13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15 No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. 16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him. 17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) 18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: 19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. 23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 25 And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. (Luke 23:13-25 KJV)
Barabbas Released, Jesus to Be Crucified
We see here the blessed Jesus dragged by the mob and rushed to the cross amid loud public outcry stirred up by the malice and scheming of the chief priests, agents of the prince of the power of the air.
Pilate publicly declared that he found no fault in Jesus worthy of death or punishment. If he truly believed this, he should have released Him immediately and protected Him from the fury of the priests and the crowd. But being a corrupt man, and already in political trouble, he was afraid of upsetting either the emperor or the people. So instead of dismissing the mob, he called the chief priests, rulers, and the people together and addressed them (Luke 23:14): “You brought this man to me, and because I respect your concerns, I examined him before you and listened to your accusations. I find no fault in him. You haven’t proven any of the charges you made.”
He continued, “I also sent him to Herod, who is more familiar with him, and Herod sent him back without convicting him or showing any sign of displeasure. In Herod’s judgment, his actions are not worthy of death” (Luke 23:15).
Pilate then proposed to release Jesus, though he should have done it without asking for their approval. Declaring Him innocent, he still sought to please the crowd. He offered to release Jesus under the pretense of a festival custom, where one prisoner was freed (Luke 23:17), turning what should have been an act of justice into a favor to the people. He even said he would have Jesus scourged before releasing Him, which made no sense if He was innocent. Scourging an innocent man to satisfy public opinion was just as unjust as crucifying Him. We should never do evil, hoping good will come from it.
But the people demanded the release of Barabbas instead—a man jailed for sedition and murder (Luke 23:18-19). They shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” It was no surprise that a violent criminal was preferred by a riotous crowd over Jesus, who was falsely accused of the very crime Barabbas had actually committed.
When Pilate again tried to release Jesus, they cried louder, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:20-21). They weren’t content that He should die—they insisted He die by crucifixion, the most shameful form of execution.
A third time, Pilate tried to reason with them, asking, “Why? What evil has He done? I find no cause for death in Him. I’ll punish Him and release Him” (Luke 23:22). But the crowd shouted all the louder. They weren’t requesting—they were demanding, with loud voices, that He be crucified. As if they had just as much right to call for the execution of the innocent as they did to ask for the release of the guilty.
Finally, Pilate gave in to their demands. The voices of the crowd and the priests won out. He gave sentence as they required (Luke 23:24). Justice was overruled by mob pressure. Truth and equity were cast aside (Isaiah 59:14). Instead of justice, there was oppression; instead of righteousness, there was a cry (Isaiah 5:7). As Luke records (Luke 23:25), Pilate released Barabbas—the one guilty of sedition and murder, who would likely continue in his evil—and delivered Jesus to the will of those who hated Him. And he couldn’t have acted more cruelly than by handing Him over to people whose hatred was so fierce that even their mercy was brutal.