Today, we return to our study of the gospel according to Mark. A careful study of this account of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ enables us to see that much of the information that Mark shares was garnered from none other than the Apostle Peter. This gospel account very well could have been called the Gospel according to Peter.
In v.6 of today's passage we read, "Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested."
The setting of today's passage was Jerusalem and it was Friday morning. Beginning somewhere just after midnight the religious leaders arrested the Lord Jesus and put Him through a series of three trials throughout the early morning which was unlawful according to the law of Moses. These three trials were unlawful because they were held under the cloak of darkness. As we come back into today's passage, the Lord Jesus was standing in front of Pilate for a second time and it was Passover.
The Passover commemorated the release of an entire nation from Egypt. As the Jews who had been in Egypt for so long, the Jews of the first century longed for God to rescue them from Rome. But, they had fallen into thinking as men of this world instead of men of God. Due to their worldly thinking, they expected the redemption from God to be political.
In v.7-8 of today's passage we read, "7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did."
Such great irony is discovered in the name of Barabbas which means “son of the father.” In Exodus, God identified Israel as God’s son, the son of the Father. In Barabbas, Israel sees itself. Yet, both Barabbas and the nation were very far from being the son of the Father. Ironically, the Son of God became Barabbas so that the sons of men could become sons of God.
In today's passage, we see the Lord Jesus, the true Son of the Father, is bound by the Jews and by Pilate. The crowd asked the Roman Governor Pilate to release a prisoner of their choice, which was his custom. Up to this point, the crowds in Jerusalem had responded favorably to the Lord Jesus, but that changed as the deceit of the religious leaders began to spread.
In v.9-10 of today's passage we read, 9 "'Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?' asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him."
In today's passage, we see the Lord Jesus, the true Son of the Father, is bound by the Jews and by Pilate. The crowd asked the Roman Governor Pilate to release a prisoner of their choice, which was his custom. Up to this point, the crowds in Jerusalem had responded favorably to the Lord Jesus, but that changed as the deceit of the religious leaders began to spread.
In v.9-10 of today's passage we read, 9 "'Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?' asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him."
We are always at our worst when we are defining ourselves. We have been duped by the enemy to follow him by indirectly putting self on the throne of our lives. As a result, we think that we know what is best for us. Not so! We often choose the kingdom of men and man's values, and reject the Father and His Son and His values. If we could only understand that even the unwanted that enters our lives on a given day is a part of His divine will for us for that day. And, it is through such that God largely defines us.
In the midst of it all the Lord Jesus remained silent. Yet, He wasn't silent. His body language spoke the loudest message. As the Son of the Father, the Lord Jesus was submitted to the Father. His selfless approach to it all speaks most loudly into our souls today. If it weren't for His submissive will, we would not be redeemed and we still would be dead in our sins and trespasses.
In the midst of it all the Lord Jesus remained silent. Yet, He wasn't silent. His body language spoke the loudest message. As the Son of the Father, the Lord Jesus was submitted to the Father. His selfless approach to it all speaks most loudly into our souls today. If it weren't for His submissive will, we would not be redeemed and we still would be dead in our sins and trespasses.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead."
Barabbas was an insurrectionist, he wanted to overthrow the Roman government. Pilate wrongly believed that if he allowed the Jews to choose between the most despicable prisoner and the Lord Jesus, they would pick the Lord Jesus to be set free. "But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead."
To the religious leaders and the people, Barabbas was the savior they chose that day. The Lord Jesus was there to give life, while Barabbas was the one who had taken life. The Lord Jesus was there to save the people from sin, while Barabbas was there to save the people from Rome. The people chose the fake over the real, and, in so doing the crowd fell to the deceptive powers of darkness. The crowd didn’t free Barabbas because they liked him, they freed him because they disliked the Lord Jesus. They had taken up the offense of the religious leaders of Israel.
It wasn't that the Lord Jesus was so easy to hate. After all, He had only done good for the people. All of this just underscores the incredible deceptive powers of Satan. Having said that, these things had to happen so that mankind could be redeemed back to God. It is not that God made the people choose Barabbas that day, but He allowed the deception of Satan to manipulate the outcome.
