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PER345
The release of a prisoner
During the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor tries to use the Passover custom of releasing a prisoner in order to avoid condemning Jesus. He offers the crowd a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, a notorious criminal, convinced that the people will make the right choice. His wife's intervention strengthens his hesitation. This scene, attested by all four gospels, illustrates the manipulation by the religious authorities and theologically prefigures redemptive substitution.
John 18.39-40 (King James Version) :But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org