Bible Strands
Luke 23:20
Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Pilate addresses the Jerusalem crowd a second time, attempting to release Jesus just before they demand His crucifixion (Luke 23:21) and after noting Barabbas’s imprisonment (Luke 23:19).
The words — θέλων (thelōn) = wishing and ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai) = to release, which establish Pilate’s intent to free Jesus before his final address to the crowd.
The thread — This attempt to placate the mob by releasing a prisoner parallels Pilate’s later concession to satisfy the crowd (Mark 15:15) and contrasts with his wife’s warning about the innocent man (Matthew 27:19).
Why it lands — It requires the reader to observe how political pressure overrides judicial intent, forcing Pilate to choose between justice and crowd control.
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
Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.
Cross-references
- Mark 15:15 And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
- Matthew 14:8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
- Matthew 27:19 While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
- John 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”