The Crowd Rejects Jesus^(A)

¹⁵ At every Passover festival the governor would free one prisoner whom the crowd wanted. ¹⁶ At that time there was a well-known prisoner by the name of Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the people gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which man do you want me to free for you? Do you want me to free Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ Pilate knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.

¹⁹ While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Leave that innocent man alone. I’ve been very upset today because of a dream I had about him.”

²⁰ But the chief priests and leaders persuaded the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus.

²¹ The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to free for you?”

They said, “Barabbas.”

²² Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?”

“He should be crucified!” they all said.

²³ Pilate asked, “Why? What has he done wrong?”

But they began to shout loudly, “He should be crucified!”

²⁴ Pilate saw that he was not getting anywhere. Instead, a riot was breaking out. So Pilate took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. He said, “I won’t be guilty of killing this man. Do what you want!”

²⁵ All the people answered, “The responsibility for killing him will rest on us and our children.”

²⁶ Then Pilate freed Barabbas for the people. But he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified.

The Crowd Rejects Jesus^(A)

¹⁸ The whole crowd then shouted, “Take him away! Free Barabbas for us.” ¹⁹ (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for his involvement in a riot that had taken place in the city and for murder.)

²⁰ But because Pilate wanted to free Jesus, he spoke to the people again.

²¹ They began yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²² A third time Pilate spoke to them. He asked, “Why? What has he done wrong? I haven’t found this man deserving of the death penalty. So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.”

²³ But the crowd pressured Pilate. They shouted that Jesus had to be crucified, and they finally won. ²⁴ Pilate decided to give in to their demand. ²⁵ He freed Barabbas, who had been put in prison for rioting and murdering, because that’s what they wanted. But he let them do what they wanted to Jesus.

³⁹ You have a custom that I should free one person for you at Passover. Would you like me to free the king of the Jews for you?”

⁴⁰ The Jews shouted again, “Don’t free this man! Free Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a political revolutionary.)