Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “ It is as you say.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Now Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “So you say.”
- KJV And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
- BSB Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
- NASB Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”
- NLT Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him. Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Pilate asks whether Jesus is the King of the Jews, and Jesus affirms it guardedly: 'So you say.' He acknowledges His kingship without endorsing Pilate's political assumptions.
Overview
The Roman trial opens with the politically charged question of kingship, the charge most likely to alarm Pilate. Jesus' measured reply affirms the truth that He is King while not conceding the rebellious sense Pilate might infer. His kingdom, as John records, is not of this world, yet He truly reigns as the Messiah-King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Mark 15:2–5Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered, “So you say.”
- Luke 23:2–3They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting the nation, forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”
- Matt 26:25Judas, who betrayed him, answered, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You said it.”
- John 18:29–38Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
- Matt 26:64Jesus said to him, “You have said it. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky.”
- Matt 2:2“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
- Mark 14:62Jesus said, “I am. You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of the sky.”
- Matt 10:25It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!
- Matt 10:18Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations.
- 1 Tim 6:13I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 27:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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