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JOHN 19:12 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
John 19:11John 19:13
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cesar.
From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, 'If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Everyone who claims to be a king is an enemy of Caesar.' — The leaders' political pressure on Pilate intensifies: releasing one claiming kingship makes Pilate disloyal to Rome (hos philen tou Kaisaros, friend of Caesar). The threat is real: Pilate, already reputed unstable and on probation with Rome (per Philo), cannot afford accusations of treason. The irony: by demanding Jesus' death on political grounds, they sacrifice the innocent and commit the true offense—rejecting God's kingdom.

Church Fathers on John 19:12

And went again into the judgment hall, and says to Jesus, Where are you? He no longer asks, What hast you done? But Jesus gave him no answer. For he who had heard, To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, and, My kingdom is not from here ought to have resisted, and rescued Him, instead of which he had yielded to the fury of the Jews. Wherefore seeing that he asked questions without object, He answers him no more indeed at other times He was unwilling…

Chrysostom · 4th century · Pilate, agitated with fear, begins again examining Him

In comparing the accounts of the different Evangelists together, we find that this silence was maintained more than once; viz. before the High Priest, before Herod, and before Pilate. So that the prophecy of Him, As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so opened He not His mouth was amply fulfilled. To many indeed of the questions put to, He did reply, but where He did not reply, this comparison of the sheep shows us that His was not a silence of guilt, but of innocence; not…

Augustine · 4th century

He that delivered Me to you, i.e. Judas, or the multitude. When Jesus had boldly replied, that unless He gave Himself up, and the Father consented, Pilate could have had no power over Him, Pilate was the more anxious to release Him; And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him.

Theophylact · 11th century
Read all 21 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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