The passage
      v28. Having perpetrated a travesty of justice in a hastily convened and most likely illegal trial, the Jewish authorities now look to Rome to administer the death penalty. Note how John makes a point of describing the ritual sensitivities of the Jews as against their willingness to murder an innocent man.
      v29-30. The Jewish authorities had obviously expected a stamped approval of their charge against Jesus, but Pilate sets about to retry him. They are not amused.
      v31. Pilate knows well enough that under Roman law, the Jews may only execute someone who has defiled the temple. They couldn't prove this charge against Jesus and so were left with blasphemy. Of course, the charge they have presented to Pilate is one of treason. Pilate's words are a sacastic reminder of Israel's legal impotence.
      v32. John identifies the divine hand behind the inability of the Jews to execute Jesus. Under Roman law, Jesus would be "lifted up", while under Jewish law he would be stoned.
      v33. Here we see the substance of the politically slanted charge laid against Jesus. It is very easy to describe the long-awaited deliverer-king in the terms of a revolutionary terrorist, although Pilate obviously finds it hard to believe that this wondering rabbi is a terrorist. The "you" is probably emphatic; "am I supposed to believe that you are this king?"
      v34. Jesus gives an offhanded reply. He is really not interested in defending a trumped-up charge. The die is cast, so what's the point? "So did you work this out for yourself or are you just mouthing what the Jewish authorities have told you?"
      v35. Pilate's reply is quite possibly a genuine expression of ignorance, along with a desire to hear Jesus' defence.
      v36. Jesus complies by pointing out that his kingship is spiritual, not political. If it were political, his followers would have fought to resist his arrest. His kingly reign does not intersect with Roman authority.
      v37. "So then, after all, you are a king." The NIV has Jesus responding in the affirmative, but his response is more likely ambivalent: "It is you who are calling me a king." Not that Jesus isn't a king, rather it's not a title he would choose. As the deliverer-king, Jesus enters the world to proclaim a truth that has the power to eternally gather a people into the presence of the living God. Those who seek the truth, find it in Jesus.
      v38a. "Truth, what is that?" The conversation has become far too spiritual for Pilate, so he ends the exchange with a throwaway line.
      v38b-39. Pilate has heard the evidence and declares Jesus "not guilty." Instead of defying the Jewish authorities and setting Jesus free, Pilate attempts an expedient ploy by offering freedom to Israel's deliverer-king through the annual amnesty, but it backfires.
      v40. "They", the Jewish authorities and the temple guards, but quite possibly by now some onlookers ("crowd" - synoptic gospels), call for the release of a real terrorist, instead of an innocent rabbi.

Christ the king of the Jews
      The church has often looked to Christ to wield his sword in defence of his people. In the face of man-made or natural disasters, right through to the inroads of secularism, the church has looked to the mighty hand of Christ the king. The trouble is, Christ's reign doesn't intersect with much of the stuff of this age.
      Of course, there are times when Christ's reign does intersect, but often not at the points where we would expect it.
        i] Christ is a king of a kingdom not of this world; a kingdom that does not belong here. Jesus' words to Pilate serve to explain that Christ's kingdom is not a political entity as is the Roman empire. It is certainly here, it does exist in this age and does impact on our age. Saint Augustine wrote that Christ's "kingdom is here till the end of time .... but does not belong here because it is in the world as a pilgrim."
        So, Christ is a king of a kingdom that is in the world, but not of the world.
        ii] Christ is a king who reigns through God's word; a word heard and believed. Where in the world does this pilgrim entity intersect with human existence? Jesus said he "came into the world to testify to the truth." God's revelation proclaimed, in particular the gospel, is where Christ's kingdom intersects with our world. Those who hear the word and believe the word, are changed, become a force for change, and are delivered into the presence of the living God.
        So, Christ is a king who reigns, not by power or might, but by the Spirit inspired word of God.

      We members of this pilgrim society do not always sit easily with the consequences of our not belonging to the world. I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who, in his book "The Cost of Discipleship", proclaimed an ethic of "turn the other cheek", but then became involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler. How often have we resorted to marketing strategies designed to build our church when we know that the word gathers and builds God's new society? So pilgrims we are, founded on the gospel.

v29
      exhlqen (ercomai) .... exw "came out" - came forth .... outside. Only John has a to and fro dealing with the Jews outside and Jesus inside. The synoptics imply that Jesus is tried outside, before the crowd.
      tina kathgorian ferete "what charges are you bringing?" - what charges do you bring? Here, the interrogative pronoun is also used as a modifier, giving the sense, "what sort of accusation do you bring?" Pilate seems set to bring Jesus to a new trial, rather than rubber stamp a judgment of the Jewish authorities.

v30
      ei mh hn ouJtoV kakon poiwn "if he were not a criminal" - if this man were not one doing evil. Periphrastic construction of the imperfect of the verb "to be" with a present participle, modified by the adjective "evil", and governing the noun "this man." The Jewish authorities are not impressed that Pilate is ignoring their condemnation of Jesus. "'He's a criminal! That's why we brought him to you", CEV.
      paredwkamen (paradidwmi) "handed him over" - betray. John used this word for Judas, and now for the Jews.

