Mark 15:6-15
‘Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. “Crucify him!” they shouted. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.“ Mark 15:6-15 NIV
Pontius Pilate hits on a brilliant idea which he thought would get him out of this no win situation. He knew that Jesus was innocent, but he was on the hot seat between the Jewish leaders and what he knew to be the prisoners innocence.
Every year it was customary for him to release a prisoner during the Passover Feast. He makes a suggestion that the favored person this year should be Jesus.
The crowd chose to free Barabbas. Jesus would die in Barabbas’ place, suffering as Barabbas had been destined to suffer. Jesus died for us.
Why did the crowds reject Jesus?
I suppose the easy answer is that it was God’s will. It was what was required for Jesus to complete His mission on earth. It was His destiny.
He embodied Isaiah’s Suffering Servant by whose stripes we are healed. That’s the common answer. The easy answer. Easy for us.
Another possible answer is that the crowds were just as jealous of one another as the religious authorities. Rather than marveling at the Jesus who fed huge crowds or healed the sick, most in the crowd probably thought, Where was this Jesus when I was hungry? Where was this Jesus when my child was sick?
Or perhaps, I thought the Messiah would defeat the Romans and restore our rightful place as the most powerful people on earth. This guy? He’s no Messiah.
The crowds rejected Jesus because He didn’t deliver the goods. That he was the very embodiment of goodness didn’t matter to them.
The crowd didn’t care about what was good or right or just or true for anyone else but themselves. They sent Barabbas home for dinner and Jesus to the cross.
Is this the same crowd that celebrated Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem just a few days ago? Perhaps. The people of Jerusalem were looking for someone who would overthrow Roman dominion, and when Jesus failed to do this, they called for his crucifixion and asked for Barabbas instead.
Many people happily welcome Jesus as Savior with certain expectations of what they believe He should do in their lives. When these expectations are not fulfilled, they turn away from Him and return to old ways of thinking.
But there are things that Jesus wants to do in our lives. The kingdom of Jesus Christ is a kingdom of righteousness, and if we welcome Him as our King, He will certainly see to it that the fruit of righteousness grows within us.
Pilate is a puppet who cannot recognize that he acts in concert with the crowd's will, Rome's desire, and God's plan for our salvation. Jesus is allowed to be crucified both by Pilate, to appease the crowd which is being manipulated by the religious leaders, and also by God, who is using this horrifying event to save the world.
If God can bring such a great redemption out of such an unfair injustice, imagine what he can do with our suffering for His sake.
Jesus ministry was all about release. Release from the power of death, release from the power of disease, release from the power of the devil.
Here we have what may be a providential irony, people asked for the release of a murderous revolutionary while Jesus went to the cross to release them and us from the clutches of Satan, death, and hell.
You know the rest of the story. The crowd chose Jesus Barabbas, and Jesus Christ went to the cross. The One whom they shouted to crucify was the One who was going to the cross for them.
Here’s a piece of truth to hold onto. Understand that whichever Jesus you choose, you are going to get exactly what you asked for. In Jesus the Christ, there is life and life abundantly.
There is peace in the storms of life. There is life how we were created to live, in community with God. Even when life is difficult, you are able to walk in joy because you have the Creator of the Universe walking alongside you. In choosing to worship idols, you will simply find yourself in a pit.
Listen friend, do not fall into the trap in which the crowd and Pilate fell into. The crowd full of religious leaders allowed for their emotions to get in the way of making the right decision.
Don’t be like Pontius Pilate who let the cries of the crowd and his desire to satisfy them keep him from making the right choice. Choose Jesus Christ!!!
Father thank You for this day and Your amazing unfailing love for us. Lord let Your abundant blessings be my friend and family’s portion today. Lord it was selfishness, self-centeredness, and resentment that sent You to the cross. It was sin that rejected You then and rejects Your ways now. Lord open our eyes and hearts that we no longer choose the ways of Barabbas over Yours. Lord we are willing to let go of all our worldly hopes for the sake of Your Kingdom. Lord use my friend to be the touch of Your love to all today. Daddy we love You amen. Be a blessing. Love ya
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