Matthew 27:17-21

27:17 So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus ¹  Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” ²  27:18 (For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.) ³  27:19 As ⁴  he was sitting on the judgment seat, ⁵  his wife sent a message ⁶  to him: ⁷  “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; ⁸  I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream ⁹  about him today.” 27:20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 27:21 The ¹⁰  governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!”

John 18:39

18:39 But it is your custom that I release one prisoner ¹¹  for you at the Passover. ¹²  So do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?”

John 19:4-5

19:4 Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, ¹³  “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation ¹⁴  against him.” 19:5 So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. ¹⁵  Pilate ¹⁶  said to them, “Look, here is the man!” ¹⁷ 

John 19:14-16

19:14 (Now it was the day of preparation ¹⁸  for the Passover, about noon. ¹⁹ ) ²⁰  Pilate ²¹  said to the Jewish leaders, ²²  “Look, here is your king!”

19:15 Then they ²³  shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him! ²⁴  Crucify ²⁵  him!” Pilate asked, ²⁶  “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!” 19:16 Then Pilate ²⁷  handed him over ²⁸  to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

So they took Jesus,

Acts 3:13-15

3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ²⁹  the God of our forefathers, ³⁰  has glorified ³¹  his servant ³²  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected ³³  in the presence of Pilate after he had decided ³⁴  to release him. 3:14 But you rejected ³⁵  the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 3:15 You killed ³⁶  the Originator ³⁷  of life, whom God raised ³⁸  from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! ³⁹ 

[27:17]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[27:18]  ³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[27:19]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:19]  ⁵ tn Or “the judge’s seat.”

[27:19]  ⁶ tn The word “message” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[27:19]  ⁷ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[27:19]  ⁸ tn The Greek particle γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated here.

[27:19]  ⁹ tn Or “suffered greatly in a dream.” See the discussion on the construction κατ᾿ ὄναρ (kat’ onar) in BDAG 710 s.v. ὄναρ.

[27:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “answering, the governor said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:39]  ¹¹ tn The word “prisoner” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[18:39]  ¹² sn Pilate then offered to release Jesus, reminding the Jewish authorities that they had a custom that he release one prisoner for them at the Passover. There is no extra-biblical evidence alluding to the practice. It is, however, mentioned in Matthew and Mark, described either as a practice of Pilate (Mark 15:6) or of the Roman governor (Matt 27:15). These references may explain the lack of extra-biblical attestation: The custom to which Pilate refers here (18:39) is not a permanent one acknowledged by all the Roman governors, but one peculiar to Pilate as a means of appeasement, meant to better relations with his subjects. Such a limited meaning is certainly possible and consistent with the statement here.

[19:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “to them.” The words “the Jewish leaders” are supplied from John 18:38 for clarity.

[19:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”

[19:5]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on the purple robe in 19:2.

[19:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:5]  ¹⁷ sn Look, here is the man! Pilate may have meant no more than something like “Here is the accused!” or in a contemptuous way, “Here is your king!” Others have taken Pilate’s statement as intended to evoke pity from Jesus’ accusers: “Look at this poor fellow!” (Jesus would certainly not have looked very impressive after the scourging). For the author, however, Pilate’s words constituted an unconscious allusion to Zech 6:12, “Look, here is the man whose name is the Branch.” In this case Pilate (unknowingly and ironically) presented Jesus to the nation under a messianic title.

[19:14]  ¹⁸ sn The term day of preparation (παρασκευή, paraskeuh) appears in all the gospels as a description of the day on which Jesus died. It could refer to any Friday as the day of preparation for the Sabbath (Saturday), and this is the way the synoptic gospels use the term (Matt 27:62, Mark 15:42, and Luke 23:54). John, however, specifies in addition that this was not only the day of preparation of the Sabbath, but also the day of preparation of the Passover, so that the Sabbath on the following day was the Passover (cf. 19:31).

[19:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “about the sixth hour.”

[19:14]  ²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[19:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:14]  ²² tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6). See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

[19:15]  ²³ tn Grk “Then these.”

[19:15]  ²⁴ tn The words “with him” (twice) are not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[19:15]  ²⁵ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

[19:15]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Pilate said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because it is clear in English who Pilate is addressing.

[19:16]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Then he”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ²⁸ tn Or “delivered him over.”

[3:13]  ²⁹ tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁷ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[3:13]  ³⁰ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:13]  ³¹ sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.

[3:13]  ³² sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.

[3:13]  ³³ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:13]  ³⁴ tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).

[3:14]  ³⁵ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:15]  ³⁶ tn Or “You put to death.”

[3:15]  ³⁷ tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”

[3:15]  ³⁸ sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.

[3:15]  ³⁹ tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.