The crowd's choice was not between Jesus and a petty thief. Commentators explain that Barabbas was a 'robber,' 'brigand,' and 'insurgent'—a violent revolutionary. To some, he may have even been a political hero. The people, instigated by the priests, chose a man of worldly violence over the King whose kingdom is not of this world, revealing their tragic misunderstanding of the Messiah.