But the chief priests stirred up the crowd. So the crowd asked Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.
“Listen to me, you priests! Pay attention, people of Israel! Listen, you members of the royal family! Here is my decision against you. You have been like a trap at Mizpah. You have been like a net spread out on Mount Tabor.
But the chief priests and the elders talked the crowd into asking for Barabbas and having Jesus put to death.
He knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they wanted to get their own way.
“Then what should I do with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
They shouted back, “No! Not him! Give us Barabbas!” Barabbas had taken part in an armed struggle against the country’s rulers.
You spoke against the Holy and Blameless One. You asked for a murderer to be set free instead.