The crowd asked for Barabbas because the chief priests put them up to it (Mark 15:11).

Mark 15:11  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

Barabbas means “son of abba” or “son of the father”. It is ironical that the “son of the father” was released while the One who could be called “the Son of the Father” was condemned in his place. In fact, Jesus was going to die on the very cross designed for Barabbas.

“taken part in a rebellion” (NIV) is translated as “robber” in KJV. The Greek word is “lestes” which means a thief, robber, or plunderer. This word is the same one used in (John 10:1, 8) for those who are set in opposition to the Good Shepherd. At this critical moment in history, God’s sheep chose a robber instead of the Good Shepherd.

John 10:1  “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

John 10:8  All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

Luke tells us that Barabbas was also a murderer and an insurrectionist (Luke 23:19, 25). He was possibly the leader of the band to whom the other 2 thieves belonged. Due to his involvement in a resistance movement against the Romans, Barabbas was probably a hero to many of the people. There is again irony in the fact that the chief priests persuaded the people to ask for and get the release of a man who was guilty of the very crime that they were accusing Jesus, though innocent, of doing. Plummer quotes from Ecce Homo, “Pilate executed Him on the ground that His kingdom was of this world; the Jews procured His execution precisely because it was not.”

Luke 23:19  (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

Luke 23:25  He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

The crowd had a choice and they chose Barabbas over Jesus. But isn’t that the way the world chooses today? Barabbas was the opposite of Jesus. He represented the world and Jesus the Kingdom of God. Barabbas was a robber, a murderer, and a leader of a rebellion which in other words meant that he came to steal, kill, and destroy while Jesus came only to bring abundant and full life (John 10:10). Barabbas was the physical and Jesus the spiritual, and the lost of this world even today are screaming out “Give us Barabbas!” instead of “Give us Jesus!” Even sadder is the fact that we sometimes join them in choosing the world and thus rejecting Jesus when we put physical things first and His Kingdom last. Let your cry this week be “Give me Jesus!” and make His Kingdom the priority in your life.

John 10:10  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Pilate appealed to the crowd (Matt 27:15, Mark 15:6) with this proposal to release Jesus, and not to the chief priests, because he knew what their answer would be. Pilate was trying to get the best of both worlds. If he succeeded in his ploy to get the people to request the release of Jesus he could do so (which he wanted to do) without officially acquitting Him. In this way he would be placing the blame for the release of Jesus on the crowd and thus still be pleasing the chief priests, because Jesus would still be officially guilty. At the same time, Pilate’s only release at the festival would be an innocent man and not anyone who really was guilty of breaking Roman law. Pilate even uses the title “the King of the Jews” in an effort to sway the crowd in Jesus’ favor. Pilate probably figured this was a foolproof plan since the people had recently shown that Jesus was highly favored among them (John 12:12-19). Pilate’s fear of men and wish to gain favor with them will cause “him to stain his judge’s robe with innocent blood, from which he vainly sought to cleanse his hands.” (Maclaren) See (Matt 27:24).

Matthew 27:15  Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.

Mark 15:6  Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.

John 12:12-19  The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”  Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,  “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”  At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realise that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.  Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.  Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.  So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Matthew 27:24  When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

This practice was one of mercy and the release of a condemned man honored the Passover which was a memorial to the release of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, but it was also an injustice and possibly injurious to the public (Prov 17:15). Pilate lacked the courage and integrity to release the innocent Jesus on the merit of the lack of evidence against Him.

Proverbs 17:15  Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—the LORD detests them both.

Pilate asks “What is truth” of Jesus and it is unknown just how he asked it. He could have asked wistfully or jestingly as Francis Bacon thinks, “What is truth? said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer.” (from the essay “Of Truth”) Either way his words dismiss the subject and end the interview. He did not wait for an answer which indicates that he did not expect one, or at least a good one, from Jesus. The irony is that He asked a great question from the only person who has ever existed who could fully answer it! The answer of God to this question of Pilate is found in the following account of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The cross and the empty tomb show us exactly what God’s truth is.

Our search of the scriptures is basically a search for truth. How often do we, like Pilate, not have the patience to wait for the answer? Or do we lack the humility and sincerity to receive the answer once we find it? Are we like those Paul warns about in (2 Tim 3:7)?

2 Timothy 3:7  always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

Pilate finds Jesus innocent of breaking any Roman laws and thus proclaims Him not guilty before His accusers (Isa 53:9). His statement that Jesus is not guilty is found three times in John (18:38, 19:4,6). Pilate sets himself to release Jesus, but is going to do so here by appealing to the crowd. Jesus probably had some support among the crowd but the chief priests would eventually prevail (Mark 15:11).

Isaiah 53:9  He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

John 18:38  “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

John 19:4  Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”

John 19:6  As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

Mark 15:11  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

Pilate’s question could be a simple request for information, but it is more likely an ironic declaration which affirms the truth of Christ’s royalty.

