But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask, instead, that Pilate set Barabbas free for them.
“Listen to this, you priests! Pay attention, people of Israel! Listen, you that belong to the royal family! You are supposed to judge with justice—so judgment will fall on you! You have become a trap at Mizpah, a net spread on Mount Tabor,
The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask Pilate to set Barabbas free and have Jesus put to death.
He knew very well that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.
Pilate spoke again to the crowd, “What, then, do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?”
They answered him with a shout, “No, not him! We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a bandit.)
He was holy and good, but you rejected him, and instead you asked Pilate to do you the favor of turning loose a murderer.