Bible Strands
John 18:30
“If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Jewish leaders respond to Pilate’s demand for a formal accusation against Jesus. They speak to him at the trial site, explaining why they transferred custody to Roman authority.
The words — The conditional phrase εἰ μὴ ἦν (ei mē ēn) literally means “if He were not,” structuring their statement as a necessary admission. ἀπεκρίθησαν (apekrithēsan) and εἶπαν (eipan) both record their direct reply to Pilate’s question.
The thread — This admission aligns with the predicted delivery of the Son of Man to the chief priests in Mark 10:33 and parallels the ongoing accusations in Mark 15:3 and Luke 20:19.
Why it lands — The text explicitly states the leaders acknowledge Jesus committed no capital offense. It asks a reader to recognize their conscious decision to bypass legal standards to secure His death.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.
Cross-references
- Mark 10:33 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles,
- Mark 15:3 And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things.
- Luke 20:19 When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.
- Luke 23:2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”
- Luke 24:7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’”
- John 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”
- Acts 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.