In Western countries we have grown up with endless choice options from clothes and fashion to footwear; from incredible food options from around the world in our supermarkets, and nearly all the year round too – not just when it is in season. Too often it can be assumed that a world of such luxury is our ‘right’. Could it be possible that this Covid-19 crisis will raise questions about the extravagant use of the world’s resources in the wealthier countries on the planet?
Yet in life there are many other choices we have to make. The most important one of all is our attitude towards the person of Jesus Christ and His claims on our lives. Have you taken time to reflect on His call to you and me to follow Him? That first Easter, though, there was another choice made in the judgement hall of Roman governor Pontus Pilate. The details of the story are recorded in Matthew 27:15-26. Let us read through these verses this morning:
15 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 Jesus Barabbas. 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?’ 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. 19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: ‘Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.’ 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 21 ‘Which of the two do you want me to release to you?’ asked the governor. ‘Barabbas,’ they answered. 22 ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’ 23‘Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility!’ 25 All the people answered, ‘His blood is on us and on our children!’ 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. (Matthew 27:15-26)
1.The Governor’s question ( Matthew 27:17b) ‘Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah? When the criminal justice system of a country turns into ‘a reality TV’ style show with audience participation it is obvious something is seriously wrong. I won’t spend time explaining how this came about, instead focussing on the question Pilate asked. The two men shared a first name Jesus which means ‘Saviour’ or ‘God saves’. But they were offering very different kinds of ‘salvation’. The man officially on trial that day with two of his gangster colleagues was in Roman eyes a terrorist. He was a violent man and a killer. The other Jesus offered a message of Peace with God and love for one another. This was a costly way of life that few were choosing to follow at that time. The man on trial had as his second name Barabbas ‘Son of the Father’. The other man claimed God as His Father and repeatedly declared: truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (John 5:19) It was a remarkable scene. It was a travesty of the legal process, yet it is also a challenge to us about our response to Jesus of Nazareth. He wants us to follow Him. What response have you made to Him up to today?
2. The people’s responses (Matthew 27:21) ‘Which of the two do you want me to release to you?’ asked the governor.‘Barabbas,’ they answered. Some people make a big mistake in interpreting this passage and assume it was the same people as sang hosannas to Jesus a mere five days earlier on Palm Sunday. It could not be further from the truth. Those that sang Jesus’ praises were mostly Galileans whereas this gathering was largely people from the south of the country. What is more the vast majority had come because their gangster hero was on trial. The idea of turning up randomly and sitting in the public gallery of a courthouse might be possible here but how many of us have ever even contemplated such a choice? It never enters our heads to do so. Pilate the Roman Governor was not known for his intellectual powers, on the contrary, he had the greatest of difficulties following the lines of evidence in a court of law and had previously presided over other disastrous cases. So Pilate asking the hard-line followers of Barabbas whom they wanted him to release was a forgone conclusion.
The question comes back though to us. What is your response to Jesus Christ? Have you put your faith and trust in Him or are you living your life another way? This is the most important question you will ever have to answer because it determines where you and I will spend eternity. The men and women that day made a dreadful choice in choosing Barabbas. Now the baton is passed to you and me – What is your response to Jesus Christ?
Our song for reflection today is: ‘There is a green hill far away’
Brian Talbot