The Story of Barabbas
In Honor of Approaching Good Friday
12 Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
On Friday, we honor the crucifixion of Christ. He paid the ultimate sacrifice, recognizing God’s will for Him, so that we might be saved.
Leading up to His crucifixion, the crowd had a choice, release Christ or release a murderer. They chose the murderer. The story of Barabbas is shared in all four gospels, and I have shared it before, highlighting passages from Mark. Today, I turn to his story in two of the other gospels.
Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Matthew 27:15-26
13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” [17]
18 But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”
23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will. Luke 23:13-25
See also Mark 6:1-15 and John 18:28-40
Self-interested chief priests sought the release of someone known to be guilty of terrible crimes over the release of someone who had committed the high crime of claiming His rightful place as the Son of God. Pontius asked them again and again to do the right thing, but the crowd was insistent. The crowd could not believe or did not want to believe the truth of Christ’s message, so they chose to be complicit in His death, thus fulfilling the prophesy and offering us redemption.
What happened was consistent with God’s plan for the world. His Word is living and provides wisdom and guidance for our time. It also provides incredible comfort.
In the end, Christ submitted to God’s will.
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:32-36
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Thank you, God, for the sacrifice of your son and for offering us a path to redemption. Thank you for the wisdom you give us in the Bible. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for the beauty of this world, beauty we can find even in the brokenness and chaos. Thank you for the blessings shared with my family.
Dear God, be with our country and our leaders, local, state and federal. Please give them guidance on how to lead the diverse group of individuals that make up this nation. Please give them wisdom and the courage which governs us consistent with the principles on which our nation was founded.
Dear God, please be with the Christian church. It faces the same division it always has and the challenge of pleasing you or pleasing the public. Please be with the leaders of my individual church (thank you God for my priest), the Pope and the other religious leaders. Please be with those who call out to you and who are growing their faith and attempting to nourish the faith of others. Your will be done, Lord.
Please with healthcare providers seeking to provide individualized medical care and going against consensus. Please be with the lawyers seeking to restore freedom. Please in particular give strength, courage and wisdom to Dale Saran, Brandon Johnson, J. Andrew Meyer, Barry P. Steinberg, Rachel Saran and Nick Kupper (military class action), Bobbie Anne Cox (New York quarantine camp regulation), Sujata Gibson (New York teacher cases which she won that are on appeal), Warren Mendenhall and team (Brooke Jackson cases, Grace Schara case), the First Liberty Institute Team (religious freedom cases in general), all the judges hearing these cases and all the attorneys that I have not named but that are advocating for the freedom you gave us. Please continue to lend strength and courage to judges like Judge Doughty,1 Judge Porzio,2 Judge Worrell3, Judge Steigmann,4 Judge Don Willett, Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and Judge Edith Brown Clement.5 Please be with each individual seeking restoration of freedom and justice where their liberty was restricted. Please give each of these individuals peace no matter the outcome in any of their cases.
Dear God, if it is your will and your time, please bring peace to Jerusalem and this globe. Please be with the families still divided. Please be with the broken-hearted everywhere. In particular, please be with those who mourn, and let them feel your presence. Please be with those who need healing and offer healing, if that is your will. Please continue to bring healing to my young friend and please continue to provide for his family, in what they need, if that is your will.
Dear God, you know the prayers of my heart. If it is your will, Lord… In your name I pray. Amen.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:1-10
“But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life.” Luke 21:12-19
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust.
6 Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.
7 The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. …
12 Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. Isaiah 26:4-7, 12
Judge Doughty is the district court judge who issued the injunction against active efforts of government censorship in State of Missouri v. Biden, declaring that the Free Speech Clause was enacted so that the government could not pick “what is true and what is false.”
Judge Porzio is the Staten Island judge who ruled that New York City must restore the jobs, with backpay, of certain unionized workers in NYC, stating: “The vaccination mandate for City workers was not just about safety and public health; it was about compliance.” See Garvey v. City of New York. He also ordered NYC restore certain teachers to their jobs. All of those cases remain on appeal.
Judge Worrell is a judge in Charlottesville, Virginia who awarded Kayece McCoy, a UVA Health system employee terminated after her request for religious exemption was denied without explanation, back pay plus interest accumulated from the date of her termination. McCoy v. UVA Health System, available at https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23891516-mccoy-case-ruling?fbclid=IwAR2lT3OyrlS-zMGfGKtFDVSA_KmSUvx9RZOCUteyxm91MOUOpTrc4uzY4T0.
Judge Steinmann of the Appellate Court of the 4th Circuit in Illinois issued a dissent in Graham v. Pekin Fire Department which we should all read, in that he reminds us of some of the greatest mistakes in United States legal history: https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/court-of-appeals-fourth-appellate-district/2022/4-22-0270.html.
Judge Don Willett, Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and Judge Edith Brown Clement ruled: “FDA is not a physician. It has authority to inform, announce, and apprise-but not to endorse, denounce or advise. The Doctors have plausibly alleged that FDA’s Posts fell on the wrong side of the line between telling about and telling to.” https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fifth-circuit-ivermectin-order.pdf With that ruling, the case against the FDA was revived. In March 2024, this case settled, and the FDA agreed to remove all their posts advising against Ivermectin.
And the number of Truth-haters has only increased since then...
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