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".
Matthew 27:62 advocates for Jesus' death. This same pairing occurred at . Davies and Allison also note that this scene is similar in wording to , where the Jewish leaders plot against the infant Jesus. The description of the petitioners coming "together to Pilate" implies a formal and solemn meeting. Historically the Pharisees and the priests were fierce rivals. Their scheming together is thus a sign of how great a threat Jesus is to the ruling powers in Matthew's story. Matthew 27:62 Matthew 27:62 is the sixty-second verse of the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This