Then cried they all again. — St. John has not recorded any clamour before, but implies that of Mark 15:8, and Luke 23:5-10.
Now Barabbas was a robber. — Comp. Note on John 10:1. The word includes the meaning of unrestrained violence, which often leads to bloodshed (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19), and is thus used in a striking parallel in Sophocles: —
“And him, so rumour runs, a robber band
Of aliens slew.” —
(Œdipus Rex., 724. Plumptre’s Translation.)
There is a solemn emphasis given to the context by the abrupt brevity of the sentence. (Comp. John 11:35; John 13:30; see also Acts 3:14.)