Pontius Pilate the release of Barabbas and said of Jesus, "Crucify him!" In Matthew, Pilate responds, "Why? What evil has he done?" The crowd continued shouting, "Crucify him!" Pilate ordered a sign posted above Jesus on the cross stating "Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews" to give public notice of the legal charge against him for his crucifixion. The chief priests protested that the public charge on the sign should read that Jesus "claimed" to be King of the Jews. Pilate refused to change the posted charge, saying "What I have written, I have written." (""Quod scripsi, scripsi""). This may
Jesus, King of the Jews was written in three languages—Hebrew, Latin, and Greek—during the crucifixion of Jesus. The Greek version of the initialism reads ΙΝBΙ, representing . The title "King of the Jews" is only used in the New Testament by gentiles, namely by the Magi, Pontius Pilate, and the Roman soldiers. In contrast, the Jewish leaders use the designation "King of Israel". Although the phrase "King of the Jews" is used in most English translations, it has also been translated "King of the Judeans" (see Ioudaioi). In the account of the Nativity of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew the Biblical Magi go to