Jesus gives what Paul calls “the good confession” (1 Tim 6:13). His “I” stands in contrast to the “you” referring to Pilate. There is a purpose to Christ’s life and that purpose is to testify to the truth. Jesus was not born to be an earthly king or He would have responded that he was born to rule the nations, or to conquer lands, or the such. His purpose is closely related to His identity (John 14:6). Jesus constantly testified to the truth (John 3:11, 32, 7:7, 8:14, Rev 1:5). The witness that Jesus bears to the truth elicits a response from all who are of the truth: they will hear what Jesus says and put it into practice.

1 Timothy 6:13  In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you

John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.

John 3:11  I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.

John 3:32  He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no-one accepts his testimony.

John 7:7  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.

John 8:14  Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.

Revelation 1:5  and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

Jesus says here that He has been born and that He has come into the world. These statements by themselves would not be unusual, but together would be quite unexpected. Jesus is speaking of a very unusual coming into the earth and a pre-existence before that coming. Pilate could not have apprehended all of the meaning of the statement of Jesus, but he surely would have been impressed that this Jesus was certainly an unusual person!

Jesus declared before the religious court of the Sanhedrin that He is the Son of God and before the secular court of Pilate that He is the King. Each court was shown an aspect of His position of which the judges were able to determine the truthfulness of each claim, but none even tried. Their minds were made up and they were convinced they alerady knew the truth, without further investigating the claims of Jesus.

Jesus stresses that He is indeed a King, but not in a sense that would be a threat to Rome or any other civil kingdom.

It is not of “this world” = (John 17:13-18). Jesus does have a kingdom, but it is not earthly in any sense. Worldly kingdoms arise from the earth or the sea (Dan 7:3, Rev 13:1, 11) but the kingdom of which Jesus is King comes from heaven (Rev 21:10). Its nature is not one of physical existence on the earth, but in the heart (Rom 14:17, Luke 17:21). Its weapons are spiritual (2 Cor 10:4) and are therefore not harmful to secular kingdoms. Its aim is completely different from that of earthly kingdoms (Luke 22:25-30) and thus no threat to those kingdoms. Jesus points out that if His kingdom were earthly, then His disciples would have been fighting even then and before for his release. Henry notes that “the peaceful behavior of His disciples on this occasion was enough to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” He not only didn’t order them to fight, but He forbid it (John 18:11). He could even have called upon legions of angels to defend Him and prove that His kingdom was heavenly (Matt 26:53) but He didn’t.

John 17:13-18  “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

Daniel 7:3  Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

Revelation 13:1  And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

Revelation 13:11  Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.

Revelation 21:10  And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

Romans 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Luke 17:21  nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

2 Corinthians 10:4  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Luke 22:25-30  Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.  But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.  For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.  You are those who have stood by me in my trials.  And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,  so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

John 18:11  Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Matthew 26:53  Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Jesus said that if His kingdom were of this world, His followers would fight to see that He was not handed over to the Jews. This has to point out the absurdity of the charge that He is the King of the Jews!

The fact that the kingdom of Jesus is not of this world has far-reaching application for all of His servants. It tells us 2 things: first, that we should never try to mix the world and its principles with those of the Kingdom of God and secondly, that we should never use worldly power or force to advance the Kingdom.

Pilate’s answer is contemptuous of the Jews. Pilate could care less about their religious disputes. He obviously has nothing but hatred and disdain for the Jews. His attitude has been reflected throughout recent history and is the result, not of the higher level of honor and morality of the Jews, but because of their corruption and turning away from God (Mal 2:8-9). Henry notes that “good names often suffer for the sake of the bad men who wear them.” How may this apply to Christians?

Malachi 2:8-9  But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the LORD Almighty.  “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

Pilate tells Jesus that it is His own people, who should be biased toward Him, and the priests, who should be representing Him, who have handed Him over for judgment. The governor can do no more than proceed on the information they have given him.

Pilate’s question as to what Jesus did is blunt and curt and carries the sense of “what is your real crime?” Jesus had neglected to answer Pilate’s first question as to whether He was a king or not, so Pilate here asks his question in a more general form. Jesus has obviously done something to arouse the ire of the chief priests and Pilate wants to get to the bottom of it to see if it is anything that would concern Rome and Roman law.

Jesus answers Pilate’s question with another, but He is not trying to be vague or evade the question. On the contrary, Pilate’s answer will show exactly the answer for which he is looking from Jesus. If Pilate asked the question out of his own curiosity, it meant that he was asking whether Jesus was a political king who was conspiring against the reign of Caesar over Israel; if Pilate asked because Caiaphas or the Sanhedrin had put him up to it, then his question was whether Jesus was the Messianic King of Israel. The answer of Jesus to the first question would be “no” while His answer to the second must be “yes.”

Morris is caught up with this passage and notes, “In a scene full of dramatic power John pictures for us the lowly majesty of Jesus confronting the proud majesty of Rome’s representative.” What this confrontation is going to bring out is the Kingship of Christ. Jesus is compared with Caesar and the supreme royalty of Jesus shines forth in all of its glory.

