BARABBAS

[Other] In the New Testament, a prisoner, described variously as a revolutionary, murderer, and notorious bandit. He was released in the place of Jesus Christ. As was customary, the Roman governor of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, offered to pardon one prisoner at Passover. According to the accounts of the incident in the Gospels, the people of Jerusalem demanded that Barabbas, rather than Jesus, be released (Mark 15:6-15).