Jesus’ Trial before Pilate

¹¹ Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him.

Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

² They began to state their case: “This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king.”

³ So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

² Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

³ Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, ⁴ and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” ⁵ But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.

²⁵ Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?”

And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”

²⁹ So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”

³⁰ “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.

³¹ “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.

“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. ³² (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.^[a])

³³ Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

³⁴ Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

³⁶ Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

³⁷ Pilate said, “So you are a king?”

Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.

⁶² Jesus said, “I am.^[a] And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand^[b] and coming on the clouds of heaven.^[c]”

⁶⁴ Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand^[a] and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^[b]

² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,^[a] and we have come to worship him.”

¹³ And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate,

²⁵ Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons,^[a] the members of my household will be called by even worse names!