Pilate stood and shouted over the fray, Which of the two do you all want me to pardon and set free to you? Bar Abbas? Pilate bit out his name with a look of contempt, or Jesus who is called Christ? The comparison was obvious: Did they still want to free a villainous murderer, or would they take the nobler option of freeing this gentle holy man who had been falsely accused?
Gospel of John: Herod’s Court
Though John did not write about the interlude in Herod's court, I am convinced he would have been there. Of course, the story could also have come from Joanna and her husband, Herod's steward Chuza . . .
Gospel of John: He is a Galilean
Caiaphas waited expectantly. He had been forceful in his insistence that Jesus was an agitator, inciting trouble all over Judea, having started his insurgency in the northernmost reaches of Jewish territory and bringing subversion all the way down to Jerusalem.
Gospel of John: Pilate’s Palace
God had prepared a day of reckoning that Pilate had no idea was coming. For him it was just another Friday. But he was instead going to experience the greatest crisis of his life, coerced into making a life-or-death decision of incalculable proportion and consequence.
Gospel of John: Pretrial
Before diving into the events of Jesus's trials, it makes sense to review the adjudicators, timeline, and setting,

