Church Fathers Commentary John 18:28-32

"They lead Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium: and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evildoer, we should not have delivered him up unto thee. Pilate therefore said unto them, Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law. The Jews said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should die." — John 18:28-32 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Evangelist returns to the point where he had left off to relate Peter’s denial. He says they then led Jesus to Caiaphas, to the hall of judgment—that is, to Caiaphas from his colleague and father-in-law Annas, as has been said. But if they led Him to Caiaphas, how could it be to the praetorium, which was the place where the governor, Pilate, resided?

The Venerable Bede: The praetorium is the place where the praetor sat. Praetors were also called prefects and preceptors because they issue decrees.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Perhaps, then, for some urgent reason, Caiaphas proceeded from the house of Annas (where both had been sitting) to the governor's praetorium, leaving Jesus to be questioned by his father-in-law. Or perhaps Pilate had established his praetorium in the house of Caiaphas, which was large enough to provide separate lodging for both its owner and the governor.

According to Matthew, When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. But He was supposed to have been led to Caiaphas first. How is it, then, that He was brought to him so late? The truth is, He was now being treated as a condemned criminal, since Caiaphas had already determined He should die. He was therefore to be handed over to Pilate immediately.

St. John Chrysostom: He was led to Caiaphas before the rooster crowed, but to Pilate early in the morning. By this, the Evangelist shows that the entire night of examination ended with nothing proven against Him, and that He was sent to Pilate as a result. But leaving what happened then to the other Evangelists, John proceeds to what followed.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The text says, And they themselves went not into the judgment hall—that is, into the part of the house that Pilate occupied, assuming it was Caiaphas's house. The reason they did not enter is explained next: lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.

St. John Chrysostom: For the Jews were then celebrating the Passover. He Himself had celebrated it one day before, reserving His own death for the sixth day, the day on which the old Passover was kept. Or, perhaps, "the Passover" here refers to the entire festival season.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The days of unleavened bread were beginning, and during this time, it was considered a defilement to enter the house of a Gentile.

Alcuin of York: Strictly speaking, the Passover was the fourteenth day of the month, the day on which the lamb was killed in the evening. The seven days following were called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, during which nothing leavened was to be found in their houses. Yet we find the day of the Passover included among the days of unleavened bread, as in Matthew: Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And here, similarly, the text says, that they might eat the passover. In this context, "the Passover" signifies not the sacrifice of the lamb, which took place on the evening of the fourteenth day, but the great festival celebrated on the fifteenth day, after the lamb was sacrificed. Our Lord, like the other Jews, kept the Passover on the fourteenth day. On the fifteenth day, when the great festival was held, He was crucified. His sacrifice, however, began on the fourteenth day, from the time He was arrested in the garden.

St. Augustine of Hippo: O, what impious blindness! They feared being defiled by the judgment hall of a foreign governor, yet they did not fear to shed the blood of an innocent brother. Their blindness prevented them from knowing that the One they killed was the Lord and Giver of life.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Pilate, however, proceeds in a more gentle way: Pilate then went out unto them.

The Venerable Bede: It was the custom of the Jews, when they condemned anyone to death, to notify the governor by delivering the man to him, bound.

St. John Chrysostom: Pilate, however, seeing Him bound and being led by such a large crowd, supposed that they did not have unquestionable evidence against Him. He therefore proceeded to ask the question: And said, What accusation bring ye against this man? For it was absurd, he thought, for them to take the trial out of his hands and yet expect him to administer the punishment. In reply, they brought forward no positive charge, but only their own assumptions: They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Ask those freed from unclean spirits, the blind who saw, the dead who came to life again, and—what is greater than all—the foolish who were made wise, and let them answer whether Jesus was a malefactor. But these accusers were the ones of whom He had prophesied in the Psalms: They rewarded me evil for good.

But is this account not contradictory to Luke’s, which mentions specific charges? And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. According to John, the Jews seem to have been unwilling to bring actual charges, hoping that Pilate would condemn Him simply on their authority, asking no questions and taking it for granted that He must be guilty if they handed Him over.

Both accounts, however, are compatible. Each Evangelist only includes what he considers sufficient. And John’s account does imply that some charges had been made when it records Pilate’s answer: Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law.

Theophylact of Ohrid: It is as if Pilate were saying, "Since you will only accept a trial that suits you, and you are so proud—as if you never do anything profane—take Him yourselves and condemn Him. I will not be made a judge for such a purpose."

Alcuin of York: Or, it is as if he said, "You who have the law know what the law judges concerning such matters; do what you know to be just."

St. Augustine of Hippo: But did the law not command them not to spare malefactors, especially deceivers, which is what they thought Him to be? We must understand them, however, to mean that the holiness of the festival they were beginning to celebrate made it unlawful for them to put any man to death. Have you, then, so lost your understanding through your wickedness that you think yourselves free from the pollution of innocent blood simply because you deliver it to be shed by another?

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, they were not allowed by Roman law to put anyone to death themselves. Or, when Pilate said, "Judge Him according to your law," they replied, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death, because His sin was not a Jewish one; He had not sinned according to their law. His offense was political: He called Himself a King. Or perhaps they wanted Him crucified to add infamy to His death, since they were not allowed to carry out that form of execution themselves. They did put people to death in other ways, as we see in the stoning of Stephen. This was so that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. This was fulfilled in that He was crucified, or in that He was put to death by Gentiles as well as by Jews.

St. Augustine of Hippo: As we read in Mark: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles. Pilate was a Roman, sent from Rome to govern Judea. Therefore, so that this saying of Jesus might be fulfilled—that is, that He might be delivered to and killed by the Gentiles—they would not accept Pilate’s offer, but said, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.