But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
All Commentaries on Matthew 27:20 Go To Matthew 27
Hilary of Poitiers
AD 368
When Pilate offered to release Jesus, following the customary practice wherein the people were granted the privilege of gaining the freedom of one prisoner per solemn feast day, they were persuaded by their priests to choose Barabbas instead. Here already the mystery of their future infidelity is contained in Barabbas’s very name, which means “son of the father.” They preferred this “son of the father” to Christ. At the instigation of their leaders, they chose the Antichrist, a man of sin and son of the devil. They chose the one elected for damnation over the author of life.
