Bible Strands
John 19:15
At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Pilate addresses the chief priests after presenting Jesus as their king in John 19:14. The chief priests reply directly to Pilate, rejecting any earthly monarch except Caesar.
The words — The text records ἐκραύγασαν (ekraugasan), meaning they cried out or shouted, and σταυρῶσον (staurōson), a command meaning do crucify. These verbs frame the crowd's violent demand and Pilate's subsequent question.
The thread — This shouted rejection echoes in Luke 23:18, where the crowd demands Barabbas' release instead, and in Acts 21:36, where crowds shout "Away with him!" during Paul's arrest. It also contrasts with the Genesis 49:10 promise that the scepter will remain with Judah until Shiloh comes.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that rejecting divine kingship inevitably substitutes human political authority. It requires the reader to confront the cost of choosing temporal power over the offered Messiah.
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
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cesar.
Cross-references
- Luke 23:18 But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”
- Acts 21:36 For the crowd that followed him kept shouting, “Away with him!”
- Genesis 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
- John 19:6 As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” “You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”
- Acts 22:22 The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!”
- Ezekiel 21:26 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are: Exalt the lowly and bring low the exalted.
- John 18:31 “You take Him and judge Him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “We are not permitted to execute anyone,” the Jews replied.