The Trial of Pilate, Phase 1
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas....The governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Crucify Him!" And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept on shouting all the more, saying "Crucify Him!" Matt. 27: 15-23, NASB.
Pilate had seen from the first that Jesus was innocent of being the kind of revolutionary that the Jewish leaders had accused Him of, and that they themselves were a crafty lot who obviously had cooked up the charges.
Even essentially evil men such as Pilate are not all bad. Even he had a spark of decency. That is evidenced by the fact that he didn't want to crucify an innocent man just to please the leaders. On the other hand, given his past, he needed to pacify the Jewish population in some way. Fortunately, he saw a way through the problem. He could appeal to his custom at Passover of releasing one prisoner to the population.
Quite aware that Jesus was extremely popular with the people, Pilate set the situation up in such a manner that the choice would be obvious and clear-cut. Crowds had a few days earlier thronged Him as He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, throwing their cloaks before the feet of His donkey as they made the air ring with their songs of praises.
The other option Pilate offered them was the disgusting Barabbas, an insurrectionist "who had committed murder" (Mark 15:7, NIV). But in that he had underestimated the Jewish leaders. After all, a person repellent to Pilate could have a special appeal to a Jewish populace desiring freedom from Rome. Such a crowd could be led to clamor for Barabbas without too much difficulty. Then again, the mob may not have consisted of those who thought highly of Jesus, but one assembled for the occasion by the Jewish leaders.
So the crowd faces a choice. And what a choice it is. After all, Barabbas is an Aramaic name, Bar-'Abba', which means "son of the father." Thus the crowd had to decide which son of the father it wanted.
Its choice isn't altogether different from the ones you and I make every day. The question for me today is "What son do I desire?"
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas....The governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Crucify Him!" And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept on shouting all the more, saying "Crucify Him!" Matt. 27: 15-23, NASB.
Pilate had seen from the first that Jesus was innocent of being the kind of revolutionary that the Jewish leaders had accused Him of, and that they themselves were a crafty lot who obviously had cooked up the charges.
Even essentially evil men such as Pilate are not all bad. Even he had a spark of decency. That is evidenced by the fact that he didn't want to crucify an innocent man just to please the leaders. On the other hand, given his past, he needed to pacify the Jewish population in some way. Fortunately, he saw a way through the problem. He could appeal to his custom at Passover of releasing one prisoner to the population.
Quite aware that Jesus was extremely popular with the people, Pilate set the situation up in such a manner that the choice would be obvious and clear-cut. Crowds had a few days earlier thronged Him as He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, throwing their cloaks before the feet of His donkey as they made the air ring with their songs of praises.
The other option Pilate offered them was the disgusting Barabbas, an insurrectionist "who had committed murder" (Mark 15:7, NIV). But in that he had underestimated the Jewish leaders. After all, a person repellent to Pilate could have a special appeal to a Jewish populace desiring freedom from Rome. Such a crowd could be led to clamor for Barabbas without too much difficulty. Then again, the mob may not have consisted of those who thought highly of Jesus, but one assembled for the occasion by the Jewish leaders.
So the crowd faces a choice. And what a choice it is. After all, Barabbas is an Aramaic name, Bar-'Abba', which means "son of the father." Thus the crowd had to decide which son of the father it wanted.
Its choice isn't altogether different from the ones you and I make every day. The question for me today is "What son do I desire?"
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