15:7 Barabbas. Apparently he was an insurrectionist seeking the military overthrow of Rome. Matt. 27:16 (in some manuscripts) gives his first name as “Jesus,” a common name of the period. The choice Pilate proposes to the crowd (v. 9) is unwittingly ironic: Jesus Barabbas, the would-be political savior of Israel, or Jesus of Nazareth, the true Savior of the world.