Good Friday – Two Saviors

“Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was JesusBarabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”  (Matt. 27:16-17).

Jesus has been falsely arrested. There was another prisoner also that had been caught, tried, and convicted for causing unrest and slaughter in the city (Luke 23:19). He, like the other thieves along with Jesus, waited….most likely in a deep, dark, Roman prison…for his death sentence to be carried out.

All four gospels mention him: Barabbas. We don’t know too much about him. The little bit we know about Barabbas, we know he was a violent rebel who conspired in an insurrection against the Roman occupation. Based on 1st-century Jewish writers, their image of Barabbas is that of an assassin and murderer, robber, and deceiver.

Matthew writes that Barabbas was “a notorious prisoner” (Mt 27:16), a popular, perhaps famous, figure among the people. And why not? The Jews hated the Roman occupation. Perhaps he was seen as the long-awaited messiah who had come to free them from the tyranny of Rome. The crowd was waiting for a savior to overturn Roman control, presumably by force. How else do you deal with an enemy but by insurrection?

However, there is one interesting detail….Barabbas had another name. Barabbas was his last name.

“Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was JesusBarabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”  (Matt. 27:16-17).

Barabbas’ had a first name…. Matthew tells us that this man’s full name was Jesus Barabbas. Jesus means “savior.” The second and deeper irony in the reading “Jesus Barabbas” appears when we note the name “Barabbas” …”Bar means “son” and “abba” of the father.” The name Barabbas ironically means “son of the father.”

Jesus Barabbas means, savior, son of the father.

So, the crowd was presented with a choice between two persons with the same name. Pilate was presenting the crowd that day with two different saviors. Each represents two very different kingdoms.

Barabbas was a substitute savior. He offered the kind of salvation the Jews were waiting for. His kingdom was a kingdom of freedom by force, power, subjection, and by political and even violent means. This was the way the disciples mistakenly thought the Kingdom would come. On the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter drew his sword to start the battle.  But Jesus told his disciples to put away their swords.

He preached about the kingdom of God as not coming with force but with a subversive movement of grace—like a mustard seed or a little leaven in the dough. Jesus represents a hidden kingdom when he answered Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).

Luke 17: 20-21 notes, “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in within you.”

This kingdom invades our innermost being, challenging us to share, to serve, to be humble, to be honest, to put God first, to love others as much as we love ourselves, and to forgive those who wrong us.

Jesus offers us the vision of a kingdom that does not require killing but is certainly worth dying for. He was ironically crucified as a revolutionary between two revolutionaries, and yet his revolution is one built on the power of love, not violence… where love, forgiveness, and peace are the way of life.

His kingdom is not temporary or finite but one that is everlasting. He promises a kingship that will free man from the bondage of sin. His throne is the Cross. He does not promise the absence of physical pain and hardship but promises to liberate his followers from selfishness, greed, envy, and everything that keeps us from experiencing life to the full.

We are left, then, with the question, Pilate asked: “What shall I do then with Jesus?”

We too have to decide between two saviors; two kingdoms.

Jesus still calls disciples who would share that life with him, knowing full well that it leads them to their own cross. This is not a physical death on a wooden cross but a surrender of our lives. It is the cross of putting to death self-interest, self-promotion, and selfish living and all the ways we ignore the way of love.

Every day we get to choose.

Reflection Questions:

What thoughts come to mind?

How does your faith story fit into this?

How would you like to respond to this?