John 18: 33-40, Jesus Before Pilate

Peter, in an outer courtyard, has denied, three times, his friendship with Jesus. Meanwhile Jesus is being interrogated by the high priest.

The Jews want an execution and Pilate is reluctant to give that to them. The gospel writer will record Pilate's timid and frightened response to the proceedings, showing him as a weak ruler. The other gospels report a third interview, before Herod, but John skips over that part of the trial.

John 18: 33-40, Jesus before Pilate
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 
39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

Pilate is trapped. He is half fearful that Jesus might really be a "son of a god", common in Roman mythology. He wants Jesus to talk to him.  But Jesus will not. And although Pilate recognizes the trumped up trial, he is too weak to rule for justice. Running back and forth between the crowd and the palace, Pilate will make one more attempt to mollify the Jewish leaders.