Then Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Jesus,
Parallel translations
- KJV Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.
- BSB Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again,
- NKJV Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.
- NASB But Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again,
- NLT Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus.
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
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Pilate spoke to the crowd again, still wanting to release Jesus. His persistence shows he knew Jesus was innocent yet lacked the courage to act on it.
Overview
Pilate makes another appeal, genuinely desiring to free Jesus. His repeated efforts underscore both his conviction of Christ's innocence and his fatal unwillingness to resist the crowd. Luke portrays a ruler torn between justice and self-interest, ultimately surrendering truth to expedience as the divine plan moves forward.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Mark 15:15Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.
- John 19:12At this, Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you release this man, you aren’t Caesar’s friend! Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar!”
- Matt 27:19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.”
- Matt 14:8–9She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 23:20 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.