6 It was the usual practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. 7 A man named Barabbas was in prison. He was there with some other people who had fought against the country’s rulers. They had committed murder while they were fighting against the rulers. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to let the king of the Jews go free?” asked Pilate. 10 He knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they wanted to get their own way. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd. So the crowd asked Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.
12 “Then what should I do with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” the crowd shouted.
14 “Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd. So he let Barabbas go free. He ordered that Jesus be whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.
Read Mark 15:6-15 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
As Jesus’ ministry is drawing to its grand conclusion, all four gospel writers focus on a key event in the last hours of Jesus’ life before the cross: the ultimate judgment that is placed on Jesus. It is during this trial and sentencing that each gospel writer draws different details leading up to this moment.
Whether it is how this translation is worded, both Matthew and Mark bring out an idea I had not thought before regarding Pilate and His question to the crowd. Mark tells us that Pilate “He knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they wanted to get their own way.” (v. 10)
This stands out because just a few verses earlier Mark tells us that “The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.” (v. 8)
Reading this key distinction, and knowing that Jesus was primarily loved by the people across the country, I wonder if Pilate believed the crowd present at this point of Passover weekend to be a good cross-section of Jews from all regions. It is interesting that the crowd asks for the release of a prisoner according to Mark, and I wonder if Pilate sees it as an opening to release Jesus who he knows is innocent.
This is where Matthew brings out an interesting parallel between Jesus and the other candidate for release. The man known as Barabbas was also named Jesus. “At that time they had a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to set free? Jesus Barabbas? Or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’” (Matthew 27:16-17)
The trial on crucifixion morning centers around the choice of which Jesus will the crowd choose: Jesus the criminal-revolutionary or Jesus the Messiah. Pilate believes the crowd would pick Jesus the Messiah, but the crowd is not what Pilate thinks. Mark tells us that “the chief priests stirred up the crowd. So the crowd asked Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.” (v. 11)
The question that the crowd faced that day is the same question we all face: Which Jesus will you and I choose?
Will we choose Jesus Barabbas, who tried to force his own way into being a messiah; or will we choose Jesus Christ, who chose to leave heaven and die on a cross as a substitute for us?
The priests and leaders chose Barabbas to be their “Jesus”, but that doesn’t mean that you and I have to make the same mistake.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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