33. It was probably at this point, after they had refused to judge Jesus according to their own law, and when they saw that Pilate was not at once proceeding to condemn Him, that the Jews brought forward those three distinct charges against Him, which St. Luke records: “We have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that He is Christ the king” (Luke xxiii. 2). Upon this, Pilate returned into the house, had Jesus called in(118), and questioned Him on the third count in the indictment just brought against Him. The pretension of any Jew to be the King of Palestine was a point which, as questioning the sovereignty of Rome, a Roman governor was bound to look to. Pilate, therefore, asked Him: *Art thou the King of the Jews?* The words may mean either, “Art thou He who has just now become notorious under this title?” or, “Dost thou claim the title, as it is said?” The title itself would be likely to arrest Pilate’s attention, whether he had heard it spoken of before in connection with the entry into Jerusalem or only now from the Jews. And further, he would rightly conclude that the title, when thus put forward, would be fitted to call out any fanaticism which there might be in a political enthusiast. In each of the four Gospels, the first words of Pilate to Jesus are the same: “Art thou the King of the Jews?” (Matt. xxvii. 11; Mark xv. 2; Luke xxiii. 3). “The form of the sentence (σὺ εἶ) suggests a feeling of surprise in the questioner: ‘Art thou, poor, and bound, and wearied, the the King of whom men have spoken?’ Comp. iv. 12.” Westc. in _Speaker’s Commentary_. 34. Respondit Iesus: A 34. Jesus answered: Sayest temetipso hoc dicis, an alii thou this thing of thyself, or dixerunt tibi de me? have others told it thee of me? 34. To Pilate’s question, Christ replies: Sayest thou this of thyself, from thy own knowledge or suspicion of My having taken part in seditious practices, or is it merely because of what others, through envy and jealousy, have now told thee of Me? These words were, doubtless, intended to remind Pilate that, although Governor of Judea during all the time of Christ’s public life (Luke iii. 1), he had no reason from his own personal knowledge to find fault with Jesus. Hence, he ought to suspect the charges that had been made. 35. Respondit Pilatus: Numquid 35. Pilate answered: Am I a ego Iudaeus sum? Gens tua et Jew? Thy own nation and the pontifices tradiderunt te chief priests have delivered mihi: quid fecisti? thee up to me: what hast thou done? 35. Pilate impatiently replies, signifying that as he was not a Jew, he might easily be ignorant of Christ’s guilt, while it would be well known to Christ’s countrymen who now accused Him.