John 18:33Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Because the inhabitants of Judea were always inclined to disturbances and rebellions, and quickly turned to various plots, the judges appointed by Caesar treated such matters rather severely.

They were most vigilant guardians of order and subjected even those sometimes falsely accused of this to punishments.

Therefore the Jews charge Christ with His kingship over Israel. For this reason they were justly cast out of it, while the Gentiles were received, submitted, and entered the Kingdom of Christ.

"Ask of Me," it is said, "and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession" (Ps 2:8).

While the one people of Israel falls into frenzy against Him, all nations are given to Christ.

And instead of one land, I mean Judea, He receives the ends of the inhabited world, as Paul also says: "Their fall is riches for the world, and their diminution is riches for the Gentiles" (Rom 11:12).

When Pilate heard these statements of the Jews among themselves, he speaks plainly and demands an answer from the Lord as to whether He truly is the King of the Jews.

Apparently he is concerned and thinks about danger to Caesar's authority. Therefore he conducts a precise examination, wishing already to give the case its proper direction.

He also wishes to display, in due form, the authority entrusted to him by the Romans.

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

Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not of this world. If My Kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now My Kingdom is not from here" (Jn 18:35-36).

This is what the Good Teacher wished us to learn. But we also had to show how mistaken were men, whether Gentiles or Jews, from whom Pilate heard about His Kingdom.

They thought He had to be punished by death because He was seeking unlawful kingship.

Or, since those in power usually hate those who intend to obtain power, it seemed necessary to take care that His power not harm either the Romans or the Jews.

Yet the Lord, at the governor's first question, when he asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" could have answered, "My Kingdom is not of this world," and so forth.

But by asking him in return whether he said this of himself or had heard it from others, He wished by this answer to show that He had been accused before him by the Jews.

He also wished to reveal to us the thoughts of men, which He knew. He knew that they were vain (cf. Ps 93:11).

Then, after Pilate's answer, He answered both Jews and Gentiles more clearly and definitely: "My Kingdom is not of this world."

For if He had immediately answered Pilate's question in this way, it would have seemed that He answered only the Gentiles, who thought such things about Him, and not the Jews together with them.

But now, since Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?"

But he knew that the Messiah expected by the Jews would, according to their understanding, be the King of the Jews and would restore an independent Jewish kingdom.

However absurd such an accusation was, Pilate considered it his duty to examine it. He had to learn whether any danger to imperial authority threatened from the Accused One.

Probably not wishing to interrogate Jesus in the presence of His accusers, Pilate ordered Him to enter the praetorium, that is, the inquiry or judicial chamber inside the palace.

Pilate entered there as well. Looking at the meek face of Jesus, which had not even a shadow of militancy, he immediately concluded that such a Man was not dangerous to mighty Caesar.

Therefore he asked Jesus, perhaps not without some measure of mockery, "Are You the King of the Jews?"

Before Pilate stood such a Man that one could not even think He claimed the Jewish throne or dared dispute Caesar's rights to Judea.

The outcome of the trial seemed to depend on what the Accused One would say in reply, whether He would acknowledge or not acknowledge Himself as king.

The judge, of course, did not expect the Prisoner to declare Himself king before him. Perhaps he also did not expect Him directly to deny the Jews' accusation.

For in any case one had to suppose some basis for an accusation advanced by the whole Sanhedrin.

What, then, must Pilate's astonishment have been when the Lord answered decisively, "I am a king" (Mk 15:2).

The enemies of Jesus could not have desired a better answer. Pilate could not have imagined one more dangerous.

With such an answer, the Jews could immediately say that the matter was finished, because the Accused One testified against Himself.

Perhaps Pilate would indeed have now ended his trial by confirming the sentence against Jesus Christ pronounced by the Sanhedrin.

But several things moved him to continue the investigation and defend the evident innocence of the Accused One.

These were the reverence-inspiring appearance of the Lord, the firmness and calm with which His confession was spoken, Pilate's personal dislike of the Sanhedrin, and his pride.

Justice also required such an investigation.

When Jesus Christ called Himself king, He did not thereby acknowledge that He, as His enemies slandered, was perverting the people and forbidding tribute to Caesar (Lk 23:2).

This indefiniteness of the answer gave the judge sufficient reason to demand an explanation of the sense in which He called Himself king.

Perhaps thinking that the Prisoner had special reasons not to reveal His thoughts fully in the presence of His accusers, Pilate entered the praetorium.

