Ver. 15-18. Mark saith, Mar_15:6-11, Now at that feast hereleased unto them, one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. Andthere was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that hadmade insurrection with him, who had committed murder in theinsurrection. And the multitude crying aloud began to desire himto do as he had ever done unto them. But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Forhe knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. But thechief priests moved the people, that he should rather releaseBarabbas unto them.
Luke hath this passage of the history more fully, Luk_23:13-18: And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and therulers and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this manunto me, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I, havingexamined him before you, have found no fault in this man touchingthose things whereof ye accuse him. No, nor yet Herod: for I sentyou to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. Iwill therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity hemust release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out allat once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:(who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, wascast into prison.)
John saith, Joh_18:38-40, that when he went out he told them he found no fault in him at all. But ye have a custom, that Ishould release unto you one at the passover: will ye thereforethat I release unto you the King of the Jews. Then cried they allagain, saying, not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was arobber.
The history is plain: Pilate discerned, upon his before mentioned examination of Christ, that our Saviour had done nothing amiss, but was only loaded with the malice and envy of the chief priests and scribes; this made him resolve to do what in him lay to deliver him. He first tells them that they had brought him before him, accused him of many things, but had proved against him nothing criminal; that he had sent him to Herod, in whose jurisdiction he had lived, but neither did Herod find any fault in him. Now there was a custom, that ever at the passover the governor released a prisoner at the request of the people. The people desired he would keep their old custom in this particular. Pilate propounds to them to release the King of the Jews. The chief priests influence the people to declare their dissatisfaction at that, and to name one Barabbas, a prisoner who was a robber, and had been guilty of an insurrection, and of murder committed in the insurrection: accordingly the people cry out, Not this man, butBarabbas. This makes him again to return to the judgment seat.