TRV
Translation
King James Version
Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
Complete Jewish Bible
Now during a festival, Pilate used to set free one prisoner, whomever the crowd requested.
Berean Standard Bible
Now it was Pilate’s custom at the feast to release to the people a prisoner of their choosing.
American Standard Version
Now at the feast he used to release unto them one prisoner, whom they asked of him.
World English Bible Messianic
Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they asked of him.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Nowe at the feast, Pilate did deliuer a prisoner vnto them, whomesoeuer they woulde desire.
Young's Literal Translation
And at every feast he was releasing to them one prisoner, whomsoever they were asking;
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In the KJVVerse 24,833 of 31,102
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Commentary on Mark 15 verses 1–14
1 ¶ And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.
3 And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.
4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.
5 But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.
6 Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
7 And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8 And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.
9 But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
10 For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.
11 But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
12 And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?
13 And they cried out again, Crucify him.
14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
Here we have, I. A consultation held by the great Sanhedrim for the effectual prosecution of our Lord Jesus. They met early in the morning about it, and went into a grand committee, to find out ways and means to get him put to death; they lost no time, but followed their blow in good earnest, lest there should be an uproar among the people. The unwearied industry of wicked people in doing that which is evil, should shame us for our backwardness and slothfulness in that which is good. They that war against Christ and thy soul, are up early; How long then wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?
II. The delivering of him up a prisoner to Pilate; they bound him. He was to be the great sacrifice, and sacrifices must be bound with cords, Psa 118:27. Christ was bound, to make bonds easy to us, and enable us, as Paul and Silas, to sing in bonds. It is good for us often to remember the bonds of the Lord Jesus, as bound with him who was bound for us. They led him through the streets of Jerusalem, to expose him to contempt, who, while he taught in the temple, but a day or two before, was had in veneration; and we may well imagine how miserably he looked after such a night's usage as he had had; so buffeted, spit upon, and abused. Their delivering him to the Roman power was a type of ruin of their church, which hereby they merited, and brought upon themselves; it signified that the promise, the covenant, and the oracles, of God, and the visible state church, which were the glory of Israel, and had been so long in their possession, should now be delivered up to the Gentiles. By delivering up the king they do, in effect, deliver up the kingdom of God, which is therefore, as it were, by their own consent, taken from them, and given to another nation. If they had delivered up Christ, to gratify the desires of the Romans, or to satisfy and jealousies of theirs concerning him, it had been another matter; but they voluntarily betrayed him that was Israel's crown, to them that were Israel's yoke.
III. The examining of him by Pilate upon interrogatories (Mar 15:2); "Art thou the king of the Jews? Dost thou pretend to be so, to be that Messiah whom the Jews expect as a temporal prince?" - "Yea," saith Christ, "it is as thou sayest, I am that Messiah, but not such a one as they expect." He is the king that rules and protects his Israel according to the spirit, who are Jews inwardly by the circumcision of the spirit, and the king that will restrain and punish the carnal Jews, who continue in unbelief.
IV. The articles of impeachment exhibited against him, and his silence under the charge and accusation. The chief priests forgot the dignity of their place, when they turned informers, and did in person accuse Christ of many things (Mar 15:3), and witness against him, Mar 15:4. Many of the Old Testament prophets charge the priests of their times with great wickedness, in which well did they prophesy of these priests; see Eze 22:26; Hos 5:1; Hos 6:9; Mic 3:11; Zep 3:4; Mal 1:6; Mal 2:8. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans is said to be for the iniquity of the priests that shed the blood of the just, Lam 4:13. Note, Wicked priests are generally the worst of men. The better any thing is, the worse it is when it is corrupted. Lay persecutors have been generally found more compassionate than ecclesiastics. These priests were very eager and noisy in their accusation; but Christ answered nothing, Mar 15:3. When Pilate urged him to clear himself, and was desirous he should (Mar 15:4), yet still he stood mute (Mar 15:5), he answered nothing, which Pilate thought very strange. He gave Pilate a direct answer (Mar 15:2), but would not answer the prosecutors and witnesses, because the things they alleged, were notoriously false, and he knew Pilate himself was convinced they were so. Note, As Christ spoke to admiration, so he kept silence to admiration.
V. The proposal Pilate made to the people, to have Jesus released to them, since it was the custom of the feast to grace the solemnity with the release of one prisoner. The people expected and demanded that he should do as he had ever done to them (Mar 15:8); it was not an ill usage, but they would have it kept up. Now Pilate perceived that the chief priests delivered up Jesus for envy, because he had got such a reputation among the people as eclipsed theirs, Mar 15:10. It was easy to see, comparing the eagerness of the prosecutors with the slenderness of the proofs, that it was not his guilt, but his goodness, not any thing mischievous or scandalous, but something meritorious and glorious, that they were provoked at. And therefore, hearing how much he was the darling of the crowd, he thought that he might safely appeal from the priests to the people, and that they would be proud of rescuing him out of the priests' hands; and he proposed an expedient for their doing it without danger of an uproar; let them demand him to be released, and Pilate will be ready to do it, and stop the mouths of the priests with this - that the people insisted upon his release. There was indeed another prisoner, one Barabbas, that had an interest, and would have some votes; but he questioned not but Jesus would out-poll him.
