39-01

the house of the high priest

The soldiers took Jesus there because the high priest was the one who ordered them to arrest Jesus.

39-03

are you the Messiah, the Son of the living God?

The religious leaders could not find any reason to condemn Jesus. Therefore, they asked him to tell them if he was the Son of God. They did not believe he was God’s Son. If he said that he was indeed the Messiah, they planned to condemn him for falsely stated that he was God.

39-04

I am

I am is also the name of God (See: 09:14). By saying simply, “I am” Jesus was also saying that he is God.

seated with God

Because God is the ruler over all, people talk about him as sitting on a throne in heaven. By saying that he would be seated with God, Jesus claimed that he had authority to rule with the Father.

tore his clothes because he was angry

The Jews would tear their clothes to show grief or anger.

What is your decision about him?

The chief priest wanted the religious leaders to condemn Jesus for claiming to be equal with God.

39-05

He deserves to die!

The Jewish law said that any person who claimed to be God must be killed. Because the Jews did not believe that Jesus was God, they condemned him to die.

39-06

you both are from Galilee

The people could tell from the way Jesus and Peter talked that they both came from the region of Galilee.

39-07

a rooster crowed

Crowing is the loud sound that a rooster makes. Jesus had told him in 38:09 that Peter would deny Jesus before the rooster crowed.

39-08

Judas became full of sorrow

Although Judas was sorry for what he had done, he did not ask God to forgive him. Instead, he killed himself.

39-09

He worked for Rome

The Roman government had appointed Pilate to govern the region of Judea in Israel.

condemn Jesus and kill him

As governor, Pilate had the authority to condemn Jesus to death and to give approval for his crucifixion, or he could set him free. The Jewish religious leaders did not have the authority to have someone killed.

39-10

my kingdom is not here on earth

Jesus’ kingdom is not like earthly kingdoms.

my servants would fight for me

An earthly king would ask his disciples to fight to protect him. But Jesus was not that kind of king.

listens to me

This includes not just hearing Jesus’ words, but also doing what he says.

What is truth?

Pilate did not believe that anyone could know what is true.

39-11

Crucify him!

The Romans executed the worst criminals by nailing them to a cross and letting them hang on it until they died of exhaustion or asphyxiation.

He is not guilty!

Pilate correctly judged that Jesus was completely innocent. But the people would not accept his judgment.

39-12

he agreed to have

Pilate did not want to kill Jesus because he believed that Jesus was innocent. But he was forced to tell his soldiers to crucify Jesus because of his fear of the crowd.

a royal robe

This robe had a bright color, so it looked like the kind of robe that a king would wear.

a crown made of thorns

They tied thorn branches into a circle to look like a crown. A crown is an ornament that a king wears on his head to show his authority. But the crown that they put on Jesus’ head had sharp, dangerous thorns on it.

the King of the Jews

The soldiers said this to mock Jesus. They did not believe that he was the King of the Jews.