A.T. Robertson Commentary


A.T. Robertson Commentary
"Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?" — John 18:33 (ASV)
Again (παλιν). Back into the palace where Pilate was before.
Called (εφωνησεν). First aorist active indicative of φωνεω. Jesus was already inside the court (verse 28). Pilate now summoned him to his presence since he saw that he had to handle the case. The charge that Jesus claimed to be a king compelled him to do so (Luke 23:2).
Art thou the King of the Jews? (συ ε ο βασιλευς των Ιουδαιων; ). This was the vital problem and each of the Gospels has the question (Matthew 27:1; Luke 23:3; John 18:33), though Luke alone (23:2) gives the specific accusation.
Thou (συ). Emphatic. Jesus did claim to be the spiritual king of Israel as Nathanael said (John 1:49) and as the ecstatic crowd hailed him on the Triumphal Entry (John 12:13), but the Sanhedrin wish Pilate to understand this in a civil sense as a rival of Caesar as some of the Jews wanted Jesus to be (John 6:15) and as the Pharisees expected the Messiah to be.