15. At every Passover Festival the Roman governor was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner the crowd asked for.
16. At that time there was a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas.
17. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free for you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus called the Messiah?”
18. He knew very well that the Jewish authorities had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.