John 19:9

And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. AND WENT AGAIN INTO THE JUDGMENT HALL ('THE PRAETORIUM,') AND SAITH UNTO JESUS, WHENCE ART THOU? - a question relating, beyond all doubt, not to His mission, but to His personal origin. BUT JESUS GAVE HIM NO ANSWER. He had said enough; the time for answering such a question was past; the weak and wavering governor is already on the point of giving way....

9._And he entered again into the hall, and said to Jesus; Whence Art Thou? _It is evident from this that he was in a state of perplexity and anguish, because _he was afraid _that he would be punished for sacrilege, if he laid his hand on _the Son of God _It ought to be observed that, when he asks _whence Christ is, _he does not inquire about his country, but the meaning is, as if he had said, “Art thou a man born on the earth, or art thou some god?” The interpretation which I give to this passage, therefore, is, that Pilate, struck with the fear of God, was in perplexity and doubt as to what he ought to do; (162) for he saw, on the one hand, the excitement of a mutiny, and, on the other hand, conscience held him bound not to offend God for the sake of avoiding danger. This example is highly worthy of observation. Though the countenance of Christ was so disfigured, yet, as soon as Pilate...

1-18 Little did Pilate think with what holy regard these sufferings of Christ would, in after-ages, be thought upon and spoken of by the best and greatest of men. Our Lord Jesus came forth, willing to be exposed to their scorn. It is good for every one with faith, to behold Christ Jesus in his sufferings. Behold him, and love him; be still looking unto Jesus. Did their hatred sharpen their endeavours against him? and shall not our love for him quicken our endeavours for him and his kingdom? Pilate seems to have thought that Jesus might be some person above the common order. Even natural conscience makes men afraid of being found fighting against God. As our Lord suffered for the sins both of Jews and Gentiles, it was a special part of the counsel of Divine Wisdom, that the Jews should first purpose his death, and the Gentiles carry that purpose into effect. Had not Christ been thus reje...

Verse John 19:9. _WHENCE ART THOU?_] This certainly does not mean, From what _country_ art thou? for Pilate knew this well enough; but it appears he made this inquiry to know who were the parents of Christ; what were his pretensions, and whether he really were a _demigod_, such as the heathens believed in. To this question ve find our Lord gave no answer. He had already told him that his kingdom was not of this world; and that he came to erect a spiritual kingdom, not a temporal one: John 18:36. This answer he deemed sufficient; and he did not choose to satisfy a criminal curiosity, nor to enter then into any debate concerning the absurdity of the heathen worship....

WHENCE ART THOU? - See the notes at John 7:27. Pilate knew that he was a Galilean, but this question was asked to ascertain whether he claimed to be the Son of God - whether a mere man, or whether divine. JESUS GAVE HIM NO ANSWER - Probably for the following reasons: * Jesus had already told Pilate Jesus’ design, and the nature of his kingdom, John 18:36. * Jesus had said enough to satisfy Pilate of Jesus’ innocence. Of that Pilate was convinced. Pilate’s duty was clear, and if he had had firmness to do it, he would not have asked this. Jesus, by his silence, therefore rebuked Pilate for his lack of firmness, and his unwillingness to do what his conscience told him was right. * It is not probable that Pilate would have

EXPOSITION JOHN 19:1 (d) [Within the Praetorium.] The unjust scourging, and the crown of thorns. JOHN 19:1 Then PILATE THEREFORE TOOK JESUS, AND SCOURGED HIM. The force of the "therefore" may be seen in the foregoing observations (see especially Luke 23:23). He obviously fancied that the sight of their victim's utter humiliation, his reduction to the lowest possible position, would sate their burning rage. Scourging was the ordinary preliminary of crucifixion, and it might be regarded as Pilate's verdict, or the conclusion of the whole matter. Roman and Greek historians confirm the custom (Josephus, 'Ant.,'...

AND WENT AGAIN INTO THE JUDGMENT HALL,.... From whence he came out, taking Jesus along with him, in order to interrogate him alone upon this head: AND SAITH UNTO JESUS, WHENCE ART THOU? meaning not of what country he was, for he knew he was of the nation of the Jews; nor in what place he was born, whether at Bethlehem or at Nazareth, for this was no concern of his; but from whence he sprung, who were his ancestors, and whether his descent was from the gods, or from men; and if from the former, from which of them; for as Pilate was an Heathen, he must be supposed to speak as such: BUT JESUS GAVE HIM NO ANSWER; for his question was frivolous, and deserved none; and besides, he was not worthy of one, who had used him so ill, when he knew, in his own conscience, that he was innocent; nor was he capable of taking in an answer, or able to judge whether it was right or wrong; and since Christ...

John 19:1. _Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. And said, Hail, King of the Jews!_ Just as they were gathered to say, «Ave Imperator» «Hail emperor» so imitating that word which they applied to Caesar. and applying it to Jesus in mockery. «King of the Jews,» the utmost scorn was thrown into the last word, «of the Jews.» There had been a general tradition that there should arise among the Jews a king who would subdue the nations, and the Romans jested at the very thought that they should be conquered by the leader of such a despised race as the Jews, and so they said, «King of the Jews.» John 19:3. And they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and s

CHAPTER 19 _ 1. Behold the Man! (John 19:1 .)_ 2. The Last Question of Pilate and Christ's Last Word. (John 19:8 .) 3. Delivered up and Crucified. (John 19:12 .) 4. The Title upon the Cross. (John 19:19 .) 5. The Parted Garments. (John 19:23 .) 6. Behold Thy Son! Behold Thy Mother! (John 19:25 .) 7. It is Finished! (John 19:28 .) 8. His Legs not B

PILATE GIVES WAY TO THE JEWS. Pilate's next attempt is to persuade the Jews to be content with a lighter penalty than crucifixion. The prisoner is not dangerous enough, even to the religious authorities of the nation, to make the extreme penalty necessary. Scourging will meet the case. It was the usual preliminary of the Roman punishment of crucifixion, and in the Synoptic account it is recorded only after the sentence has been pronounced. _Cf.,_ however, Luke 23:16; Luke 23:22, where Pilate suggests it as a sufficient punishment. The soldiers obey orders, and, visibly interpreting the governor's wishes, add mockery to the scourging, making sport of the claimant to a kingdom, and perhaps of Jewish sovereignty _in_ general. The other gospels record mockery, after the Jewish trial, of the prisoner as a disc