v31
      krinate (krinw) aor. imp. "judge" - It is likely Pilate is being sarcastic here, in response to the Jew's affront in v30. Pilate knows the Jews have already found Jesus guilty, and that they don't have the authority to put him to death. "Try him by your own law", Barclay.
      apokteinai (apokteinw) aor. inf. "to execute" - to kill. Interestingly, the Jewish authorities did have the right to execute someone who defiled the temple (eg. Stephen), and this is most likely why they tried to pin Jesus down on his prophecies concerning temple, but couldn't find the required agreement between the witnesses as to what Jesus had actually said. So, they were left with the charge of blasphemy for which they needed Roman authorization to carry out an execution.

v32
      "This happened" - Supplied for meaning, in line with many translators who form v32 as a single sentence, cf. TEV. None-the-less, following the Greek still works well, cf. CEV.
      iJna + subj. "so that .... [would be fulfilled]" - that [the words of Jesus might be fulfilled]. Forming a consequential (result) clause. John identifies the divine hand behind the inability of the Jews to execute Jesus. At the hand of the Jews, Jesus would be stoned to death, but with the Romans he will be "lifted up", crucified. Beasley-Murray suggests that the Jews wanted Jesus crucified rather than stoned, so as to underline the truth that "anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse", but the text does not give this latitude. "And so what Jesus said about his death would soon come true", CEV.
      . shmainwn (shmainw) "indicating" - signifying [by what death he was about to die]. Participle, possibly expressing purpose, but more likely attendant circumstances. "By saying this they made it certain that Jesus statement foretelling how he would die would come true", Barclay.

v33
      palin adv. "again" - There are a number of textual variants here indicating that there is confusion as to where Jesus is and what Pilate's movements are.
      su ei oJ basileuV twn Ioudaiwn "are you the king of the Jews?" - It seems unlikely that the term "king of the Jews" would refer to the existing royal rule in Israel. It is possible that the "you" is emphatic and Pilate is employing sarcasm. It is likely that the term was used of the long-awaited deliverer of Israel, a national Jewish aspiration that the Roman authorities would be well aware of.

v34
      apo seautou su touto legeiV "is that your own idea" - from yourself you say this. This answer to Pilate's question is the limit of Jesus' response in the synoptics, and interestingly, the NIV makes the answer direct, although it is certainly not direct. A "whatever you think" is probably a better way to capture the sense. If Pilate genuinely wants to know the truth about Jesus, then Jesus is willing to tell him, but if it's just a matter of legal games, then Jesus is really not interested getting into it. So, the response is probably sarcastic; "So did you work this out for yourself, or are you just mouthing what the Jewish authorities have told you?"

v35
      mhti - Denoting that the question expects a negative answer
      egw IoudaioV eimi "Am I a Jew" - Possibly an indigent, even contemptuous response, indicating that Pilate has no interest in such an absurd claim. Haenchen argues that Pilate's response is factual. Since he is not a religious Jew, he has no knowledge of Jesus' identification with a deliverer-king, other than what the Jewish authorities have told him. If this is the case, Pilate is genuinely asking Jesus to defend himself, but is this likely? "Are you my king?" Carson.

v36
      Note, Jesus does not defend himself by answering the question "what have you done?" It does seem that Jesus answers the question asked in v33. The fact that Jesus now answers the question, possibly ndicates that he considers Pilate's enquiry is genuine.
      hJ basileia hJ emh ouk estin ek tou kosmou "my kingdom is not of this world" - the kingdom of me is not of this world. Jesus' answer is for Pilate, the Roman governor of Palestine. Jesus seeks to establish that his role, as deliverer-king, is spiritual and not political and is therefore, not a threat to Roman rule. Jesus supports this claim with evidence. If he was a political leader, his followers would have violently resisted his arrest; they did not do so. Given the context of the statement, it is dangerous to develop a complex theology on the extent of God's reign on earth. God's reign, his kingship, is spiritual, but that doesn't make it is any less real, nor does it imply it is not here and now and greatly affecting the world through the changed lives of those who recognize Christ's kingly rule. Beasley-Murray makes the point "that Jesus' statement should not be misconstrued as meaning that his kingdom is not active in this world, or has nothing to do with this world." Augustine argued that "his kingdom is here till the end of time .... but does not belong here because it is in the world as a pilgrim." Christ's reign in our hearts and lives, is in the world, but not of the world. "Mine is not a kingdom of this world", JB.
      oiJ uJphretai oiJ emoi "my servants" - the assistants of mine. John has already used the noun "servant" for the temple guards, indicating again that Jesus' words are particularly selected for Pilate's ears. Jesus' "guards" didn't take up arms to resist his arrest, and the one who did was told to sheathe his weapon. "Followers", CEV; "supporters", Barclay. hgwnizonto (agwnizomai) imperf. "would fight" - would have fought, strived. The imperfect carries the sense "continue to fight". The disciples did initially fight, well! one or two of them, but didn't continue to fight.
      iJna + subj. "to [prevent my arrest]" - in order [not to be handed over]. Expressing purpose, in the sense of "in order not to be handed over to the Jews." The Jews are the enemy, not the Romans. "To prevent my being handed over to the Jews", Phillips.
      nun de "but now" - yet now. Here the "now" is not temporal, but rather serves to reinforce the contrast of Christ's kingship, as it exists in reality ("now"), with that implied in Pilate's question in v33. The adversative sense needs to be emphasized, "but as it now stands." The NIV use of "now" is confusing in that it carries a temporal sense. Christ's reign does interact with this age, became incarnate in this age, although in the final analysis, the "kingdom does not belong here" (far better than the NIV "is from another place"). "The plain fact is that my kingdom does not belong to this realm of things", Barclay.
      enteuqen adv. "from another place" - to be of, from here, another side. "Belong"

