Matthew 27 priests had handed Jesus over because they were jealous of his popularity, asks the crowd to choose between freeing a notorious prisoner known as Barabbas, or Jesus. The crowd, persuaded by the chief priests and elders, respond passionately, repeating "Let Him (Christ) be crucified!" Pilate, bewildered by this, asks the crowd for a reason for their choice. Instead, they continue to call ever more loudly for the crucifixion of Jesus. Pilate comes to see that he cannot reason with the crowd. His wife has had a disturbing dream and asks him to have "nothing to do with that just man".
Chronology of Jesus the Roman historian Tacitus in "The Annals" ("c." AD 116), described the persecution of Christians by Nero and stated () that Jesus had been executed on the orders of Pilate during the reign of Tiberius (Emperor from 18 September AD 14 – 16 March AD 37). According to Flavius Josephus, Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea from AD 26 until he was replaced by Marcellus, either in AD 36 or AD 37, establishing the date of the death of Jesus between AD 26 and AD 37. In the Gospel of Luke, while Jesus is in Pilate's court, Pilate realizes that