7. Responderunt ei Iudaei: Nos 7. The Jews answered him: We legem habemus, et secundum have a law; and according to legem debet mori, quia Filium the law he ought to die, Dei se fecit. because he made himself the Son of God. 7. *The Jews answered him: We have a law.* The Jews reply, that though the Roman governor sees nothing in Him for which to condemn Him, yet, according to their law, Jesus has incurred the penalty of death: “He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die; all the multitude shall stone him” (Lev. xxiv. 16). *Because he made himself the Son of God.* Note here that the Jews understood Christ to have claimed to be the _natural_ Son of God. Had they understood Him to speak of Himself merely as an adopted son, they could not have blamed Him, for the just are frequently spoken of in the Old Testament as sons of God. From St. Luke xxiii. 2, then, we know that the Jews understood Jesus to claim to be “Christ, the King;” that is to say, to be the Messias; and from the verse before us we learn that they understood Him to claim to be the Son of God. As such then, and for such claims on His part, He was put to death; and the fact that He chose rather to die, than explain away or withdraw these claims, proves that He was understood correctly. 8. Cum ergo audisset Pilatus 8. When Pilate therefore had hunc sermonem, magis timuit. heard this saying, he feared the more. 8. *He feared the more.* When Pilate heard that Christ claimed to be the Son of God, he became _more_ afraid to interfere with or condemn Him. Already her dream which Pilate’s wife had made known to him (Matt. xxvii. 19), and the majesty, serenity, and evident innocence of Jesus, must have greatly impressed the governor. 9. Et ingressus est praetorium 9. And he entered into the iterum, et dixit ad Iesum: hall again, and he said to Unde es tu? Iesus autem Jesus: Whence art thou? But responsum non dedit ei. Jesus gave him no answer. 9. Again, therefore, he entered the palace (πραιτώριον). Jesus, too, was led in, and Pilate questioned Him in reference to the accusation just made against Him. You have been charged with claiming to be the Son of God: *Whence art thou?* from heaven, or of earth, like other men? Pilate was unworthy of an answer, or else Jesus thought it useless to explain to one who would not understand or believe it His eternal generation from the Father, and accordingly He was silent. 10. Dicit ergo ei Pilatus: 10. Pilate therefore saith to Mihi non loqueris? nescis quia him: Speakest thou not to me? potestatem habeo crucifigere knowest thou not that I have te et potestatem habeo power to crucify thee, and I dimittere te? have power to release thee?