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292. Barabbas and Me

Matthew 27:15-26, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23-13-25, John 18:39-40
Key Verse: "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered."
Matthew 27:21

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent, the Lord detests them both. (Proverbs 17:15) What happened to Jesus now, was detestable in the Lord's sight, as was the rest of it, but Jesus, knowing who He is, endured it all for me.

Well, Pilate wanted truth. Now, through this situation involving Jesus, we learn the truth about Pilate himself. Who is he? Pilate is no tough Roman governor in charge of the people of Judea: no, now he is seen for who he is, a spineless politician, a people pleaser, not a leader, who is barely holding a grasp on the situation. Imagine if judges today behaved that way, making rulings based on mob rule! Justice was denied this night for fear of the crowds.

Even Pilate's wife tries to warn him. "Don't have anything to do with this innocent man," (Matthew 27:19). Pilate himself knows that Jesus is innocent, so he begs the people to let him do the right thing by releasing Him, rather than just do the right thing and set Jesus free. Is it any wonder then that the Sanhedrin were so bold? They must have known Pilate's character. They must have known what a push over he could be. There was no fear of Pilate in the Sanhedrin. They were confident that they would get their way. They had to have been!

Now, Pilate tries a trick to get the crowd to agree with him. He pits innocent Jesus against the notorious Barabbas. He was probably thinking that no one in his or her right mind would choose Barabbas over Jesus. He took a gamble and lost. It's even possible that Barabbas may have been a kind of hero to the Jews. Some believe that the uprisings that he was being held for had to do with revolting against Roman oppression. At least Barabbas was doing something about the problem of Roman occupation. Jesus had not been so bold, in their eyes. Jesus had talked of love, not raised an army.

So, in a further mockery of justice, the crowd chooses Barabbas to go free and Jesus takes his place. It could have been any of us though as well. Jesus had warned His disciples, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:18-19) The world was simply voting for its own, just as it would have voted for you or me, before we came to Christ. Just as Jesus took Barabbas' place on the cross that day, He took our place also. We were the sinners, He was the innocent One.

It appears, from God's perspective, as unbelievable that we would be chosen to go free as it appeared unbelievable to Pilate that the crowd chose Barabbas over Jesus. But sin and injustice makes mockers of us all. Hand washing may have been a wonderful symbolic gesture to appease his own conscience, but just as we can do nothing for our sins, Pilate’s hands remained dirty from the deed he was about to allow. The hand washing was a final mockery that, in truth, reveals why we all needed this night, this injustice to take place, so that we might be truly set free indeed.

We must truly be thankful for what we have received. He faced death and offered us life. It is Jesus Himself who said, "Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." (Matthew 5:48) Is there any more blatant example of Jesus putting His own words into practice than this?


Hymn: "Ah Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended" 

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