Ezekiel 33:31

33:31 They come to you in crowds, ¹  and they sit in front of you as ²  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ³  them. For they talk lustfully, ⁴  and their heart is set on ⁵  their own advantage. ⁶ 

John 12:5-6

12:5 “Why wasn’t this oil sold for three hundred silver coins ⁷  and the money ⁸  given to the poor?” 12:6 (Now Judas ⁹  said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, ¹⁰  he used to steal what was put into it.) ¹¹ 

John 19:12-15

19:12 From this point on, Pilate tried ¹²  to release him. But the Jewish leaders ¹³  shouted out, ¹⁴  “If you release this man, ¹⁵  you are no friend of Caesar! ¹⁶  Everyone who claims to be a king ¹⁷  opposes Caesar!” 19:13 When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat ¹⁸  in the place called “The Stone Pavement” ¹⁹  (Gabbatha in ²⁰  Aramaic). ²¹  19:14 (Now it was the day of preparation ²²  for the Passover, about noon. ²³ ) ²⁴  Pilate ²⁵  said to the Jewish leaders, ²⁶  “Look, here is your king!”

19:15 Then they ²⁷  shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him! ²⁸  Crucify ²⁹  him!” Pilate asked, ³⁰  “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!”

¹ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

² tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

³ tn Heb “do.”

⁴ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

⁵ tn Heb “goes after.”

⁶ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

⁷ tn Grk “three hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth a standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking into account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).

⁸ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).

⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.

¹¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.

¹² tn Grk “sought.”

¹³ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6). See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

¹⁴ tn Grk “shouted out, saying.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “this one.”

¹⁶ sn Is the author using the phrase Friend of Caesar in a technical sense, as a title bestowed on people for loyal service to the Emperor, or in a more general sense merely describing a person as loyal to the Emperor? L. Morris (John [NICNT], 798) thinks it is “unlikely” that the title is used in the technical sense, and J. H. Bernard (St. John [ICC], 2:621) argues that the technical sense of the phrase as an official title was not used before the time of Vespasian (a.d. 69-79). But there appears to be significant evidence for much earlier usage. Some of this is given in BDAG 498-99 s.v. Καῖσαρ. E. Bammel (“φίλος τοῦ καίσαρος (John 19:12),” TLZ 77 [1952]: 205-10) listed significant and convincing arguments that the official title was indeed in use at the time. Granting that the title was in use during this period, what is the likelihood that it had been bestowed on Pilate? Pilate was of the equestrian order, that is, of lower nobility as opposed to senatorial rank. As such he would have been eligible to receive such an honor. It also appears that the powerful Sejanus was his patron in Rome, and Sejanus held considerable influence with Tiberius. Tacitus (Annals 6.8) quotes Marcus Terentius in his defense before the Senate as saying that close friendship with Sejanus “was in every case a powerful recommendation to the Emperor’s friendship.” Thus it is possible that Pilate held this honor. Therefore it appears that the Jewish authorities were putting a good deal of psychological pressure on Pilate to convict Jesus. They had, in effect, finally specified the charge against Jesus as treason: “Everyone who makes himself to be king opposes Caesar.” If Pilate now failed to convict Jesus the Jewish authorities could complain to Rome that Pilate had released a traitor. This possibility carried more weight with Pilate than might at first be evident: (1) Pilate’s record as governor was not entirely above reproach; (2) Tiberius, who lived away from Rome as a virtual recluse on the island of Capri, was known for his suspicious nature, especially toward rivals or those who posed a political threat; and (3) worst of all, Pilate’s patron in Rome, Sejanus, had recently come under suspicion of plotting to seize the imperial succession for himself. Sejanus was deposed in October of a.d. 31. It may have been to Sejanus that Pilate owed his appointment in Judea. Pilate was now in a very delicate position. The Jewish authorities may have known something of this and deliberately used it as leverage against him. Whether or not they knew just how potent their veiled threat was, it had the desired effect. Pilate went directly to the judgment seat to pronounce his judgment.

¹⁷ tn Grk “who makes himself out to be a king.”

¹⁸ tn Or “the judge’s seat.”

¹⁹ sn The precise location of the place called ‘The Stone Pavement’ is still uncertain, although a paved court on the lower level of the Fortress Antonia has been suggested. It is not certain whether it was laid prior to a.d. 135, however.

²⁰ tn Grk “in Hebrew.”

²¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

²² sn The term day of preparation (παρασκευή, paraskeuh) appears in all the gospels as a description of the day on which Jesus died. It could refer to any Friday as the day of preparation for the Sabbath (Saturday), and this is the way the synoptic gospels use the term (Matt 27:62, Mark 15:42, and Luke 23:54). John, however, specifies in addition that this was not only the day of preparation of the Sabbath, but also the day of preparation of the Passover, so that the Sabbath on the following day was the Passover (cf. 19:31).

²³ tn Grk “about the sixth hour.”

²⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

²⁵ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

²⁶ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6). See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

²⁷ tn Grk “Then these.”

²⁸ tn The words “with him” (twice) are not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

²⁹ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

³⁰ tn Grk “Pilate said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because it is clear in English who Pilate is addressing.