Bible Strands
John 19:11
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus answers Pilate directly after Pilate has just asserted his power to release or crucify (v. 10), and immediately before Pilate attempts to free Him under political pressure (v. 12).
The words — ἐξουσίαν (exousian, "authority") is the same noun Pilate used two verses earlier to claim his own power; Jesus takes the word back and relocates its source.
The thread — Romans 13:1 states the principle (no authority except from God); Acts 2:23 holds both halves together — "delivered up by God's set plan" and "you… put Him to death" — in a single sentence.
Why it lands — The verse does not let "it was God's plan" dissolve human guilt; it asks the reader to hold divine sovereignty and personal responsibility as compatible rather than competing explanations.
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
Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
Cross-references
- Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- John 3:27 John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
- Acts 2:23 He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.
- Daniel 4:17 This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’
- John 7:30 So they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
- 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.
- Daniel 4:25 You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.
- James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Jeremiah 27:5 By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
- Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’