Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast.
Parallel translations
- KJV (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)
- NKJV (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).
- NASB [Now he was obligated to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Quick answer
It was customary to release one prisoner at the feast. This note explains the choice Pilate set before the crowd between Jesus and Barabbas.
Overview
Luke records the Passover custom of releasing a prisoner, setting up the fateful choice that follows. Some early manuscripts omit this verse, but it reflects the practice attested in the other Gospels. The custom becomes the occasion for the crowd's tragic preference, and providentially for the substitution that pictures the gospel: the guilty freed and the innocent condemned.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 23:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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