Bible Strands
John 19:7
“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Jewish authorities respond to Pilate’s refusal to execute Jesus, asserting that their legal code mandates His death for claiming divine sonship. This reply follows Pilate’s declaration that he finds no legal basis to condemn Him.
The words — νόμον (nomon) translates literally as “law,” and ἔχομεν (echomen) means “we have.” Together they frame the Jewish authorities’ appeal to a binding legal standard.
The thread — The charge of claiming divine sonship echoes the Jewish attempt to kill Jesus in John 5:18 and the blasphemy death penalty outlined in Leviticus 24:16. The high priest’s interrogation in Matthew 26:63 similarly records the trial’s focus on Jesus’s identity claims.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to note that the authorities shift from political accusations to theological ones when civil leverage fails. It demands recognition that the claim to divine sonship itself, not merely political insurrection, triggers the death sentence under their stated law.
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
The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 24:16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
- John 5:18 Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
- Matthew 26:63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
- Romans 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Matthew 27:42 “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him.
- Mark 14:61 But Jesus remained silent and made no reply. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”
- Mark 15:39 When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
- John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”
- John 10:36 then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?
- Deuteronomy 18:20 But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.”