John 18:34

He intimates here that Pilate was judging blindly and indiscreetly: If thou sayest this thing of thyself, He says, bring forward proofs of My rebellion; if thou hast heard it from others, make regular enquiry into it.

2346 Then (v 34), Jesus is seen questioning his examiner: first, we have Christ's question; then Pilate's answer, Am I a Jew? 2347 The Evangelist says, Jesus answered, asking a question in return, Do you say this of your own accord or did others say …

The servant's name was Malchus. 11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, The hour was now come that the captain of our salvation, who was to be made perfect by sufferings, should engage the enemy.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:47w-of-70

Jesus answered him, sayest thou this thing of thyself,.... That he was the king of the Jews: Christ's meaning is, whether he asserted this from the sentiments of his own mind; or moved the question from anything he himself had observed, which might give him just ground to suspect that he had, or intended to set up himself as the king of that nation: or did others tell it thee of me?

Sayest thou this thing of thyself - That is, Is it because my enemies thus accuse me, or because thou hast any suspicion of me, that thou askest this question?

Pilate . . . called Jesus, and said . . . Art thou the King of the Jews?--In Lu 23:2 they charge our Lord before Pilate with "perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying that He Himself is Christ a king." Perhaps this was what occasioned Pilate's question.

Pilate told them, "Take him yourselves and pass judgment on him according to your own law!" The Jewish religious leaders replied, "We cannot legally put anyone to death." (This happened to fulfill the word Jesus had spoken when he indicated what kind of death he was going to die.) So Pilate went back into the governor’s residence, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Are you saying this on your own initiative, or have others told you about me?" Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?

Pilate told them, "Take him yourselves and pass judgment on him according to your own law!" The Jewish religious leaders replied, "We cannot legally put anyone to death." (This happened to fulfill the word Jesus had spoken when he indicated what kind of death he was going to die.) So Pilate went back into the governor’s residence, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Are you saying this on your own initiative, or have others told you about me?" Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own people and your chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?" 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 handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Then Pilate said, "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 my voice." Pilate asked, "What is truth?" When he had said this he went back outside to the Jewish religious leaders and announced, "I find no basis for an accusation against him. But it is your custom that I release one prisoner for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?" Then they shouted back, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" (Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.) The verses we have now read contain four striking points, which are only found in John's narrative of Christ's passion. We need not doubt that there were good reasons why Matthew, Mark, and Luke were not inspired to record them. But they are points of such deep interest, that we should feel thankful that they have been brought forward by John.

I EXPLAINED this morning, [Sermon #1644, Volume 28—" Our Lord's First Appearance before Plate"] why our Savior put that question to Pilate. The Roman governor had asked Him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And Jesus as good as said to him, "Have you, of your own knowledge, seen anything in Me that looks like setting up to be a king in opposition to Caesar? You intend, by asking Me that question, to enquire whether I have led a rebellion against your government, or the imperial authority which you represent. Now, has there been anything which you have observed which would have led you to make this enquiry, or do you only ask it because of what the Jews have been saying in their enmity against Me?" You will see, dear Friends, that our Lord asked this question in order that He might get from Pilate's own lips the acknowledgment that he had not seen any sign of sedition or rebellion in Him and that it might be proved that the charge had been brought to Pilate by those outside, and had not come from the Roman governor himself. We will, now, forget Pilate for a while, for I want to use this question in two ways with reference to ourselves. First, I shall utilize it as a warning against secondhand quibbles at Christ and His Gospel Some people have a large stock of them and we might say to each one of these quibblers, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this?" Then, in the second place, I shall use the text as a warning against all secondhand religion, pressing this question home upon each one who speaks up for Christ, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this?" I. We will begin with the opponents of the Lord Jesus and consider our text, first, as A WARNING AGAINST SECONDHAND QUIBBLES AT CHRIST AND HIS GOSPEL.

I EXPLAINED this morning, [Sermon #1644, Volume 28—" Our Lord's First Appearance before Plate"] why our Savior put that question to Pilate. The Roman governor had asked Him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And Jesus as good as said to him, "Have you, of your own knowledge, seen anything in Me that looks like setting up to be a king in opposition to Caesar? You intend, by asking Me that question, to enquire whether I have led a rebellion against your government, or the imperial authority which you represent.

Of thyself - From any conviction of your own mind, or any apprehension of danger. During all the time in which you have been praetor, have you seen anything in me that has led you to apprehend sedition or danger to the Roman power? This evidently was intended to remind Pilate that nothing was proved against him, and to caution him against being influenced by the malicious accusations of others. Jesus demanded a just trial, and claimed that Pilate should not be influenced by any reports that he might have heard of him.