John 18:33

‘Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium and called Jesus and said to Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” '

This statement demonstrates that more had been said than John has revealed. But this after all is what we would expect. What is therefore clear is that the Judaisers had pointed out that their bringing Him to Pilate was on the basis that He had been claiming to be the King of the Jews (compare Luke 23:2). They hoped that that was something that would make Pilate sit up, for they knew that he would be aware, vaguely, of the Jewish idea of a King Messiah who would remove the Romans. And to claim royal authority without Roman permission was a serious matter. So Pilate put the question, ‘are you the king of the Jews?' in order to see what reaction he would receive so that he could judge for himself. No doubt he expected a ranting reply or sullen silence from this bound sad-looking figure.