John 19:4-5

19:4 Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, ¹  “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation ²  against him.” 19:5 So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. ³  Pilate ⁴  said to them, “Look, here is the man!” ⁵ 

[19:4]  ¹ tn Grk “to them.” The words “the Jewish leaders” are supplied from John 18:38 for clarity.

[19:4]  ² tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”

[19:5]  ³ sn See the note on the purple robe in 19:2.

[19:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:5]  ⁵ sn Look, here is the man! Pilate may have meant no more than something like “Here is the accused!” or in a contemptuous way, “Here is your king!” Others have taken Pilate’s statement as intended to evoke pity from Jesus’ accusers: “Look at this poor fellow!” (Jesus would certainly not have looked very impressive after the scourging). For the author, however, Pilate’s words constituted an unconscious allusion to Zech 6:12, “Look, here is the man whose name is the Branch.” In this case Pilate (unknowingly and ironically) presented Jesus to the nation under a messianic title.