WHoSe TRUTH? A ReADeR-oRIeNTeD STUDy 403 the Roman emperor approved it. De Boer brings to our attention that the Jews already sought to kill Jesus (5,18; 7,1.19.20.25; 8,22.37.40; 11,53). They only needed the approval of the Romans for this. Then they could crucify Jesus by Roman law. Pilate opposes this endeavor: la,bete auvto.n u`mei/j kai. staurw,sate (19,6). He refuses to give his ju- ridical approval for this, because he does not find any guilt in Jesus: evgw. ga.r ouvc eu`ri,skw evn auvtw/| aivti,an (19,6). That Pilate says these words to the Jews is reasonable according to de Boer, because in 8,28 Jesus says to his Jewish opponents that “they will lift him up” (i.e., “crucify him”). It seems obvious to de Boer that in 19,6, John has Pilate “repeat the command for ‘the Jews’ to crucify Jesus themselves (la,bete; as in v. 31) [...] to depict the Jewish authorities as bearing primary re- sponsibility for Jesus’ crucifixion” 24. Again, it is hard to discern who has the correct interpretation, i.e., whether Pilate is aggressive or reluctant. It does not seem to be an issue of true or false. Things are more complex than that. It is the interpreter’s conceptual framework that fills in the gaps of the text, and offers us an intelligible view of the characters in the narrative. The interpreter is more of an artist than a scientist. His/her job is to actualize the literary and artistic potential of the text, and not to scientifically dissect it in search of an all-encompassing and exhaustive meaning. Without the key concepts of reluctance and aggressiveness, there would be no understanding of the actions and deeds of the Johannine Pilate. 3. John 19,7-16 We continue to illustrate this further. For de Boer, the actual accu- sation against Jesus is that he supposedly made himself the Son of God (19,7). The charge, “king of the Jews”, was simply a smokescreen 25. Be that as it may, Piper is correct in remarking that with the charge of 19,7 the Jews switch “from the political to the religious sphere” 26. As a reaction to this shift, 19,8-9 tells us that Pilate became “more afraid” (ma/llon evfobh,qh), and he asks Jesus where he comes from: po,qen ei= su,; Jesus does not answer, because, as de Boer states, “Pilate will not understand the answer to the question and the Johannine reader already does” 27. In 19,10-11 Jesus makes it plain to Pilate that “his 24 De BoeR, “Narrative Function”, 144 n. 13. 25 De BoeR, “Narrative Function”, 143-144 n. 13, 153. 26 PIPeR, “Characterisation”, 148-149. 27 De BoeR, “Narrative Function”, 153.