Barabbas, the Recipient of the Gospel

Mark 15:6-15

6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Pray

There are a lot of things to consider when looking at this text today. Leading up to this, if you haven’t been with us, Jesus has stood before 5 separate trials. The first was before Annas, the former high priest, the second before Ciaphas, the current high priest, the third before the Sanhedrin, the counsel of religious leaders, the fourth before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, the fifth, told to us in Luke’s Gospel, before Herod, this is the same Herod Antipas that took the head of John the Baptist. He was the overall ruler of Judea. Today is the 6th and final trial before Pilate as judge and the Jewish crowd as jury.

When this week started, Jesus was coming into the city announcing his Messiahship and there was a large crowd of folks that were singing his praises saying, “Hosanna in the Highest.” and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Often times people say that the same people that praised His name at the beginning of the week are the ones shouting for his execution by the end of the week and pastor’s make sermons on how fickle the believers are. I don’t think this is the case. Seeing as half of the trials were carried out at night and this was in the early morning hours, it is likely the ones praising him at the beginning of the week had no idea what was taking place on this morning. I can’t know that for certain, but it seems unlikely that all of their minds changed over night

I believe this group is the same Sanhedrin group that had condemned Jesus to death in the night and the other people in the crowd were folks in Jerusalem that were there for Passover. Some historians believe that the city could have had upwards of 1 million people. If there was a follower of Christ in the crowd, his or her voice would have been drowned out by the chanting of the mob.

Because it is Passover, Pilate has a tradition.

6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.

What an interesting thing for Pilate to do. Passover is the feast where the Jews celebrate the Exodus from Egypt where God spared his judgement on those that deserved it if they put the blood of a spotless lamb on their door post. The sin of Egypt was great and God sent plagues in order for them to repent and let the Israelites go, but the punishment was for sin.

Side note: There has and will always be a death exchange for sin. When you/I sin, life is the cost. That was the case in the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned and God covered their nakedness with the skins of an animal and it is the case today when we sin that there is something or in our case someone that must take our place or the death is on us.

The Egyptians had sinned and no doubt the Jews had sinned even in their captivity. The Jews were not excused from this judgement that God was bringing about. God gave them a way of justification for all who would have ears to hear and fear the Lord.

On this particular instance today, Pilate is doing the same thing except Pilate’s decision is unjust. Every year Pilate, without any transferring of debts or without justice being served, just let’s someone go. Not because they were wrongly accused or that they got a sentence that was too tough but just because the crowd wanted that person released. The crime goes unpunished. That is not justice. What about the families of the victims? What about the stolen property? What about the victims of the crimes? Pilate is an unjust judge.

Unjust judges cannot be trusted because they can be bought. They have no standard only their feelings in the moment. So in our text today, Pilate goes to this sinful crowd to see if they will make a righteous decision. Instead of hearing the cases of both, finding Jesus innocent and just letting Him go, Pilate puts it to a vote.

7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.

Pilate knows the game. He knows why the Chief Priest gave Jesus to him for execution. It was because they were envious of him. They were envious of the way that the people gravitated toward him. Envious of the way that Jesus taught and the knowledge that he had never having gone to the prestigious schools or sat under the sought after rabbis. They hated that He taught with authority but they mostly hated that Jesus was making them and the people around them examine their hearts to show that they had long since strayed from the heart of God.

Pilate asked the crowd, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” Knowing that Barabbas was a murderer and knowing that Jesus was innocent, probably thinking that he could put this whole thing to bed putting this sinless man against a terrible sinner who had killed someone. Surely this crowd would not want this dangerous person on the loose anymore and it would be an easy pick to have Jesus off the hook and Barabbas hung on the cross.

But crowds are and have always been the same. The loudest voice turns the tides. We went to a baseball game yesterday and several times I would just be sitting there watching the game and there is this pitcher that we like for the home team. He was losing steam and threw four balls in a row and I heard this booing sound start and then another, then another, then a large part of the crowd started booing. If the voices are loud enough and there are enough of them, logical men, if not strong in their convictions can be swayed.

11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.

We don’t know anything about Barabbas after this part of the story and I don’t know if Barabbas talked to Jesus while they were waiting together to stand trial, but if Barabbas heard about Jesus and that he had broken no law and he knew that Pilate was going to make the crowd choose between him and Jesus. I wonder what he was thinking. Did he replay what got him to that position? Was he remorseful? Was he in tears knowing that his fate would be a painful, shameful death by hanging on a cross?

What was his thought when he heard the crowd say, “Release Barabbas.” Was he confused or joyful or both? Barabbas hears his verdict followed by Pilate saying,

Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?”

It is confirmed in Barabbas. This man is innocent and he is going to die in my place. On any other day, they would have both died but since it was passover, one was released and one was killed. That sounds a whole like someone dying in the place of another for crimes that he did not commit. Barabbas at this very hour is hit directly in the face with the gospel and he was going to be a recipient of it that day.

Pilate is going to see it from another angle. Jesus does not say a word to address the false charges or what God had planned for his life so as to fulfill the Scriptures that were written about him. Isaiah 53:7

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Pilate is going to see an innocent man WILLFULLY going to His death in the place of this guilty sinner. Pilate knew the truth and was face to face with the Gospel lived out. Pilate is pleading with the people to not clammer for the death of this man because of His innocence.

But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Barabbas’ chains are off of his feet and wrists. He doesn’t plead to put them back on, he takes the gift and walks away knowing that this innocent man will be dying the death that he deserved.

