John 19:15

But they The true text gives. They therefore, with the pronoun of opposition (ekeinoi) in harmony with their cry. They will have nothing to do with such a king.

Shall I Or, must I. There is a strong emphasis on -King," which stands first in the original. Pilate begins (John 18:33) and ends with the same idea, the one dangerous item in the indictment, the claim of Jesus to be King of the Jews.

The chief priests This depth of degradation was reserved for them. "The official organs of the theocracy themselves proclaim that they have abandoned the faith by which the nation had lived." Sooner than acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah they proclaim that a heathen Emperor is their King. And their baseness is at once followed by Pilate's: sooner than meet a dangerous charge he condemns the innocent to death.