CALL ME BARABBAS
Matthew
27:16-21
16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called
Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one
do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called
Christ?" 18 For he knew it was out of envy 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.
"Barabbas," they answered.
Who was Barabbas?
Why is he included in the trial of Jesus?
I think if you look at the Bible, you will find something
that relates to
Each of our lives.
God inspired the writing of the Bible for us. He wrote it so we could see
Ourselves in His Word.
The Bible does not give us much information about
Barabbas or his family.
Let’s start with his name, Barabbas. It is composed of two Greek words.
Bar which means son
Abba which means
father
Add the R you
have Rabbas which means teacher
His full name is Jesus Barabbas
The name Jesus is a Greek name Iesous meaning savior.
Jesus is from the Hebrew word Yeshua meaning Jehovah
his help
Put the name together:
Jesus Barabbas, Jehovah his help son of a teacher
From the name alone we can surmise that his parents
had high expectations
For their son.
Barabbas was probably the son of a Jewish teacher.
According to the text, Barabbas was a rebel. He was a
Murder. He took part in the insurrection against the
Roman government.
Mark 15:7
A man called
Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in
the uprising.
Growing up in a Jewish family, the son of a Jewish teacher,
he was taught
the law, particularly the first five books of the
Bible.
Using my imagination, let me guess that Barabbas was fed
up with the
Position the Jewish people had accepted.
He grew tired of the lies that Jewish people should
accept being controlled by the
Roman government. Barabbas was tired of the lies that
Jewish people should accept being less than free people.
Tired of the lies that Jewish people should neglect
their God-given
Heritage of being rulers and conquerors.
I believe that Barabbas was tired of the “Go Along To
Get Along”
attitude of Jewish leaders. The Jewish people went
along with
Roman control to get along.
The Jewish nation had the promise of God of a land of
milk
And honey controlled by them.
They were God’s chosen people. They were the center of
religious
Activity.
They had the Words of the Old Testament promising them
a King Forever.
2 Samuel 7:15-16
15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I
took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your
kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established
forever.'"
I can imagine the restlessness of the people waiting
on the Messiah to show
Up. I an imaging Barabbas in secret group of men ready
to fight the Roman
Government.
The Jewish people were looking for a Messiah, a King.
I believe Barabbas was part of a revolution to bring
that about.
Every revolution needs an ignition source to get riled
up.
Here is what Josephus the Jewish Historian of that
time, wrote;
Antiquities
18.3.2 60-62 (War 2.9.4 175-177) (speculative)
Pilate
undertook to bring water to Jerusalem using money from the sacred treasury, and
deriving the source of the stream from the distance of two hundred furlongs.
However, the Jews were not pleased with what had been done about this, and many
ten thousands of people got together and made a clamor against him,
insisting that he should leave off that design. Some of them also cried insults
and abuse at the man, as crowds of such people usually do. So he clothed a
great number of his soldiers in the people's garments, under which they carried
clubs, and sent them off where they might surround them, he bid the crowd to
withdraw. While they boldly cast abuse upon him, he gave the soldiers a
prearranged signal. But the soldiers laid upon them much greater blows than
Pilate had commanded, and equally punished those that were tumultuous and those
that were not. Showing no softness, the people were caught unarmed by men
prepared for the action, a great number of them were slain, and others of them
ran away wounded. And thus an end was put to this insurrection.
Barabbas was called Jesus Barabbas, wanted to be the
Jewish solution
To Roman occupation.
Let me suggest, that he wanted to rid his nation of
the Roman oppression.
Their efforts failed and Barabbas and others were
jailed.
Sometimes you have to get tired enough to act on your
beliefs.
Acting on your beliefs can land you in jail.
Dr. Martin Luther King acted on his beliefs of racial
equality and spent
Many nights in jail. He acted on his beliefs and led a
march on Washington.
He acted on his beliefs and was murdered.
Maybe Barabbas acted on his belief of freedom from the
Roman government.
Until we get tired of being second class citizens, we
will never be a first
Class.
