And went again into the judgment hall, and said unto Jesus, From where are you? But Jesus gave him no answer.
All Commentaries on John 19:9 Go To John 19
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
In comparing the accounts of the different Evangelists together, we find that this silence was maintained more than once; viz. before the High Priest, before Herod, and before Pilate. So that the prophecy of Him, As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so opened Henot His mouth was amply fulfilled. To many indeed of the questions put to, He did reply, but where He did not reply, this comparison of the sheep shows us that His was not a silence of guilt, but of innocence; not of self-condemnation, but of compassion, and willingness to suffer for the sins of others.
So He answers. When He was silent, He was silent not as guilty or crafty, but as a sheep: when He answered, He taught as a shepherd. Let us hear what He says; which is that, as He teaches by His Apostle, There is no power but of God; and that he that through envy delivers an innocent person to the higher power, who puts to death from fear of a greater power, still sins more than that higher power itself. God had given such power to Pilate, as that he was still under Caesar’s power: wherefore our Lord says, you could have no power atall against Me, i.e. no power however small, unless it, whatever it was, was given you from above. And as that is not so great as to give you complete liberty of action, therefore he that delivered Me to you has the greater sin. He delivered Me into your power from envy, but you will exercise that power from fear. And though a man ought not to kill another even from fear, especially an innocent man, yet to do so from envy is much worse. Wherefore our Lord does not say, He that delivered Me to you has the sin, as if the other had none, but, has the greater sin, implying that the other also had some.
Pilate had sought from the first to release: so we must understand, from thence, to mean from this cause,i.e. lest he should incur guilt by putting to death an innocent person.
