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Translation
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What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
John Chrysostom
"Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a King. To this end was I born." If then He was born a king, all His other attributes are by Generation, and He hath nothing which He received in addition. So that when thou hearest that, "As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son also to have life," deem of nothing else but His generation, and so of the rest. …
Cyril of Alexandria
He makes use of Christ's truth-speaking to charge Him withal. When he heard Him say: My Kingdom is not from hence, he was indeed quit of his fear of an insurrection; but he still compels Him to openly profess this thing, and defines as a charge His mere assertion that He had a kingdom, though He asserted that it was not of this world. He drives Jesus, as it were, to make this profession; and says, Thou hast confessed already that Thou art a King.
Theophylact of Ohrid
When Pilate asked the Lord whether He was a King, He answered: "For this I was born," that is, to be a King. I have this by essence and by birth from the Father. For the very fact that I was born of a King testifies that I am a King. Therefore, when you hear that the Father gave the Son life, and judgment, and all else (John 5:22, 26), understand the word "gave" as meaning He "begat" Him, so that He has life, judges, and all this comes from the Father to the Son by nature. …
Western Saints
Augustine of Hippo
"Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king." Not that He was afraid to confess Himself a king, but "Thou sayest" has been so balanced that He neither denies Himself to be a king (for He is a king whose kingdom is not of this world), nor does He confess that He is such a king as to warrant the supposition that His kingdom is of this world. …
Thomas Aquinas
2355 Now our Lord reveals the truth about his kingdom: first, we see the circumstances for this; secondly, the revelation itself; and thirdly, the effect this revelation had, What is truth? 2356 In respect to the first, note that Pilate understood our Lord's statements to mean that he did have a physical kingdom, but far away: "The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God... and he is not able to understand them" (1 Cor 2:14). …
Bonaventure
"Pilate therefore said to him." Here the fourth point is set forth, namely the examination of the response. And because the Lord had said that he had a kingdom, Pilate argues from the Lord's response, as if marveling: "So," he says, "you are a king?" As if to say: since you confess yourself to be a king, it seems from your words that you wish to reign. And the Lord indeed responds, conceding Pilate's conclusion and satisfying his intention. …
Translation