Luke 23:25

‘And he released him who for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for.'

Luke makes no attempt to cover his shame and makes clear the full extent of what he had done. Simply because of the request of the crowd he had released from prison a murdering insurrectionist, while at the same time handing over to a cruel death the purest of men. His true character was laid bare for all to see.

‘But Jesus he delivered up to their will.'

What words can be found to comment on this statement? It is almost incomprehensible. The flower of humanity, the light of the world, the Son of God, was delivered by Pilate, the representative of worldly power, to the will of an evil crowd. He was handed over to the wolves. And no one sought to stop it. We may accept that Joseph of Arimathea, and even possibly Rabban Gamaliel, were not happy with the decision, but they must have known of it and yet made no open protest against it before Pilate. So there was no one there to speak up for Him. Luke wants us to know that the responsibility lay with the whole of Jerusalem It was Jerusalem as a whole that slew Him.

These words parallel the act of Pilate in washing his hands before them in order to indicate to them and to the gods that it was all through no fault of his (Matthew 27:24). The washing of hands was probably a religious act to clear himself in the eyes of the gods bringing out the superstitious dread that he has felt about this man all the way through, something finally confirmed to him by his wife's warning dream (Matthew 27:19). He had begun to feel that here he was dealing with something outside his usual sphere, and sought to avert the consequences in the only way he knew how. Luke makes clear the same idea here a little less vividly, but just as emphatically. Pilate is in complete disagreement with what they are doing and hands Him over to them, washing his hands of the matter. He wants nothing more to do with it. But it was not quite that easy. For he could not evade the fact that his was the final choice, and joins the gallery of infamy (Acts 4:27).

It is also quite probable that Luke intends us to see here in the release of Barabbas and the handing over of Jesus the idea of substitution. The one who deserved to die was released, and the innocent One took his place. For He was the One Who gave His life a ransom in the place of many (Mark 10:45) being numbered with the transgressors (Luke 22:37), so that a transgressor might go free.