, they give the substance of what is said, in their own words. A comparison of the different accounts of the same conversation, recorded by the different evangelists, as, for example, the institution of the Lord's supper, the dialogue with Pilate, and any other case where the same dialogue is given by more than one evangelist, places this principle beyond question. It is a principle of fundamental importance, satisfactorily disposing of, as it does, a very large portion of the verbal discrepancies in the New Testament.