18:31,32
Pilate was taken in by their obfuscation. Pilate will later claim to be innocent of the whole affair, washing his hands of the matter, but he was not innocent. There was only one who was innocent, and that was the accused. The Jews, the Romans, the disciples, all were guilty. Anyway, Pilate wants nothing to do with the matter, telling the Jews to sort out the problem themselves. The Jews did not want to do this, for they did not have the right to have someone put to death, only the Roman authorities could do this. The Jews wanted Jesus killed, nothing less.
18:34
All four gospels report that Pilate asked Jesus “Are you the king of the Jews?”, a question reported in all four gospels. It is possible that this was how the Sanhedrin had framed their charge against Jesus. Their real objection to Jesus was that He was claiming to be the Son of God, the Messiah, to be equal with God. If they had framed their charge in these terms, the Pilate would have dismissed them out of hand as it was just a religious matter, and one of no concern to him. However, if Jesus was claiming to be king of Israel then this could be seen as opposing the Roman authority, and one of concern to Pilate. Hence the charge they presented Pilate with.
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