John 19:11
Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
John 19:11 in other translations
| BSB | Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.” |
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| WEB | Jesus answered, “You would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin.” |
| ASV | Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin. |
| YLT | Jesus answered, ‘Thou wouldest have no authority against me, if it were not having been given thee from above; because of this, he who is delivering me up to thee hath greater sin.' |
| DARBY | Jesus answered, Thou hadst no authority whatever against me if it were not given to thee from above. On this account he that has delivered me up to thee has the greater sin. |
| BBE | Jesus gave this answer: You would have no power at all over me if it was not given to you by God; so that he who gave me up to you has the greater sin. |
| Webster | Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power against me; except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me to thee hath the greater sin. |
What does John 19:11 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 19:8-11
8-11. When Pilate ... heard this saying, he was the more afraid--the name "Son of God," the lofty sense evidently attached to it by His Jewish accusers, the dialogue he had already held with Him, and the dream of his wife (Mt 27:19), all working together in the breast of the wretched man.
Barnes' Notes
Except it were given thee. It has been conceded or granted to you. God has ordered your life, your circumstances, and the extent of your dominion. This was a reproof of a proud man in office, who was forgetful of the great Source of his authority, and who supposed that by his own talents or fortune he had risen to his present place. Alas! how many men in office forget that God gives them their rank, and vainly think that it is owing to their own talents or merits that they have risen to such an elevation. Men of office and talent, as well as others, should remember that God gives them what they have, and that they have no influence except as it is conceded to them from on high.
From above. From God, or by his direction, and by the arrangements of his providence. Rom 13:1: "There is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God." The words "from above" often refer to God or to heaven, Jas 1:17; 3:15,17, Jn 3:3 (in the Greek). The providence of God was remarkable in so ordering affairs that a man, flexible and yielding like Pilate, should be intrusted with power in Judea. Had it been a man firm and unyielding in his duty--one who could not be terrified or awed by the multitude-- Jesus would not have been delivered to be crucified, Acts 2:23. God thus brings about his wise ends; and while Pilate was free, and acted out his nature without compulsion, yet the purposes of God, long before predicted, were fulfilled, and Jesus made an atonement for the sins of the world. Thus God overrules the wickedness and folly of men. He so orders affairs that the true character of men shall be brought out, and makes use of that character to advance his own great purposes.
Therefore. On this account.
"You are a magistrate. Your power, as such, is given
you by God. You are not, indeed, guilty for accusing
me, or malignantly arraigning me; but you have power
intrusted to you over my life; and the Jews, who
knew this, and who knew that the power of a magistrate
was given to him by God, have the greater sin for
seeking my condemnation before a tribunal appointed by
God, and for endeavouring to obtain so solemn a
sanction to their own malignant and wicked purposes.
They have endeavoured to avail themselves of the civil
power, the sacred appointment of God, and
on this account their sin is greater."
This does not mean that their sin was greater than that of Pilate, though that was true; but their sin was greater on account of the fact that they perseveringly and malignantly endeavoured to obtain the sanction of the magistrate to their wicked proceedings. Nor does it mean, because God had purposed his death (Acts 2:23), and given power to Pilate, that therefore their sin was greater, for God's purpose in the case made it neither more nor less. It did not change the nature of their free acts. This passage teaches no such doctrine, but that their sin was aggravated by malignantly endeavouring to obtain the sanction of a magistrate who was invested with authority by God, and who wielded the power that God gave him. By this Pilate ought to have been convinced, and was convinced, of their wickedness, and hence he sought more and more to release him.
He that delivered me. The singular here is put for the plural, including Judas, the high-priests, and the Sanhedrim.
(h) "thou couldest have no power" Lk 22:53, Jn 7:30 (i) "except" Ps 39:9 (k) "he that delivered me" Mk 14:44, Jn 18:3 (l) "the greater sin" He 6:4-8, Jas 4:17
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 19:1-18
Little did Pilate think with what holy regard these sufferings of Christ would, in after-ages, be thought upon and spoken of by the best and greatest of men. Our Lord Jesus came forth, willing to be exposed to their scorn. It is good for every one with faith, to behold Christ Jesus in his sufferings. Behold him, and love him; be still looking unto Jesus. Did their hatred sharpen their endeavours against him? and…
John 19:11 in the original Greek
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Cross references for John 19:11
- Romans 13:1
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
- John 3:27
John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
- Acts 2:23
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
- Daniel 4:17
This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
- John 7:30
Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.
- Acts 3:13
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
- Daniel 4:25
That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
- James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
- James 4:17
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
- Jeremiah 27:5-8
I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
- Luke 12:47-48
And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
- Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3:27; 7:30; Ge 45:7,8; Ex 9:14-16; 1Ch 29:11; Ps 39:9; 62:11
Jer 27:5-8; La 3:37; Da 4:17,25,32,35; 5:21; Mt 6:13; Lu 22:53
Ac 2:23; 4:28; Ro 11:36; 13:1; Jas 1:17
he.
11:49,50; 18:3; Mt 26:65; 27:2; Mr 14:44
the greater.
9:41; 15:22-24; Lu 7:41,42; 10:11-14; 12:47,48; Heb 6:4-8; Jas 4:17
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- John 19:10
Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
- John 19:11
Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
- John 19:12
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cesar.
John 19:11 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Respondió Jesús: Ninguna potestad tendrías contra mí, si no te fuese dado de arriba: por tanto, el que á ti me ha entregado, mayor pecado tiene. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Jésus répondit: Tu n’aurais aucun pouvoir contre moi, s’il ne t’était donné d’en haut; c’est pourquoi celui qui m’a livré à toi a plus de péché. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Jesus antwortete: Du hättest keinerlei Gewalt wider mich, wenn sie dir nicht von oben gegeben wäre; darum hat der, welcher mich dir überliefert hat, größere Sünde. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Respondit Jesus: Non haberes potestatem adversum me ullam, nisi tibi datum esset desuper. Propterea qui me tradidit tibi, majus peccatum habet. |