But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

MARK 15:9KJV
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Mark 15:9 (KJV)

What does Mark 15:9 mean?

Mark 15:9 shows Pilate publicly asking the crowd if they want him to release Jesus, whom he calls "the King of the Jews." Pilate is offering the crowd a choice, using a title that highlights the charge brought against Jesus.

In this scene, Pilate, the Roman governor, is speaking to a gathered crowd during Jesus’ trial. The situation is tense: it is Passover, when it was customary for the governor to release a prisoner chosen by the people. By calling Jesus "the King of the Jews," Pilate is repeating the accusation that led to Jesus’ arrest, but his question also suggests he sees the charges as political and possibly unfounded.

The Greek behind Mark 15:9

  • βασιλεὺς (basileus, "King"): This word means "king" and is the title Pilate uses for Jesus. In this context, it is loaded with irony and political tension, since calling Jesus "King of the Jews" was the reason the religious leaders brought him to Pilate.
  • ἀπολύσω (apolysō, "release"): This verb means "to set free" or "release." Pilate is offering the crowd a real choice, following the Passover custom, but the word also hints at the possibility of mercy or justice being shown.

Why Mark 15:9 matters

  • Mark 15:9 highlights Pilate’s role as a judge who is not convinced of Jesus’ guilt and is trying to find a way to release him.
  • The use of the title "King of the Jews" connects this moment to the larger theme of Jesus’ identity and the political charges that led to his crucifixion.
  • This verse sets up the crowd’s response and the tragic choice that follows, helping readers understand the dynamics that led to Jesus’ death.

Where else these words appear

“Pilate” Greek G4091 · used in 53 verses

  • Matthew 27:2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
  • Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
  • John 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

“release” Greek G630 · used in 63 verses

  • Matthew 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
  • Mark 8:3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
  • Luke 23:22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.

“King” Greek G935 · used in 107 verses

  • Matthew 1:6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
  • Luke 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
  • Acts 26:7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.