John 18:37-38 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - John 18:28-40

We have here an account of Christ's arraignment before Pilate, the Roman governor, in the praetorium (a Latin word made Greek), the praetor's house, or hall of judgment; thither they hurried him, to get him condemned in the Roman court, and executed by the Roman power. Being resolved on his death, they took this course, 1. That he might be put to death the more legally and regularly, according to the present constitution of their government, since they became a province of the empire; not... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

18:28-40 They brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early in the morning and they themselves did not enter into the headquarters, in case they should be defiled; but they wished to avoid defilement because they wished to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said: "What charge do you bring against this man?" They answered him: "If he had not been an evildoer, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them: "You take him, and judge him... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

But there were more things about the Jews than that. (i) They began by hating Jesus; but they finished in a very hysteria of hatred, howling like wolves, with faces twisted in bitterness: "Crucify him! Crucify him!" In the end they reached such an insanity of hatred that they were impervious to reason and to mercy and even to the claims of common humanity. Nothing in this world warps a man's judgment as hatred does. Once a man allows himself to hate, he can neither think nor see straight,... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

Now we turn to the second personality in this story--Pilate. Throughout the trial his conduct is well-nigh incomprehensible. It is abundantly clear, it could not be clearer, that Pilate knew that the charges of the Jews were a series of lies, that he knew that Jesus was completely innocent, that he was deeply impressed with him, and that he did not wish to condemn him to death--and yet he did. First, he tried to refuse to deal with the case; then he tried to release Jesus on the grounds that... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

We have seen Pilate's history; let us now look at his conduct during his trial of Jesus. He did not wish to condemn Jesus, because he knew that he was innocent; and yet he was caught in the mesh of his own past. (i) Pilate began by trying to put the responsibility on to someone else. He said to the Jews: "You take this man and judge him according to your laws." He tried to evade the responsibility of dealing with Jesus; but that is precisely what no one can do. No one can deal with Jesus for... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

We have thought of the picture of the crowd in this trial of Jesus and we have thought of the picture of Pilate. Now we must come to the central character in the drama--Jesus himself. He is depicted before us with a series of master-strokes. (i) First and foremost, no one can read this story without seeing the sheer majesty of Jesus. There is no sense that he is on trial. When a man faces him, it is not Jesus who is on trial; it is the man. Pilate may have treated many Jewish things with... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

(v) Once again we see here in the trial of Jesus the spontaneousness of his death and the supreme control of God. Pilate warned Jesus that he had power to release him or to crucify him. Jesus answered that Pilate had no power at all, except what had been given him by God. The crucifixion of Jesus never, from beginning to end, reads like the story of a man caught up in an inexorable web of circumstances over which he had no control; it never reads like the story of a man who was hounded to his... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

We have looked at the main personalities in the trial of Jesus--the Jews with their hatred, Pilate with his haunting past, and Jesus in the serenity of his regal majesty. But certain other people were on the outskirts of the scene. (i) There were the soldiers. When Jesus was given into their hands to be scourged, they amused themselves with their crude horse-play. He was a king? Well then, let him have a robe and crown. So they put an old purple robe on him and a crown of thorns round his... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

(ii) Last of all there was Barabbas whose episode John tells very briefly indeed. Of the custom of freeing a prisoner at Passover we know nothing more than the gospels tell us. The other gospels to some extent fill out John's brief picture and when we put all our information together we find that Barabbas was a notable prisoner, a brigand, who had taken part in a certain insurrection in the city and had committed murder ( Matthew 27:15-26 ; Mark 15:6-15 ; Luke 23:17-25 ; Acts 3:14 ). ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 18:37

Pilate therefore said unto him ,.... Upon this free and full declaration of Christ, concerning his kingly office, and the nature of his kingdom: art thou a king then ? or thou art a king then: for, from his having a kingdom, it might be very justly inferred that he was a king: Jesus answered, thou sayest that I am a king ; and which was very rightly said; and Christ by these words owns and confesses, that he was one: adding, to this end was I born, and for this cause came I into... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - John 18:28-40

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 18:28-40

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 18:37

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