** Pilate Talks With Jesus and Gives In to the Jews **

Pilate then went back inside the palace,
summoned Jesus and asked Him,
"Are You the king of the Jews?"

"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked,
"or did others talk to you about Me?"

"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied.
"It was Your people and Your chief priests
who handed You over to me.
What is it You have done?"

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world.
If it were, My servants would fight
to prevent My arrest by the Jews.
But now My kingdom is from another place."

"You are a king, then!"  said Pilate.

Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a King.
In fact, for this reason I was born,
and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me."

"What is truth?"  Pilate asked.
With this he went out again to the Jews and said,
"I find no basis for a charge against Him.
But it is your custom for me to release to you
one prisoner at the time of the Passover.
Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?"

They shouted back, "No, not Him!  Give us Barabbas!"
Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged.
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns
and put it on His head.
They clothed Him in a purple robe
and went up to Him again and again, saying,
"Hail, king of the Jews!"
And they struck Him in the face.

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews,
"Look, I am bringing Him out to you
to let you know
that I find no basis for a charge against Him"
When Jesus came out
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe,
Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"

As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw Him,
they shouted, "Crucify!  Crucify!"

But Pilate answered, "You take Him and crucify Him.
As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him"

The Jews insisted, "We have a law,
and according to that law He must die,
because He claimed to be the Son of God."

When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,
and he went back inside the palace.
"Where do You come from?" he asked Jesus,
but Jesus gave him no answer.
"Do You refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said.
"Don't you realize I have power
either to free You or to crucify You?"

Jesus answered, "You would have no power over Me
if it were not given to you from above.
Therefore the one who handed Me over to you
is guilty of a greater sin."

From then, Pilate tried to set Jesus free,
but the Jews kept shouting,
"If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar.
Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."

When Pilate heard this,
he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat
at a place known as the Stone Pavement
(which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).
It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week,
about the sixth hour.

"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.

But they shouted, "Take Him away!  Take Him away!
Crucify Him!"

"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.

"We have no king but Caesar,"
the chief priests answered.

Finally Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified.

(John 18:33-40; 19:1-16)