JOHN 18:40 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.”
Then they shouted in return, 'Not this man, but Barabbas!' Now Barabbas was a bandit — The crowd's violent preference for Barabbas (whose name ironically means "son of the father") over Jesus constitutes rejection of Jesus' kingship in favor of Zealot resistance. "Bandit" (lēstēs) designates revolutionary or insurrectionist rather than common thief, suggesting Barabbas embodied anti-Roman resistance. The irony: those demanding a violent liberator reject the true deliverer, whose kingdom transcends political categories.
Church Fathers on John 18:40
After Pilate had asked, What is truth? he remembered a custom of the Jews, of releasing one prisoner at the passover, and did not wait for Christ’s answer, for fear to losing this chance of saving Him, which he much wished to do. And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews.
He knew that this question required time to answer, and it was necessary immediately to rescue Him from the fury of the Jews. So he went out.
Or, he did not wait to hear the reply, because he was unworthy to hear.
Read all 10 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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