Jesus stands calmly before Pontius Pilate on a stone platform outside the Jerusalem governor's hall, wearing a crown of thorns and a scarlet robe, while a crowd gathers below and Roman soldiers stand nearby.

Fulfillment in ChristNew Testament✦ Also in Quran

Jesus Before Pilate

What Shall I Do with Jesus Who Is Called the Messiah?

The sun is barely rising over Jerusalem when the chief priests and elders make their decision. They bind Jesus and hand Him over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. They want Jesus dead.

Pilate looks at Jesus standing before him — quiet, calm, unlike any prisoner he has ever seen. 'Are You the King of the Jews?' Pilate asks. Jesus answers, 'You have said so.' The chief priests and elders shout many accusations, but Jesus stays silent. Pilate is amazed. This man does not act like a criminal.

Now, Pilate has a custom. Every year at Passover, he releases one prisoner — whichever prisoner the crowd chooses. He has a notorious man in his jail named Barabbas. So Pilate stands before the crowd and asks, 'Which one do you want me to release to you — Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?'

The word Messiah means the Anointed One, the King God promised long ago. Pilate can see that Jesus has done nothing wrong. Even Pilate's wife sends him a warning: 'Have nothing to do with that innocent man. I have suffered greatly in a dream today because of Him.'

But the chief priests and elders persuade the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to demand that Jesus be crucified. 'What shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?' Pilate asks. 'Crucify Him!' the crowd shouts. Pilate washes his hands in front of the crowd, saying he is innocent of this man's blood. The people call out, 'His blood be on us and on our children!'

Pilate releases Barabbas — a guilty man who goes free. Then he has Jesus flogged and hands Him over to be crucified.

The soldiers take Jesus into the governor's headquarters. They strip Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. They press a crown woven from thorns onto His head and put a reed in His right hand. They kneel in front of Him and mock Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' They spit on Him and strike Him on the head.

Then they lead Him away to be crucified.

None of this surprises God. Every word of it was planned before the world began. God made a covenant — a deep, unbreakable promise — that He would send a Savior to rescue His people from their sins. That Savior is standing right here in a crown of thorns. The guilty go free. The innocent One takes their place. God's great promise is moving toward its most important moment.

Christ in This Story

Jesus is the Messiah — the Anointed King promised throughout the whole covenant story of the Old Testament. When Barabbas the guilty man is released while Jesus the innocent One is condemned, it is a living picture of what Jesus is doing for His people: He takes the punishment sinners deserve so that they can go free. Pilate's own words — 'What shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?' — are the most important question every person must answer, and God Himself has provided the answer through Christ's sacrifice.

Historical Context

Pontius Pilate served as the Roman prefect (governor) of Judea from approximately AD 26–36. His role was to maintain Roman order and administer justice in the province, including the power to execute prisoners — a right that had been removed from the Jewish Sanhedrin under Roman rule, which is precisely why they needed him. An inscription discovered at Caesarea Maritima in 1961 actually bears Pilate's name and title, confirming his historical existence. The Passover prisoner-release custom (known as the 'Passover amnesty') is mentioned in all four Gospels, though its precise Roman administrative background is debated among historians.

The scarlet robe placed on Jesus was likely a Roman soldier's military cloak — a cheap imitation of royal purple, used to mock His claim to kingship. The crown of thorns and reed-scepter were deliberate parody of royal regalia. For Jewish readers, the Passover timing was deeply significant: Jesus is condemned and will be crucified at the very season when Israel sacrificed the Passover lamb, which God had commanded as a sign of the covenant of redemption going back to the Exodus from Egypt.

✦ This story also appears in the Quran

For parents: This biblical account has a parallel in the Quran (Islam's holy book), but the two versions differ in important ways. The Quran retells many Old and New Testament stories — sometimes similarly, sometimes with significant changes in detail, meaning, or theology.

This is a great opportunity to help your children know the biblical account well, so they can recognize differences if they ever encounter them. The Bible is our authoritative source; where the Quran diverges, we hold to what God's Word says.

Let's Pray

Father, thank You that You kept Your covenant promise and sent Jesus, the true Messiah, to take the punishment we deserve. Thank You that the innocent Jesus went to the cross so that guilty sinners like us could go free. Help us to never forget what Your Son suffered, and help us to love Him more every day. Amen.