Until we get tired of mediocracy, we will never be
exceptional.
Until we get tired of sin, we will never be free from
sin
Until we get tired of the hell we are living in, we
will never enjoy
The promise of heaven.
Until we get tired of our situation, we will never
change.
Until we get tired of dealing with Satan by ourselves,
we will never trust Jesus.
Why was Barabbas put into the trial of Jesus?
Barabbas represented the Jewish thought of the
promised Messiah.
The Jews were looking for a physical king. They needed
a movement to
Rid Israel of Roman occupation.
Barabbas did what the Jews didn’t dare to do.
Let me suggest that Barabbas was the Jewish champion.
They could not recognize Jesus as the promised king
because He
Was the son of a poor carpenter. They knew Him as
Mary’s son.
Had the Jews considered all the miracles Jesus
performed in their mist,
They would have realized that He was more than just a
man. Jesus had distinguished himself as one with the power of God.
The Jews were looking to the fulfillment of the old
covenant of the Law
And were satisfied with citizenship on earth.
Jesus established a new covenant in His blood which
provides eternal citizenship.
Jesus, innocent of all crimes and free from sin put
Himself on trial for our sins.
We have the proof that Jesus was innocent.
2 Corinthians 13:1
Every matter
must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
The witnesses were not his disciples, his family, or
the thousands of people
Jesus healed.
Who were the witnesses?
Pilate’s wife
Matthew 27:19
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."
Pilate
Luke 23:14-15
I have examined
him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.
The thief on the cross
Luke 23:40-41
But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you
fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are
punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has
done nothing wrong."
A Roman Soldier
Luke 23:47-48
The centurion,
seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a
righteous man."
The witnesses all saw Jesus as extraordinary. The Jews were blinded
To the treasure they had in front of them.
Barabbas was guilty as charged, but Jesus took
his place.
Barabbas took part in a riot against the Roman
government. This was an
An automatic death sentence.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We all are guilty as charged
Barabbas was condemned because of his sins.
Barabbas made a decision not to accept the Roman
oppression of Israel.
He decided to join a movement to free Israel from
Roman occupation.
Perhaps Barabbas saw Israel through the eyes of the promises
of God.
Romans 3:23-24
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came
by Christ
The wages of sin is death.
JESUS INTERCEDES FOR US
Barabbas reminds us that we have a Jesus that
intercedes for us.
The Lord used the crowd’s emotional outburst to
crucify Jesus
And to release Barabbas.
Matthew 27:20
But the chief
priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have
Jesus executed.
The Lord can use your enemies to bless you.
The Chief priest stirred up the crowd to crucify Jesus
Jesus stirred up the Father in Heaven to crucify
Himself for us.
The Jews were looking for a temporal king. Jesus gave
us a permeant heaven
JESUS IS OUR REDEEMER
Barabbas is a reminder of what Jesus did for us
1. Jesus
took the place of our death on the cross
2. Jesus
is the atonement of our sins
3. Jesus
freed us from the penalty of sin
4. Jesus
gives us a new chance at heaven
5. Jesus
washed away our sins with His blood
And
renewed in us a right spirit.
I AM BARABBAS
Why was Barabbas in the
crucifixion story of Jesus?
Barabbas was a prelude to
the finish work of Jesus on the cross.
Barabbas reminds us that
we need a Savior.
Isaiah 64:6
6 All of us have become
like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous
acts are like filthy rags;
Barabbas had a cause, but
it was not good enough for salvation
What is your cause? Can
any good you do earn you a place in heaven?
Mark 2:17
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not
the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners."
We are all diseased with sin
Why was Barabbas in the story of the crucifixion of
Jesus? Let me
Suggest that we all are the reason for the crucifixion
of Jesus
We are all Jesus Barabbas; Jehovah is my help the sons
of the Father of the greatest teacher of all times.
Without Jesus, we are all Barabbas, headed in the
wrong direction.
Rev. M. Mitchell
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