The wise men lauded Jesus as a King at His birth, and when He rode into Jerusalem on donkey the crowds hailed Him as the Son of David. But now the King is on trial. According to custom, someone will be released at the feast, either Jesus or Barabbas. It should be Jesus, but it isn’t. Instead, He dies in Barabbas’ place. The cross is like a diamond that you can look at from many angles, and here Matthew shows Christ as our royal substitute.