v37
      oukoun (oun) "[you are a king], then!" - so then. This particular form of oun occurs only here in the New Testament. This conjunction is predominately inferential, but does sometimes carry a consecutive, emphatic or adversative sense. Moule, in his Idiom Book, looks in detail at this verse. He suggests it may be: resumptive, "well then, you are a king"; it may be negative, "are you not a king, then?"; but is likely inferential, "so then, after all, you are a king?" Westcott agrees.
      su legeiV oJti basilouV eimi "you are right in saying I am a king" - you say that I am a king. It is likely that this is John's parallel with the synoptic "you say so." Dodd slams the suggestion that Jesus is answering Pilate in the affirmative. The phrase is far more likely an adversative "you say that I am a king", or a qualification, "it is you who say it, not I." The title "king" is not one Jesus would choose himself. He is the deliverer-king, but happily avoids the title because it is bound to confuse. Jesus came into the world to "testify to the truth", to reveal the living God in his person and by this means save a people to himself. In this sense he is the deliverer-king, a sense which makes his kingdom not of this world. "To reveal the truth was a way of making subjects and of creating a kingdom", Lagrange. "It is you who are calling me a king", Barclay.
      gegennhmai (gennaw) .... elhluqa (ercomai) perf. "born ..... came" - have been born .... have come. John employs parallelism in establishing that the purpose of Jesus' birth / coming (hina + subj.) is not for kingship (certainly in earthly terms), but for proclamation. "The reason why I was born, and the reason why I came into the world, is to declare the truth", Barclay.
      wn ek thV alhqeiaV "on the side of truth - being of the truth. "The witness of Jesus to the truth can only be grasped by those who are themselves related to the truth", Barrett. Brown takes the line that "those who belong to the truth are the sheep given to Jesus by the Father", but the verse doesn't really warrant such a doctrinaire predestinarian interpretation. It is quite reasonable to argue that those who seek find; those who seek the truth find the truth, they find the truth in Christ. The parables are a mystery to the crowds, but to those who seek Jesus out, the mystery is revealed. "Everyone who loves truth recognizes my voice", Phillips.
      akouei (akouw) pres. + gen. "listens" - hears [my voice]. Constructed with the genitive, the word means listening with understanding and acceptance. "Knows my voice", CEV.

v38
      ti estin alhqeia "what is truth" - It is doubtful that this is a genuine question, for Pilate doesn't wait around for the answer. It is more likely a throw away line designed to end a conversation that is taking Pilate into the uncharted waters of spiritual confrontation. Pilate is not interested getting into eternal verities, so the discussion is ended with a throwaway line, "truth, what is that?" What is clear to Pilate is that Jesus is innocent of the charges against him. The dispute is theological.
      egw oudemian euJriskw en autw/ aitian "I find no basis for a charge against him" - I find in him no ground for complaint / crime. In simple terms, Pilate has investigated the charge against Jesus and so declares, "I find him not guilty."

v39
      sunhqeia (a) "custom" - Possibly an annual amnesty used by the Roman governors to gain favour from the general population. "Since I usually set a prisoner free for you at Passover", CEV.
      iJna eJna apolusw uJmin "for me to release to you one prisoner" - that I should release one to you [during the Passover]. The hina clause is best taken as a noun clause defining the content of the "custom".
      apolusw (apoluw) subj. "do you want me to release" - I release. Deliberative subjunctive seeking a real answer.
      ton basilea twn Ioudaiwn "the king of the Jews" - We can only surmise why Pilate persists with the title "king". Pilate has obviously determined that Jesus is innocent of any crime against the state, in that his role as deliverer-king is spiritual and not political, but even so, why is he determined to use a title that is so readily understood in political terms? Given that Pilate initially asks Jesus "are you the king of the Jews", we can surmise that this is the charge brought against Jesus by the Jewish authorities, namely that Jesus is a deliverer-king who seeks to overthrow the Roman government. Pilate probably continues to address Jesus in the terms of the charge. Whatever Pilate's motives, John happily underlines the phrase and so heightens Israel's crime.