Now
the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. But the governor answered them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!”
Matthew 27:20-21
Matthew 27 [14.] He gave him no answer, not even one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner, whom they desired. They had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?” For he knew that because of envy they had delivered him up.
Matthew 27 [19.] While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. But the governor answered them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They said, “Barabbas!”
Matthew 27 [22.] Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do to Jesus, who is called Christ?”
They all said to him, “Let him be crucified!”
Meaning:
Pilate offered the crowd a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, a notorious prisoner, because “he knew that because of envy they had delivered him up” (Matthew 27:17-19). While he sat on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a warning about “that righteous man.” Meanwhile the chief priests and elders were busy among the people. Mark records the same: “But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead” (Mark 15:11).
- “the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes”
The leaders could not openly force Pilate’s hand, so they worked through the crowd. Only a few days earlier, crowds had welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David!” (Matthew 21:9). The leaders had feared those crowds and had planned to arrest Jesus “Not during the feast, lest a riot occur among the people” (Matthew 26:5). Now, early in the morning, they gathered and persuaded a crowd that would ask for what they wanted. We should not assume that the same people who shouted “Hosanna” now cried for Barabbas, but a crowd can be moved quickly by those who know how to stir it.
The law of Moses warned against exactly this: “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice” (Exodus 23:2). The leaders who should have taught this law were using a crowd to pervert justice.
- “to ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus”
Matthew states the leaders’ aim plainly. They did not only want Barabbas freed; they wanted Jesus destroyed. Barabbas was a rebel who had taken part in a violent uprising, “thrown into prison for a certain revolt in the city, and for murder” (Luke 23:19). It is striking that men who accused Jesus of being a political threat to Caesar asked for the release of a real insurgent.
- “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
Pilate had the authority to release Jesus. He knew the charges were driven by envy, and his wife had warned him. Yet instead of doing what was just, he handed the decision to the crowd. He hoped they would choose Jesus and free him from a difficult case. His question shows a ruler trying to avoid responsibility, and it led directly to the injustice he wanted to escape.
- “They said, ‘Barabbas!’”
The answer came at once. Peter later reminded the people of Jerusalem of this choice: “you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead” (Acts 3:14-15). In the release of Barabbas many have seen a picture of the gospel. A guilty man went free while the innocent one took his place on the cross.
The Significance of Matthew 27:20-21
- Standing apart from the crowd
It is easy to follow the voices around us, especially when respected leaders are guiding them. Jesus warned that the broad way is crowded, and “restricted is the way that leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). Believers are called to test what they hear and to stand for what is right, even when the majority goes the other way.
- The innocent for the guilty
Barabbas did nothing to earn his freedom. He was released because Jesus was condemned. In the same way, sinners are set free not by their own goodness but because Christ died in their place.
Cross-References:
Mark 15:11: "But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead." Mark’s parallel account.
Exodus 23:2: "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil." The law the leaders ignored.
Acts 3:14: "you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you," Peter’s words to Jerusalem.
Conclusion: The chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to destroy Jesus, and Pilate, who knew Jesus was innocent, left the choice to them. When the crowd shouted “Barabbas!”, a man guilty of violence went free and the Holy and Righteous One was condemned. The scene warns against following a crowd to do evil and points to the heart of the gospel: the innocent dying for the guilty.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible