Pilate and the Jewish leaders argue about Jesus
13 Pilate then told the leaders of the priests, the leaders of the Jews and the people to come back to him. 14 He said to them, ‘You brought this man to me. You said that he was teaching the people to do bad things. Listen! I have asked him some questions in front of you. But I have not found that he has done anything wrong. 15 Herod also did not find that he had done anything wrong. That is why he has sent him back to me. You can see this. He has not done anything bad that means he deserves to die. 16 So I will punish him. I will command a soldier to hit him with whips. Then I will let him go.’
17 [Pilate usually let one person go free out of the prison at Passover time.]
23:17Verse 17 is not in many copies of Luke.
18 But the crowd all shouted together, ‘Take this man away and kill him! We want Barabbas to go free.’
19 Barabbas had fought against the Roman rulers in Jerusalem. He had also killed somebody. That is why the rulers had put him in prison. 20 But Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go. So he spoke to the crowd again. 21 But they continued to shout, ‘Kill him on a cross, kill him on a cross.’
23:21Roman fixed robbers and other dangerous people to a big cross made from wood. That was how they killed them as punishment.
22 Pilate asked them the same question for the third time. ‘Why should I kill him? What wrong things has he done? You want me to say that he should die. But I have not found anything wrong that would cause me to say that. So I will punish him. I will command my soldiers to hit him with a whip. Then I will let him go.’
23 But they continued to shout at Pilate, ‘Kill him on a cross.’ They would not stop shouting very loudly. 24 So finally Pilate decided to do what they wanted. 25 They had asked Pilate to let Barabbas go free out of the prison. He was the man who had fought against the Roman rulers. He had also killed somebody. He was the man that Pilate let go free. As for Jesus, Pilate commanded the soldiers to take him away. He let the people do to Jesus what they wanted.
