The Passion of Christ: The Outcry of Choice: Barabbas or Jesus?

The Outcry of Choice: Barabbas or Jesus?

Bible Passage: Luke 23:13-25

13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.”

18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

Reminding us where we are at, it is the week of Passover. Sunday Jesus rides into Jerusalem as the triumphant king. The people rejoice and declare Hosana! Luke 19:38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”” Monday Jesus entered Luke 19:45–46 the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”” Tuesday Jesus delivers the sermons at the Mt Olivet also called the Olivet Discourse. Wednesday, after two long days, tensions are reaching a boiling point, where the religious leaders want to avoid causing an uproar in the city during the festival, but Jesus knows He’ll be killed on Passover, taking His place as the sacrificial lamb and God’s provided rescue for mankind. Thursday marks the Passover and the Last Supper. Jesus tells his disciples he is leaving and one of them will betray him. At the end of the meal the disciples follow Jesus to the Mount of Olives where Jesus prays to the Father that this cup of God’s wrath might be removed yet not my will but yours be done. We find Jesus betrayed by Judas Iscariot with a kiss and Jesus is taken into custody of the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders. They lead him to the chief priest house and together they come together to convict Jesus of blasphemy.

Early Friday morning they led Jesus from Caiaphas’ home and this is where our story picks up to night. We are going to look at three types of people. Pilates decision, the peoples cries and a criminal released. It is likely that we can or will relate with at least one of them or maybe all of them.

1. Pilates Decision

Luke 23:13–16 “Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him.””

Pilates decision, Pilate was the authority in Jerusalem at this time. He held the power to set Jesus free or to punish him or kill him. What Pilate loved more than any thing else, what he coveted was power. He knew the Jewish leaders held enough sway over the people to get them to riot and rise up. If Pilate couldn’t control the people he ruled it would get Caesars attention and likely be the end of his rule. To dodge making a decision he sent Jesus to Herod who’s jurisdiction included Galilee where Jesus was from. Maybe Herod would take care of the issue with this Jesus so I might not have to might have been the thought Pilate had. After all he is in his jurisdiction. Herod wanted a show and when Jesus wouldn’t comply he found no fault in him and sent him back to Pilate. Pilate probably thought well good. I didn’t see any fault in this man Jesus and Herod found no fault so I’ll punish for misleading the people and send him away because nothing deserving death has been done by him.

When we read the rest of this account and the other accounts we see Pilate trying to release Jesus but the people cried all the more. Fearing a riot in a city filled with Jews for the Passover Pilate finally complies with the peoples pleas to crucify Jesus.

Matthew records the infamous account of Pilates handwashing. Matthew 27:24 “So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”” Pilate thought that washing his hands of relieved him of his responsibility as a ruler of the people and this just isn’t true. John records John 19:11 “Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.””

Whether Pilate liked it or not his decision would condemn him. He knew the right thing to do was to let Jesus go but he desired to stay in power. So he swayed with the peoples cries and did what they demanded, he delivered Jesus over to their will to be crucified.

So many times we make bad decisions because we desire to please some one. Sometimes it like Pilate and its just to keep the peace but never the less it brings about bad results. Like Pilate we might try to shift the blame and wash our hands because its what they wanted after all. What we need to remember is like Pilate we will be held accountable for what we do regardless of how we rationalize it by the pressure given by the outside.

If you are a Christian, we are to be obedient to God and his word regardless of the pressures that we have from the outside. We are to love others over self, which Pilate clearly does not. We are to stand fast on the truth of God’s word and take up our cross and follow Jesus daily. Jesus went to the grave so that we could be brought to God and if we cannot love others more than we love ourselves there is a problem with our testimony and we may not truly understand the gospel.

2. The peoples cries

Luke 23:17–21 “But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!””

The same people cried out Hosana! Luke 19:38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”” just 4 days before. They declared Jesus as a king riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey and now we see them crying crucify him. What happened? Did the people want a political king to remove the roman oppression? Most likely. What is really going on here is the peoples deceitful heart was getting the better of them. What caused the quarreling and rioting was that they truly desired was a murder rather than a righteous God himself.

Peter helps us to see the heart of the people recorded in his sermon on Pentecost. Peter said:

Acts 3:13–15 “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.”

The they that Peter talks about is the same they that cried out all together. They delivered Jesus over and denied his identity as the Holy and Righteous One before Pilate and asked for a murder to be released. They killed the Author of life!

We cannot be neutral towards God. There is no middle ground. We are either all His or none of His. We are either adopted as sons and daughters or he know us not. To know God is to love God and to love God is to be obedient to Him. Jesus said, John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

1 John 5:1–2 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.”

Notice the order of the words. In-order to believe that Jesus is the Christ you must be born of God and whoever loves the Father loves who ever has been born of him. We must be born again to believe that Jesus is the Christ. The result is first we will love God and then we will love others who have been born of him. Vertical relationship with God precedes the horizontal outflowing of love toward others. The result is when we vertically love God it is displayed horizontally as fruit in obedience to His commandments.

Since we cannot be neutral towards God, where are you at? Have you been born from above? Are you growing in obedience toward his commandments being sanctified by the Spirit?

3. Criminal released

Luke 23:22–25 “A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.”

Barabbas represented a violent, revolutionary figure who sought to overthrow Roman authority through force. He had killed someone as he was widely known as a murder. As He sat in prison, convicted of his crime awaiting the carrying out the sentence which was crucifixion. He can here the crowd though not clearly, “Crucify Him!” and he hasn’t a clue that there is another whom the people hate even enough to allow his release. Suddenly the prison door is opened and the guard brings him out into the light and releases his chains. He says your free to go! Rather than gaining a Cross your chains are broken and you are set free!

Psalm 107:10–14 “Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.”

At one time or another we have been one or more of these people. We have shown the cowardice of our own decisions. Making decisions because of the influence of others. Having the authority and ability to make a good decision but taking the easy way out because you were afraid your decision would result in losing something you treasure more. Or we have been like the people who cry “Crucify Him”. Prefering a murder over the righteous one. The thing is scripture says that we have all fallen short of God’s glory. So each and every one of us whether we realize it or not are a Barabbas. We are guilt of our sin. Christ came to set the captives free but John 3:3 you must be born again! John 3:5 “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

We must be born of water and the Spirit! What is John talking about?

Ezekiel 36:25–27 “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Has this happened to you? How can I know if I have been born of God?

1 John 5:1–2 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.”