Charles Ellicott Commentary John 18:40

"They cried out therefore again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.)" — John 18:40 (ASV)

Then cried they all again.—St. John has not recorded any clamor before, but implies that of Mark 15:8, and Luke 23:5-10.

Now Barabbas was a robber.—Compare 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 rumor 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. (John 13:30; see also Acts 3:14.)