John 18:37

Art thou a king then The Greek for -then" (oukoun) occurs here only in N.T. The -Thou" is even more emphatic than in John 18:33. The two together give a tone of scorn to the question, which is half an exclamation. -So then, Thouart a king!" Comp. John 1:21.

Thou sayest that, &c. This may be rendered, Thou sayest(truly); because, &c. But the A. V. is better: Christ leaves the title and explains the nature of His kingdom the realm of truth.

To this end … for this cause The Greek for both is the same, and should be rendered in the same way in English; to this end. Both refer to what precedes; not one to what precedes and one to what follows. To be a king, He became incarnate; to be a king, He entered the world.

was I born … came I Better, have I been born … am I come. Both verbs are perfects and express not merely a past event but one which continues in its effects; Christ has come and remains in the world. The pronoun is very emphatic; in this respect Christ stands alone among men. The verbs point to His previous existence with the Father, although Pilate would not see this. The expression -come into the world" is frequent in S. John (John 1:9; John 9:39; John 11:27; John 16:28): as applied to Christ it includes the notion of His mission(John 3:17; John 10:36; John 12:47; John 12:49; John 17:18).

that I should This is the Divine purpose of His royal power.

bear witness unto the truth Not merely -witness the truth," i.e. give a testimony that is true, but bear witness to the objective reality of the Truth: again, not merely -bear witness of," i.e. respecting the Truth (John 1:7; John 1:15; John 2:25; John 5:31-39; John 8:13-18, &c.), but -bear witness to," i.e. in support and defence of the Truth (John 5:33). Both these expressions, -witness" and -truth," have been seen to be very frequent in S. John (see especially chaps. 1, 3, 5, 8. passim). We have them combined here, as in John 5:33. This is the object of Christ's sovereignty, to bear witness to the Truth. It is characteristic of the Gospel that it claims to be -the Truth." "This title of the Gospel is not found in the Synoptists, Acts, or Apocalypse; but it occurs in the Catholic Epistles (Jas 1:18; 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Peter 2:2) and in S. Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 13:8; Ephesians 1:13, &c.). It is specially characteristic of the Gospel and Epistles of S. John." Westcott, Introduction to S. John, p. 44.

that is of the truth That has his root in it, so as to draw the power of his life from it. Comp. John 18:36; John 3:31; John 8:47, and especially 1 John 2:21; 1 John 3:19.

"It is of great interest to compare this confession before Pilate with the corresponding confession before the high priest (Matthew 26:64). The one addressed to the Jews is 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 of a present manifestation of truth … It is obvious how completely they answer severally to the circumstances of the two occasions." Westcott, in loco.