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John 18 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Verses 13 and 14 state, "for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had given the advice to the Jews that it would be better that one man die for the people." This is a parenthetical statement being made by the author. It is intended to explain important background information. It is possible to put this information in parentheses.
Special concepts in this chapter
"It is not lawful for us to put any man to death"
The Roman Empire did not allow the Jews to enforce a penalty of death upon anyone. Therefore, the Jews had to present their case to the pagan ruler, Pilate.
==Jesus' kingdom == Jesus explains to Pilate that his kingdom is not "of this world." Some scholars take this to mean that Jesus rules a spiritual kingdom, while others claim Jesus meant his kingdom was not in competition with the Roman Empire. It is possible to translate the phrase as Jesus' kingdom "is not from this place" or "comes from another place."
Important figures of speech in this chapter
"King of the Jews"
This phrase is used in two different ways in this passage. First, Jesus is said to be the king of the Jews. He is the king of the Jews and the whole world. Second, it is used ironically or sarcastically by Pilate. Pilate does not believe Jesus to be the king of the Jews. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-irony)