18:39
Pilate should have announced that that was the end of the matter, but he was not a man of integrity. He would also want to appease the Jewish leaders in order to maintain peace in the region. So instead of simply releasing Jesus he refers to a custom that one prisoner was released each year at Passover time. So having found no guilt in Jesus asks them if he wants them to release Jesus. There is a contradiction here, for Pilate has just declared Jesus innocent, so there should be no question about releasing Him, it should happen as a matter of course.
18:40
The crowds cry out “No!”. Instead they want Barabbas released. Barabbas was a robber, or quite possibly a rebel or terrorist. In short he was the sort of man that the Sanhedrin would normally want nothing to do with. Yet their hatred of Jesus goes so deep that they will do anything to get rid of Him. We should beware of taking much heart from mildly supportive comments from politicians. Like Pilate their actions will more than likely go along with the world’s ways when it seems politically expedient to do so. Similarly, we should not be surprised at the depths of hatred that can exist in those who oppose the gospel.
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