B, Palm/Passion Sunday - Mark 15:6-15 "Barabbas"
Text: Mark 15:6-15
6 Now it was the custom at the Feast 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 envy 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.
Sermon
Barabbas, a criminal, a known trouble maker, also known as Jesus Barabbas; incarcerated for insurrection. Pontius Pilate, a politician, the Roman authority of the day; with a political nightmare on his hands. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man and proclaimed by Pilate to be “the King of the Jews”; stands charged with many crimes. The Jewish leaders - the Sanhedrin, Rabbis, and Priests, those responsible for upholding God’s Law; hold Jesus before Pilate with many unsustainable charges. And the fickle crowd, those without a conscience; whipped into a frenzy by the Jewish leaders.
These are the players in this critical time where the fate of two hangs in the balance; where the fate of humanity hangs on what happens to Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Barabbas. What happened to these two depended on a few simple questions and traditions. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?
Earlier Jesus Christ had been brought before the Sanhedrin in what can only be explained as a kangaroo court. The conclusion is foregone as Jesus is accused by the rabble of rabbis and ratbags. The Jewish leaders were desperately seeking to quash the influence of this man from
The high priest is outraged by Jesus of Nazareth, as he claims not only to be the messiah, the anointed saviour, the Christ set aside by God to save the fate of the Jews, but that he is the Son of Man having access to God Almighty. The high priest asks, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:61-62) Jesus tells the truth but the high priest rips his clothes and cries out “blasphemy”! Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?
Jesus refers to himself as the “Son of Man”. In Mark’s Gospel this happens fourteen times. He never refers to himself as the “Son of God”, that is for others to proclaim. In fact the title “Son of God” appears in Mark only four times, in the introduction (1:1), by the demons twice (3:11 & 5:7), and by the Centurion at the foot of the cross after Jesus’ death (15:39). And God the Father announces that Jesus is his Son twice, at his baptism (1:11) and on the
Jesus of Nazareth is God the Son. In the privacy of his prayers and in the
We don’t know much about Barabbas. Some traditions know of him as Jesus Barabbas. He was caught up, in some way, with rebels who had sought to lead an insurrection against the authorities. The text mentions murder, but we are not even sure if it was him who committed any acts of murder, or if he was involved with others who did. But what we do know is that he was held by Pilate and was guilty in his association with others who were rebellious.
But we also know Jesus is innocent! Pilate does too! Knowing full well Jesus is before him out of envy, Pilate asks the Jewish leaders, “‘Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?’ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.” (Mark 15:9,11) And so Pilate released Barabbas and had Jesus flogged and sent to his crucifixion to please the crowd. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?
There’s a strange irony with these two men as their lives hang in the balance before Pilate. Jesus of Nazareth, is an earthly name, so too is the “son of man”, and we know of his humanity as he pleads, in anguish and sweat, to Abba – his Father in heaven. Jesus is the Son of God, he is the Christ, he “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8) Jesus the Son of Man; the Son of God; the servant of humanity!
And then there is Barabbas. Think about his name; bar-abbas, bar-abba. Jesus Barabbas, has the Aramaic name which literally means “son of abba”, “son of the father”. So before Pilate stood Jesus of Nazareth — the Son of God, who called himself the “Son of Man” and Pilate himself called “King of the Jews”, who prayed Abba Father in innocence before his impending death. And also Jesus Barabbas, “Jesus son of abba”, “Jesus son of the father”, who in violence and rebellion looked to his own rights and strength, becoming involved with murderers, rather than call on his namesake Abba, our Father in heaven. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?
We might rightly say that Barabbas should have been nailed to the cross. After all he was the criminal. He hung out with murderers; if not was a murderer himself. He deserved death! On the other hand, Jesus of Nazareth was innocent. He is the Son of God. He is without sin. He was betrayed by everyone; disciples, priests the public and Pilate, rabbis and Romans. Did the right person get the right punishment? Of course not! Barabbas should have died and Jesus Christ shouldn’t have been nailed to the cross.
But how would it benefit you if Jesus Barabbas was nailed to the cross, and Jesus of Nazareth was set free. Barabbas hanging between the other criminals and dying on the cross would have done nothing for you or me, or anyone. In fact if Barabbas went to the cross, you and I should have too. We are as guilty of sin as was Barabbas.
You might think, “Yes I’m a sinner, but I’m not as bad as Barabbas. Barabbas was really bad, he was a murderer”. Well we’re not sure if he was or not, it’s ambiguous, but either way he was guilty and so are we. We are murderers and adulterers in God’s eyes — even if we hate or lust, so Jesus tells us. Before God the ambiguity disappears and we stand with Barabbas, guilty of sin, sentenced to death. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment? You and me or Jesus Christ: Did the right person get the right punishment?
Jesus was the right person for the job. He is the only one who could have atoned for our sin. He was the perfect spotless lamb sacrificed in our place, bearing the sin of the world. He is the Christ but he became a servant as the Son of Man — the servant of humanity. He made the ultimate act of service; falling silent as our sinful cry together with the din of all humanity sung out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” And so he was crucified for your sake and mine.
So now that he has taken our place, we like Barabbas have been saved from eternal death. But even greater than this is the fact that through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, we now are children of the Father. Jesus took our place and we his. Jesus cried out Abba Father, but obediently allowed himself to be crucified, and we inherited the name Barabbas, guilty of murder but now made sons and daughters of Abba — our Father in heaven. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment? Yes he did, and because of it, we have received life eternal with our Father. Amen.
