Passion of Jesus released by Pilate instead of Jesus. Matthew, Mark and John have Pilate offer a choice between Jesus and Barabbas to the crowd; Luke lists no choice offered by Pilate, but represents the crowd demanding his release. In all the Gospels, Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews and Jesus replies "So you say". Once condemned by Pilate, he was flogged before execution. The Canonical Gospels, except Luke, record that Jesus is then taken by the soldiers to the Praetorium where, according to Matthew and Mark, the whole contingent of soldiers has been called together. They place a
Matthew 27:11 the trial before Pilate. The following exchange between Jesus and Pilate is a rare item found in all four Gospels. With variations it is also at , , and -. This second interrogation closely parallels that of the first trial before the Sanhedrin in Matthew 26. The text implies that the Jewish leaders have briefed Pilate on the accusations they have against Jesus, and here he test them himself. This is the second time in Matthew a Gentile has referred to Jesus as "King of the Jews." The previous time was the Magi from the East doing so at .