Mark 15:6-8 Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.

What does Pilate customarily do at the feast?

“…he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested” (Mark 15:6).

• ἑορτὴν (heortēn) (“feast”)

o  “a day or series of days marked by a periodic celebration or observance, festival, celebration” (BDAG, 355).

o  At which feast does John 18:39 say that it was customary for a prisoner to be released?

“But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:39).

• ἀπέλυεν (apelyen) (“used to release”) 3S Imperfect Active Indicative of ἀπολύω,“As legal term, to grant acquittal, set free, release, pardon τινά a prisoner” (BDAG, 117).

o  “The imperfect likewise expresses incompleted action which in any given case may be either momentary, simultaneous, prolonged, descriptive, repeated, customary, interrupted, attempted, or begun, according to the context or meaning of the verb” (A. T. Robertson, A Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament, for Students Familiar with the Elements of Greek, p. 141).

 

With whom had Barabbas been imprisoned?

“The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection” (Mark 15:7).

• τῶν στασιαστῶν (tōn stasiastōn) (“the insurrectionists”)

“a factious person who causes public discord, rebel, revolutionary” (BDAG, 940).

• What does John call Barabbas in John 18:40?

“So they cried out again, saying, ‘Not this Man, but Barabbas.’ Now Barabbas was a robber” (John 18:40).

o  “Jn 18:40 describes him as a λῃστής, the term which Josephus uses for anti-Roman insurrectionists; while John did not necessarily use the term in that special sense, it does correspond to Mark’s information that Barabbas was imprisoned μετὰ τῶν στασιαστῶν. We have no other information about this specific στάσις during the governorship of Pilate, but such events occurred sporadically from A.D. 6 onwards until the Jewish War of A.D. 66–73, and Barabbas as a member (and presumably a leading member, since he was singled out for amnesty) of such a dissident group would naturally be a popular hero. Mark does not say in so many words either that Barabbas was a στασιαστἠς or that he himself committed murder, but the fact that he was imprisoned with such a group speaks for itself. The two other λῃσταἰ who were subsequently crucified along with Jesus (v. 27) probably belonged to the same group, left behind when Barabbas alone was released. Thus Jesus found himself in compromising company; the occurrence of a στάσις recently enough for its perpetrators to be still in prison awaiting execution means that this was a dangerous time for anyone to be charged in Jerusalem with claiming to be ὁ βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰοθδαἰων; no doubt the priests had reckoned with that” (R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: a Commentary on the Greek Text, New Greek Testament Commentary, p. 631).

 

What does the crowd go up and begin asking Pilate to do?

“…as he had been accustomed to do for them” (Mark 15:8b).

•       ἐποίει (epoiei) (“had been accustomed to do”) 3S Imperfect Active Indicative of ποιέω, “to undertake or do something that brings about an event, state, or condition, do, cause, bring about, accomplish, prepare, etc” (BDAG, 839).
• “The imperfect likewise expresses incompleted action which in any given case may be either momentary, simultaneous, prolonged, descriptive, repeated, customary, interrupted, attempted, or begun, according to the context or meaning of the verb” (A. T. Robertson, A Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament, for Students Familiar with the Elements of Greek, p. 141).

•       “The ὄχλος appears suddenly in the narrative. Perhaps we are to understand that on this Passover morning it was known that Pilate was to exercise his amnesty, and a crowd of Jerusalem citizens (supporters of Barabbas?; so Cranfield) came together as at any other Passover to witness and if possible to influence his choice. But v. 11 suggests that this year other factors may have been at work: the chief priests who guided the crowd’s choice may also have been responsible for recruiting and briefing a crowd to support their case against Jesus, even if at this stage they could not have anticipated Pilate’s move in proposing their prisoner for the Passover amnesty” (R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: a Commentary on the Greek Text, New Greek Testament Commentary, p. 631).

Father,

You are the holy God who created all things in perfect wisdom. We were the rebels from birth who perverted the holy ways of our holy God and marred Your creation with our rebellion, sin and iniquity. But instead of abandoning sinners to the wage of sin, which is death, You redeemed us by Your sovereign grace and gave us the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. You anointed and ordained Jesus to serve as both the Passover Lamb and the High Priest to accomplish the redemption of Your people from the futile way of life inherited by our forefathers. Glory to You for Your abounding grace, steadfast love, and enduring faithfulness. For all who have been sanctified by faith in Jesus no longer dwell in the realm of darkness in bondage to sin and death. For by Your grace, You have transferred us to the kingdom of Your Beloved, in Whom is the forgiveness of sins. All whom the Son sets free are free indeed. In steadfast love, You remembered the promises made to the forefathers of a new covenant with better promises. We have not been redeemed by silver or gold, nor by bribes or pleas for mercy by guilty bystanders. Our sin has not been atoned by the continuous sacrifices of sheep and goats, which could never remove the stain of sin and the iniquity of Your people. Instead, according to Your divine will and abounding grace, You redeemed Your people with the precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for our sake who through Him are believers in You, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that our faith and hope are in You. Evidence of Your enduring faithfulness, You reconciled us to Yourself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that You were in Christ reconciling the world to Yourself, not counting our trespasses against us, and You have committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though You are making an appeal through us on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to You. For You made Him Who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.