Barabbas

(Matt. 27:16) — son of Abba, a notorious criminal in Jerusalem, held in prison for insurrection and murder, at the time of Pilate’s judgment of the Lord Jesus. In some ancient manuscripts and translations of the Bible, such as, for example, the Armenian, this criminal is also called Jesus Barabbas, which was also accepted by Tischendorf; but there is scarcely sufficient ground for this. Among the Romans there was a custom of releasing one of the criminals for the Jewish feast of Passover; the Jews were permitted to name one of the criminals whom they wished to have released for the feast.

Evidently this was done for political purposes, in order to win the Jews over to the Roman government. Pilate, as is evident from the Gospel, wished to make use of this Roman custom to release the Lord Jesus Christ, but the Jews insisted that the robber and murderer be released, and the Lord Jesus be given over to a painful and shameful death on the cross. According to the testimony of historians, a similar custom — of releasing one of the criminals during Passion Week, at the feast of Passover, and specifically by popular choice — existed in the Middle Ages in the Venetian Republic.