John Calvin Commentary Matthew 27:11

"Now 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." — Matthew 27:11 (ASV)

Now Jesus stood before the governor. Though it was a shocking exhibition, and highly incompatible with the majesty of the Son of God—to be dragged before the judgment-seat of a profane man, to be tried on the charge of a capital offense, as a malefactor in chains—yet we should remember that our salvation consists in the doctrine of the cross, which is

folly to the Greeks, and an offense to the Jews,
(1 Corinthians 1:23).

For the Son of God chose to stand bound before an earthly judge, and there to receive the sentence of death,²⁵³ so that we, delivered from condemnation, may not fear to approach freely the heavenly throne of God. If, therefore, we consider what advantage we reap from Christ having been tried before Pilate, the disgrace of so unworthy a subjection will be immediately washed away. And certainly, none are offended at the condemnation of Christ,²⁵⁴ except those who are either proud hypocrites, or stupid and gross despisers of God, who are not ashamed of their own iniquity.

So then, the Son of God stood, as a criminal, before a mortal man, and there permitted himself to be accused and condemned, so that we may stand boldly before God. His enemies, indeed, endeavored to fasten everlasting infamy upon him; but we should rather look to the purpose to which the providence of God directs us. For if we remember how dreadful the judgment-seat of God is, and that we could never have been acquitted there unless Christ had been pronounced guilty on earth, we shall never be ashamed of glorying in his chains.

Again, whenever we hear that Christ stood before Pilate with a sad and dejected countenance, let us draw from it grounds of confidence, so that, relying on him as our intercessor, we may come into the presence of God with joy and alacrity. To the same purpose is what immediately follows: He did not answer him a single word. Christ was silent while the priests were pressing upon him on every side; and it was so that he might open our mouths by his silence. For from this arises that distinguished privilege of which Paul speaks in such magnificent terms (Romans 8:15), that we can boldly cry, Abba, Father; to which I shall refer again immediately.

Are you the King of the Jews? Although they attempted to overwhelm Christ with many and various accusations, it is still probable that they maliciously seized on the title of King to excite greater odium against him on Pilate’s part. For this reason, Luke expressly represents them as saying, We have found him subverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he is the Christ, A King. Nothing could have been more odious to Pilate than this crime, as his greatest anxiety was to preserve the kingdom in a state of quietness.

From the Evangelist John, we learn that he was accused on various grounds; but it is evident from the whole of the narrative that this was the chief ground of accusation. Similarly, even at the present day, Satan labors to expose the Gospel to hatred or suspicion on this plea, as if Christ, by erecting his kingdom, were overturning all the governments of the world and destroying the authority of kings and magistrates. Kings too are, for the most part, so fiercely haughty that they consider it impossible for Christ to reign without some reduction of their own power; and, therefore, they always listen favorably to such an accusation as that which was once brought unjustly against Christ.

On this account Pilate, laying aside all the other points, attends chiefly to the sedition, because if he had ascertained that Christ had in any way disturbed the public peace, he would gladly have condemned him without delay. This is the reason why he asks him about the kingdom.

According to the three Evangelists, Christ’s answer is ambiguous. However, we learn from John (John 18:36) that Christ openly acknowledged the fact alleged against him, while at the same time vindicating himself from all criminality by denying that he was an earthly king. But as he did not intend to take pains to vindicate himself, as criminals usually do, the Evangelists recorded a doubtful reply—as if they had said that he did not deny that he was a king, but that he indirectly pointed out the calumny his enemies unjustly brought against him.

²⁵³ “Et là estre traitté comme un criminel digne de mort;” — “and there to be reated as a criminal worthy of death.”;” — “and there to be reated as a criminal worthy of death.”

²⁵⁴ “De la condamnation à laquelle Christ s’est soumis;” — “at the condemnation to which Christ submitted.”;” — “at the condemnation to which Christ submitted.”