From Crossway.
We Are Barabbas
Pilate’s Ruling
Jesus became a substitute for us in a colossal way.
On Jesus’s final day on this earth he was arrested in a garden and taken for trial. It was a brief ordeal because there was no real evidence. There was no attorney with exhibit A or a last-minute witness to take the stand who would clinch the verdict. The three mock trials probably lasted a few minutes each. Jesus bounced from Pilate to Herod and then back to Pilate again.
It was in the final trial that Jesus was sentenced to death. It seems as if Pilate didn’t necessarily want to send Jesus to his death, but he bowed down to the pressure of the Jews (Matt. 27:22–24). As the Roman governor over Jerusalem, Pilate already had a difficult relationship with the Jewish population. He previously had remedied a budget shortage by pillaging the temple treasury for funds. The Jews were so angry that many rioted. The soldiers Pilate sent to stop the riot ended up beating many Jews to death. That will certainly make you an enemy of the people. At another point, the Jews were so exasperated with Pilate for decorating his palace with idols, they actually appealed to Caesar. The ruler was less than thrilled at the bickering and asked Pilate to remove the idols. Pilate was supposed to keep the Jews under control, but he just couldn’t seem to do it.
Now Pilate faced yet another potentially explosive issue: what to do with Jesus? Another riot would have been costly. With two strikes against him, a third one might put Pilate out of work and on the streets for good. The situation with Jesus came to a boiling point during the Passover. It was tradition that the Roman Empire would allow one convicted felon to go free, and the Jews could choose who this would be. Matthew 27:15–18 records this moment:
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.
Pilate might have said to himself, “Here’s my opportunity to simply let Jesus go free. We’ll put forward the worst prisoner, a murderer, and we’ll put forward Jesus. Surely they won’t let the other guy go free.” But they did. The chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to release Barabbas. Pilate was so surprised, he asked them again a second time, “‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas’” (Matt. 27:21). And so just to clarify, Pilate asked them one last time, “‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’” (Matt. 27:22–23).
This whole scenario is surprising to say the least. Jesus had been accused of crimes that could not be proved. Then there was Barabbas who was basically a terrorist. The crowd chose a murderer over the one who brings the dead back to life. They chose evil over the one who loves perfectly. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, but the crowds roared to free Barabbas and to crucify Jesus. And Pilate caved in to save his job.
Matthew 27:25
All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
