The crowd began to cry out loudly and demand that, according to his custom, Pilate release Barabbas for them.
The crowd approaches Pilate to make use of the festival custom and demands the release of Barabbas. This demand shows the crowd’s dangerous instability: in the same city where a little earlier they were crying out “Hosanna,” now they ask for the freedom of a guilty prisoner instead of Christ. Asking for a release during the Passover feast was outwardly a sign of mercy, but here it becomes the beginning of an unjust choice. The human heart, if it is not established in the truth, can easily be led by outward influence, fear, and passionate shouts. This episode prepares a great contrast: the guilty one must be set free, and the Innocent One must stand on the path to condemnation.