Jesus Barabbas

Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?[1]

Not only was Barabbas's first name Jesus, but his last name, Barabbas, means son (bar) of the father (abba). Jesus had always referred to himself as the Son of the Father (and his adversaries had always refused to acknowledge that he was). So now we had two men named Jesus, each a "son of the father", but opposite fathers, it would seem.[2]

The variant "Jesus Barabbas" in Matthew 27:16-17 occurs in only a few Greek and Syriac manuscripts. It is absent in the major 4th and 5th century uncials: Alef, Alpha, Beta, Delta, etc.[3]

Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?[4]

sik-ar'-ee-os

Of Latin origin; a dagger man or assassin; a freebooter (Jewish fanatic outlawed by the Romans): - murderer.[5]

The irony of Barabbas having the same name as our Lord is more probable, than the sentimentality of him not. Origen writing in the third century CE thought it an impropriety that an evil man such as Barabbas should have the name Jesus.

Barabbas was an enemy of the Empire, being that he was likely a Jewish zealot or Sicarii. Not only did Barabbas have the same name as the Lord, it’s also possible that Pilate recognized the similarity of their causes. Both Barabbas and Jesus sought to liberate Israel. Barabbas through violent political rebellion, and Jesus through sacrifice and love. Pilate’s hint he would like Jesus to go free, was countered by the argument that Jesus was a threat to Caesar and the Empire, because he claimed to be a king. Pilate offered to release a prisoner, the people were to choose either Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth. To prevent moderate thinking people from influencing the choice, the leaders along with their cohorts stirred the crowed to call for Jesus Barabbas to be released and for Jesus the Messiah to be crucified. The Jewish leadership got what they wanted, they would keep their positions and status, but for how long?

The Sicarii might well be blamed for the Jewish rebellion of 66 CE. They were an early version of terrorists. While they shared a similar cause to the Zealots, they were more ruthless and undisciplined. The Sicarii killed Jews to prevent them from fleeing Jerusalem during its siege. Zealots believed that God would protect the temple and city they fought against Rome to gain independence. The Sicarii killed indiscriminately. The modus operandi of Barabbas appears more like that of the Sicarii than the Zealots, but both were entirely antithetical to that of Jesus. While being questioned by Pilate, Jesus asserted that his kingdom was different. Interestingly the text answers the question –different to what?

My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.[6]

One might conjecture that Jesus refused any comparison to Barabbas. Jesus’ cause was spiritual, and did not want anyone to think that his cause was earthly, or had anything to do with the overthrow of Rome. The enemy of Jesus was not Rome, it was the leadership of Israel. The chief priests and the elders, the leaders of Israel feature in parables of Jesus as wicked overlords. They were evil shepherds plundering the flock for their own appetites. The leaders needed to fabricate reasons for putting Jesus to death. They lied. They portrayed Jesus as a political agitator, as a disruptive force exciting rebellion. Jesus was apolitical, completely immersed in his spiritual cause. That cause was “the kingdom of heaven”. Pilate may have seen some similarity between Jesus’ cause and Barabbas’ rebellion, but the Lord cleared that up. There was, and never will be, a connection between earthly politics and the kingdom of God.

The crowd on that fateful day were manipulated by the chief priests and elders to call for the release of Barabbas, and the crucifixion of the Son of God. That was a bad choice, and yet it has been repeated many times through the course of history. People when faced with a choice of earthly benefit or spiritual responsibility, often go with what is at hand. There exists a strong proclivity to opt for temporal benefits, for those things that are immediate and material. At his arrest Jesus’ disciples were prepared to fight to protect him;

Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?’[7]

With physical resistance out of the question, the only option for the disciples was to flee. Not until after the resurrection would Jesus’ disciples begin to gather the import of spirituality. Every day we face choices; I wonder if we consider the consequences of all the decisions we make. Often times we default to habit not really considering the impact of our choices. As we grow in Christ our choices will reflect our spirituality. And, hopefully our causes will be more and more spiritual. The enemies of Christ will endeavour to solicit choices which bolster their objectives. We need to look to Jesus for strength and guidance to make spiritually based choices, when confronted with options that could diminish our spirituality.

  

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[1] Mat 27:17

[2] http://www.emergingtruths.com/jesus_and_barabbas/jesus_and_barabbas.html

[3] http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/ntstudies/yeshua-bar-abba.html

[4] Act 21:38

[5] Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries

[6] Joh 18:36 

[7] Mat 26:51-54