What Does Luke 23:25 Mean in the King James?
And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Freedom is handed out selectively: the man they demand is released as Jesus is handed into their will.
THE MEANING
Whenever power answers a demand, freedom can be distributed unevenly: the person they want is released, while Jesus is handed to their will. The sentence holds both outcomes together, so one person’s release does not erase another’s exposure to violence.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that releasing someone proves justice has been served; here, the requested prisoner is freed as Jesus is handed over.
THE ROOT
ἀπέλυσεν
apelysen
GROWS FROM
λύω
lyō
To loosen or untie; ἀπολύω means to release or dismiss.
“released” in this verse is apelysen. The Greek word pictures a loosening: the prisoner is let go. Beside Jesus being handed over, this release is selective, the loosening of one person does not free everyone caught in the same act of judgment.
ALSO GROWS
lyō: Loosen, untie
λύω
This base verb makes the physical sense of release visible beneath the English word.
apolysis: Release, dismissal
ἀπόλυσις
This related noun names the act of letting go, bringing the prisoner’s freedom into focus as one outcome among two.
παρέδωκεν
paredōken
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι (didōmi; δο-)
To give or grant; with παρά, to hand over or give into another’s keeping.
“delivered” in this verse is paredōken. The verb carries the sense of giving someone over, and the verse names where Jesus is given: to their will. Set beside the prisoner’s release, it shows two opposite fates in one decision, one is let go, the other placed in the hands of those demanding him.
ALSO GROWS
didōmi: Give, grant
δίδωμι
This is the verb at the heart of “delivered”: Jesus is given over to the reach of their will.
paradosis: Handing over, transmission; tradition
παράδοσις
This related word for handing something on or over echoes the transfer in the verse: Jesus is passed into another’s keeping.
THE PATTERN
When desire bends judgment, the wicked can be released while the just are condemned.
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;THE THREAD
Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.Luke says Jesus is handed over to their will; John uses the same Greek verb, παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi), “to hand over,” for his delivery to be crucified. The later verse makes the consequence of that transfer explicit.
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