"When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid": the heathen governor had clearly seen that Jesus was no common man: if He were put to death for declaring Himself to be the Son of God, He would probably suffer for saying what was _true_; and though Pilate, as a heathen, had no knowledge of the nature and power of the Lord God Almighty, he was afraid to crucify One, whom he believed to be the Son of God. Hesitating and perplexed, Pilate "went again into the Judgment Hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin." Jesus meant to tell Pilate, that no earthly Ruler or Governor could have power to put Him to death, unless it had been the Will of God, who dwells in Heaven above, that He should suffer whatever the Jews chose to do to Him. The Jews had cruelly and unjustly persecuted Him, and in spite of His acknowledged innocence, had treated Him as the worst of malefactors: and therefore Jesus told Pilate, that the sin of the Chief Priests and others in insisting upon His death, was far greater than the sin of Pilate in giving way to them, in order to prevent a tumult amongst the people. The words spoken by Jesus, His whole conduct and manner, so totally unlike that of a guilty person, convinced Pilate more and more, that He had _not_ "spoken _blasphemy_" in declaring Himself to be the Son of God; and "from thenceforth he sought to release him." To prevent the escape of their innocent victim, the Jews now returned to their original charge of treason and rebellion against the Roman Emperor, "and cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend; whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cæsar." Tiberius, who at that time was Emperor of Rome, was a suspicious and cruel tyrant; and would have punished with death any governor, supposed to have spared the life of a man, who had set himself up to be a king in any of the Roman provinces. Pilate, therefore, did not dare to give the Jews any excuse for thus complaining of him to Tiberius: so "when he heard that saying, (If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend,) he brought Jesus forth," from the Judgment Hall into which the Jews would not enter, "and sat down in the judgment seat, in a place" outside, "that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your king! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your king? The Chief Priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified."