John Calvin Commentary John 19:10

"Pilate therefore saith unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee?" — John 19:10 (ASV)

Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee? This shows that the dread that had suddenly seized Pilate was transitory and had no solid root; for now, forgetting all fear, he breaks out into haughty and monstrous contempt of God. He threatens Christ, as if there were no Judge in heaven. But this is what must always happen with irreligious men: shaking off the fear of God, they quickly return to their natural disposition.

From this we also infer that it is not without good reason that the heart of man is called deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), for, though some fear of God may dwell in it, mere impiety also comes from it. Whoever, then, is not regenerated by the Spirit of God, though he may pretend for a time to reverence the majesty of God, will quickly show by contrary actions that this fear was hypocritical.

Again, we see in Pilate an image of a proud man, who is driven to madness by his ambition; for, when he wishes to exalt his power, he deprives himself of all praise and reputation for justice. He acknowledges that Christ is innocent, and therefore he makes himself no better than a robber when he boasts that he has power to cut his throat!

Thus, wicked consciences, in which faith and the true knowledge of God do not reign, must necessarily be agitated, and there must be within them various feelings of the flesh, which contend with each other. In this manner, God takes signal vengeance on the pride of men when they go beyond their limits to claim for themselves infinite power.

By condemning themselves for injustice, they stamp on themselves the greatest reproach and disgrace. No blindness, therefore, is greater than that of pride; and we need not wonder, since pride feels the hand of God, against which it strikes, to be armed with vengeance. Let us therefore remember that we ought not rashly to indulge in foolish boastings, lest we expose ourselves to ridicule; and especially that those who occupy a high rank ought to conduct themselves modestly and not be ashamed of being subject to God and his laws.