27. But again Peter said, “No, I was not with him!” As soon as he said this, a rooster crowed.
28. Then the guards took Jesus from Caiaphas’ house to the Roman governor’s palace. It was early in the morning. The Jews there would not go inside the palace. They did not want to make themselves unclean, because they wanted to eat the Passover meal.
29. So Pilate went outside to them and asked, “What do you say this man has done wrong?”
30. They answered, “He is a bad man. That is why we brought him to you.”
31. Pilate said to them, “You take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jewish leaders answered, “But your law does not allow us to punish anyone by killing them.”
32. (This was to show the truth of what Jesus said about how he would die.)
33. Then Pilate went back inside the palace. He called for Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34. Jesus said, “Is that your own question, or did other people tell you about me?”
35. Pilate said, “I’m not a Jew! It was your own people and their leading priests who brought you before me. What have you done wrong?”
36. Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If it did, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jewish leaders. No, my kingdom is not an earthly one.”