Saint John - Chapter 19
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| Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. J-J Tissot |
When Pilate therefore had heard this saying, he feared the more.
[9] Et ingressus est praetorium iterum : et dixit ad Jesum : Unde es tu? Jesus autem responsum non dedit ei.
And he entered into the hall again, and he said to Jesus: Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
[10] Dicit ergo ei Pilatus : Mihi non loqueris? nescis quia potestatem habeo crucifigere te, et potestatem habeo dimittere te?
Pilate therefore saith to him: Speakest thou not to me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee?
[11] Respondit Jesus : Non haberes potestatem adversum me ullam, nisi tibi datum esset desuper. Propterea qui me tradidit tibi, majus peccatum habet.
Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore, he that hath delivered me to thee, hath the greater sin.
Thou wouldest have no power against Me, unless it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered Me unto thee hath the greater sin. The best explanation of this passage is that of Jansenius, Cajetan, and Ribera. Thou couldest have no power over Me, both because I am innocent, and because I could deliver Myself, if I so willed; But My Father willed that I should submit to thee, in order to do the work of redemption, and accordingly permitted thee to give way to the Jews in this matter, and to exercise thy power over Me. But this thou wouldest not have done, unless they had accused Me. Their sin is therefore greater than thine.
[12] Et exinde quaerebat Pilatus dimittere eum. Judaei autem clamabant dicentes : Si hunc dimittis, non es amicus Caesaris. Omnis enim qui se regem facit, contradicit Caesari.
And from henceforth Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying: If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend. For whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar.
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him. He had sought to do so before. But he now more especially did so, after he had heard that He was the Son of God; fearing to incur the vengeance of God on condemning Him. The fear of Cæsar, however, prevailed over the fear of God. The Gentiles reckoned many sons of the gods, whom they worshipped as demigods. See S. Cyril in loc.
From The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by J-J Tissot (1897)
All the efforts of Pilate to save Jesus have proved vain, and he can no longer shut his eyes to what the Jews are aiming at. He goes back once more to the Praetorium, where he finds himself alone with the Accused. Now the more Jesus suffers the more wonderful does His silent self-possession appear to the Roman governor, and the greater becomes the uneasiness of Pilate the more painful are the reproaches of his conscience. He wants to talk with the Prisoner to penetrate into the mystery in which His personality is shrouded, and he tries to enter into conversation with Him by asking Him where He came from, saying: "Whence art thou?" But Jesus gave him no answer, and when Pilate tried to intimidate Him by saying: "Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and the power to release thee?" He received a reply so lofty that his admiration was excited to the highest point, and he felt compelled to do his very utmost to rescue the dignified Sufferer from the hands of His enemies.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam
Ad Jesum per Mariam
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