Bible Strands
Luke 23:19
(Barabbas had been imprisoned for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator supplies a parenthetical clarification during Pilate’s judicial proceeding, explaining why the crowd demands Barabbas’s release instead of Jesus. This insertion occurs immediately after the mob’s unified cry for Barabbas and just before Pilate attempts to free Jesus.
The words — The Greek ἦν (ēn, “was”) and διὰ (dia, “on account of”) form the core clause that establishes Barabbas’s imprisoned status for rebellion and homicide. These terms function strictly as a historical footnote defining the prisoner’s legal charges.
The thread — Acts 3:14 repeats this detail when Peter notes the crowd’s demand to release a murderer while rejecting the Holy One. Luke 23:2 and 23:5 supply the surrounding accusations of national subversion and sedition that frame this trial exchange.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that the crowd’s preference rested on a known criminal profile rather than a vague political preference. It asks the reader to confront the factual reality that a convicted insurrectionist was chosen over a condemned teacher.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
(Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.)
Cross-references
- Acts 3:14 You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
- Luke 23:2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”
- Luke 23:5 But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people all over Judea with His teaching. He began in Galilee and has come all the way here.”