Pilate, knowing the truth, suppressed it for fear of the crowd. He was more concerned that the crowd would harm him if he let Jesus go. He could have changed the outcome but the consequences both politically and physically were too high, so he gave in to the noise and the political winds of the moment.

There are really three types of people in this story and three types of reactions to the Gospel.

The three players are the crowd, Pilate and Barabbas.

The crowd has their mind made up. They do not want Jesus to live. He is a liar in their eyes and an enemy to Israel. We can liken that to political conversations we have today. “This is my party and anyone who is outside of my party is wrong.” “I already know how I feel, I am right and everyone else is wrong. ““I want to hear the truth as long as it is a truth that I approve of and it supports my narrative.”

The crowd doesn’t want anything to do with Jesus. Why? Because He examines and questions everything about their lives. He, like we talked about a few weeks ago, is a disrupter and most people do not want their lives disrupted. No matter how chaotic or miserable it may be they would rather have the life they have and are familiar with than one that they are unfamiliar with. They fear change and they find security in their misery.

There is an accountability with Jesus. If it is true that He died for our sins and that we can have eternal life with Him if we repent and believe in is finished work, then that means that our actions are being judged by someone other than ourselves. Just like in the garden, man’s sinful desire has always been to be like God. We do not want any accountability higher than ourselves. That is the crowd. Away with Jesus. We will submit to Caesar because he keeps our physical and financial interests safe but we do not want to submit to a king that judges our heart.

The other player in this drama is Pilate. He represents another group of group of people when presented with the Gospel. Pilate heard the truth. He knew that Jesus was sinless. He knew that Jesus was special. In John’s Gospel, the Jews told Pilate that they wanted to kill Him because He claimed to be “the Son of God.” In John 19:8,

When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.

In Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 27 verse 19, “while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”

Pilate had heard the case of Jesus, knew that the ones that were slandering Jesus were doing so in envy, Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. Several times in the Gospels he says, “I find no fault in this man.” Pilate sees that Jesus takes the place of the violent criminal, Barabbas and yet he goes along with the crowd.

Pilate had never seen such a man as Jesus. One that didn’t beg for his life or try to save it by explanation but willingly going to the cross. This is enough to intrigue and vex Pilate. Can you imagine what was going through his mind? “What if Jesus is the Son of God?” “Why would Jesus willingly go along with being put to death?” “What am I to make of my wife’s dreams?” He tries to assuage his guilt by washing his hands in front of the people and putting the death of Jesus on them, but that is just a symbol. He put away Jesus because listening to Him and believing in Him would cost him too much. He would lose his position as governor. He might lose all of his wealth and he may even lose his life to the hands of this mob. The cost was too high.

Pilate represents a group of people that hear the good news of the Gospel, and they may even be sitting here with us today, they may be intrigued by it, they may even be friendly to it because of the benefits to society or to their own person, but to actually follow the teachings of Christ cost too much.

There is a price tag to being a follower of Christ. Yes, it comes with forgiveness. Yes, it comes with eternal life. Yes, it comes with joy everlasting. The benefits are innumerable but the cost is “Go and sin no more.” The cost is…your life. All of the things that you have built up around your kingdom and all of the things you have furnished it with that glorify you and not God must be torn down and rebuilt. For Pilate, that was too much. For this group of people in this camp, the cost is too much.

It is the story of the rich young man in Mark 10:17-22

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Jesus isn’t saying that if you have a lot of wealth that you must give it up. He is pointing out to this man that he loved his things more than he loved God. He is chopping at the root of the tree of HIS sin. Jesus is telling the rich man that, for him, his possessions were his god and he would have to lay that down because there is only one God and His blessings are better than anything that we can accumulate here.

The last person in this drama is Barabbas. Like I said a minute ago, Barabbas is freed and he walks off never to be heard of again in the pages of Scripture. He is not unlike the others that were healed by Jesus. Over and over you see Jesus healing people and you never hear of those people again. They live lives of obscurity, some became believers and some didn’t. Some took the blessing and said, “Thank you very much” and kept right on doing what they were doing while others became followers. I don’t know what Barabbas did, but the act of Jesus on his behalf probably was not lost on him.

If he became a believer and started to share the good news of Jesus for the rest of his days, he knew the story was not about him. The people didn’t need to know who he was. They didn’t need to know the name Barabbas but only that there was a man named Jesus who was innocent and died in my place for my sins. He might have said something like, “You know I never understood the Passover feast until I saw this innocent man being led to slaughter on my behalf.”

Barabbas, if you want to take the position that he may have become a believer, represents those that really understand their place in this world in relation to their God and King. The understanding that He loved me so much that he took my sins on Himself and because of that I can be free. Barabbas could have stayed in his shackles and walked around with them the rest of his days, but he understood the gift that Christ gave. He was free. He didn’t deserve it, he wasn’t worthy of it and he definitely couldn’t do anything to pay it back, so he lived out his days in quiet submission to his King.

I don’t want to throw all of my chips in that Barabbas became a believer, but I will bet the farm that we were in Barabbas’ place and Jesus died for us. We were set free and we can walk in the newness of life. When we submit to Him as King we tell our story not to make us known but to make him known. He is the one that deserves the praise and the glory forever.

His gift is priceless and should put all that we have built to shame so much so that we sell it all to obtain that treasure. We give everything from ourselves to please Him and to honor Him.