In general he wished to give Him greater freedom in explaining His person and His actions. He therefore signaled Jesus to follow him there.

The chief priests, for all their desire to witness the private interrogation, remained in the courtyard for fear of losing legal purity.

They saw with displeasure how little effect upon the procurator was produced by the very confession of the Lord which, in the Sanhedrin, had served as the basis of the death sentence.

"So, You present Yourself as King of the Jews?" Pilate began, with an expression that, if it did not show special goodwill, at least invited an open explanation.

Judging in the ordinary way, a direct negative answer was obviously most useful for the Accused One, whom the procurator was now addressing with visible indulgence.

Then the Jews, having become convinced that insolence would gain nothing and might instead ruin the whole affair, began to set forth the accusation before Pilate.

Here Caiaphas did not fail to give the whole matter a political character. He wanted the procurator to understand at once that he had a very serious case before him, requiring the fullest attention of Roman authority.

Supported by the voices of the gathering, Caiaphas began to accuse the Prisoner. He said that "He perverts the people and forbids giving tribute to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Lk 23:2).

One cannot fail to notice the strong and deliberate political coloring in the accusation. At the night session of the Sanhedrin, the decisive ground for condemning Christ to death was that He "called Himself the Son of God" (Lk 22:70-71).

At that declaration Caiaphas had fallen into sacred horror and even tore his garments. But since this accusation could have no significance for Pilate, a pagan Roman, Caiaphas shifted the entire charge onto purely political ground.

He gave it an extremely false character. Pilate knew well that the accusation was completely false on its first two points.

His agents could in due time have reported to him how the Galilean Teacher answered His questioners. They had asked their treacherous question about whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar (Lk 20:22-25).

Therefore the procurator paid attention only to the last point of the accusation. They claimed that the Prisoner called Himself "Christ, a King," which in the literal sense meant "a king anointed to reign."

In essence, this single point would have been enough for the accusation. It contained everything that could draw down the storm of Roman law upon Him.

To call oneself king meant, in Roman eyes, to commit the greatest crime. It meant insulting the majesty of the Roman emperor.

This was all the more terrible because Emperor Tiberius, in his morbid suspicion, showed no mercy to such pretenders. Many prominent persons had already fallen victim to his dark suspiciousness.

Therefore such an accusation could not be left without investigation. Pilate decided to conduct a personal interrogation of the Prisoner.

He cast his curious gaze over the humble Sufferer, who stood silently amid the excited crowd of His hardened enemies, with the calm majesty of innocence.

Finding in His terrible humiliation not the slightest correspondence to the pretensions attributed to Him, the Roman procurator wished to question Him privately. Therefore he ordered Him to be brought after him into the praetorium itself.

Here Christ entered royal chambers for the first time, but He entered as a humbled Prisoner. The usurper Herod had once shone in these very chambers with majesty and proud splendor.

Now the true Son of David stood in them with bound hands, before the face of a stiffly menacing pagan judge.

With mingled astonishment and arrogance, Pilate looked upon the divine Prisoner in His terrible humiliation and asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"

Do You truly claim this dangerous title? In his soul Pilate did not believe it. Yet formally he had to clarify this dangerous accusation for himself.

He evidently put the question to the Prisoner in order to receive from Him a negative answer.

He does not demand from the accusers proofs of the guilt they allege against the Defendant. He does not concern himself with whether witness testimony will be found against Him.

Instead, he begins with the interrogation of the Accused Himself, wishing to find in Him an explanation of the case.

Such an order of judicial procedure sometimes proved most suitable, because under ancient Roman law the defendant's confession was sufficient for recognizing his guilt.

Magistratus de confesso sumat supplicium was a fundamental principle of Roman legal procedure. See Quint. decl. 314; Senec. controvers. exc. 8, 1; Sallust. Cat. 52: de confessis sicuti de manifestis rerum capitalium more majorum supplicium sumundum.

That deeply significant conversation in the praetorium, alone with the King of the unearthly Kingdom, is related by the holy Evangelist John; see Jn 18:33-38, and compare Mt 27:11; Mk 15:2; Lk 23:3.

It brought the procurator to the conviction of the Defendant's innocence. Pilate comes out of the praetorium and publicly declares before the members of the Sanhedrin and the crowd: "I find no guilt in this Man" (Lk 23:4; Jn 18:38).