Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 65:4 (Dec 2022)
Article: Jesus On The Judge’s Seat: Adjudicating ἘΚΆΧΘΙΣΕΝ In John 19:13
Author: Mark Bradley

JETS 65:3 (September 2022) p. 689

Jesus On The Judge’s Seat: Adjudicating ἘΚΆΧΘΙΣΕΝ In John 19:13

Mark Bradley*

^* Mark Bradley is Director of the Pacific Northwest Campus and Associate Professor of Leadership Formation for Gateway Seminary, 6307 NE 87th St., Vancouver, WA 98665. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: This study addresses the interpretive choice the reader must make at John 19:13. It summarizes the majority opinion that Pilate took his seat on the judge’s bench to pronounce capital judgment on Jesus, then argues for the transitive reading of ἐκάθισεν, concluding that Pilate seated Jesus on the judge’s seat. This study disputes the objections to the latter view on linguistic, historical, and theological/literary grounds (with attention to the other Gospel accounts and historical sources) and contends that the seating of Jesus is not only plausible but is the reading John intends. Readers who see Jesus seated on the judge’s seat experience the satisfaction of having been shaped by the rhetoric of John’s Gospel. As insiders who perceive Johannine irony, they adopt the “from above” view that Jesus is seated in John 19:13, rather than the “from below” view that Pilate is seated.

Key words: Jesus as judge, trial of Jesus, trial before Pilate, Johannine trial, Johannine irony, judgment seat, judge’s seat, judge’s bench, καθίζω, βήμα

In John 19:13 we read, “When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat (βήμα) at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).”1 However, the Greek verb for “sat down” (ἐκάθισεν) is ambiguous: it can express the transitive or intransitive function.2 Therefore, it may be translated as follows: “When Pilate heard these words, he led Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench (βήμα)” (CEB).3 This study argues that the transitive reading—that Pilate seated Jesus on the βήμα—is the better interpretation. It first reviews the majority opinion against the transitive view and in support of the intransitive view. Then it counters that position and argues for the alternative.

JETS 65:3 (September 2022) p. 690