Interestingly, there is no mention of Pilate having an interpreter. With what we know of Pilate, it seems highly unlikely that he would have taken the trouble to learn Aramaic, so he and Jesus are probably conversing in Greek. Thus Jesus probably spoke Greek and we have His exact words recorded here.

Pilate had to try Jesus himself because of the charges the Jews were bringing against Him (Luke 23:2). The essential question was whether Jesus was the king of the Jews or not. Pilate’s question along these lines is recorded in all 4 gospels (Matt 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3), emphasizing the question’s importance. Jesus did indeed claim to be the spiritual King of Israel by His not rejecting the title in (John 1:49, 12:13) but the Sanhedrin wanted Pilate to see this claim to be in the physical realm which would have made Jesus a rival to Caesar which was exactly what some of the Jews wanted but which Jesus had earlier rejected (John 6:15). It is to be noted that the Jewish leaders had rejected Jesus as spiritual Messianic King of Israel (Matt 21:15-16, Luke 19:38-39).

Luke 23:2  And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.”

Matthew 27:11  Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

Mark 15:2  “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

Luke 23:3  So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

John 1:49  Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

John 12:13  They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

John 6:15  Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Matthew 21:15-16  But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.  “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”

Luke 19:38-39  “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

Pilate had entered his hall to question Jesus. The Jews could not follow Pilate without making themselves unclean, so Pilate had effectively made his part of the questioning of Jesus very private.

A.N. Sherwin-White observes that “The trial of Christ was peculiar in that the accused made no attempt to defend himself. This was rare in Roman courts, but to prevent any miscarriage of justice, there was a usage by which the direct question was put three times to the defendant before his case was allowed to go by default. Hence it was a correct technicality in Mark and Matthew, and also in John, when Pilate repeated his question to the silent Christ.” (Historicity and Chronology in the New Testament, S.P.C.K. Theological Collections no. 6, London, 1965, p. 105).

The “you” in Pilate’s question is emphatic. Pilate was incredulous. How could this simple man standing before him possibly have thoughts of royalty? From what he had been told the previous night so as to enlist his help in the form of troops to apprehend Jesus, Pilate was probably expecting a revolutionary, who had set himself up as monarch and had a large force of heavily armed men following him, and yet it was too fantastic to believe that this man could possibly fit that role.

The charge which the Sanhedrin had against Jesus is not a Roman violation, but a Jewish one: blasphemy (Mark 14:64) which had a penalty of death by stoning (Lev 24:16). Jesus had already escaped stoning on at least 2 previous occasions (John 8:59, 10:31) and had predicted the form of His death as being crucifixion (John 3:14, 8:28, 12:32-34; Matt 26:2) which will now be fulfilled. Jesus had also predicted that He would be handed over to the gentiles to be put to death (Mt 20:19; Mark 10:33; Luke 18:32-33). It is indeed interesting that they who were trying to kill the sayings and teachings of Jesus, were instead instruments in the hand of God to bring about their fulfillment!

Mark 14:64  “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death.

Leviticus 24:16  anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

John 8:59  At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

John 10:31  Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,

John 3:14  Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

John 8:28  So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.

John 12:32-34  But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”  He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.  The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain for ever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

Matthew 26:2  “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

Matthew 20:19  and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

Mark 10:33  “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,

Luke 18:32-33  He will be turned over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.  On the third day he will rise again.”

It is thought by many that Caiaphas did not want Jesus to die by stoning but by crucifixion because in that way there would be a curse attached to Jesus (Deut 21:22-23) and every Jew would see that Jesus could not possibly be the Blessed One of God because He was a cursed blasphemer. However, Caiaphas missed the point that God wanted Jesus to be cursed so that He would take our curse from us (Gal 3:13).

Deuteronomy 21:22-23  If a man guilty of a capital offence is put to death and his body is hung on a tree,  you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Galatians 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

Pilate does not want to be manipulated by these Jews. If there is no offense against Roman law, then they must try Jesus themselves. The Romans respected the local laws of their conquered nations and allowed them a great deal of autonomous judicial administration. However, they did not allow their conquered peoples to have the power of a death penalty. This was because they didn’t want a conquered people to have the power to kill those who collaborated with Rome. Jewish tradition has it that the right to inflict the death penalty was taken from them 40 years before the destruction of the Temple. The stoning of Stephen was illegal, but probably not punished by Rome since it was a popular act. Jesus, however, had a great deal of support among the people and the Jewish leaders would have been very reluctant to test whether Pilate would punish them for killing Jesus.

Matthew Henry notes that since they have not the power to put anyone to death, it is evident that the scepter had indeed departed from Judah as is spoken of in the prophecy in (Gen 49:10) and yet none of them asks the whereabouts of Shiloh (“he to whom it belongs”).

Genesis 49:10  The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

There is another reason that the Jews wanted Rome to kill Jesus. It would place the blame on Rome and not on themselves.

Pilate rather slyly gets to the bottom of the matter in that the Jews did not want justice to be done, but a death sentence handed out. Note that the insolence of the Jews has died rather quickly now that it seems they might not get what they want from Pilate.