John 18:39 · Bible study
John 18:39 Commentary: Pilate's Offer of the King of the Jews
Greek · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the Passover prisoner release custom, Pilate's sarcastic offer, and the crowd's fateful choice of Barabbas over Christ.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Pilate appeals to the Passover release custom to free Jesus, but the crowd demands Barabbas instead.
- Key words: custom (συνήθεια), release (ἀπολύω), King (βασιλεύς).
- Main debate: The historical origin of the Passover prisoner release, whether it was a Roman concession, a Jewish practice, or an invention of the evangelists.
- Theological theme: The substitution of the innocent for the guilty, as Barabbas (a criminal) is freed while Jesus (the sinless one) is condemned.
- Best use: In Passion-week preaching on the choice between Christ and the world, and as a setup for the atonement.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
WEB World English Bible 2000
But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Therefore, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
KJV King James Version 1769
But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and ye have a custom that I shall release to you one in the passover; will ye, therefore, that I shall release to you the king of the Jews?'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
But ye have a custom that I release [some] one to you at the passover; will ye therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
But you have a custom that I should release one unto you at the Pasch. Will you, therefore, that I release unto you the king of the Jews?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Empero vosotros tenéis costumbre, que os suelte uno en la Pascua: ¿ queréis, pues, que os suelte al Rey de los Judíos?
Mas vós tendes por costume que eu vos solte um pela páscoa. Quereis pois que vos solte ao Rei dos Judeus?
Mais, comme c’ est parmi vous une coutume que je vous relâche quelqu’ un à la fête de Pâque, voulez-vous que je vous relâche le roi des Juifs?
Ihr habt aber eine Gewohnheit, daß ich euch einen auf Ostern losgebe; wollt ihr nun, daß ich euch der Juden König losgebe?
Doch gij hebt een gewoonte, dat ik u op het pascha een loslate. Wilt gij dan, dat ik u den Koning der Joden loslate?
Ma voi avete l’usanza ch’io vi liberi uno per la Pasqua; volete dunque che vi liberi il Re de’ Giudei?
A też u was jest ten zwyczaj, abym wam jednego wypuścił na wielkanoc; chcecież tedy, abym wam wypuścił tego króla Żydowskiego?
Есть же у вас обычай, чтобы я одного отпускал вам на Пасху; хотите ли, отпущу вам Царя Иудейского?
但 你們 有 個規矩， 在 逾越節 要我給你們 釋放 一個人， 你們要 我給你們 釋放 猶太人 的王嗎？」
But every year you make a request to me to let a prisoner go free at the Passover. Is it your desire that I let the King of the Jews go free?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · John 18:39
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Pilate seizes on the Passover release custom as a way to free Jesus. The custom itself is of unknown origin, Adam Clarke notes that speculation on its source has been fruitless, while the Cambridge Bible confirms nothing is known beyond the Gospels. Pilate's words are placed in his mouth only by John (Vincent); Matthew and Mark simply state the custom as fact. Calvin sees Pilate attempting a middle path: hoping that offering a notorious criminal like Barabbas would make the crowd choose Jesus. Gill observes that Pilate uses the title 'King of the Jews' in a sneering, sarcastic way, yet genuinely wants to release him. The underlying consensus is that Pilate, having found no fault in Jesus (v. 38), tries the custom as a last resort, but the crowd's rejection sets in motion the exchange of the innocent for the guilty.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Pilate proposes releasing Jesus via the Passover custom, but the crowd chooses Barabbas instead, setting the stage for the crucifixion.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Origin of the Passover release custom | All Gospels record it as a known practice in Judea at Passover. | Custom's exact origin is unknown; some suggest it was a Roman concession to Jewish tradition; others see it as a local adaptation of Roman festival releases. The provided sources offer no definitive evidence. |
| Pilate's tone in calling Jesus 'King of the Jews' | Pilate uses the charge brought against Jesus (v. 33) as a title. | Cambridge Bible and Gill see it as sarcastic contempt; Calvin implies Pilate uses it to soften the crowd's hatred by making Jesus seem weak. The tone may combine mockery with genuine hope that the crowd would not reject their own king. |
| Significance of the choice of Barabbas | Barabbas was a notorious prisoner (robber, insurrectionist). The crowd's choice is historically recorded. | Calvin sees divine providence in the exchange, Jesus takes the place of the guilty. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown suggests a typological link to the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16). Other interpreters treat it as a straightforward historical event without deeper symbolic meaning. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Roman governors in the provinces sometimes released prisoners at major festivals as a gesture of goodwill. The Gospels record this practice only in Judea during Passover, a festival already charged with messianic expectation and nationalistic fervor. Pilate is caught between his own judgment of Jesus' innocence and pressure from Jewish leaders. He has just declared Jesus not guilty (v. 38), yet the chief priests demand crucifixion. The release custom offers Pilate a way out, but he miscalculates the crowd's mood.
Matthew 27:18 notes that Pilate knew Jesus was handed over out of envy. The term 'custom' (συνήθεια) used here by John (v. 39) originally means intimacy or habitual intercourse, a practice that had become expected. Pilate's phrasing, 'that I should release one to you at the Passover,' uses the subjunctive with ἵνα to describe the purpose of the custom. The word 'release' (ἀπολύω) appears twice, twice setting up the choice. By calling Jesus 'the King of the Jews,' Pilate likely intends both a taunt and a reminder of the charge against him, hoping the crowd would not want to kill their own king. Barabbas, described as a robber (John 18:40), was probably a rebel or insurrectionist (Mark 15:7). The crowd's cry for Barabbas shows that Pilate's political calculation failed.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentary sources note no significant textual variants for John 18:39. Luke 23:17, a parallel mention of the release custom, has doubtful textual status, but that does not affect this verse. The reading in John 18:39 is stable across manuscripts.
