The Greek has not the definite article. See on Matthew 26:34. The use of the article would seem to mark the time, cock-crowing, rather than the incident.

Present tense, lead.

Hall of judgment (πραιτώριον)

A Latin word, proetorium, transcribed. Originally, the general's tent. In the Roman provinces it was the name for the official residence of the Roman governor, as here. Compare Acts 23:35. It came to be applied to any spacious villa or palace. So Juvenal: "To their crimes they are indebted for their gardens, palaces (proetoria), etc." ("Sat.," i., 75). In Rome the term was applied to the proetorian guard, or imperial bodyguard. See on Philippians 1:13. Rev., palace.

Early (πρωΐ́)

Used technically of the fourth watch, 3-6 a.m. See Mark 13:35. The Sanhedrim could not hold a legal meeting, especially in capital cases, before sunrise; and in such cases judicial proceedings must be conducted and terminated by day. A condemnation to death, at night, was technically illegal. In capital cases, sentence of condemnation could not be legally pronounced on the day of trial. If the night proceedings were merely preliminary to a formal trial, they would have no validity; if formal, they were, ipso facto, illegal. In either case was the law observed in reference to the second council. According to the Hebrew computation of time, it was held on the same day.

Be defiled (μιανθῶσιν)

Originally, to stain, as with color. So Homer: "Tinges (μιήνῃ) the white ivory with purple." Not necessarily, therefore, in a bad sense, like μολύσω, to besmear or besmirch with filth (1 Corinthians 8:7; Revelation 3:4). In classical Greek, μιαίνω, the verb here used, is the standing word for profaning or unhallowing. So Sophocles:

"Not even fearing this pollution (μίασμα) dire,

Will I consent to burial. Well Iknow

That man is powerless to pollute (μιαίνειν) the gods."

"Antigone," 1042-1044.

And Plato: "And if a homicide... without purification pollutes the agora, or the games, or the temples," etc. ("Laws," 868). See on 1 Peter 1:4. The defilement in the present case was apprehended from entering a house from which all leaven had not been removed.

continued...

Note the abruptness with which he is introduced as one well known. Two derivations of the name are given. Pilatus, one armed with the pilum or javelin, like Torquatus, one adorned with a collar (torques). Or, a contraction from Pileatus, wearing the pileus or cap, which was the badge of manumitted slaves. Hence some have supposed that he was a freedman. Tacitus refers to him as connected with Christ's death. "The author of that name (Christian), or sect, was Christ, who was capitally punished in the reign of Tiberius, by Pontius Pilate" ("Annals," xv. 44). He was the sixth Roman procurator of Judea.

What accusation

Not implying Pilate's ignorance of the charge, but his demand for the formal accusation.

Rev., evil-doer. From κακὸν, evil, and ποιέω, to do. Luke uses a different word, κακοῦργος, from κακὸν, evil, and ἔργω, to work. See on 1 Peter 2:12.

The A.V. obscures the emphatic force of ὑμεῖς, you. Pilate's words display great practical shrewdness in forcing the Jews to commit themselves to the admission that they desired Christ's death. "Take him yourselves (so Rev.), and judge him according to your law." "By our law," reply the Jews, "he ought to die." But this penalty they could not inflict. "It is not lawful," etc.

More correctly, by what manner of death. So Rev. Compare John 12:32; Matthew 20:19. Crucifixion was not a Jewish punishment.

Thou is emphatic. Thou, the despised malefactor.

King of the Jews

The civil title. The theocratic title, king of Israel (John 1:49; John 12:13) is addressed to Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:42; Mark 15:32) in mockery.

As if Jesus' question implied that Pilate had been taking counsel with the Jews.

Only in this passage in the Gospels, of Christians. Compare Acts 13:5; 1 Corinthians 4:1. Corresponding with Christ as a king.

Fight (ἠγωνίζοντο)

The imperfect tense, denoting action in progress: would now be striving.

The interrogative particle οὐκοῦν, not therefore, occurs only here in the New Testament. It is ironical. In John 18:33 the emphasis is on thou: here upon king. So then, after all, thou art a king.

Was I born - came I((γεγέννημαι - ἐλήλυθα)

Both perfects. Have I been born - am I come. So Rev. The Greek order is I for this have been born, etc., throwing the emphasis on Christ's person and destiny. The perfect describes His birth and coming not merely as historical facts, but as abiding in their results. Compare this confession before Pilate (1 Timothy 6:13) with the corresponding confession before the high-priest (Matthew 26:64). "The one, addressed to the Jews, is framed in the language of prophecy; the other, addressed to a Roman, appeals to the universal testimony of conscience. The one speaks of a future manifestation of glory, the other speaking of a present manifestation of truth. The one looks forward to the Return, the other looks backward to the Incarnation" (Westcott).

