particular case. “ Pilate’s exclamation is neither the expres- sion of an ardent thirst for truth, nor that of the despair of a soul which has long sought it in vain; it is the profession of a frivolous scepticism, such as is frequently met with in the man of the world, and especially in the statesman ” (Godet).
Fault (airtav). Properly, cause of accusation. Rev., crvme. See on Matt. xxvii. 37, and compare on Matt. xix. 10.
39, 40. Compare Matt. xxvii. 15-26; Mark vi. 15.
39. Ye have acustom. The word cur7Jeva, custom, origin- ally means intimacy, habitual intercourse, and thence naturally passes into the meaning of habit or custom. Only John puts the statement of this custom into the mouth of Pilate. Mat- thew and Mark relate it as a fact.
At the Passover (€v 76 mdcya). More specific than Mat- thew and Mark, where the expression is general, xara éoptyy, at feast-tume.
40. Cried (€xpatyacav). Peculiarly of a loud, importunate ery; @ shout. Plato uses it of the howling of a dog: “The yelping hound, howling (xpavydfovea) at her lord ” (“ Repub- lic,” 607). Others, of the cries of spectators in the theatres and of the croak of a raven. See on Matt. xv. 22.
Again. Assuming John’s recollection of a previous “crying out,” which he has not recorded.
Robber (Ayo77s). See on Matt. xxvi. 55; Mark xi. 17; Luke x. 30. Matthew calls him a “notable prisoner” (xxvii. 16). Mark states that he had made insurrection, and had committed murder (xv. 7), speaking of the insurrection as a well-known event. Luke says, “for some insurrection (otdow twa) that had arisen in the city, and for murder” (xxiii. 19). Writing for Gentiles, Luke would not refer to the event as something familiar. Bandits of this kind were numerous in the neighbor- hood of Jerusalem under the Roman dominion. Their leaders