Limitless Word
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.
Mark 15:11 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead.
  • KJV But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
  • BSB But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead.
  • NKJV But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.
  • NLT But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of 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

The chief priests incite the crowd to demand Barabbas instead. They manipulate the people against Jesus.

Overview

The leaders sway the multitude to call for the guilty insurrectionist's release. Their incitement shows how readily a crowd can be turned by determined enemies of Christ. The choice of Barabbas over Jesus dramatizes the substitution at the heart of the gospel: a guilty man freed because the innocent takes his place.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Acts 3:14But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
  • Matt 27:20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
  • Hos 5:1“Listen to this, you priests! Listen, house of Israel, and give ear, house of the king! For the judgment is against you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread on Tabor.
  • John 18:40Then they all shouted again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 15:11YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 15:11 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.