After he’d said this, Pilate went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I can’t find anything that he’s guilty of. 39 But you all have a custom here that the governor can release one prisoner during the Passover. So would you like me to release the king of the Jews?”

40 But they all yelled back, “No, not this one. Release Barabbas.” (Barabbas was a robber.)

19 So Pilate took Yeshua and had him flogged. 2 Then the soldiers twisted some thorn branches together into a crown and put it on Yeshua’s head, and they dressed him in a royal purple robe. 3 They came up to him and said, “Greetings, you king of the Jews,” and then slapped him.

4 Then Pilate went back outside and said to the Jews, “Look here. I’m bringing him out to you so that you all can know that I didn’t find him guilty of anything.” 5 So they led Yeshua out wearing the thorny crown and the kingly robe, and Pilate said, “Look. Here’s the man.”

6 Now when the chief priests and their supporters saw him, they yelled out, “Execute him on a stake! Execute him on a stake!”

“Well you take him and execute him on a stake,” Pilate answered, “because I haven’t found anything that he’s guilty of.”

7 The Jews responded, “We have a law and he should be executed according to that law because he said he was the son of God.”

8 Now when Pilate heard that, he became more afraid. 9 So he went back inside the residence and asked Yeshua, “Where do you come from?”

But Yeshua didn’t answer him. 10 So Pilate said, “Why don’t you answer me? Don’t you realise that I have the authority to release you and I also have the authority to have you executed on a stake?”

11 “You have no authority over me,” Yeshua answered, “none at all, except what has been granted to you from above. Because of this, the sin of the person who handed me over to you is greater.”

12 After hearing this, Pilate wanted to release him but the Jews yelled out, “If you release that man, you’re no friend of Caesar. Everyone who claims to be a king is no friend of Caesar’s.”

13 So now Pilate, having heard all this, brought Yeshua outside again. Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called The Stone Pavement (and called Gabbatha in Hebrew). 14 It was now about noon on the day when the Passover meal is prepared, and Pilate said to the Jews, “Look. Here’s your king.”

15 They yelled back, “Take him away. Take him away. Execute him on a stake.”

Pilate asked them, “You want me to have your king executed on a stake?”

“We don’t have any king other than Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

16 So Pilate gave them his permission and handed Yeshua over to them, and they took him away to be executed on a stake.

15 It was the time of the Passover celebrations, and a tradition had been established that the governor would release one prisoner to the people—whoever they chose. 16 At that time, there was a well-known prisoner named Barabbas, 17 so when all the people had gathered, Pilate shouted down to them, “Who would you all like me to release: Barabbas or Yeshua who’s also being called the messiah?” 18 He said this because he knew that Yeshua had been arrested because of the jealousy of the Jewish leaders.

19 But while Pilate was still making his judgement, his wife sent a note to him, saying, “Don’t touch that guiltless man because I was very distressed by a dream I had about him.”

20 Meanwhile the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to request that Barabbas be released and that Yeshua should be sentenced, 21 so when the governor asked them, “Which of these two men should I release?” they called back, “Barabbas.”

22 “So what should I do to Yeshua who’s called the messiah?” Pilate asked.

“Execute him on a stake!” they all responded.

23 “But what crime has he done?” demanded Pilate.

But they just kept yelling loudly, “Execute him on a stake.”

24 [ref]When Pilate saw that it was going nowhere other than to turn into a riot, got a bowl of water and washed his hands up there in front of the crowd, announcing, “I’m innocent of the blood of this man who has done nothing wrong. It’s your responsibility now.”

25 “The responsibility for his blood will be on us and on our children,” the people shouted back.

26 Then Pilate commanded that Barabbas be released. He commanded that Yeshua be flogged and then he handed him over to be executed.

27 The governor’s soldiers took Yeshua to the courtyard of his residence and called together all the soldiers in the unit. 28 Then they stripped Yeshua and placed a royal scarlet robe around him. 29 They twisted together a crown made of strips of thorns and plonked it on his head and made him hold a reed as a staff. Then they knelt down in front of him and mocked him, saying, “Greetings, O king of the Jews.” 30 They spat on him then snatched the reed away and used it to whack him on the head. 31 When they’d finished mocking him, they took the robe off him and dressed him in his own clothes again before they led him away to the place where he’d be executed.

6 Now at time of the Jewish Passover, Pilate would normally pardon one prisoner for them and release him. 7 There was another prisoner at the time named Barabbas who was an activist accused of murder. 8 By now, the crowd had arrived and asked Pilate to release a prisoner as usual at Passover. 9 So he asked them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?” 10 This was because Pilate was well aware that the chief priests had brought Yeshua because they were jealous of his popularity. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to start saying that it was Barabbas that they wanted released. 12 So Pilate asked again, “Then what should I do with this man that you call the King of the Jews?”

13 The crowd yelled back, “Execute him on a pole.”

14 Pilate demanded, “What has he even done wrong?”

But they just yelled louder, “Execute him on a pole!”

15 Now Pilate wanted to placate the crowd, so he had Barabbas released while he had Yeshua flogged and then handed over to the execution squad.

16 So the soldiers led Yeshua inside the palace that was the governor’s residence, and called in the rest of the battalion. 17 They mocked Yeshua by dressing him in a kingly robe, and after someone twisted some thorns together into a mock crown, they pressed it onto his head, 18 and began saluting him, “Greetings, King of the Jews.” 19 They took turns whacking his head with a stick and spitting on him, while others knelt down in front of him and pretended to be bowing to him. 20 After they’d finished having fun mocked him, they took the purple robe off him, and put his own robe back on him. Then they led him outside towards the execution spot.

13 So Pilate called together the chief priests and the local leaders and the people 14 and told them, “You brought this man to me for stirring up the people, but listen, I’ve examined him in front of you all and I find him to be not guilty of anything that you’re all accusing him of, 15 and Herod didn’t either, because he just sent him back to us. Now listen, he’s done nothing worthy of a death sentence 16 so I’ll have him disciplined and then discharged.

17 ◘ 18 But they all yelled out in unison, “Take him away and release Barabbas instead!” 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for murder after an uprising that had occurred in the city.)

20 Pilate called out again to them wanting to release Yeshua 21 but they kept yelling, “Execute him on a stake! Execute him on a stake!”

22 He tried a third time, “But what crime has this man committed? I’ve found nothing worthy of the death sentence, so I’ll discipline him and then release him.”

23 But they kept loudly insisting that he be executed on a stake, and the yelling of the crowd was strong enough to convince Pilate, 24 so he conceded to their request 25 and released the one thrown into prison for murder and rebellion, but he conceded to sentence Yeshua as they had wanted.