SON OF THE FATHER

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)

King of the Jews? Pilate had obviously not bought that one. From his point of view, Jesus was no more a threat to Rome than his pet puppy.

But the chief priests and religious leaders were adamant. Jesus must die! If Pilate did not find Him guilty, there was another way to get Him sentenced to death. The exchange! This was their trump card. They were play Barabbas against Jesus and Pilate could not wriggle out of that one.

According to the custom that the Roman governor release a prisoner during the Passover Festival, they demanded the release of one, Barabbas, an insurrectionist and a murderer. Can you credit their hypocrisy? They accused Jesus of treason when He was clearly not guilty. On top of it, He was a man who healed the sick and gave life to the dead. Instead they demanded the release of a man who had taken life and who was among those who rebelled against Rome. How devious could they be?

But Pilate was not stupid. He knew the reason why they had condemned Jesus. He was too good for their liking. They preferred the company of those who were like them, wicked to the core but covered with a veneer of religious “righteousness” which Jesus had seen through and exposed, time and again to their discomfort. The quicker they got rid of Him, the better, and they would not hesitate to stoop to murder, just like the one they chose for release.

Who was this Barabbas anyway? This is the only time his name appears in history, and what a record! Bar-abbas. His parents gave him the name “son of the father”. Was that prophetic? Was he destined to become just like his father?  Was he the offspring of a criminal like he had turned out to be? He certainly was the offspring of Adam, father of the human race, flawed from birth. All he had to do was to live up to his nature and he would be a replica of his father.

Who was his father? Jesus put his finger on the core problem during a debate with the religious leaders. They were adamant that they were the children of Abraham. “How can that be?” Jesus demanded, “when you are plotting to murder me? Your real father is the devil because that’s who you resemble.”

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8: 44)

Yes, according to the Scriptures, Barabbas was a true son of his father, the devil, and that’s the one they chose for release. How true is the proverb, “Birds of a feather flock together.” These men had shown themselves up for who they were.

But what about Jesus? This was their accusation – that He had claimed to be “the Son of the Father”. His nature and actions, like Barabbas, were evidence of the identity of His Father. Just as Barabbas mirrored his father, the devil, so Jesus was the image of His Father, God.

And they chose Barabbas because they were of the same family.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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