Give Us Barabbas

There are many legends about Barabbas. But no one knows what happened to him after his brief moment as a minor player in the passion of Jesus.

But let’s start with what we do know about him. His name, for instance. Bar, of course, means son of. Abbas means father. That doesn’t tell us much – perhaps that means he was an orphan, or had been abandoned by his father. Maybe he was illegitimate and his father didn’t even know he existed. Interestingly enough, some scholars suggested that his first name was Jesus – Yeshua in Hebrew – a very common Jewish name. If that’s the case, he did have something in common with our Lord besides his place before Pilate.

We often refer to him as a thief. Perhaps there was some thievery in his genes. But more than likely, he was a revolutionary – a man of violence, committed to ridding his nation of the oppression of Rome.

Maybe he was the leader of a band of guerrilla warriors, each ready spill Roman blood, or the blood of any Hebrew who might cooperate with Rome.

We might suppose that the Romans had been after him for quite some time; that there was a hefty price on his head. Perhaps the soldier who actually captured him and brought him in received a nice bounty for his efforts.

Pilate was only too happy to toss Barabbas in prison, and relished the thought of seeing him nailed to a cross. To be rid of him at last.

Only Pilate, as shrewd as he was, underestimated the power of a mob, an angry, ugly mob, a mob instigated by the leaders of the people. The priests and Pharisees, they cared nothing about Barabbas; likely he was a thorn in their side, too. But they cared even less for Jesus of Nazareth. They would do anything to get Jesus to His own cross!

But perhaps the mob wasn’t so reluctant to be swayed. After all, while Jesus entered Jerusalem as a king on Palm Sunday, fulfilling the age old prophecy of Zechariah, well, He had done nothing to claim the throne of David. At least Barabbas was a man of action! Bloody though it was.

I wonder if Barabbas expected the reaction of the mob. Was he surprised that they chose him over Jesus of Nazareth? Was he floored by their cries: Give us Barabbas?

And as his chains were removed, and he was shoved away into the mob, likely by a soldier who knew he might have to capture him again, Barabbas took off. Free.

And that is the end of his story.

As far as the story we know.

But I’ve often wondered. Did he hang around to see what was going to happen to the other prisoner? Did he wait and watch as Jesus from Nazareth carried His cross through the streets of Jerusalem, through the jeering and mocking crowds? Did he go to Golgotha to see what was happening? Did he remain in Jerusalem long enough to hear the rumors going around that this prisoner actually rose from the dead?

Or did he just get on with his life, with no thought for the one who died that day? The one who took the cross that might have been his? Did he even care?

We have no idea. We’d like to think that he did; that he explored the events that had involved him and found the truth in them. We’d like to think that he joined not the band of revolutionary warriors, but the band of those who were fomenting a revolution in the souls of men and women – those who followed Jesus of Nazareth and built a whole new world around Him.

We have no idea.

The only thing we do know is that Jesus’ cross should have been Barabbas’ cross; that Jesus’ punishment should have been Barabbas’ punishment; that Jesus’ death should have been Barabbas’ death; that Jesus stepped in where Barabbas should have been.

Did he know?

And as we meet here on Easter, we have to search our souls and ask ourselves the same question. Oh, sure, we know – we know the facts of Golgotha and a tomb outside of Jerusalem. But do we know, really know, what it means?

Do we know it was our cross as well? Our punishment as well? Our death as well? And do we know that the tomb left empty means that our tombs will be left empty too? Our bodies may remain there, but our souls will live forever. That is, of course, if we allow the One who left the tomb to take root in our souls.

The question we need to ask ourselves today, and every day, is a simple one: Will we, as we might speculate about Barabbas, just get on with our life, after the Hallelujahs are silenced and the fragrance of lilies has dissipated?

Or will today’s message live in us tomorrow?

That really is the meaning of Easter.

Did Barabbas know? We cannot answer that question.

Do we know? Well, there’s a question we do know the answer to! If we are bold enough to ask it!