John 19:1-16 - Pilate Attempts To Release Jesus

¹ So then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged (flogged, whipped). ² And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe around Him; ³ and they kept coming up to Him, saying [mockingly], “Hail, King of the Jews [Good health! Peace! Long life to you, King of the Jews]!” And they slapped Him in the face.

⁴ Then Pilate came out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].”

⁵ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said to them, “Look! The Man!”

⁶ When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify [Him]! Crucify [Him]!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].”

⁷ The Jews answered him, “We have a law [regarding blasphemy], and according to that law He should die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

⁸ So when Pilate heard this said, he was [even] more alarmed and afraid. ⁹ He went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus did not answer him. ¹⁰ So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me at all if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the sin and guilt of the one who handed Me over to you is greater [than your own].”

¹² As a result of this, Pilate kept making efforts to release Him, but the Jews kept screaming, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who makes himself out [to be] a king opposes Caesar [and rebels against the emperor]!”

¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover [week], and it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Look, your King!”

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

¹⁶ Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified.