by Dorman Followwill
In this message we are commemorating the enormity of the cross of Christ. We need such a remembrance because most of us stand before a cross that is too small, one that is on the margins of our lives. If you are like me, the cross of Christ is made small by distance, partly because we shrink back from remembering that ancient rite of gory execution. Its violence is scandalous. But the cross is also made distant and smaller for us because it is enshrouded in foggy theological terms. For example, many of us know the theological significance of the cross: It was on the cross that Jesus made his substitutionary atonement for us. But it is difficult for each of us to know what substitutionary atonement means for us personally, as a man or woman before God. The only way we can know this is from the vantage point of the guilty criminal sentenced to death. Until we stand in the place of the condemned and watch while Jesus Christ takes our scourging, and go free while Jesus Christ goes to our Calvary, we cannot discover for ourselves the personal relevance of this substitutionary atonement.
Fortunately, our Lord knew how he could engage us in learning about our atonement---he gave us the gift of Barabbas. The story of Barabbas appears in all four gospels, so it is not a minute detail in a larger story. It is a crucial detail. Let me tell you the story of Barabbas and Jesus Christ, based on close readings of each gospel account and on the best historical information I could uncover.
Our story begins with a man alone in a cave. It was late at night, and he was sitting against the smoke-blackened limestone wall of an underground dungeon. It was totally dark. A hero of sorts among the Jews, he was a zealous patriot who had led a desperate insurrection against the Romans. He is described as a murderer and a robber in the gospels, but the murder and robbery had been carried out in the cause of Jewish freedom. He was in fact a freedom fighter. His formal charge, written on parchment and posted on a wall near his cell, might have read as follows:
Name: Barabbas
Alias: Possibly Jesus Barabbas
Location: Cell #6, lower level
Charge: Leading an insurrection against Imperial Rome, resulting in the deaths of several soldiers and collaborators
Verdict: Guilty
Sentence: Death by crucifixion
Barabbas, whose name means "Son of the Father," sat brooding about his past failures and wondering how painful his impending crucifixion would be. In the stillness of the night, rest eluded him.
Suddenly a striking sound broke the stillness: Marching on the stone pavement above, marching that took many minutes to die down. By the sound of it, an entire cohort of Roman soldiers had just passed by---a tenth of a legion, six hundred men. Barabbas paused in his musings. Where were six hundred soldiers going at this time of night?
They were led by a man whom Barabbas might have known, given that they were both revolutionaries---a Zealot named Judas Iscariot. Judas was leading six hundred armed men to apprehend one man who was praying in a garden just across the Kidron valley. The man prayed so intently that drops of blood beaded up on his forehead. Three times he made the same request about the cup passing from him, and three times his ears were met by a silence deeper than the night. At the end of the third prayer he resolved to accept his Father's will and drink the cup of God's wrath. Almost in answer to his resolve, he began to hear the soldier's footsteps descending the valley. He looked over at his friends, who had traded sleep for prayer. His name was Jesus, and he was the Son of the Father. For a few moments he sat alone in the darkness of the garden, nodding his head slowly in agreement with his Father, as the sound of the soldiers' steps grew louder and nearer.
Soon Judas arrived, followed by the Roman soldiers with swords drawn. A few thugs from the chief priests and elders were also tagging along, waving heavy clubs. Jesus stepped forward to meet them. He stood between the olive branches, a man of peace facing the men of violence. He asked whom they were seeking. They told him they sought Jesus the Nazarene. He said in reply two words that have reverberated through history: "I AM." The statement Moses heard Yahweh utter from the burning bush, and the statement that inflamed the Pharisees' hatred of Jesus in John 8, was made again in that hour of darkness. His word was so powerful that the entire cohort of six hundred and the others gathered against him were flattened by its force. When they got up, Jesus repeated his question, they repeated their answer, and then Jesus spoke more quietly and let them have their way. Even at the moment that he gave himself over, he was still in total control.
Judas stepped forward and kissed Jesus, a mockery to all who long to show him affection. But even after such a farce, Jesus called Judas his friend: "Friend, do what you have come for." Judas jerked his head toward Jesus, and the Romans seized him. Jesus' disciple Peter cut off the ear of a member of the rabble with a sword, but Jesus healed that man's ear and then instructed Peter's ear---his kingdom was not one of violence, darkness, and death; but of peace, light, and life. He was establishing his kingdom not by sword, nor by word, but by a deed too deep for words, to accomplish a victory beyond the power of the sword.
They swiftly took Jesus to the palatial house of Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was then high priest. Annas questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teachings, both of which were public knowledge. Jesus' honest answer was met by a blow from an officer, and Jesus was sent on to Caiaphas' house. Annas knew it was unlawful to hold a legal council of the Sanhedrin at night, so he wisely passed the prisoner on to his son-in-law. He probably thought, "Let Caiaphas deal with him. After all, it was Caiaphas who said it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people."
