✨WEB · Luke 23:17
What does Luke 23:17 mean?
"Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast."
— Luke 23:17 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one that perverts the people, and behold, having examined him before you, I found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse him.
Neither has Herod, for I sent you to him, and see, nothing worthy of death has been done by him.
I will therefore chastise him and release him.”
Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast.
But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!”—
one who was thrown into prison for a certain revolt in the city, and for murder.
Then Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Jesus,
Explanation
Luke 23:17 records a small but important detail in the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate: it was customary for the Roman governor to release one prisoner to the Jewish crowd during the Passover feast. In plain terms, the verse simply explains why the crowd would soon ask for a prisoner to be freed — Pilate was obligated, by tradition or policy, to grant this yearly act of clemency. This sets up the dramatic exchange that follows, in which the crowd, stirred up by the religious leaders, demands that Barabbas — a man guilty of insurrection and murder — be released instead of Jesus.
It's worth noting for accuracy that this particular verse is missing from many of the oldest and most reliable Greek manuscripts of Luke's Gospel. Many modern translations (such as the ESV and NIV) omit it or place it in a footnote, since it appears to have been inserted by later copyists to harmonize Luke's account with the parallel passages in Matthew 27:15
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