VI. The unanimous outrageous clamours of the people have Christ put to death, and particularly to have him crucified. It was a great surprise to Pilate, when he found the people so much under the influence of the priests, that they all agreed to desire that Barabbas might be released, Mar 15:11. Pilate opposed it all he could; "What will ye that I shall do to him whom ye call the King of the Jews? Would not ye then have him released too?" Mar 15:12. No, say they, Crucify him. The priests having put that in their mouths, the insist upon it; when Pilate objected, Why, what evil has he done? (a very material question in such a case), they did not pretend to answer it, but cried out more exceedingly, as they were more and more instigated and irritated by the priests, Crucify him, crucify him. Now the priests, who were very busy dispersing themselves and their creatures among the mob, to keep up the cry, promised themselves that it would influence Pilate two ways to condemn him. 1. It might incline him to believe Christ guilty, when there was so general an out-cry against him. "Surely," might Pilate think, "he must needs be a bad man, whom all the world is weary of." He would now conclude that he had been misinformed, when he was told what an interest he had in the people, and that the matter was not so. But the priest had hurried on the prosecution with so much expedition, that we may suppose that they who were Christ's friends, and would have opposed this cry, were at the other end of the town, and knew nothing of the matter. Note, It has been the common artifice of Satan, to put Christ and his religion into an ill name, and so to run them down. When once this sect, as they called it, comes to be every where spoken against, though without cause, then that is looked upon as cause enough to condemn it. But let us judge of persons and things by their merits, and the standard of God's word, and not prejudge by common fame and the cry of the country. 2. It might induce him to condemn Christ, to please the people, and indeed for fear of displeasing them. Though he was not so weak as to be governed by their opinion, to believe him guilty, yet he was so wicked as to be swayed by their outrage, to condemn him, though he believed him innocent; induced thereunto by reasons of state, and the wisdom of the world. Our Lord Jesus dying as a sacrifice for the sins of many, he fell a sacrifice to the rage of many.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–14. Public domain.
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Pseudo-Jerome (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Here are two goats; one is the scape goat, that is, one loosed and sent out into the wilderness of hell with the sin of the people; the other is slain, as a lamb, for the sins of those who are forgiven. The Lord's portion is always slain; the devil's part, (for he is the master of those men, which is the meaning of Barabbas,) when freed, is cast headlong into hell.
Bede (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 735
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(ubi sup.) Pilate furnished many opportunities of releasing Jesus, in the first place contrasting a robber with the Just One. Wherefore it is said, Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
(ubi sup.) This demand which the Jews made with such toil to themselves still sticks to them. Because, when the choice was given to them, they chose a robber instead of Christ, a murderer instead of the Saviour, they deservedly lost their salvation and their life, and they subjected themselves to such a degree to robbery and sedition, that they lost their country and their kingdom which they preferred to Christ, and never regained their liberty, body or soul. Then Pilate gives another opportunity of releasing the Saviour, when there follows, And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I should do unto the King of the Jews?
(ubi sup.) But the Jews giving loose to their madness do not answer the question of the judge. Wherefore it goes on, And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him, that those words of the Prophet Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest, it crieth out against me. (Jer. 12:8) There follows, And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
(ubi sup.) We must understand that Jesus was scourged by no other than Pilate himself. For John writes, Pilate took Jesus, and scourged him, (John 13:1) which we must suppose that he did, that the Jews might be satisfied with His pains and insults, and cease from thirsting for His blood.
Theophylact of Ohrid (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 1107
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Now see the wickedness of the Jews, and the moderation of Pilate, though he too was worthy of condemnation for not resisting the people. For they cried out, Crucify; he faintly tries to save Jesus from their determined sentence, and again puts a question to them. Wherefore there follows, Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? For he wished in this way to find an opportunity for releasing Christ, who was innocent.
He wished indeed to satisfy the people, that is, to do their will, not what was agreeable to justice and to God.
