But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
Ver. 39. But ye have a custom] An ungain, ungodly custom it was, Proverbs 17:15, whatever were the ground of it. In ista consuetudine turpe et crassum fuit vitium. In such a disgraceful custom, it was gross and criminal, (Calvin) Some think it was in memory of Jonathan, rescued from his father by the people. Others, that the feast might be celebrated with the greater joy and gladness. Others, more probably, in remembrance of their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage. But why should any Barabbas escape by it? "A bloody man shall flee to the pit, and no man may stay him," Proverbs 28:17 .