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Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
Matthew 27:26 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then he released to them Barabbas, but Jesus he flogged and delivered to be crucified.
  • KJV Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
  • BSB So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
  • NKJV Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.
  • NLT So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

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 frees Barabbas, has Jesus flogged, and hands Him over for crucifixion. The great exchange is now set in motion.

Overview

Pilate releases the guilty Barabbas and consigns the innocent Jesus to scourging and the cross. The brutal Roman flogging that preceded crucifixion fulfilled Isaiah's words that by His stripes we are healed. In this exchange the gospel is vividly pictured: the guilty go free because the sinless Substitute bears the punishment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Isa 53:5But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
  • John 19:1So Pilate then took Jesus, and flogged him.
  • Mark 15:15Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.
  • Isa 50:6I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting.
  • Luke 23:16I will therefore chastise him and release him.”
  • 1 Pet 2:24who his own self bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
  • Mark 10:34They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
  • Luke 23:24–25Pilate decreed that what they asked for should be done.
  • Matt 20:19and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he will be raised up.”
  • John 19:16So then he delivered him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led him away.
  • Luke 18:32–33For he will be delivered up to the Gentiles, will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit on.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (12)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 27:26YouTube · 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 MatthewMatthew 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

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 27:26 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.