Section Nine

The Crowd at Jesus’ Trial

In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ trial before he is sent to be crucified, there is an account of Jesus coming before the governor Pilate. The chief priests and others high up in the Jewish system of government accused Jesus. He gave no reply, much to the surprise of Pilate. Pilate decides to shift some responsibility to the crowd. It was routine for the governor to be given power to release a prisoner. Pilate could present the choice of who was to be released: Jesus or another man called Jesus Barabbas. Despite being warned by his wife, Pilate gives the crowd a choice. The Jewish authorities persuade the crowd to shout for Jesus’ death and to release Barabbas. In a famous act of defiance, Pilate washes his hands before the crowd and tells them it is now their responsibility. Interestingly, this is what the crowd answered: “His blood is on us and on our children”