Of the truth (ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας)

Literally, out of: sprung from: whose life and words issue from the truth. See on John 14:6, and compare John 8:47.

Not with the article as in the previous verse, the truth. Jesus meant the absolute truth: Pilate, truth in any particular case. "Pilate's exclamation is neither the expression of an ardent thirst for truth, nor that of the despair of a soul which has long sought it in vain; it is the profession of a frivolous skepticism, such as is frequently met with in the man of the world, and especially in the statesman" (Godet).

Fault (αἰτίαν)

Properly, cause of accusation. Rev., crime. See on Matthew 27:37, and compare note on Matthew 19:10.

The word συνήθεια, custom, originally means intimacy, habitual intercourse, and thence naturally passes into the meaning of habit or custom. Only John puts the statement of this custom into the mouth of Pilate. Matthew and Mark relate it as a fact.

At the Passover (ἐν τῷ πάσχα)

More specific than Matthew and Mark, where the expression is general, κατὰ ἑορτήν, at feast-time.

Peculiarly of a loud, importunate cry; a shout. Plato uses it of the howling of a dog: "The yelping hound, howling (κραυγάζουσα) at her Lord" ("Republic," 607). Others, of the cries of spectators in the theaters and of the croak of a raven. See on Matthew 15:22.

Again

Assuming John's recollection of a previous "crying out," which he has not recorded.

Robber (λῃστής)

See on Matthew 26:55; see on Mark 11:17; see on Luke 10:30. Matthew calls him a "notable prisoner" (Matthew 27:16). Mark states that he had made insurrection, and had committed murder (Mark 15:7), speaking of the insurrection as a well-known event. Luke says, "for some insurrection (στάσιν τινὰ) that had arisen in the city, and for murder" (Luke 23:19). Writing for Gentiles, Luke would not refer to the event as something familiar. Bandits of this kind were numerous in the neighborhood of Jerusalem under the Roman dominion. Their leaders were well known. Josephus describes them by the same word which Matthew uses, ἐπίσημοι, notable. Their depredations were often committed under patriotic pretenses, so that Barabbas might have had influential friends among the people.

Matthew and Mark use the Greek form of the Latin word flagellare, φραγελλόω, which occurs only in those two instances in the New Testament. John uses the more common Greek word, though he has φραγελλίον (flagellum), scourge, at John 2:15. Matthew and Mark, however, both use μαστιγόω elsewhere (Matthew 10:17; Matthew 20:29; Mark 10:34). Its kindred noun, μάστιξ, occurs several times in the metaphorical sense of a plague. See on Mark 3:10, and compare Mark 5:29, Mark 5:34; Luke 7:21. The verb is used metaphorically only once, Hebrews 12:6. Scourging was the legal preliminary to crucifixion, but, in this case, was inflicted illegally before the sentence of crucifixion was pronounced, with a view of averting the extreme punishment, and of satisfying the Jews. (Luke 23:22). The punishment was horrible, the victim being bound to a low pillar or stake, and beaten, either with rods, or, in the case of slaves and provincials, with scourges, called scorpions, leather thongs tipped with leaden balls or sharp spikes. The severity of the infliction in Jesus' case is evident from His inability to bear His cross.

So Matthew and Mark. Luke does not mention the crown of thorns. See on 1 Peter 5:4.

Of thorns (ἐξ ἀκανθῶν)

So Matthew. Mark has ἀκάνθινον, the adjective, made of thorns, which John also uses in John 19:5. All attempts to define the botanical character of the thorns used for Christ's crown are guesses. The word for thorns used here is the only one that occurs in the New Testament; the σκόλοψ (thorn in the flesh) of 2 Corinthians 12:7, being properly an impaling-stake.

Both the crowning with thorns and the flagellation are favorite subjects in Christian art. Some of the earliest representations of the latter depict the figure of the Lord as fully draped, and standing unbound at the column, thus illustrating the voluntariness of His sacrifice. In a MS. of the fourteenth century, in the British Museum, He stands, wholly clothed, holding a book in one hand, and blessing with the other. The more devout feeling which predominated in such representations was gradually overpowered by the sense of physical suffering. The earlier paintings represented the back turned toward the spectator, and the face, turned in a forced attitude, exhibited in profile. Later, the face and figure are turned full to the front, and the strokes fall upon the chest. Hence Jerome, in his commentary on Matthew, says that the capacious chest of God (!) was torn with strokes. The standing position is the accepted one, but instances occur in which the Savior is on the ground attached to the column by one hand. Such is the revolting picture by L. Caracci in the Bologna gallery, in which the soldier clutches Jesus by the hair as he plies the bundle of twigs. In a Psalter of the fifteenth century the Savior stands in front of the column, covering His face with His hands.

According to the later type, the moment chosen is when the execution of the sentence is just beginning. One man is binding the hands to the pillar, another is binding together a bundle of loose switches. The German representations are coarser than the Italian, but with more incident. They lack the spiritual feeling which appears in the best Italian specimens.

