Mark 15:2
in Mark 15So Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering saith unto him, Thou sayest.
KJV
And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.
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This verse in Mark 15
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(ubi sup.) By Pilate's asking Him about no other accusation, except whether He was King of the Jews, they are convicted of impiety, for they could not even find a false accusation against our Saviour. It goes on: And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest. He answers in this way so as both to speak the truth, and yet not to be open to cavil.
This site's exposition
art thou the King of the Jews
on Mark 15:2-3
Art thou the King of the Jews, Pilate asks, using the political title rather than the religious one, and Jesus answers, Thou sayest it, an affirmation the commentators read as neither denial nor a Roman-style claim to Caesar's kind of throne. The chief priests accused him of many things, but he answered nothing, the second silence of the passion after his silence before the Sanhedrin, and the bench reads both together as the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7, as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. Pilate's own later declaration that he found no fault in this man sits uneasily beside the crowd's demand that follows.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church4 voices
For His answer is doubtful, since it may mean, Thou sayest, but I say not so. And observe that He does somewhere answer Pilate, who condemned Him unwillingly, but does not choose to answer the priests and great men, and judges them unworthy of a reply. It goes on: And the Chief Priests accused him of many things.
And Pilate asked Him: "Are you the king of the Jews?" Pilate, asking no other crime except whether He was the king of the Jews, the Jews are accused of impiety, because they could not find even falsely something to charge against the Savior.
But he, answering, said to him: You say it. He answered in such a way that he both spoke the truth and his speech could not be accused of calumny. And note that to Pilate, who was reluctantly passing judgment, he responded in part, but …
To Pilate's question, "Are You the King of the Jews?" the Lord gives an ambiguous answer. For the words "You say so" can be understood thus: you speak the truth — you yourself have declared Who I am; but they can also be understood thus: …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, As Christ spoke to admiration, so he kept silence to admiration. The proposal Pilate made to the people, to have Jesus released to them, since it was the custom of the feast to grace the solemnity with the release of one prisoner.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The articles of impeachment exhibited against him, and his silence under the charge and accusation. The chief priests forgot the dignity of their place, when they turned informers, and did in person accuse Christ of many things (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And Pilate asked him, art thou the king of the Jews?.... Which either he had heard before that it was said by him, and his followers; or was what the Jews now suggested to him as his crime, which they desired sentence of death might pass upon him: and he answering, said unto him, thou sayest it; which is all one as if he had said, I am; See Gill on Mat 26:25; for so he was in a sense, in which he explained himself to Pilate's satisfaction, Joh 18:36; See Gill on Mat 27:11.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
These verses begin the chapter in which Mark describes the slaying of "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." It is a part of the Gospel history which should always be read with peculiar reverence. We should call to mind, that Christ was cut off, not for Himself, but for us. (Dan. 9:26.) We should remember that His death is the life of our souls, and that unless His blood had been shed, we must have perished miserably in our sins.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
These verses begin the chapter in which Mark describes the slaying of "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." It is a part of the Gospel history which should always be read with peculiar reverence. We should call to mind, that Christ was cut off, not for Himself, but for us. (Dan. 9:26.) We should remember that His death is the life of our souls, and that unless His blood had been shed, we must have perished miserably in our sins. Let us mark in these verses, what a striking proof the Jewish rulers gave to their own nation that the times of Messiah had come . The chapter opens with the fact, that the chief priests bound Jesus and "delivered Him to Pilate," the Roman Governor. Why did they do so? Because they had no longer the power of putting any one to death, and were under the dominion of the Romans. By this one act and deed they declared that the prophecy of Jacob was fulfilled. "The scepter had departed from Judah, and the lawgiver from between his feet," and Shiloh the Messiah, whom God had promised to send, must have come. (Gen. 49:10.) Yet there is nothing whatever to show that they remembered this prophecy. Their eyes were blinded. They either could not, or would not, see what they were doing. Let us never forget that wicked men are often fulfilling God's predictions to their own ruin, and yet know it not. In the very height of their madness, folly, and unbelief, they are often unconsciously supplying fresh evidence that the Bible is true. The unhappy scoffers who make a jest of all serious religion, and can scarcely talk of Christianity without ridicule and scorn, would do well to remember that their conduct was long ago foreseen and foretold. "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts." (2 Peter 3:3) Let us mark, secondly, in these verses, the meekness and lowliness of our Lord Jesus Christ .
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐπηρώτησεν | eperotesen | questioned | G1905 → | 56 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Πιλᾶτος· | pilatos | Pilate; | G4091 → | 55 times |
| σὺ | su | You yourself | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| εἶ | ei | are | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| βασιλεὺς | basileus | King | G935 → | 114 times |
| τῶν | ton | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰουδαίων; | ioudaion | Jews? | G2453 → | 192 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | And | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἀποκριθεὶς | apokritheis | answering | G611 → | 231 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | to him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| λέγει· | legei | He says; | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| σὺ | su | You yourself | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| λέγεις. | legeis | have spoken. | G3004 → | 1325 times |
ΚαὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐπηρώτησενquestioned
eperotesenG1905 →56 times
αὐτὸνHim
autonG846 →5565 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
Πιλᾶτος·Pilate;
pilatosG4091 →55 times
σὺYou yourself
suG4771 →2973 times
εἶare
eiG1510 →2333 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
βασιλεὺςKing
basileusG935 →114 times
τῶνof the
tonG3588 →19766 times
Ἰουδαίων;Jews?
ioudaionG2453 →192 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲAnd
deG1161 →2765 times
ἀποκριθεὶςanswering
apokritheisG611 →231 times
αὐτῷto him
autoG846 →5565 times
λέγει·He says;
legeiG3004 →1325 times
σὺYou yourself
suG4771 →2973 times
λέγεις.have spoken.
legeisG3004 →1325 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 2:2asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
it leads to
- Numbers 24:17
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and…
- Jeremiah 23:5
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
- Isaiah 9:6–7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- Numbers 24:17
Through
1 Timothy 6:13I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate:
it leads to
- John 18:36–37
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”
- 1 Timothy 5:21
I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality.
- Matthew 27:11
Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
- John 18:36–37
Where this verse is studied
About Mark

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.
