Sermon for Laetare Wednesday (Lent IV)

Witnesses to Christ: Barabbas

In the Name of the Father, & of the Son + & of the Holy Spirit

Grace to you and peace from the One Who Is & Who Was & Who Is to Come!

Cyril of Alexandria wrote: “For they preferred a robber to him who did not regard his equality with God the Father [as robbery] and took our poverty upon him for this very end, that is, that he might deliver us from the true murderer, that is, Satan.”1

St. John records: “Pilate said to [Jesus], ‘What is truth?’ After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, ‘I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?’ They cried out again, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas was a robber. Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.”2

We are at the halfway point of our series "Witnesses to Christ." Our text this evening is centered, as always, on Christ. But there are two other characters that figure prominently in the story. Pontius Pilate, whom we will look at in-depth next week, and Barabbas, who is our focus tonight.

We see Jesus on trial, and as in any trial, there are three key concepts: innocent, guilty, and free. Jesus is, of course, the innocent one. Pilate tells the mob waiting outside his offices, “I find no guilt in Him.”3 Pilate did not think Jesus deserved the death penalty, certainly not the pain and humiliation of the cross. A stern talking to, certainly. After all, Pilate is the Roman Proconsul in Judea to keep the peace and order for which the empire is known for maintaining in its provinces. Pilate even suggests that perhaps he should have Jesus beaten, then released, thinking that may appease the crowd and save him the guilt of sending an innocent man to be executed.4

Twice in John 18:28, the evangelist refers to Pontius Pilate as "the governor." As governor, he holds what is called proconsular imperium, absolute power over the land, including the power of deciding formal death penalty cases such as Jesus’ trial. In Judea, you live or die according to Pilate. And Pilate declares Jesus innocent, not once, but twice!5 The rest of the New Testament scriptures have far more to say about Jesus’ absolute and perfect innocence. The preacher to the Hebrews says Jesus was “without sin.”6 Paul wrote of Christ, “[He] knew no sin.”7 Jesus never sinned. Innocent.

Guilty! That’s Barabbas. When Pilate posed the question to the mob, “So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas.” And John records, “Now Barabbas was a robber.”

The word translated for us as robber is λῃστής – lēstēs, which can mean a robber, highwayman, or bandit. It is the same word used in the parable of the Good Samaritan8 where Jesus says, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers [lestais is the plural of lestes], who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.” St. Mark tells us more of Barabbas: “Among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas.”9

Putting all this together, we arrive at the other definition of λῃστής – lēstēs, which is a revolutionary, insurrectionist, or guerrilla fighter.10 In other words, Barabbas was not a petty thief or another small-time crook. Barabbas was no mere robber, not even merely a murderer. Barabbas was a terrorist. The Jewish historian Josephus used this word to describe guerrilla fighters who kept the Jewish countryside in a constant state of chaos. Additionally, the fact that the Jewish crowd knew Barabbas and wanted his release suggests that Barabbas was a well-known member of the Zealots, who fought a sort of underground war against the Roman government in Judea. They had only one goal – get the Romans out of Judea, and they didn’t care whose throat got cut in order to accomplish it.

There is immense irony in the request by the Jewish mob to release Barabbas. They cry out repeatedly for Pilate to release a criminal who is guilty of the very crime for which they have accused Jesus. This is nothing but a show trial. Pilate saw through it. If Pilate had gotten his way, he would have had the best of both worlds. The Jews would be appeased by announcing Jesus' guilt and having Him beaten and released. Plus, his own conscience would be soothed by releasing who he knew to be an innocent man. Except Pilate's plan did not play out as he wanted. The Jews wanted Barabbas released – a man whose name means, in a further stroke of irony, "son of the Father."

So do not go home tonight believing Barabbas was just some petty criminal. Rome did not condemn such men to crucifixion. But they would crucify a lēstēs. Barabbas had already been judged guilty and sentenced to be executed. His future was a cross, three nails, and a slow, protracted death by asphyxiation until his legs were broken and he succumbed to suffocation. Jesus, innocent. Barabbas, guilty.

Guilty. That is what you and I are. As St. Paul taught us, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”11 Born into sin, blinded by the devil, and enthralled by the superficial lifestyle of the world, we are hopeless. Our finest moments and best works are but filthy rags.12 We are Barabbas.

Paul says just this in the book of Romans, “Wretched man that I am!”13 Not “I was a wretch,” but "I am a wretch." Present tense, right now, this very moment. Even as believers in Christ, we are still wretches. We have a word for that. It is called sin. Sin isn't our "mistakes" or a momentary lapse of reason. Sin is an open rebellion against God's rule. Sin storms heaven and lays claim to God's throne. Sin defies God's authority. Sin says, "I am here, I'm in control, I'm in charge. God can get lost."

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way.”14 We all have our own ways. You have yours. I have mine. We all turn to follow our own path. Pick a commandment. Whenever you do the opposite of what the Law demands, you have chosen your own way. You have chosen your own truth. We answer Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” with our answer, “My truth is whatever works for me, that I chose to believe at this moment.” But God’s word is truth,15 and it endures forever.16 Forever just and right. And God’s word calls it sin.

We do not like confronting our sin. We certainly do not like confessing it, either to God or to each other. We would like to avoid this confrontation if at all possible. But we are prisoners of our sins, and God has declared us guilty. And what is the sentence? Death.

Innocent – Jesus. Guilty – Barabbas. Guilty – you and I. Free? That’s Barabbas. Can you imagine? Here comes a Roman centurion with the key. “Barabbas, the mob asked for your release. You are free to go!” Chains unshackled, prison cell open, Barabbas walks free. It does not seem fair.

Neither is your and my freedom "fair!" Jesus endured the mockery, the beating, the scourging, and the nails. Not only that, but he endured God's justice – God's wrath. God does not overlook sin. He does not call it by cute names. And God does not bargain. That is not how God operates. His perfect Law is just and good, and breaking the Law demands punishment. Sin costs a life.

That is why God put all of our sins on Jesus with the full force of His wrath. Christ, the innocent man and true God, substituted Himself for each one of us. He carried all of your sins and mine. He paid your price. All of our law-breaking, our rebellion against God, our insurrection of God's authority, all of it - paid for in full. My sins are many, but God's mercy for the sake of Christ Jesus is more. Therefore I am free.

There are as many ways to become a prisoner of sin as there have ever been or will be human beings to sin them. There is only one way to be free, and that is by the blood of Christ. Our Lord and Savior’s liberating power sets us free from the condemnation of sin, the pain of our past, and anxiety about our future. No one can rescind this pardon, and no administrator or governor can stop it. No power on earth or in hell can destroy it. Just as in Jesus' trial, the three most important words in our trial are guilty, innocent, and free. The most important word for us is, without a doubt, free. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”17 By faith, forever free. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

May the peace which passes understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

1Oden, Thomas, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. John 11–21. p.295.

2John 18:38-40; 19:1 (ESV).

3John18:38.

4Luke 23:15-16.

5John 18:38 & 19:4, 6.

6Hebrews 4:15.

72 Corinthians 5:21.

8Luke 10:30.

9Mark 15:7 (ESV).

10William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago. University of Chicago Press, 2000, p.594.

11Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV). Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4; & Ephesians 2:12.

12Isaiah 64:6.

13Romans 7:24.

14Isaiah 53:6 (ESV).

15John 17:17.

161 Peter 1:25.

17John 8:36 (ESV).