So on the Feast of Pesach (Passover), Pontius Pilate asked the people whom he should release. According to historians this took place between 29 and 35 AD.
This time the ritual became a significant play on words, as both the candidates for release were called Yeshua (Jesus), which means “salvation.” One of them was called “Yeshua Bar-Abbas” and the other “Yeshua ha-Notzri [Jesus of Nazareth]” of whom it is written: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31).
In fact, both Yeshuas were called “Son of the Father,” which is the meaning of the Aramaic words bar abbas. Bar means “son” and Abbas is “father.”
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