The Shadow of Nazareth Jesus. Both Barrabas and Jesus are sentenced to die by crucifixion, but Jewish custom allows the release of a prisoner on the day of the Passover feast. Pontius Pilate, the Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, has the authority to decide whether to free Barabbas or Jesus in honor of the Passover. However, Pilate is unwilling to make the decision himself, so he lets a crowd that has gathered before him choose who is to live. The crowd chooses Barabbas, who is set free, and Jesus, who is innocent of any wrongdoing, dies on the cross. Following the crucifixion,
Matthew 27:58 not impossible. Keener notes that proper burials were not just part of Jewish tradition. Greco-Roman literature of the period has several examples of noble heroes taking great risks to ensure a proper burial. Matthew 27:58 Matthew 27:58 is the fifty-eighth verse of the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse describes Joseph of Arimathea meeting with Pontius Pilate to secure the burial of Jesus. The original Koine Greek, according to Westcott and Hort, reads: In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as: The modern World English Bible translates the passage