Caiaphas, whose whitewashed home on Mt. Zion was one of the architectural treasures of Jerusalem, proved to be much more interested in the affair than Annas had been---in fact, he had engineered the whole thing. When Jesus arrived, there was a host of witnesses arrayed against him. However, Caiaphas had scarcely had time to coach them, and their stories were contradictory at key points. Questions flew left and right, and accusations were coming out of nowhere. In the center of all this buzz, Jesus stood as silent as an oak. His dignified quiet infuriated Caiaphas, who finally said to him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God."
Jesus spoke very deliberately, quoting from Psalm 110 and Daniel 7: "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
At this unequivocal self-revelation, Caiaphas tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?"
Caiaphas' cronies on the Sanhedrin cackled, "He is deserving of death!"
But about this time a cock crowed somewhere. It was almost dawn, and the dark furies of the night seemed a little less powerful. What they needed now was the real political power of Rome to carry out the execution. So the Sanhedrin held another council early in the morning. They knew Pilate couldn't care less about blasphemy; that was a purely religious dispute. So they needed to trump up a political charge that would force Pilate to play into their hands. Thinking quickly, they decided to transform Jesus into a revolutionary endangering Rome, a leader of political insurrection. They wanted to make him look like Barabbas, an already confirmed criminal. When they brought Jesus to Pilate, they told Pilate, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."
Pilate probably yawned, then asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered him, "It is as you say."
But Pilate was not very threatened by a man of calm composure whose reputation was that of a healer and a teacher, not a violent traitor. In fact, even when the people had acclaimed him as King the week before, he had made no motion to capitalize on his popularity and lead a revolt. Pilate looked at the hate-filled faces of the Jewish leaders with disgust: They were obviously jealous of Jesus because he was a genuine holy man who exposed them as imitators and pretenders.
Pilate perceived that Jesus was not going to lead a revolt, so he said, "I find no guilt in this man." Sensing their control ebbing with Pilate's ambivalence, the chief priests began to accuse Jesus very harshly. Pilate was questioning him, saying, "Do You make no answer? See how many charges they bring against You!" But Jesus remained silent in the face of the false charges lodged by the chief priests. Now, everyone knew the charges were false, including Pilate, the chief priests, and Jesus. Pilate would hardly have been surprised if Jesus had remained silent in the face of true charges. But Jesus' silence in the face of these ridiculous charges lodged by these envious Jews astounded him. Why didn't he defend himself, even with a simple denial? The man's reserve was entirely puzzling. Didn't he know his life hung on Pilate's words? Pilate tried to take the measure of the Man, but his yardstick was far from long enough.
While Pilate was pondering these things, someone in the crowd cried out to him, "Procurator, are you going to release a prisoner today, according to your custom?"
Pilate shook his head to clear his mind, saying, "Of course. Whom should I release?"
Several of those in the crowd who loved Barabbas for his bravado cried out, "Barabbas!"
Pilate remembered Barabbas, a man destined for crucifixion. Now, there was a man who was guilty! His case was open-and-shut; the trial had been a mere formality. Pilate remembered the harsh words Barabbas had railed against the Romans at his trial. Pilate had looked forward to seeing him splayed before the people on a cross, as an object lesson for future rebels. Barabbas deserved to die. Then Pilate looked at Jesus. Clearly Jesus was not guilty. Jesus deserved to live. Pilate was clear in his own mind: He wanted to release Jesus. But it was his custom to let the crowd make the call.
The chief priests looked at each other when Barabbas' name was called out. Their eyes narrowed in an instant of common evil, realizing that they could champion Barabbas in order to ensure that Pilate could not release Jesus through this loophole. What a fortuitous event---more fortuitous than they could ever imagine. The chief priests and elders began circulating through the crowd, whispering in every ear that Barabbas was their man.
Pilate's contempt for them grew as he watched. He knew they were up to no good, that pure envy drove them to want to kill Jesus. So Pilate cried out to the audience, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" His tone was a bit sarcastic; clearly Jesus looked nothing like a king at this point. But by choosing one prisoner over all the rest, it was obvious that he wanted to release Jesus to them. All he needed was a few shouts of affirmation.
But the work of the chief priests had been too good and too fast. Not a voice in the crowd cried for Jesus' release. Instead, the crowd cried out in one loud voice: "Not this Man, but Barabbas."
Pilate knew he was sitting on a political powder keg. He had to follow the crowd, and for the moment the crowd followed the religious leaders. He was now in the unenviable position of following the Jewish leaders he detested. But Pilate wanted the crowd to decide the fate of Jesus, if Jesus was not to be released, so he said, "Then what shall I do to Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"
The crowd roared, "Crucify, crucify Him!"
But Pilate said, "Why, what evil has this man done?"
But they shouted all the more, "Crucify Him!"
Wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and having Jesus scourged, he delivered him to be crucified.
Imagine what have might been going through Barabbas' mind during all this. Perhaps he could faintly hear the yelling crowd. Perhaps he heard the crowd cry out his own name. That got his attention.
"Barabbas," the crowd yelled in what seemed an angry voice. Then after a few seconds more, they cried out far more wildly, "Crucify, crucify him!"
Barabbas' heart began to pound uncontrollably. He knew how ugly a mob could get. Maybe they were calling for his crucifixion.
Before long, he could hear the marching steps of a small detail of soldiers. They were coming for him. This was it. They were by his cell. They came in---but they didn't grab him or bind him. One soldier merely grunted, "Let's go."
Puzzled, Barabbas followed them out of the cave. As they left, a soldier removed the parchment on which his charge was written. He gave the parchment to Barabbas.
When they came up into the light, Barabbas was marched across a small pavement. He stopped. Just opposite him, a man was being scourged. He was tied to a wooden post, and he was being beaten with a leather whip into which were wound pieces of metal. Barabbas watched in horror as the man's skin was shredded with each blow. Barabbas asked the guard, "Who is this man?"
The guard muttered, "His name is Jesus of Nazareth, one called the King of the Jews. Pilate wanted to release him today, but instead Pilate is releasing you."
Barabbas stopped. "What did you say? You mean I'm not going to be crucified?"
The guard said, "No, you're not...but this man is."
Barabbas continued to watch the horrible flogging even while a surge of relief flooded him. He was being released! He turned to walk toward the gate, and each step he took toward freedom seemed to synchronize with the blows of the whip.
Barabbas stepped out into the open courtyard where the crowd was waiting. A deafening cheer went up, to which Barabbas raised his fists in triumph. The crowd followed Barabbas as he went to the centurions on guard at the gate.
"Where is your charge?" asked the tallest centurion.
Barabbas handed over his parchment. The centurion poured some wax on it and stamped it with his seal. Now Barabbas was legally released. The centurion waved him through the gate. He was free!
The scholars tell us that nothing is known about the subsequent history of Barabbas. But let's imagine what might have happened to him. Imagine that he was swamped by his zealous friends, who had been some of the first ones in the crowd to call out for his release. Some of his relatives were there also, and they smothered him with the affection due a man coming back from the cusp of death. Soon his friends and family swooped him up on a chair and carried him above their heads, as orthodox Jews do at weddings. Barabbas was free. Someone asked him, "Barabbas, where should we go? Let's have a feast!"
Barabbas said, "I want to go home to my parents' house."
So off they went. It was a trip of some distance, and by the time he arrived home it was nearing noon. The news had preceded him somehow, and Barabbas' parents were waiting for him in the doorway of their simple house. Someone on the outskirts of town saw Barabbas first, and called to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!"
While his father was a dignified Jew who would not run in public to greet him, his mother couldn't restrain herself. When she herself saw him coming, she ran to him and he picked her up in his arms. Everyone cheered again.
Barabbas whispered in her ear, "Mama, I'm home." It was a homecoming to remember.
Perhaps that is what happened to Barabbas, but of course we don't know for sure. But we know for a fact that on a hill not far away, another Man whispered to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!" and nodded at a grief-stricken young man named John. The Man who uttered these words was dying on a cross, and his mother was gasping with grief. His was not a homecoming, but a homegoing.
Perhaps later that night Barabbas lay down on the bed he had slept on from his youth, surrounded by family and friends who loved him and believed in his cause. He probably laid his head back on his bed, wrapped himself in a warm coverlet, and released a sigh of great contentment. But we know for certain that not far away, two men had just laid a man down on another bed hewn out of cold stone. He was wrapped in burial cloths, surrounded only by silence. He was dead.
Our story began with a man alone in a cave, sentenced to death. That man went home, released only because there was another Man who took his place. Our story ends with a Man alone in a cave, dead.
Two "Sons of the Father": One was sentenced to die for crimes of which he was certainly guilty. The other was sentenced to die for the same crimes, of which he was entirely innocent. One walked across the pavement a newly free man while the other was shredded by the Roman scourge. One went out of the palace to meet the cheers of friends, while the other silenced all who watched him carry a rough cross on his bloodied back. One went to bed that night probably surrounded by family and friends who loved him. The other certainly died and was hastily buried in a cave, his death scattering all his friends. Two "Sons of the Father," one of whom died to set the other free. Thank God that the innocent one died so that all the rest of his Father's children could be set free by believing in him.
Thank God for our Christ of the cross, who willingly stood in the place of the condemned, who suffered the scourging due the sinner, who endured the excruciating pain of the cross---in place of Barabbas...in place of me...in place of you.
Below is a famous hymn by Philip P. Bliss, Hallelujah, What a Savior! This hymn means far more to me now after encountering Jesus, Barabbas, and myself in this story.
"Man of Sorrows!" what a name,
For the Son of God, who cameRuined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah, what a Savior!Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood---Sealed my pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!Guilty, vile and helpless we,
Spotless Lamb of God was He;Full atonement! can it be?
Hallelujah, what a Savior!Lifted up was He to die,
"It is finished!" was His cry;Now in heav'n exalted high:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,Then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Amen and amen!
Good Friday Message
by Dorman Followwill (followwill@aol.com)
various
Single Message
April 14, 1995
© Discovery Publishing is the publications ministry of Peninsula Bible Church. This message from the Scriptures was presented at Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto. To receive additional copies of this message or a tape (a complete catalog is also available) write or call: Discovery Publishing, 3505 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94306; 415/494-0623.