John 19:7 kjv
The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
John 19:7 nkjv
The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God."
John 19:7 niv
The Jewish leaders insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
John 19:7 esv
The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God."
John 19:7 nlt
The Jewish leaders replied, "By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God."
John 19 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| John 19:7 | ...according to the law, he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God. | Jesus' divine claim |
| John 5:18 | This was why the Jews were seeking to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. | Jewish opposition due to Jesus' equality with God |
| John 10:33 | The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” | Accusation of blasphemy |
| Matthew 26:64 | Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” | Jesus affirms his divine identity before the Sanhedrin |
| Mark 14:61-62 | But he remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” | Jesus' testimony to his sonship |
| Luke 22:70 | And they all said, “Are you then the Son of God?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” | Jesus' confirmation of his identity to authorities |
| Leviticus 24:16 | Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the name of the LORD, shall be put to death. | Old Testament law against blasphemy |
| Deuteronomy 18:20 | But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. | Consequences for false prophets |
| Exodus 31:14 | “Therefore you shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people." | Sabbath observance and consequences of breaking it |
| Isaiah 9:6 | For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. | Prophecy of the Son of God |
| Psalm 2:7 | I will tell of the decree: The LORD has said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you." | God's declaration of Sonship |
| Psalm 89:26-27 | He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation!’ And I will make him the firstborn, the most high of the kings of the earth. | God's promise concerning his anointed one |
| Romans 1:4 | and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. | Jesus declared the Son of God by resurrection |
| Hebrews 1:5 | For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be my Son”? | Angels not called Son of God |
| 2 Corinthians 5:21 | For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. | Jesus' sacrificial role |
| Philippians 2:6 | who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped | Jesus' divine nature |
| Colossians 1:15 | He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. | Jesus as the image of God |
| John 1:1, 14 | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. | Jesus' divine pre-existence and incarnation |
| John 3:16 | “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." | God giving his only Son |
| John 14:9 | Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? | Jesus reveals the Father |
John 19 verses
John 19 7 Meaning
The Jews responded that they had a law, and according to that law, He must die because He claimed to be the Son of God. This highlights their adherence to their religious legal system and their condemnation of Jesus based on His self-proclamation.
John 19 7 Context
This verse occurs during Jesus' trial before the Jewish authorities, specifically when Pilate questions Jesus about the accusations brought against Him. The Jews are pressuring Pilate to condemn Jesus. They have already accused Jesus of making Himself a king in opposition to Caesar (John 18:33). Now, they shift the basis of their accusation to religious grounds, citing Jesus' claim to be the Son of God as a violation of their law, punishable by death. This reveals their attempt to frame Jesus’ case in religious terms, aiming for His execution under their legal framework, even while interacting with Roman authority.
John 19 7 Word Analysis
- "We": Refers to the Jewish accusers.
- "Have": Indicates possession of the law.
- "A law": Refers to the Mosaic Law, the sacred scriptures of Judaism.
- "and by": Connects the possession of the law to its application.
- "our": Possessive pronoun, emphasizing ownership and authority of their law.
- "law": Specifically refers to the Jewish legal and religious statutes.
- "he ought to die": A strong declaration of a death sentence based on their legal interpretation.
- "because": Introduces the reason for the proposed death penalty.
- "he has made himself": Implies a self-aggrandizing or false claim to divinity.
- "the Son of God": The specific claim that constitutes the charge of blasphemy in their eyes.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "We have a law": This phrase establishes their claimed legal basis for action, highlighting their identity as keepers of divine law.
- "and by our law he ought to die": This connects their legal tradition directly to a capital punishment verdict, emphasizing their judgment.
- "because he has made himself the Son of God": This specifies the exact offense: an assertion of divine sonship, which they perceived as blasphemy according to their understanding of their law.
John 19 7 Bonus Section
The accusation that Jesus "has made himself the Son of God" is a significant turning point in the interrogation before Pilate. While the initial charge presented to Pilate was sedition (claiming to be King of the Jews), they now introduce a religious crime that they believe warrants execution. This strategy aimed to convince Pilate of Jesus' guilt on grounds that mattered to Jewish law, potentially increasing the pressure on the Roman governor to condemn Jesus, thereby shifting the focus from political to theological grounds for execution. It also reveals the profound crisis Jesus’ claim to divine sonship represented for the Jewish religious establishment of the time.
John 19 7 Commentary
The accusation "he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God" is the core of the religious charge against Jesus. From their perspective, claiming to be the Son of God was equivalent to claiming equality with God (John 5:18, 10:33). Under the Law of Moses, blasphemy, especially against God's name, was a capital offense (Leviticus 24:16). The Jews presented this to Pilate not as a mere theological dispute, but as a transgression against a fundamental law warranting death. This highlights the severe religious implications of Jesus' identity and claims for His Jewish contemporaries. Their interpretation, however, missed the divine reality of Jesus' identity as testified throughout Scripture. Jesus’ response to similar accusations in the Gospels affirmed His divine sonship, framing it as something given to Him by God the Father, rather than solely self-made. This tension between their legalistic interpretation and Jesus' divine truth is central to the narrative.