Note Note 5 — NOTES TO CHAPTER 35.
Reading edition
5. Pilate's Inscription—"The King of the Jews."—No two of the Gospel-writers give the same wording of the title or inscription placed by Pilate's order above the head of Jesus on the cross; the meaning, however, is the same in all, and the unessential variation is evidence of individual liberty among the recorders. It is probable that there was actual diversity in the trilingual versions. John's version is followed in the common abbreviations used in connection with Roman Catholic figures of Christ: J. N. R. J.; or, inasmuch as "I" used to be an ordinary equivalent of "J",—I. N. R. I.—"Jesus of Nazareth, King [Rex] of the Jews."