Lecture 6 — Pilate questions Christ

^18:33^ Pilate therefore went into the praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to him: are you the king of the Jews? [n. 2344]

^18:34^ Jesus answered: do you say this thing of yourself, or have others told it to you of me? [n. 2346]

^18:35^ Pilate answered: am I a Jew? Your own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered you up to me: what have you done? [n. 2348]

^18:36^ Jesus answered: my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from here. [n. 2350]

^18:37^ Pilate therefore said to him: are you a king then? Jesus answered: you say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, hears my voice. [n. 2356]

^18:38^ Pilate said to him: what is truth? And when he said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them: I find no cause in him. [n. 2364]

^18:39^ But you have a custom that I should release one man to you at the Pasch: do you wish, therefore, that I release unto you the king of the Jews? [n. 2368]

^18:40^ Then they all cried again, saying: not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. [n. 2370]

2343. Above, the Evangelist told how Pilate examined Christ before those who accused him; here he describes how Pilate questioned him in private.

First, the Evangelist gives Pilate’s question;

then, the answer of Jesus: Jesus answered: my kingdom is not of this world.

In regard to the first he does two things.

First, we have Pilate’s question;

second, we see Christ asking the reason for the question, do you say this of your own accord?

2344. In regard to the first, note that Pilate, as a just judge, and as one proceeding cautiously, did not immediately agree with the accusation of the high priest, you will not follow a multitude to do evil; nor will you bear witness in a suit, turning aside after a multitude, so as to pervert justice (Exod 23:2). Rather, Pilate entered the praetorium again and called Jesus aside, because he had serious doubts about him. So he called Christ over to examine the case more closely and to allow Christ to answer in more peace and away from the shouts of the Jews: I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know (Job 29:16).

2345. Then Pilate said to him, are you the king of the Jews? This shows that the Jews were accusing Christ of this crime (Luke 23:2), although John says only that **if he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to you **(John 18:30), and many other crimes were laid on him. But this charge touched the heart of Pilate most, and that is why he questioned him only about this: for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt 12:34).

2346. Then, at Jesus answered, do you say this thing of yourself? Jesus is seen questioning his examiner:

first, we have Christ’s question:

then Pilate’s answer, **am I a Jew? **

2347. The Evangelist says, Jesus answered, asking a question in return, do you say this thing of yourself?

There are two reasons why someone asks a question. Sometimes it is to find out something that the questioner does not know, as when a student questions his teacher. Sometimes one asks a question about things he already knows in order to learn what answer will be given; as when a teacher questions his student. Now our Lord knew both what he asked about, and what answer would be given, and thus he was not asking out of ignorance, all are open and laid bear to the eyes of him with whom we have to do (Heb 4:13). Rather, he asked so that we might know what the Jews and gentiles thought, and at the same time be taught about that kingdom.

2348. Consequently, when he says, **Pilate answered: am I a Jew? **The Evangelist gives Pilate’s response.

Why did he answer this way? Because our Lord had asked him whether he said this on his own. Pilate showed by this that it was not his concern to inquire if Christ was the king of the Jews; it was rather the affair of the Jews, whose king he said he was. By giving this answer Pilate showed that it was others who had told him that Christ was the king of the Jews. Accordingly he says, your own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered you up to me, by bringing this charge against you. He says, your own nation, because, considering his human nature, Christ was born a Jew: for I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side. ‘Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ say all my familiar friends (Jer 20:10); a man’s enemies are the men of his own house (Mic 7:6). And we read chief priests, because the greater their power the greater their crime: and in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost (Ezra 9:2); I will go to the great, and will speak to them; for they know the way of the Lord, the law of their God. But they all alike had broken the yoke, they had burst the bonds (Jer 5:5).

If they have handed you over to me, what have you done? It’s unbelievable that they would have handed you over to me except for some serious matter.

2349. Now Christ’s answer is given: and

first, the mistaken impression about his kingdom is corrected;

second, the truth is established: and said to him: are you the king of the Jews?

As to the first he does two things:

the mistaken impression is corrected;

and a sign is given as proof, if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delievered to the Jews.

2350. The false idea of Christ’s kingdom is rejected by his saying, my kingdom is not of this world. The Manicheans misunderstood this, and said that there were two gods and two kingdoms; there was a good god, who had his kingdom in a region of light, and an evil god, who had his kingdom in a region of darkness, and this darkness was this world, because all material things, they said, were darkness. The meaning would then be, my kingdom is not of this world, that is, God, the Father, who is good, and I, do not have our kingdom in this region of darkness.

