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?
But you guys have this tradition where I let one prisoner go free during Passover. So what do you want, should I release this so-called King of the Jews for you?
Pilate offered to free Jesus as part of their yearly tradition, but left the choice up to the crowd.
📚 Historical Context
During the time of Jesus, the Roman governor Pilate had a custom of releasing one prisoner to the Jewish people during the Passover festival as a gesture of goodwill to maintain peace. This practice reflected the tensions between Roman rule and Jewish traditions, allowing Pilate to show leniency while retaining control. In this scene from John's Gospel, Pilate is offering to release Jesus, referred to as the King of the Jews, in an attempt to avoid condemning an innocent man.
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