² And they began to ^(A)accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow ^(B)perverting ^[a]the nation, and ^(C)forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying ^(D)that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ^(A)“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. ⁷ Jason has ^[a]harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, ^(B)saying there is another king—Jesus.”

¹² From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. ^(A)Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

¹⁴ said to them, ^(A)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(B)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him;

^16 (A)having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Christ’s Suffering and Ours

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring ^[a]us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

^5 (A)For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

²⁰ And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, ^(A)exceedingly trouble our city; ²¹ and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”

^33 (A)Then Pilate entered the ^[a]Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

³⁴ Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”

³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”

^36 (B)Jesus answered, ^(C)“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

³⁷ Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, ^(D)that I should bear ^(E)witness to the truth. Everyone who ^(F)is of the truth ^(G)hears My voice.”

³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If He were not ^[a]an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”