Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.49UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.13UNLIKELY
Fear
0.13UNLIKELY
Joy
0.58LIKELY
Sadness
0.54LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.65LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.24UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.84LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.65LIKELY
Extraversion
0.11UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.68LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.73LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
John 18:33-37 (Evangelical Lutheran Church)
33Pilate went back into the Praetorium and summoned Jesus.
He asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”
35Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew?
Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
36Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world.
If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jews.
But now my kingdom is not from here.”
37“You are a king then?”
Pilate asked.
Jesus answered, “I am, as you say, a king.
For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
King
I.
He knew they were watching the trial.
Everyone was watching the trial.
Lots of information had to be taken into account, and more than just the evidence at hand.
Fortunately, there would be no cameras present at this interview of the defendant.
No artist was on hand to do a sketch of the event, either.
There weren’t even any reporters who would dash right out to spread their stories far and wide.
The news, however, would leak.
It was inevitable.
Since what was said in these proceedings would leak, it was essential that he consider his every move very carefully.
The matter was politically charged.
What effect would this proceeding have in the community or in the surrounding area?
There was no jury seated in the hall, so there was no place to deflect the anger of those who might disagree with his actions.
He would have to be pragmatic.
Pragmatic and shrewd.
Every word should be weighed thoughtfully.
Careless words could come back to haunt him in the future.
It was entirely possible that just a small band of individuals could find strategic positions among the throngs of people gathered outside.
Using carefully crafted words, a few people could easily stir the crowd up to a frenzy.
Things could very quickly get out of hand.
It wouldn’t take much.
He had asked them: “What charge do you bring against this man?” (John 18:29, EHV).
Before ever bringing Jesus before Pilate, the Jews had thought about what they would say very carefully.
They had their trumped-up charges all prepared.
Luke gives the most thorough report of the charges: “We found this fellow misleading our nation, forbidding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king” (Luke 23:2, EHV).
Really, their charge of Jesus claiming to be a king was a bit thin, so they had to preface the charge with subversion, which was a complete fabrication.
It would help, they thought, make Jesus look like a radical who wanted to overthrow the Roman government.
“Pilate went back into the Praetorium and summoned Jesus” (John 18:33, EHV).
Imagine how Pilate must have prepared himself before Jesus was led in.
This matter was going to be a tricky one.
The primary goal of any politician is to maintain power.
Whether he could manage to emerge completely unscathed was unclear at the moment, but it was necessary to proceed very, very carefully.
Justice should be upheld, of course.
But what justice, exactly?
And at what cost?
If the carefully planted dissenters didn’t like his verdict, riots would break out.
Any thought for the defendant and his well-being was secondary, at best.
Riots wouldn’t serve Pilate well.
Before Jesus was led in there had already been two trials.
Annas and Caiaphas already had determined the justice they wanted to see done.
Caiaphas had once said: “It is better for us that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:50, EHV).
Caiaphas, like Pilate, was only thinking of his own power when he said that.
“Pilate ... summoned Jesus” (John 18:33, EHV).
How does one “summon” a king?
Centuries earlier Isaiah had captured the scene that was to come: “He had no attractiveness and no majesty.
When we saw him, nothing about his appearance made us desire him.
3He was despised and rejected by men, a man who knew grief, who was well acquainted with suffering.
Like someone whom people cannot bear to look at, he was despised, and we thought nothing of him” (Isaiah 53:2-3, EHV).
Bloodied and bruised from the beatings at his previous trials, Jesus didn’t look much like a king.
II.
Who wants that kind of king, a king who is bloodied and beaten?
Who wants that kind of king, a king who has been abandoned by all his so-called loyal followers and left to his own devices?
Who wants that kind of king, a king who cannot seem to overcome adversity and use his power to rise above?
Nobody.
That’s who.
Pilate’s focus was on himself—his own power, his own prestige, maintaining his position of authority in this outpost of the Roman government.
Annas and Caiaphas and their cronies were focused on themselves—their own power, their own prestige, maintaining their position of authority in the religion of Judaism that was left alone by the Roman government.
Focus on self.
Focus on the immediate.
What impact can this king have on my existence right now?
How can I benefit?
How can I use the situation to my own advantage?
Even close followers did it—and do it.
There is pressure.
Pressure from the outside.
Pressure from society.
Pressure from the mob.
The next thing you know, you find yourself around the fire, warming yourself and swearing up and down you never knew the man.
Just save your own skin; save your own reputation.
Deny when the going gets tough.
III.
Now the pathetic figure stood at his third trial, hands bound together, bruised and bloodied face looking at Pilate calmly.
“[Pilate] asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’” (John 18:33, EHV).
How long was the interval before Jesus answered?
Did Pilate start to squirm in his seat as he waited for the answer?
Perhaps he was already running scenarios through his mind to try to anticipate what he might say next to deal with the situation.
“Jesus answered, ‘Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’” (John 18:34, EHV).
An answer in the form of a question, designed to give Pilate an opportunity to confess faith in Jesus, even while Jesus stood on trial for his life.
“Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew?
Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?’” (John 18:35, EHV).
Not only do you not look very kingly, Jesus, the people who should be your subjects are the very ones who dumped you off at my courtroom for trial.
Far from confessing faith, Pilate wondered what Jesus had done to so anger his own countrymen.
“Jesus replied, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9