I am Barabbas

As the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion go, Pilate wanted nothing to do with this 'King of the Jews'. But Jesus was in the hands of the governor of Judea during the annual festival of the Passover. It was at this time that Pilate would allow a Jewish prisoner to be freed, pardoned so to speak. But here was this man who had committed no crime. In fact, He healed people. He gave life back to people. He taught the Law of Moses. What better time to free this prisoner who was a good man. Except the Jewish leadership wanted Him dead. So Pilate gave the people a choice, Jesus or Barabbas, a criminal, a known rioter. Surely no one would want an unrepentant thief back in the population. That is what prisons are for. But the crowd was adamant. Crucify Jesus! We want Barabbas!

So here is this criminal. Imagine what he is thinking. I am free. But another man will die instead of me. Bullocks! Did Barabbas turn to thank Jesus? Hey, governor, thanks for everything! Probably not. But he did live to see another day. And so do we!

Every day we wake up to a new day. If you are reading this, you woke up this morning. As Scripture says, God's mercies are new everyday.(Lam. 3:22-23) But one day Jesus died for you. Just like He did for Barabbas. You see, when we take an inventory of our life measuring it against the 10 Commandments, we fall short. Jesus reminds us in The Sermon on the Mount that whatever sinful thoughts we have makes us just as guilty as if we had committed the infraction. After all, it does point to our character. It's who we are! We are a member of a mob and Barabbas is one of us! Can we stand before a righteous God for the numerous times we helped ourselves to office supplies for our personal use? Thief! Or how about the envy we carry regarding another person's success! Thou shalt not covet! Or those daydreams of rolling in the hay with your friend's spouse! Adulterer! And if you are smiling because your God doesn't send anyone to hell, idolater! Everyone of us is just as guilty as Barabbas. While we may not be in prison, we will die. And where will you go when you die? Heaven or hell. If you think your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, think again. What murderer has ever used that as a defense in the courtroom. Really your honor, I only killed one man. Think of all the ones I let live? In the eyes of God our good deeds amount to nothing more than used tampons! (Isaiah 64:6, Really! Read it in the Hebrew!)

Approximately 2000 years ago a criminal deserving of the death penalty walked free because an innocent man took his place. Everyday we walk free as God gives us time to turn back and thank Him who died for all our sins. (2 Pet. 3:8-9)And how does that make you feel? Bullocks!

THE BARABBAS EFFECT or Why the Penn State Riots Occurred

 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, "Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Crucify him." And Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Mk. 6-14)


I am amazed by how human beings react when a revered person is found to be complicit in a crime. Many times people will justify their behavior or excuse it altogether. Never mind the person's guilt! He is bigger than that. We saw this happen when Penn State announced the firing of their long-time and successful coach, Joe Paterno! Several boys, and at this writing more are coming forward, were raped by Paterno's assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky. When Paterno heard an accusation against Sandusky, he 'kicked it upstairs' notifying the president of the university. But he did not report it to the police. At the news of Paterno's firing, the student body erupted into riots. Interestingly, no one rioted when it was becoming apparent that children had been harmed by a man responsible for their welfare employed by the university. They rioted when the head coach was fired! I call this the Barabbas Effect!


The Barabbas Effect states that people will defend, excuse or justify a criminal. Pilate was asked to execute Jesus on the charge of treason. Pilate could find no fault in Him. But as was tradition, Pilate released a prisoner before the Passover to mollify his Jewish subjects. He gave the people a choice, murderer or Jesus. Now Jesus had a reputation. He healed the sick, casted out demons, brought the dead back to life. But this was not enough to keep Him alive. The people chose the murderer. Even St. Matthew reports that Pilate wished to avoid a riot! (Mt. 27:24) How could the mob desire to have a man who may take another life be release? The answer is that each and every one of us wants to be excused for our crimes. We see in ourselves Barabbas. We may not have taken a life, but we have hated someone. We may not have committed adultery, but we have lusted. The list goes on. The Sermon on the Mount is about our guilty character!


I discovered the Barabbas Effect in my first year of ministry. I served under a pastor who hired a woman to be a hospitality minister. She was responsible for coordinating coffee hours and dinners. It was soon discovered that she was having an affair with the pastor when her husband discovered love notes from him in his home. A lot of people were angry when all of this was revealed. And a lot were very angry with the Bishop for removing the pastor from his position. I heard a stream of people within the parish complain about the Bishop's decision. Of the pastor, they said, "But he baptized my children." or, "He works so hard." Even one woman, a woman, blamed the pastor's wife for her husband's philandering! Nobody named the sin! Nobody complained of the use of the parish budget to compensate this woman. I was flabbergasted. And somehow, I became the bad guy all because I refused to support the pastor. 


In Anglican tradition, The Gospel of the Passion is read in parts by the congregation on Good Friday and by many parishes on Palm Sunday as well. The congregation as a whole plays the part of the crowd crying aloud, "Crucify Him!" We shout it because we want to see the man who is in every way like us be excused for his crimes. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this 'cheap grace' or forgiveness without repentance. What the crowd in Pilate's time did not know was that this perfect man will stand in their place on the Cross for all of their sins. He will satisfy their debt to their Creator. The life we owe will be paid by someone else who is innocent of our crimes. 


"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2:22-24)


Do you see yourself in this video?