Glossa Ordinaria (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 1274
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(non occ.) Which indeed he was accustomed to do, to obtain favour with the people, and above all, on the feast day, when the people of the whole province of the Jews flocked to Jerusalem. And that the wickedness of the Jews might appear the greater, the enormity of the sin of the robber, whom they preferred to Christ, is next described. Wherefore there follows: And there was one Barabbas, who lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. In which words their wickedness is shown both from the heinousness of his signal crime, in that he had committed murder, and from the way in which he did it, because he had in doing it raised a sedition and disturbed the city, and also because his crime was notorious, for he was bound with seditious persons. It goes on: And the multitude, when it had come up, began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Mark 15:6 records the Roman governor Pontius Pilate's customary offer to release a prisoner to the Jewish crowd during the Passover feast. This seemingly innocuous tradition becomes a pivotal moment in the Passion narrative, setting the stage for the crowd's fateful decision to demand the release of Barabbas, a convicted insurgent, over Jesus, the innocent Son of God. The verse underscores the volatile political atmosphere in Judea, the unique customs surrounding the Passover, and the tragic interplay of human will and divine purpose that culminates in Christ's crucifixion.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Mark 15:6 employs several significant literary devices that enrich its meaning. Foreshadowing is prominent, as the mention of "one prisoner, whomsoever they desired" immediately sets the stage for the introduction of Barabbas in the subsequent verses. This subtly prepares the reader for the shocking exchange where the guilty is freed and the innocent condemned, a powerful prefigurement of substitutionary atonement. There is also profound Irony in Pilate's attempt to use a custom of clemency to avoid condemning Jesus, only for that very custom to be manipulated by the crowd to secure Jesus' condemnation. The act of "releasing" a prisoner, meant to be a benevolent gesture, becomes the vehicle for a grave injustice. Furthermore, the narrative uses Contrast by implicitly setting up the choice between Jesus and the unnamed "prisoner" (Barabbas). This stark opposition between the innocent Son of God and a notorious rebel underscores the world's distorted values and its tragic rejection of light for darkness.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Mark 15:6, though brief, is pregnant with theological significance, particularly in its portrayal of human choice in the face of divine purpose. The custom of releasing a prisoner during Passover, a celebration of liberation, ironically becomes the mechanism through which humanity chooses bondage over true freedom, rebellion over righteousness. This scene powerfully illustrates humanity's fallen nature and its inherent tendency to reject God's perfect provision, even when confronted with undeniable innocence. Pilate's attempt at justice is overridden by the clamor of the crowd, demonstrating that human systems of justice are often swayed by political expediency, popular opinion, or personal prejudice, rather than upholding divine truth. Ultimately, this verse sets the stage for the profound theological truth of substitutionary atonement, where the innocent Lamb of God is sacrificed in place of the guilty, securing true release for all who believe.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Mark 15:6 invites us to reflect deeply on the nature of justice, the power of collective decision-making, and the profound implications of substitutionary grace. In this pivotal moment, we witness human justice corrupted by fear and popular demand, leading to the condemnation of the innocent. This serves as a sobering reminder that our own judgments and choices, both individually and collectively, can be flawed and swayed by external pressures rather than divine truth. The crowd's "desire" for Barabbas over Jesus forces us to examine our own desires: do we prioritize worldly freedom and rebellion, or do we embrace the true liberty offered by Christ? The scene also compels us to contemplate the immense cost of our spiritual freedom. The release of Barabbas, a guilty man, at the expense of Jesus, the innocent Son of God, powerfully illustrates the heart of the Gospel: that our liberation from sin and death came through the voluntary sacrifice of an innocent substitute. This should evoke profound gratitude and a renewed commitment to live in light of such costly grace, choosing righteousness over the fleeting desires of the world.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was the custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover a historically verifiable Roman practice?
Answer: While the Gospels consistently describe this custom (e.g., Matthew 27:15, Luke 23:17, John 18:39), there is no definitive corroborating evidence from non-biblical historical sources that explicitly details a standard Roman practice of releasing a prisoner at Jewish festivals across the empire. Some scholars suggest it may have been a localized custom in Judea, perhaps initiated by Pontius Pilate himself as a gesture of goodwill or a means to appease the Jewish populace during the volatile Passover festival. Others propose it might have been a unique act of clemency specific to this event. Regardless of its broader historical precedent, its consistent portrayal across all four Gospel accounts strongly affirms its reality within the context of Jesus' trial, serving as a crucial narrative element in the unfolding of God's redemptive plan.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Mark 15:6, by setting the stage for the choice between Jesus and Barabbas, profoundly foreshadows and illuminates the very heart of Christ's redemptive work. The "one prisoner" to be released ultimately becomes Barabbas, a man guilty of insurrection and murder, while Jesus, the innocent Son of God, is condemned in his place. This dramatic exchange is a vivid, tangible illustration of substitutionary atonement, the core of the Gospel message. Just as Barabbas was set free because another took his place, so too are all humanity, guilty before God, set free from the penalty of sin because Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, willingly became our substitute on the cross. His innocent life was exchanged for our guilty one, fulfilling the prophecies of the suffering servant (as seen in Isaiah 53:4-6) and becoming the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25). The freedom granted to Barabbas points directly to the spiritual freedom and justification offered to all who believe in Christ, for "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus, Mark 15:6 is not merely a historical detail but a powerful narrative prefiguring the ultimate act of divine grace and the Christ-centered fulfillment of humanity's deepest need for liberation.