Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.
Parallel translations
- WEB The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them.
- KJV And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.
- BSB So the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to keep his custom.
- NASB And the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.
- NLT The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual.
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 crowd asks Pilate to follow his custom of releasing a prisoner. The fateful request is set in motion.
Overview
The gathered multitude presses Pilate to honor the festival amnesty. Their request opens the door for the manipulation of the chief priests. The scene moves toward the crowd's tragic preference for Barabbas over Jesus.
Cross-references & the web
No cross-references recorded for this verse.
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
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 15:8 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.