John 19:18
There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them — The crucifixion statement (stauröō, to crucify) is strikingly minimal: John records the fact without tormented detail. The symmetry—two others, one on each side, Jesus in the middle—may suggest messianic significance (Isaiah 53:12, reckoned among transgressors, though John does not interpret this way). John's restraint in description focuses attention on meaning rather than sensation.