Pilate
And so the king
Is once again my guest
And why is this?
Was Herod unimpressed?

Caiaphas
We turned to Rome
To sentence Nazareth
We have no law
To put a man to death
We need him crucified
It's all you have to do

Pilate
Talk to me, Jesus Christ
You have been brought here
Manacled, beaten by your own people
Do you have the first idea
Why you deserve it?
Listen, king of the Jews,
Where is your kingdom?
Look at me
Am I a Jew?

Jesus
I have got no kingdom
In this world
I'm through, through, through
There may be a kingdom for me
Somewhere if I only knew

Pilate
You're a king

Jesus
Yes you can see I am
I look for truth
And find that I get damned

Pilate
What is truth?
Is truth unchanging law?
We both have truths
Are mine the same as yours?

Crowd
Crucify him, crucify him!

Pilate
What do you mean
You'd crucify your king?

Crowd
We have no king but Caesar

Pilate
He's done no wrong
No, not the slightest thing

Crowd
We have no king but Caesar
Crucify him!

Pilate
I see no reason
I find no evil
This man is harmless
So why does he upset you?
He's just misguided
Thinks he's important
But to keep you vultures happy
I shall flog him

Crowd
Crucify! Crucify!

Pilate (Counting off the 39 Lashes)
One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven!
Twelve! Thirteen! Fourteen! Fifteen! Sixteen! Seventeen! Eighteen!
Nineteen! Twenty! Twenty one! Twenty two! Twenty three! Twenty four!
Twenty five! Twenty six! Twenty seven! Twenty eight! Twenty nine!
Thirty! Thirty one! Thirty two! Thirty three! Thirty four! Thirty
five! Thirty six! Thirty seven! Thirty eight! Thirty nine!

Pilate
Where are you from Jesus?
What do you want Jesus?
Tell me!
You've got to be careful
You could be dead soon
Could well be
Why do you not speak
When I have your life in my hands?
How can you stay quiet?
I don't believe you understand!

Jesus
You have nothing in your hands
Any power you have
Comes to you from far beyond
Everything is fixed
And you can't change it

Pilate
You're a fool, Jesus Christ
How can I help you?

Crowd
Crucify him! Crucify him!
Remember Caesar
You have a duty
To keep the peace
So crucify him!
You'll be demoted
You'll be deported
So crucify him!

Pilate
Don't let me stop
Your great self-desctruction
Die if you want to
You misguided martyr!
I wash my hands
Of your demolition
Die if you want to
You innocent puppet!