The Castle abutted against the north-western corner of the Temple, and Pilate heard the case in the gateway which gave access to the public street from the main courtyard of the fortress. Shortly after the trial had begun the proceedings were interrupted by the arrival of a large crowd who had come to see Pilate about the release of one of the prisoners gaoled in the Castle.  It was the Procurator’s custom to mark the occasion of the Passover by granting a free pardon to a prisoner of the people’s choice.

On this Good Friday morning they had decided among themselves to ask for the release of a resistance leader called Barabbas who had committed murder in an armed rising in the city and was under sentence of death.  Pilate at once seized on the idea of taking advantage of this fresh development by playing the crowd off against the chief priests.  He appealed to the patriotism of the crowd and asked them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” (NRSV, Mark 15:9).

The chief priests, however, were not to be thwarted by a manoeuvre like that.  They moved among the crowd and represented Jesus as a blasphemer who claimed to be the Son of God and who had on that account been condemned by their own Supreme Jewish Council.  And as a blasphemer he deserved, not to be released but to be crucified.

The crowd needed little persuading when it came to choosing between Barabbas, the stop-at-nothing patriot and hero of an armed rising, and Jesus, the prophet of repentance and love whose dedication to non-violence left them cold.