A field for a higher feeling and for more subtle treatment is opened in the moments succeeding the scourging. One of the very finest examples of this is the picture of Velasquez, "Christ at the Column," in the National Gallery of London. The real grandeur and pathos of the conception assert themselves above certain prosaic and realistic details. The Savior sits upon the ground, His arms extended, and leaning backward to the full stretch of the cord which binds His crossed hands. The face is turned over the left shoulder full upon the spectator. Rods, ropes, and broken twigs lie upon the ground, and slender streams of blood appear upon the body. A guardian angel behind the figure of the Lord, stands bending slightly over a child kneeling with clasped hands, and points to the sufferer, from whose head a ray of light passes to the child's heart. The angel is a Spanish nursery-maid with wings, and the face of the child is of the lower Spanish type, and is in striking contrast with the exquisite countenance of Murillo's Christ-child, which hangs next to this picture, and which is of the sweetest type of Andalusian beauty. The Savior's face is of a thoroughly manly, indeed, of a robust type, expressing intense suffering, but without contortion. The large, dark eyes are ineffably sad. The strong light on the right arm merges into the deep shadow of the bound hands, and the same shadow falls with startling effect across the full light on the left arm, marked at the wrist by a slight bloody line.

In the portrayal of the crowning with thorns, in a few instances, the moment is chosen after the crown has been placed, the action being in the mock-worship; but the prevailing conception is that of the act of crowning, which consists in pressing the crown upon the brow by means of two long staves. A magnificent specimen is Luini's fresco in the Ambrosian Library at Milan. Christ sits upon a tribune, clad in a scarlet robe, His face wearing an expression of infinite sweetness and dignity, while a soldier on either side crowds down the crown with a staff. The Italian artists represent the crown as consisting of pliable twigs with small thorns; but the northern artists "have conceived," to quote Mrs. Jameson, "an awful structure of the most unbending, knotted boughs, with tremendous spikes half a foot long, which no human hands could have forced into such a form." In a few later instances the staves are omitted, and the crown is placed on the head by the mailed hand of a soldier.

Put on (περιέβαλον)

Literally, threw about. Rev., arrayed.

Purple (πορφυροῦν)

An adjective. Found only here, John 19:5, and Revelation 18:16. Mark uses the noun πορφύρα, purple, which also occurs in Revelation 17:4; Revelation 18:12. See on Luke 16:19. Matthew has κοκκίνην, scarlet.

Robe (ἱμάτιον)

Better, as Rev., garment, since robe gives the impression of a trailing garment. See on Matthew 5:40. Matthew has χλαμύδα, a short military cloak (Matthew 27:28). Luke describes the garment as λαμπρὰν, gorgeous, bright or brilliant (Luke 23:11).

Add καὶ ἤρχοντο πρὸς αὐτόν, and kept coming unto Him, before and said or kept saying. The imperfect denotes the successive acts of homage of the soldiers as they came up one after the other.

They smote Him with their hands (ἐδίδουν αὐτῷ ῥαπίσματα).

Literally, kept giving Him blows with their hands. See on John 18:22.

From the Praetorium.

Wearing (φορῶν)

Not φέρων, bearing, but the frequentative form of that verb, denoting an habitual or continuous bearing; hence, wearing, as though it were His natural dress.

See on John 18:40.

Crucify

The best texts omit Him.

Take ye Him (λάβετε αὐτὸν ὑμεῖς)

According to the Greek order, "take Him ye." Rev., take Him yourselves. See on John 18:31.

We, emphatic. Whatever your decision may be, we have a law, etc.

By our law

The best texts omit our: Read by that law, as Rev.

"These words of the Jews produced an effect on Pilate for which they were not prepared. The saying gives strength to a dreadful presentiment which was gradually forming within him. All that he had heard related of the miracles of Jesus, the mysterious character of His person, of His words and of His conduct, the strange message which he had just received from his wife - all is suddenly explained by the term "Son of God." Was this extraordinary man truly a divine being who had appeared on the earth? The truth naturally presents itself to his mind in the form of pagan superstitions and mythological legends" (Godet).

Caiaphas.

Incorrect. Rev., rightly, upon this.

Sought (ἐζήτει)

Imperfect tense. Made repeated attempts.

Caesar's friend

A title conferred, since the time of Augustus, upon provincial governors. Probably, however, not used by the Jews in this technical sense, but merely as a way of saying "Thou art not true to the emperor."

