According to the Gospel of Matthew, the prisoner released instead of Jesus was Barabbas.
Matthew 27 describes Pontius Pilate offering the crowd a choice between Jesus and a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. The crowd asks for Barabbas to be released and Jesus to be crucified. Matthew calls Barabbas a prisoner involved in rebellion and murder, while the other Gospels provide slightly different descriptions.
The episode is part of the Passion narratives and is often called the Barabbas release or the prisoner exchange. Pilate’s role and the crowd’s request are presented differently across the Gospels, so details should not be merged casually.
Barabbas is sometimes confused with Barnabas, a later Christian missionary mentioned in Acts and Paul’s letters. The names sound similar, but the figures belong to different episodes and generations.