But this is contrary to: God is the king of all the earth (Ps 47:7); and again, whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth (Ps 134:6). Thus we should say that Christ said this for the sake of Pilate, who believed that Christ was claiming an earthly kingdom in which he would reign in the physical way that those of earth do, and so should be punished by death for trying to reign unlawfully.

2351. Sometimes the word ‘kingdom’ means the people who reign, and sometimes the authority to reign.

Taking the word in its first sense, Augustine says, my kingdom, that is, my faithful, you have made them a kingdom . . . to our Lord (Rev 5:10) is not of this world. He does not say: they are not in this world; as above, and those that are in the world (John 17:11), but that they are not of this world, because of what they love and imitate, since they have been wrested from it by grace. For this is how God has delivered us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his love.

Chrysostom explains this sentence by taking kingdom in the second sense, and says, my kingdom, that is, the power and authority which makes me a king, is not of this world, that is, it does not have its origin in earthly causes and human choice, but from another source, from the Father: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away (Dan 7:14).

2352. Here he shows by clear signs that his kingdom is not of this world:

first, a sign is given;

second, the conclusion is drawn: but now my kingdom is not from here.

2353. In regard to the first, note that one who has an earthly kingdom, whether by right or by force, needs associates and ministers to keep him in power, the reason being that he is powerful through his ministers, not all by himself: there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker (2 Sam 3:1). But the heavenly king, because he is powerful by himself, gives power to his servants; consequently he does not need ministers for his kingdom. And thus Christ says that his kingdom is not of this world, because if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews. When Peter started to fight for Christ, he forgot that he was not of this world, then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the servant of the high priest (John 18:10). Still, our Lord did have some ministers, the angels, who could have rescued him from the hands of the Jews, but he chose not to be rescued: do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matt 26:53).

2354. But now my kingdom is not from here, that is, because Christ does not need such ministers, he concludes that his kingdom is not from here that is, does not have its source from this world. And yet it is here, because it is everywhere: she [wisdom] reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well (Wis 8:1); ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession (Ps 2:8); and to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him (Dan 7:14).

2355. Now our Lord reveals the truth about his kingdom:

first, we see the circumstances for this;

second, the revelation itself; Jesus answered: my kingdom is not of this world.

and third, the effect this revelation had, Pilate said to him: what is truth?

2356. About the first, note that Pilate understood our Lord’s statements to mean that he did have a physical kingdom, but far away: the unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God . . . and he is not able to understand them (1 Cor 2:14). Accordingly he was in a hurry to know the truth, and so said, **are you are a king then? **Namely, even the Lord.

2357. When he answers, you say that I am a king,

Christ first says that he is a king;

second, he shows the nature of his kingdom: for this I was born, and for this came I into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth;

third, he mentions those over whom he reigns, every one that is of the truth hears my voice.

2358. With regard to the first, note that our Lord’s answer about his kingship was so worded that he neither seemed to be clearly asserting that he was a king, since he was not a king in the sense in which Pilate understood it, nor denying it, since spiritually he was the King of kings.

He says, you say that I am a king, in the physical sense in which I am not a king; but in another way I am a king, behold a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice (Isa 32:1).

2359. He shows the character and nature of his kingdom when he says, for this I was born, and for this I cameinto the world, that I should give testimony to the truth. This is explained in two ways.

In one way by Augustine, so that the kingdom of Christ is his faithful, as was said above. Thus, Christ reigns over his faithful; and he came into the world to gather his faithful to himself and establish a kingdom: a nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom (Luke 19:12). The meaning then is this: for this I was born, that is, for this purpose I was born in the flesh. He explains this saying, and for this I came into the world, by physical birth; for this is the way he came into the world, God sent his Son into the world (Gal 4:4), **that I should give testimony to the truth **(John 14:6), that is, to myself, who am the truth, although I give testimony about myself, my testimony is true (John 8:14). And to the extent that I manifest myself, the Truth, to that extent I establish my kingdom. For this cannot be done without manifesting the truth, which can only be done fittingly by me, who am the light: the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has made him known. (John 1:18); it was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Heb 2:3).

2360. Chrysostom explains it in another way. You ask if I am a king, and I say that I am, but I am a king by divine power, because for this I was born, that is, born from the Father, by an eternal birth; just as I am God from God, so I am king from king; I was appointed king (Ps 2:6), and then follows, today I have begotten you (Ps 2:7). Then when he adds and for this I have come into the world, it is not to explain the previous words, but to refer to his birth in time. It is like saying: although I am an eternal king, yet I have come into the world for this, that I should give testimony to the truth, that is, to myself, that I am a king from God the Father.

