Barabbas or Jesus

Matthew 27:15-31 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.

¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. ²¹ But the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” ²³ And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. ²⁸ They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. ²⁹ And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. ³¹ After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

Today’s text begins saying:     Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.   The choice which Pilate gave to the people is really a microcosm of the choice every individual must make, whether to choose Christ or something else. It is certainly not hard to imagine that if this same scenario were to play out today, the results would be the same. Our culture has come to the point where it embraces and chooses for itself those who are notorious over those who are righteous. We see it played out daily in the mainstream media, in the entertainment industry, in sports and even throughout much of our government and political system. There is glorification of and tremendous concern for the rights and the freedom of the notorious, while those who stand for God and His righteousness are mocked and restrained.   

The text continues:  The governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”   Marks account, in Mark 15:6-15, gives us an even clearer picture of what happened:     Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify Him!” But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.    We see in Mark’s account that it was the chief priests who stirred up the crowd. That’s the unfortunate thing about crowds or about the masses of people, they are easily stirred, easily influenced by those who plan and plot to impose their will and agenda. Many of these same people, the ones in the crowd yelling “crucify Him,” were the same ones who less than one week before lined the road to Jerusalem shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)   We see this too, in our society, in our cities and at our universities. The mood and the opinion of crowds and masses turns quickly by the influence and incitation of those who want to impose their own agenda. Jubilant crowds are quickly turned to angry mobs. Those who say they are gathered for free speech and freedom of choice, shout down those with a different view.  

Today’s text continues saying:  When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”  The people, the crowd or the mob rightly said that His blood would be on them. Each person, regardless of the leading and driving influence of those who incite the masses, is responsible for their own actions, their own decision and their own choice. Even the one who came in peace, is guilty if they allow themselves to be incited to violence or bloodshed. In our culture and our society we will not begin to see these situations, when crowds are turned into angry mobs, eliminated unless or until those who incite them are held fully accountable. The news media, when it purposefully shares false stories, politicians, entertainers, athletes, educators, religious leaders and anyone else who has influence over masses, to lead them to violence and destruction should be the first ones held responsible. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way in our society. It does though in God’s eyes, in the kingdom of heaven there is a higher responsibility and accountability for leaders. James 3:1 says: Let not many of you become teachers (masters KJV), my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.    Ezekiel 3:17-18 says:   “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.”    Like those who said, “His blood shall be on us” each individual is responsible and accountable for their actions and decisions. In God’s sight, those who lead or those who fail to lead well, are also responsible for the blood of others. In Matthew 18:6-7 Jesus says:  “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!”   There surely are many today who will answer for the many they have misled.

Still, the truth and the fact remains, each one is responsible for their own choice and decision. That you sided with the crowd or were influenced by others will not exempt you from the responsibility for your choice. Today’s text ends saying:  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.    Jesus was mocked that day, but it was because He was crucified that we can be forgiven. The choice remains today, you can join with the crowd and mock Him, or you can believe in Him who died for your sins.

John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”   Even if you have been a mocker, one who has been influenced and incited by those with their own agenda, may this be the day you believe.   Amen.