Matthew 27:15-18

27:15 During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd, ¹  whomever they wanted. 27:16 At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus ²  Barabbas. 27:17 So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus ³  Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” ⁴  27:18 (For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.) ⁵ 

Mark 15:6

Jesus and Barabbas

15:6 During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, ⁶  whomever they requested.

Mark 15:8

15:8 Then the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom. ⁷ 

Luke 23:17

23:17 [[EMPTY]] ⁸ 

Luke 23:20

23:20 Pilate addressed them once again because he wanted ⁹  to release Jesus.

[27:15]  ¹ sn The custom of Pilate to release one prisoner is unknown outside the gospels in Jewish writings, but it was a Roman custom at the time and thus probably used in Palestine as well (cf. Matt 27:15; John 18:39).

[27:16]  ² tc Although the external evidence for the inclusion of “Jesus” before “Barabbas” (in vv. 16 and 17) is rather sparse, being restricted virtually to the Caesarean text (Θ Ë¹ 700* pc sy^s), the omission of the Lord’s name in apposition to “Barabbas” is such a strongly motivated reading that it can hardly be original. There is no good explanation for a scribe unintentionally adding ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun) before Βαραββᾶν (Barabban), especially since Barabbas is mentioned first in each verse (thus dittography is ruled out). Further, the addition of τὸν λεγόμενον Χριστόν (ton legomenon Criston, “who is called Christ”) to ᾿Ιησοῦν in v. 17 makes better sense if Barabbas is also called “Jesus” (otherwise, a mere “Jesus” would have been a sufficient appellation to distinguish the two).

[27:17]  ³ tc Again, as in v. 16, the name “Jesus” is supplied before “Barabbas” in Θ Ë¹ 700* pc sy^s Or^mss (Θ 700* lack the article τόν [ton] before Βαραββᾶν [Barabban]). The same argument for accepting the inclusion of “Jesus” as original in the previous verse applies here as well.

[27:17]  ⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[27:18]  ⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[15:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “Coming up the crowd began to ask [him to do] as he was doing for them.”

[23:17]  ⁸ tc Many of the best mss, as well as some others (Ì⁷⁵ A B K L T 070 1241 pc sa), lack 23:17 “(Now he was obligated to release one individual for them at the feast.)” This verse appears to be a parenthetical note explaining the custom of releasing someone on amnesty at the feast. It appears in two different locations with variations in wording, which makes it look like a scribal addition. It is included in א (D following v. 19) W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat. The verse appears to be an explanatory gloss based on Matt 27:15 and Mark 15:6, not original in Luke. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[23:20]  ⁹ sn The account pictures a battle of wills – the people versus Pilate. Pilate is consistently portrayed in Luke’s account as wanting to release Jesus because he believed him to be innocent.