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
Matthew 27:11 is ambiguous. Various later scholars have interpreted it as an agreement with Pilate, a denial of the charge, and a response that does not commit either way. While others refer to Jesus with a series of titles, nowhere in Matthew does he refer to himself as messiah or king, a direct "yes" in response the question would have been out of character. Narratively the ambiguous reply does nothing to deny Jesus' messianic nature, but also does not have him admit the charges against him are correct, and thus the unjust nature of his execution is also maintained. Matthew 27:11 Matthew