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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - John 19:11 - 19:11
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11. οὐκ εἶχες. Comp. Joh 15:20. This is Christ’s last word to Pilate; a declaration of the supremacy of God, and a protest against the claim of any human potentate to be irresponsible. The Accused has become the judge’s Judge. Even Pilate could understand ἄνωθεν: had Jesus said παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου, he would have remained uninstructed. The point is not, that Pilate is an instrument ordained for the carrying out of God’s purposes (Act 2:23); he was such, but that is not the meaning here. Rather, that the possession and exercise of all authority is the gift of God; Joh 3:27; Rom 13:1-7 (see notes there). To interpret ‘from above’ of the higher tribunal of the Sanhedrin is quite inadequate. Comp. Joh 3:3; Joh 3:7; Joh 3:31; Jam 1:17; Jam 3:15; Jam 3:17, where the same adverb is used: see notes in each place. It is for this cause (see on Joh 1:31), because Pilate’s authority over Jesus is the result of a Divine commission, whereas that of His enemies was usurped, that their sin is greater than His. Moreover, they might have known Who He was.
ὁ παραδούς. The addition of σοι (contrast Joh 13:11, Joh 18:2; Joh 18:5) shews that Caiaphas, the representative of the Sanhedrin and of the nation, and not Judas, is meant: comp. Joh 18:35. Judas had delivered Jesus to the Sanhedrin, not to Pilate. For ἔχειν ἁμαρτίαν see on Joh 15:22.