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 27:11 Matthew 27:11 Matthew 27:11 is the eleventh verse of the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse brings the narrative back to Pilate's Court, and the final trial 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 as: After the last verses describing the fate of Judas, this verse returns to paralleling the passion narrative in other Gospels. The opening of the verse is unique to Matthew, resetting the narrative to