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.”
37. Pilate said, “So you are a king.” Jesus answered, “You are right to say that I am a king. I was born for this: to tell people about the truth. That is why I came into the world. And everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.”
38. Pilate said, “What is truth?” Then he went out to the Jewish leaders again and said to them, “I can find nothing against this man.
39. But it is one of your customs for me to free one prisoner to you at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to free this ‘king of the Jews’?”
40. They shouted back, “No, not him! Let Barabbas go free!” (Barabbas was a rebel.)