Matthew 27:21

21 But Pilate asked the crowd, "Which one of these two do you want me to set free for you?" "Barabbas!" they answered.

Matthew 27:21 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 27:21

The governor answered and said unto them
A second time, after some time had been allowed and taken up to consider of the matter, and which the chief priests and elders improved among the people against Jesus.

Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?
for as these two were proposed, one of them must be released; and it lay in the breast of the people to choose which they would:

they said, Barabbas;
so that Christ was not only numbered among, and reckoned with transgressors, but he was accounted worse than the worst of them; a seditious person, a robber, and a murderer was preferred before him: see ( Acts 3:14 ) .

Matthew 27:21 In-Context

19 While Pilate was sitting in the judgment hall, his wife sent him a message: "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, because in a dream last night I suffered much on account of him."

20 The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask Pilate to set Barabbas free and have Jesus put to death.

21 But Pilate asked the crowd, "Which one of these two do you want me to set free for you?" "Barabbas!" they answered.

22 "What, then, shall I do with Jesus called the Messiah?" Pilate asked them. "Crucify him!" they all answered.

23 But Pilate asked, "What crime has he committed?" Then they started shouting at the top of their voices: "Crucify him!"