Matthew 27:11

Jesus and Pilate

27:11 Then ¹  Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, ²  “Are you the king ³  of the Jews?” Jesus ⁴  said, “You say so.” ⁵ 

Mark 15:2

15:2 So ⁶  Pilate asked him, “Are you the king ⁷  of the Jews?” He replied, ⁸  “You say so.” ⁹ 

John 18:33-37

Pilate Questions Jesus

18:33 So Pilate went back into the governor’s residence, ¹⁰  summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” ¹¹  18:34 Jesus replied, ¹²  “Are you saying this on your own initiative, ¹³  or have others told you about me?” 18:35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? ¹⁴  Your own people ¹⁵  and your chief priests handed you over ¹⁶  to me. What have you done?”

18:36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being ¹⁷  handed over ¹⁸  to the Jewish authorities. ¹⁹  But as it is, ²⁰  my kingdom is not from here.” 18:37 Then Pilate said, ²¹  “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to ²²  my voice.”

John 18:1

Betrayal and Arrest

18:1 When he had said these things, ²³  Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley. ²⁴  There was an orchard ²⁵  there, and he and his disciples went into it.

John 6:13

6:13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves ²⁶  left over by the people who had eaten.

[27:11]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[27:11]  ² tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[27:11]  ³ sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.

[27:11]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:11]  ⁵ sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership in 26:64.

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action in the narrative.

[15:2]  ⁷ sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.

[15:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “answering, he said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified for clarity.

[15:2]  ⁹ sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership (mentioned in Matt 26:64 and Luke 22:70).

[18:33]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “into the praetorium.”

[18:33]  ¹¹ sn It is difficult to discern Pilate’s attitude when he asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Some have believed the remark to be sarcastic or incredulous as Pilate looked at this lowly and humble prisoner: “So you’re the king of the Jews, are you?” Others have thought the Roman governor to have been impressed by Jesus’ regal disposition and dignity, and to have sincerely asked, “Are you really the king of the Jews?” Since it will later become apparent (v. 38) that Pilate considered Jesus innocent (and therefore probably also harmless) an attitude of incredulity is perhaps most likely, but this is far from certain in the absence of clear contextual clues.

[18:34]  ¹² tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[18:34]  ¹³ tn Grk “saying this from yourself.”

[18:35]  ¹⁴ sn Many have seen in Pilate’s reply “I am not a Jew, am I?” the Roman contempt for the Jewish people. Some of that may indeed be present, but strictly speaking, all Pilate affirms is that he, as a Roman, has no firsthand knowledge of Jewish custom or belief. What he knows of Jesus must have come from the Jewish authorities. They are the ones (your own people and your chief priests) who have handed Jesus over to Pilate.

[18:35]  ¹⁵ tn Or “your own nation.”

[18:35]  ¹⁶ tn Or “delivered you over.”

[18:36]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “so that I may not be.”

[18:36]  ¹⁸ tn Or “delivered over.”

[18:36]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the Jewish leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12. In the translation “authorities” was preferred over “leaders” for stylistic reasons.

[18:36]  ²⁰ tn Grk “now.”

[18:37]  ²¹ tn Grk “said to him.”

[18:37]  ²² tn Or “obeys”; Grk “hears.”

[18:1]  ²³ sn When he had said these things appears to be a natural transition at the end of the Farewell Discourse (the farewell speech of Jesus to his disciples in John 13:31-17:26, including the final prayer in 17:1-26). The author states that Jesus went out with his disciples, a probable reference to their leaving the upper room where the meal and discourse described in chaps. 13-17 took place (although some have seen this only as a reference to their leaving the city, with the understanding that some of the Farewell Discourse, including the concluding prayer, was given en route, cf. 14:31). They crossed the Kidron Valley and came to a garden, or olive orchard, identified in Matt 26:36 and Mark 14:32 as Gethsemane. The name is not given in Luke’s or John’s Gospel, but the garden must have been located somewhere on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives.

[18:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the wadi of the Kidron,” or “the ravine of the Kidron” (a wadi is a stream that flows only during the rainy season and is dry during the dry season).

[18:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “a garden.”

[6:13]  ²⁶ sn Note that the fish mentioned previously (in John 6:9) are not emphasized here, only the five barley loaves. This is easy to understand, however, because the bread is of primary importance for the author in view of Jesus’ upcoming discourse on the Bread of Life.