2361. Now he shows over whom he reigns. Before, he said that he was a shepherd and those under him were sheep (John 10:11); that is the same as what he is saying here, that he is a king and his subjects are the kingdom. This is so because a king is to his subjects as a shepherd to his sheep; and just as a shepherd feeds his sheep: should not shepherds feed the sheep? (Ezek 34:2); so a king supports his subjects. He said in particular, my sheep hear my voice (John 10:27); accordingly, he also says here, every one that is of the truth, hears my voice, not just outwardly, but with an interior belief and love and carrying this out in action: every one who has heard of the Father and has learned, comes to me (John 6:45). But why does a person hear my voice? Because such a one is of the truth, which is God.

2362. But since all of us are from God, all are of the truth and hear his voice.

I answer this by saying that all are from God by creation and this is one way we are of God. But besides this, some are said to be of God because they love and imitate him. We read before, you are not of God (John 8:47), that is, considering your affections, but you are of God by creation. Every one that hears my voice, with belief and love, is of the truth, that is, who has accepted the duty of loving the truth.

2363. He does not say, every one who hears my voice is of the truth, because it would follow that we are of the truth because we believed. But actually, we believe because we are of the truth, that is, because we have received the gift of God which enables us to believe and love the truth: by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8); for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake (Phil 1:29).

2364. Now the Evangelist tells the effect of Christ’s answer. We can see from this that Pilate abandoned his idea that Christ had an earthly kingdom and now thought of Christ as a king in the sense of one who teaches the truth. He desired to learn the truth and to become a member of this kingdom and so he said, what is truth? He was not asking for a definition of truth, but wanted to know that truth by whose power he could become a member of this kingdom. This indicates that truth was not known by the world and had vanished from almost everyone, as long as they remained unbelievers: truth has fallen in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter (Isa 59:14); truth has decayed in the children of men (Ps 12:1). But Pilate did not wait for Christ’s answer.

2365. Apropos of this question, note that we find two kinds of truth in the gospel. One is uncreated and making; this is Christ: I am the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6); the other truth is made, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

By its nature truth implies a conformity between reality and the intellect. The intellect is related in two ways to reality, as a measure of these things; that would be the intellect which is the cause of these things. Another intellect measured by things would be an intellect whose knowledge is caused by these things. Now truth is not in the divine intellect because the intellect is conformed to things, but because things are conformed to the divine intellect. While truth is in our intellect because it understands things; it conforms to them as they are. And so uncreated truth and the divine intellect is a truth which is not measured or made, but a truth which measures and makes two kinds of truth: one is in the things themselves, insofar as it makes them so they are in conformity with what they are in the divine intellect; and it makes the other truth in our souls, and this is a measured truth, not a measuring truth. Therefore, the uncreated truth of the divine intellect is appropriated, to the Son who is the very concept of the divine intellect and the Word of God. For truth follows the intellect’s concept.

2366. Now, we see Pilate’s finding in regard to Christ: and when he said this, he went out again to the Jews,

first, Pilate states his innocence;

second, we see his intention to show mercy: but you have a custom that I should release one man to you at the Pasch.

2367. Concerning the first, note that Pilate, as Augustine says, was eager to free Christ. When he had asked Christ, what is truth? he suddenly realized how he could free Christ by means of a custom which allowed him to release a prisoner at the time of the Passover. And so, not waiting for an answer to his question, he decided to make use of this custom to do this. This is why the Evangelist says about Pilate, and when he said this. Pilate heard the cries of the Jews, and thinking that he could calm them and then listen to Christ’s answer to this difficult question under more tranquil conditions, he went out again to the Jews, and declared Christ’s innocence; I find no cause in him, that is, nothing deserving death: he committed no sin (1 Pet 2:22). But even if he did commit a crime, I, who have authority in these matters, and especially the authority to judge of matters against the state, I wish to free and release him.

2368. Accordingly he says, but you have a custom that I should release one man to you at the Pasch.

First, he offers to release Christ;

second, the Evangelist gives the reply of the Jews.

2369. This practice was started by Pilate or some other Roman governor as a favor to the people. Wishing to free Christ using this custom Pilate said, **do you wish therefore, that I release unto you the king of the Jews? **He did not call him this as if this were a crime, but to heighten their malice. It was like saying: even if he is the king of the Jews, which is not your role to judge, but mine, still, if you want me to, I will release him for you.

2370. The Jews **cried again, saying: not this man, but Barabbas! **Then to indicate the malice of the Jews, the Evangelist mentions the crime committed by the one they wanted released, saying, now Barabbas was a robber; your princes are rebels and companions of thieves (Isa 1:23). This fulfills the words of Jeremiah: my heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest (Jer 12:8). But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you (Acts 3:14).