Jesus had prophesied not only His death, but His crucifixion, and this could only be fulfilled by His being delivered to the Romans, for the Jewish penalty for blasphemy was stoning (John 8:59; John 10:31; Acts 7:59).

33- 38a. Within the Prætorium. Pilate and Christ. With the exception of Pilate's first question, all is peculiar to St. John. With Roman directness Pilate goes straight to the point: Has Jesus any political designs? His words, 'Am I a Jew?' show his contempt for the Jews, and his question, 'What is truth?' echoes the flippant (but perhaps only superficial) scepticism of polite circles in Rome.

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