Original sentence: According to the gospels, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate ruled that Jesus was not guilty of any civil crime and then, following what the Bible says was a Passover tradition, offered the crowd a choice of which prisoner to free — Jesus of Nazareth, or an insurrectionist named Jesus Barabbas.Beyond the historical information accepted by most secular scholars, the gospels make various additional claims about Jesus: that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible); that he was the son of God; that his mother Mary conceived Christ while a virgin; and that after his crucifixion he rose from the dead, and then ascended into heaven.To his chagrin, the crowd chose to free Barabbas
Edited sentence: According to the gospels, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate judged Jesus was not guilty of any civil charge.Beyond the historical information accepted by most secular scholars, the gospels make various additional claims about Jesus: that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible); that he was the son of God; that his mother Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived; and that after his crucifixion he rose from the dead, and then ascended into heaven.Though there is no record outside the gospels of any such custom, and as the representative of Rome, Pilate had a duty to punish all crimes against Caesar, the gospels say that Pilate offered the crowd a choice of which prisoner to free — Jesus of Nazareth, or an insurrectionist named Jesus Barabbas — and that to his chagrin, the crowd chose to free Barabbas