JOHN 18:39 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?”
But you have a custom that I should release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?' — Pilate's appeal to Passover amnesty (perhaps historically dubious but dramatically effective) offers Jesus' release. The mockingly formal title "the king of the Jews" from Pilate's mouth—echoing the leaders' charge—suggests the governor's recognition of the charge's inherent irony. The custom provides a legal exit from the judicial impasse.
Church Fathers on John 18:39
After Pilate had asked, What is truth? he remembered a custom of the Jews, of releasing one prisoner at the passover, and did not wait for Christ’s answer, for fear to losing this chance of saving Him, which he much wished to do. And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews.
He knew that this question required time to answer, and it was necessary immediately to rescue Him from the fury of the Jews. So he went out.
Or, he did not wait to hear the reply, because he was unworthy to hear.
Read all 10 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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