My Kingdom Is Not of This World

33 (A)So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, (B)“Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, (C)“My kingdom (D)is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, (E)my servants would have been fighting, that (F)I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, (G)“You say that I am a king. (H)For this purpose I was born and for this purpose (I)I have come into the world—(J)to bear witness to the truth. (K)Everyone who is (L)of the truth (M)listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, (N)he went back outside to the Jews and told them, (O)“I find no guilt in him. 39 (P)But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, (Q)“Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.[a]

Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and (R)flogged him. (S)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that (T)I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing (U)the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, (V)“Behold the man!” When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, (W)“Take him yourselves and crucify him, for (X)I find no guilt in him.” The Jews[b] answered him, “We have a law, and (Y)according to that law he ought to die because (Z)he has made himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this statement, (AA)he was even more afraid. (AB)He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, (AC)“Where are you from?” But (AD)Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, (AE)“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore (AF)he who delivered me over to you (AG)has the greater sin.”

12 From then on (AH)Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. (AI)Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

Footnotes

  1. John 18:40 Or an insurrectionist
  2. John 19:7 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 12, 14, 31, 38

33 Pilate then went back inside the palace,(A) summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”(B)

34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

36 Jesus said, “My kingdom(C) is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders.(D) But now my kingdom is from another place.”(E)

37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.(F) Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”(G)

38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.(H) 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.(I)

Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified(J)

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.(K) The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!”(L) And they slapped him in the face.(M)

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out(N) to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”(O) When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe,(P) Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him.(Q) As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”(R)

The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die,(S) because he claimed to be the Son of God.”(T)

When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace.(U) “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.(V) 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.(W) Therefore the one who handed me over to you(X) is guilty of a greater sin.”

12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king(Y) opposes Caesar.”