Reception History
Throughout church history, this verse has been read as the dramatic moment when the crowd chooses a criminal over Christ. Early church fathers saw in Barabbas a type of sinful humanity set free while Christ suffers in our place. Reformation commentators like Calvin emphasized God's providence in the exchange: the Innocent One was not rescued by a dishonorable release but went to the cross to bear sins. In art, the scene of Pilate presenting Jesus and Barabbas appears frequently in Passion cycles, often highlighting the injustice of the crowd's choice. The title 'King of the Jews' has been understood both as Roman mockery and as ironic proclamation of Jesus' true identity, a king enthroned on the cross.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The custom reveals human injustice. Pilate uses a release tradition to avoid doing what is right. The custom becomes a tool to condemn the innocent rather than free him.
- The choice exposes the heart. Given a clear alternative, the crowd chooses a criminal over Christ. This is not political pressure, it is a revelation of what they truly want.
- The title 'King of the Jews' is both irony and truth. Pilate intends sarcasm, but John's readers know Jesus is exactly that King, one who reigns from the cross.
Five-point outline
- Pilate's verdict: not guilty (v. 38).
- Pilate's strategy: appeal to an existing custom.
- The custom: release one prisoner at Passover.
- The offer: Jesus, the King of the Jews.
- The rejection: the crowd chooses Barabbas instead.
Illustration hooks
- A judge who knows the defendant is innocent but tries to appease the mob by offering a legal loophole, the crowd demands the guilty one go free.
- A sign at a protest that reads "Free the King!", meant as mockery, but it becomes the truth no one sees.
- Choosing between a proven criminal and someone accused of a minor offense, the crowd picks the one who actually broke the law.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Was Pilate really trying to release Jesus, or was he just trying to avoid a riot?
- Why did the crowd choose Barabbas, was it manipulation by the priests, or genuine hatred of Jesus?
- Does this custom have any Old Testament roots, or was it invented later?
Leading a Discussion
Pilate presents the crowd with a choice. The options could not be clearer: an innocent man they call 'King of the Jews' and a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. Their decision shapes the rest of the Passion. This passage forces us to consider what we do when we are offered Christ.
Discussion questions
- What does Pilate's use of the Passover release custom tell us about his understanding of justice?
- Why does Pilate specifically call Jesus 'the King of the Jews', what tone does he use?
- Read Matthew 27:18. How does this verse help explain Pilate's strategy?
- What does the crowd's choice of Barabbas reveal about their hearts and expectations?
- How does the title 'King of the Jews' connect to Jesus' own words in v. 37 about his kingdom?
- In what ways might we, like the crowd, prefer a release from earthly threats rather than receive the true King?
- How does this passage prepare us for the substitution that happens on the cross, the innocent dies for the guilty?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Matthew 27:15 | Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner whom they desired. |
| Matthew 27:18 | For he knew that because of envy they had delivered him up. |
| Matthew 27:20 | Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. |
| Matthew 27:23 | But the governor said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, saying, “Let him be crucified!” |
| Mark 15:6 | Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whomever they asked of him. |
| Mark 15:14 | Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, “Crucify him!” |
| Luke 23:16 | I will therefore chastise him and release him.” |
| Luke 23:17 | Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
But ye have a custom - Nothing relative to the origin or reason of this custom is known. Commentators have swam in an ocean of conjecture on this point. They have lost their labor, and made nothing out: see the notes on Mat 27:15 ; Luk 23:17 .
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that Pilate's tactic of offering Barabbas was a failed middle path, but God's providence overruled it. He argues that releasing a notorious criminal to save Christ would have been dishonorable, so God permitted Jesus to bear deeper shame, thereby atoning for sins in a way no lesser price could achieve.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible notes that no historical record outside the Gospels confirms this custom of releasing a prisoner at the feast. It suggests the practice fits Rome's conciliatory policy toward subject nations. The title "King of the Jews" is given with scornful contempt.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Pilate appeals to the Passover custom of releasing a prisoner, then specifically asks whether they want him to free Jesus, whom he pointedly calls the King of the Jews. The note highlights Pilate's attempt to use this established practice as a way to release Jesus.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that Pilate's offer to release a prisoner at Passover rested on a custom introduced by Roman governors, not any law of God or man. He adds that Pilate's phrase "King of the Jews" was spoken sneeringly and sarcastically, even though Pilate genuinely wanted to release Jesus.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB draws a direct typological link between the crowd's choice of Barabbas over Jesus and the two goats on the Day of Atonement. In that ritual, one goat was killed and the other sent away alive; here, Christ is the sacrifice, and the guilty Barabbas goes free.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights the shocking contrast: the Jewish leaders scrupulously avoid Gentile defilement so they can eat the Passover, yet they are busy condemning an innocent man to death. Their ceremonial caution only magnifies the deeper moral corruption of their hearts.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent highlights that the Greek word for custom (sunhqeia) carries the sense of intimate, habitual practice. He notes that John alone puts this custom in Pilate's own words, while Matthew and Mark simply state it as fact. John also specifies "at the Passover" more precisely than the other accounts.