Mark 15:1-20
20:1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. [1]
________________
There is a bitter irony to the crowd’s selection of Barabbas over Jesus. But it’s an irony that challenges us today in our discipleship. Matthew tells us that Barabbas’ full name was “Jesus Barabbas” (Matthew 27:16). The name “Barabbas” means “son of the father.” So Jesus Barabbas is “Jesus, son of the father.” Rather ironic name for the one the crowd chose.
But there’s more. Why was Barabbas preferable to Jesus? Mark tells us that the priests were motivated by self-interest. Part of that self-interest may also have been a belief that the crowds would be supportive of Barabbas’ release. He was arrested for committing murder during an uprising. In other words, he resorted to violence in opposition to the Romans. He would have been viewed not as a mere murderer, but as a patriot, a zealot, standing in line with the Maccabees and their successful violent overthrow of the Syrians a couple of centuries earlier. In fact, Barabbas better fit the most popular expectations of a Messiah than did Jesus.
Bottom line is that the crowds, spurred on by the priests, chose an alternate Jesus. They chose a Jesus that better fit their expectations and worked in better harmony with how they wanted the world and their lives to be.
We are capable of the same kind of choice, choosing an alternate Jesus, a domesticated Jesus, an America culture Jesus, instead of the real Jesus. The “Jesus Barabbas” choice serves to confirm and validate the life that we choose for ourselves. This is much more palatable and appealing than the Crucified Jesus who calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.
But Jesus Barabbas cannot save us. Jesus Barabbas escaped Roman justice this time, but eventually died and did not rise. Jesus Barabbas isn’t Lord, and does not hear our prayers.
May God send His Spirit to each of us today as we take up our cross, renewed in His forgiving grace, and to follow Him in faithfulness.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here
[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Mk 15:1–20). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Leave a Reply