<p>23:22 <i>And he said to them the third time: Why What evil has this man done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore punish him and release him</i>- Pilate knew that they had delivered Jesus to him from envy, and that there was no legitimate reason for the death sentence.&nbsp; I suggest he is not so much seeking to change their minds, but rather purposefully seeking to elicit from the Jews a clear statement that they wanted Him crucified. &quot;The third time&quot; is another of Luke's tripilisms, a feature included in the record to enable the memorization of the gospels; and to emphasize the point, that even the callous Pilate really struggled to not allow the murder of an innocent and righteous man. Pilate's attempt to &quot;just&quot; punish the Lord was however only going to pique the wrath of the crowd, as they sensed the Lord's crucifixion slipping out of their grasp. And by saying this, Pilate was effectively robbing them of the choice as to which man should be released. So his desperate attempt to save the Lord only backfired upon him.</p>