John 19:11

Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin.

Jesus here pointed to that doctrine which was elaborated at a later time by Paul (Romans 13:1ff), regarding the state and authority as God-ordained. (See my Commentary on Romans 13:1ff.) Jesus' application of this to Pilate reveals the hand of God in the affairs of state. Pilate's being the Procurator that year[9] was not Pilate's sole achievement, despite his arrogant assumption that it was; but God had raised him up, no less than Esther at another time, "for such a time as this."

The greater sin ... The high priest of Israel was the person guilty of greater sin, a greater sin shared by all who had aided and abetted that crime of the centuries; but, in what way was their sin greater than Pilate's? Westcott thus explained it:

Pilate was guilty of using wrongfully the power. The high priest was doubly guilty in using a higher (spiritual) power and in transgressing his legitimate rules of action ... By appealing to a heathen power to execute an unjust sentence on Christ, he had sinned against God by unfaithfulness, and by unrighteousness.[10]

Except it were given thee from above ... Pilate's power of continuation in office was directly from God and was exercised only under God's permission. Jesus might have called for legions of angels; he even had the power to have changed Pilate's mind, or to prostrate the entire garrison of Antonio on their faces, as had happened to some of them the previous night. The tiniest display of Jesus' supernatural power could have turned Pilate into putty in Jesus' hands. The procurator was already frightened, and the silence of Jesus recorded in the previous verse was probably for the purpose of permitting him to act in character, rather than as a judge frightened out of his wits. It was here that Satan played out his last tactic in the strategy of inducing Jesus to abandon the purpose of redemption by refusing to die on the cross. Pilate, in this scene, actually seemed to plead with Jesus to do something that would enable him to deny the religious leaders the sentence they wanted. The Lord was silent. He would not resort to any miracle to avoid crucifixion. Regarding the satanic strategy here referred to, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 26:39ff.

[9] Note to critics: This writer is aware that they did not change the procurator every year!

[10] B. F. Westcott, op. cit., p. 270.