Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”
Pilate has just asked whether Jesus is the King of the Jews. Instead of a plain yes or no, Jesus answers with a question. It forces two things into the open: where the charge came from, and whether Pilate cares about the answer himself.
Why a Question Instead of an Answer
Everything in the trial turns on which of the two Pilate admits to. Each one would call for a different answer from Jesus.
William KellyHe was silent before the high priest until the high priest put Him on oath by the living God. Then He answered Pilate with a question: "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?" (verses 33, 34). This was the turning point. Was the governor uneasy about the rights and interests of Caesar? Then the Lord could have pointed to His consistent life, as in John 6:15, and to His unchanging teaching, as in Luke 20:25. That would have been a perfect disproof and reassurance. But the question came, as it really did, from the Jews (Luke 23:2). So the Lord had nothing to say but the truth in the face of Israel's unbelief and contradiction. He had nothing to do but bear witness to the "good confession" before Pontius Pilate (1 Tim. 6:13). And this He does with all simplicity.
What Pilate Was Hoping For
Pilate wanted to save Jesus, but not at the cost of his own standing with Caesar. His question offered the prisoner a way out. The Lord's question asks instead where the charge began.
J. G. BellettPilate would have saved Jesus, if he could at the same time have saved his own reputation as Caesar's friend. The Jews had handed the Lord over to him on a charge of having made Himself a King (Luke 23:2). So if he could only get the Lord to withdraw these royal claims, he could both save Him and keep himself out of harm... Our Lord by this question wanted to learn from Pilate himself where the accusation against Him came from. Was Pilate challenging His claim to be King of the Jews as the protector of the emperor's rights in Judea? Or was it only a charge brought by the Jews?
The Trial Itself Put on Trial
The question also names what has already gone wrong in this court. Someone had already told the judge lies about the prisoner.
Hamilton SmithThe Lord replies, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?" In this way the Lord lets Pilate know that, against all justice, others had slandered Him to the judge.
The Question Turned Back on Pilate
Jesus is the accused, yet He is the one examining. His words separate honest inquiry from repeating what others say. Pilate's answer shows which side he is on.
J T MawsonIn the Lord's answer we see no effort to win the judge's favour. We see instead a note of divine pity for him. "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?" It was the old question, and the greatest of all questions a man can face: "What do you think of Christ?" Did Pilate want to know? Did his question come from a real desire to know the truth about this striking prisoner? Or was he repeating what he had heard, with no personal interest in the matter? The question brought out what was in him. "Am I a Jew?" he cries... So men look at Christ. Who He may be is to them only a question of religion, a question for theologians, of no personal interest to them.
What Pilate's Answer Settled
Pilate's reply names the nation and the chief priests as the ones who handed Him over. That answer becomes the world's own record that Israel refused its King. It also explains why the kingdom Jesus goes on to confess is not from here.
J. G. BellettNow this answer of Pilate gave full proof of the guilt of Israel. The man who represented the power of the world at that time settled the matter: Israel had disowned their King and sold themselves into the hands of a stranger. For the present this was everything with Jesus. It at once carried Him beyond the earth and out of the world. For Israel had rejected Him, and His kingdom was therefore not now from here.
Summary
- Turning point. His question decides what the case needs. If Caesar's rights were at stake, His life and teaching would answer it. Since the charge came from Israel, He answered with the truth.
- Motive exposed. Pilate's question offered a way out. If the prisoner dropped the claim, the governor could save Him and keep his own standing with Caesar.
- Justice exposed. Others had already slandered the Lord to the very man who was meant to try Him.
- The man exposed. Of your own accord, or from others? That is the greatest question anyone faces about Christ. Pilate's "Am I a Jew?" shows he had no personal interest at all.
- The verdict recorded. Pilate's own words show the nation disowned its King. That is why the kingdom Jesus then confesses is not from here.