Caesar (τῷ Καίσαρι)

Literally, the Caesar. The term, which was at first a proper name, the surname of Julius Caesar, adopted by Augustus and his successors, became an appellative, appropriated by all the emperors as a title. Thus the emperor at this time was Tiberius Caesar. A distinction was, however, introduced between this title and that of Augustus, which was first given to Octavianus the first emperor. The title "Augustus" was always reserved for the monarch, while "Caesar" was more freely communicated to his relations; and from the reign of Hadrian at least (a.d. 117-138) was appropriated to the second person in the state, who was considered as the presumptive heir of the empire.

The best texts read τῶν λόγων τούτων, these words. He was afraid of an accusation at Rome before Tiberius, an accusation which could be justified by his misrule.

Judgment-seat (βήματος)

See on Acts 7:5. The best texts omit the article, which may indicate that the tribunal was an improvised one.

The Pavement (Λιθόστρωτον)

From λίθος, stone, and στρωτός, strewn or spread.

Gabbatha

From the Hebrew gab, "back," and meaning, therefore, a raised place. Thus the Aramaic term is not a translation of the Greek term, which indicates that the place, wherever it was, was distinguished by a mosaic or tessellated pavement. Suetonius relates that Julius Caesar used to carry about with him on his expeditions a portable tessellated pavement for his tribunal. It is not likely, however, that there is any allusion to such a practice here. Westcott explains Gabbatha as the ridge of the house.

See on John 1:39.

The best texts read ἐκεῖνοι, those (people). The pronoun of remote reference isolates and sharply distinguishes them from Jesus. See on John 13:27.

Away with him (ἆρον)

Literally, take away.

We have no king but Caesar

These words, uttered by the chief priests, are very significant. These chief representatives of the theocratic government of Israel thus formally and expressly renounce it, and declare their allegiance to a temporal and pagan power. This utterance is "the formal abdication of the Messianic hope."

Luke says, delivered to their will (Luke 23:25). Pilate pronounced no sentence, but disclaimed all responsibility for the act, and delivered Christ up to them (αὐτοῖς), they having invoked the responsibility upon themselves. See Matthew 27:24, Matthew 27:25.

And led Him away

The best texts omit.

See on John 12:6; see on John 10:31.

His cross (τὸν σταυρὸν αὑτοῦ)

The best texts read αὑτῷ or ἑαυτῷ, "bearing the cross for Himself." John does not mention the impressment of Simon of Cyrene for this service. Compare Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26.

Skull

See on Matthew 27:33.

All the Synoptists describe the character of the two who were crucified with Jesus. Matthew and Mark, robbers; Luke, malefactors (κακούργους). All three use the phrase, one on the right, the other on the left, and so, substantially, John: on either side one. John says nothing about the character of these two, but simply describes them as two others.

Only here and John 19:20, in the New Testament. John uses the technical Roman term titulus, a placard or notice. Used for a bill or notice of sale affixed to a house. Thus Ovid, of a heartless creditor: "She sent our household goods under the placard (sub-titulum);" i.e., put the house and furniture up for sale ("Remedia Amoris," 302). Meaning also the title of a book; an epitaph. Matthew has αἰτίαν, accusation; Mark, ἐπιγραφὴ τῆς αἰτίας superscription of the accusation; Luke, ἐπιγραφὴ superscription. John alone mentions the fact that Pilate wrote the inscription.

Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews

The wording of the title is differently given by each Evangelist.

Matthew: This is Jesus the King of the Jews.

Mark: The King of the Jews.

Luke: This is the King of the Jews.

John: Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.

The essential element of the superscription, King of the Jews, is common to all. It expressed, on its face, the main intent of Pilate, which was to cast contempt on the Jews. "In the sense of the man Pilate, it meant: Jesus, the King of the Jewish fanatics, crucified in the midst of Jews, who should all be thus executed. In the sense of the Jews: Jesus, the seditionary, the King of the rebels. In the sense of the political judge: Jesus, for whose accusation the Jews, with their ambiguous accusation, may answer. In the sense of the divine irony which ruled over the expression: Jesus, the Messiah, by the crucifixion become in very truth the King of the people of God" (Lange).

Some editors vary the order. Rev., Latin, Greek. Such inscriptions in different languages were not uncommon. Julius Capitolinus, a biographer (a.d. 320), in his life of the third Gordian, says that the soldiers erected his tomb on the Persian borders, and added an epitaph (titulum) in Latin, Persian, Hebrew, and Egyptian characters, in order that it might be read by all. Hebrew was the rational dialect, Latin the official, and Greek the common dialect. As the national Hebrew, King of the Jews was translated into Latin and Greek, so the inscription was prophetic that Christ should pass into civil administration and common speech: that the Hebrew Messiah should become equally the deliverer of Greek and Roman: that as Christ was the real center of the religious civilization of Judaism, so He should become the real center of the world's intellectual movement as represented by Greece, and of its legal and material civilization as represented by Rome. The three civilizations which had prepared the way for Christ thus concentrated at His cross. The cross is the real center of the world's history.

A unique expression, possibly by way of contrast with the King of the Jews.