And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.
The questioning belongs to the examination before Pilate in the judgment hall, after the Jewish leaders brought Jesus to the Roman governor for legal condemnation to carry out the Sanhedrin's sentence and obtain a death sentence, before He was led to Calvary for crucifixion, at a point when Pilate had not yet received a substantiated charge against Him. He stood bound as a prisoner before the judgment seat while spectators gathered and the charges that He claimed to be King of the Jews, forbade tribute to Caesar, and made Himself equal with God were read, with Pilate looking on with suspicion and severity. He stood pale, bruised and faint from loss of sleep and food and from being hurried from place to place with insult and violence, yet noble in bearing with lighted and shining countenance.
Pilate was not deceived by the charge of sedition and the framing of Jesus as a political threat to Roman rule, but was confident a deep plot had been laid to destroy an innocent man who stood in the way of the Jewish dignitaries. When Pilate asked if He was the King of the Jews, Jesus answered affirming that He is. Caiaphas standing at the threshold with priests, scribes and rulers seized the answer as an admission of crime and a virtual acknowledgment that He sought to establish a rival earthly throne in Judah in opposition to Caesar, and with noisy denunciation importuned Pilate for sentence of death, but the exchange does not itself establish that charge, for His kingship did not mean plotting a political revolt or seeking earthly honors. Pilate did not believe Jesus had plotted against the government, saw that the accusation concealed a plan to destroy an innocent man, saw no seditious marks in Him and had no confidence in the priests, became convinced that no evidence of guilt could be substantiated, and declared he found no fault in Him even though the priests and rulers had declared He spoke blasphemy.
His calm, noble bearing and answer stirred conviction in Pilate and led him to question Him further, so after the uproar Pilate urged Him to answer the many charges but He answered nothing to Pilate's marveling, and hoping to gain truth away from the crowd Pilate took Him alone into his house and respectfully asked again if He was King of the Jews. Jesus did not answer the renewed question directly but asked whether Pilate spoke of himself or from what others told him, to give awakened conviction in Pilate opportunity and to learn whether the question came from the Jews' accusations or from desire to receive light from Christ. The verse shows Jesus in His most trying ordeal, betrayed and condemned in the judgment hall, humiliated and scorned as One doomed to the cross, while the multitude who had hailed Him as king hissed at and reviled Him, the cruel jeering crowd cried for His crucifixion, and those who had professed to love Him turned from Him in His trouble. It was a great trial, an hour of horror, the crowning trial and final test, bringing great grief and the terrible ruin of fondest hopes to His faithful followers, yet He knew it beforehand and prepared His chosen so they would not be overwhelmed with surprise and would not hang their faith on the inconstant favor of the world. The verse also belongs to the account of Jesus on the cross, when the Jewish priests and rulers pressed the Roman governor to carry out their will.
The questioning belongs to the examination before Pilate in the judgment hall, after the Jewish leaders brought Jesus to the Roman governor for legal condemnation to carry out the Sanhedrin's sentence and obtain a death sentence, before He was led to Calvary for crucifixion, at a point when Pilate had not yet received a substantiated charge against Him. He stood bound as a prisoner before the judgment seat while spectators gathered and the charges that He claimed to be King of the Jews, forbade tribute to Caesar, and made Himself equal with God were read, with Pilate looking on with suspicion and severity. He stood pale, bruised and faint from loss of sleep and food and from being hurried from place to place with insult and violence, yet noble in bearing with lighted and shining countenance.
Pilate was not deceived by the charge of sedition and the framing of Jesus as a political threat to Roman rule, but was confident a deep plot had been laid to destroy an innocent man who stood in the way of the Jewish dignitaries. When Pilate asked if He was the King of the Jews, Jesus answered affirming that He is. Caiaphas standing at the threshold with priests, scribes and rulers seized the answer as an admission of crime and a virtual acknowledgment that He sought to establish a rival earthly throne in Judah in opposition to Caesar, and with noisy denunciation importuned Pilate for sentence of death, but the exchange does not itself establish that charge, for His kingship did not mean plotting a political revolt or seeking earthly honors. Pilate did not believe Jesus had plotted against the government, saw that the accusation concealed a plan to destroy an innocent man, saw no seditious marks in Him and had no confidence in the priests, became convinced that no evidence of guilt could be substantiated, and declared he found no fault in Him even though the priests and rulers had declared He spoke blasphemy.
His calm, noble bearing and answer stirred conviction in Pilate and led him to question Him further, so after the uproar Pilate urged Him to answer the many charges but He answered nothing to Pilate's marveling, and hoping to gain truth away from the crowd Pilate took Him alone into his house and respectfully asked again if He was King of the Jews. Jesus did not answer the renewed question directly but asked whether Pilate spoke of himself or from what others told him, to give awakened conviction in Pilate opportunity and to learn whether the question came from the Jews' accusations or from desire to receive light from Christ. The verse shows Jesus in His most trying ordeal, betrayed and condemned in the judgment hall, humiliated and scorned as One doomed to the cross, while the multitude who had hailed Him as king hissed at and reviled Him, the cruel jeering crowd cried for His crucifixion, and those who had professed to love Him turned from Him in His trouble. It was a great trial, an hour of horror, the crowning trial and final test, bringing great grief and the terrible ruin of fondest hopes to His faithful followers, yet He knew it beforehand and prepared His chosen so they would not be overwhelmed with surprise and would not hang their faith on the inconstant favor of the world. The verse also belongs to the account of Jesus on the cross, when the Jewish priests and rulers pressed the Roman governor to carry out their will.