Pilate Questions Jesus^(A)

15 Early in the morning the chief priests immediately came to a decision with the leaders and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. The whole Jewish council decided to tie Yeshua up, lead him away, and hand him over to Pilate.

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

“Yes, I am,” Yeshua answered him.

³ The chief priests were accusing him of many things.

⁴ So Pilate asked him again, “Don’t you have any answer? Look how many accusations they’re bringing against you!”

⁵ But Yeshua no longer answered anything, so Pilate was surprised.

Pilate Questions Jesus^(A)

23 Then the entire assembly stood up and took him to Pilate.

² They began to accuse Yeshua by saying, “We found that he stirs up trouble among our people: He keeps them from paying taxes to the emperor, and he says that he is Christ, a king.”

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

“Yes, I am,” Yeshua answered.

⁴ Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I can’t find this man guilty of any crime.”

Pilate Questions Jesus^(A)

²⁸ Early in the morning, Yeshua was taken from Caiaphas’ house to the governor’s palace.

The Jews wouldn’t go into the palace. They didn’t want to become unclean,^[a] since they wanted to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What accusation are you making against this man?”

³⁰ The Jews answered Pilate, “If he weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate told the Jews, “Take him, and try him by your law.”

The Jews answered him, “We’re not allowed to execute anyone.” ³² In this way what Yeshua had predicted about how he would die came true.

³³ Pilate went back into the palace, called for Yeshua, and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ Yeshua replied, “Did you think of that yourself, or did others tell you about me?”

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

³⁶ Yeshua answered, “My kingdom doesn’t belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. My kingdom doesn’t have its origin on earth.”

³⁷ Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?”

Yeshua replied, “You’re correct in saying that I’m a king. I have been born and have come into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.”

³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After Pilate said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I don’t find this man guilty of anything.