4. Again Pilate came out and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look! I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want you to know that I find nothing I can charge him with.”
5. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is the man!”
6. When the leading priests and the Jewish guards saw Jesus they shouted, “Kill him on a cross! Kill him on a cross!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and nail him to a cross yourselves. I find nothing I can charge him with.”
7. The Jewish leaders answered, “We have a law that says he must die, because he said he is the Son of God.”
8. When Pilate heard this, he was more afraid.
9. So he went back inside the palace and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not answer him.
10. Pilate said, “You refuse to speak to me? Remember, I have the power to make you free or to kill you on a cross.”
11. Jesus answered, “The only power you have over me is the power given to you by God. So the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12. After this, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the Jewish leaders shouted, “Anyone who makes himself a king is against Caesar. So if you let this man go free, that means you are not Caesar’s friend.”