Read John 18:28-40.
As I was reading through this passage, a number of random observations came to mind. It is ironic that:
- A leader of a Gentile nation (Pilate) is more honest in his judgment of Jesus than the Jewish leaders. How pride and wreckless determination on the part of the Jewish leaders created so much blindness!
- The Jewish leaders needed to use Gentile law to rid themselves of Jesus. If the Jews thought so lowly of the Gentiles, how much more lowly did they think of Jesus. How low they stooped to kill Jesus!
- One man held the destiny of the other in his hands. Who really held whose?
There is a lot going on here. The interaction of the different people make for a very interesting story. Pilate pressured by the Jews; Jesus knowing the certainty of His death; the disciples nowhere to be found; the crowds angered and disappointed in Jesus. Yet in some of these people there is a little bit of me and you to be found. Maybe you have felt the pressure to act against Jesus (e.g. Pilate). Maybe you have felt the fear of being associated with Jesus (e.g. the disciples). Maybe you have braved the threat, humiliation, and pain of injustice (e.g. Jesus). Yes, the story in our passage today happened a long, long time ago, but the story is really no different today, is it?
Is anyone in this story innocent except Jesus? No one is. And neither are any of us without Christ. It is no surprise, then, that Barabbas ends the story today. A man justly imprisoned, a man sentenced to die. A man who was guilty, but… set free because Jesus took his place.
Were you there? Yes, of course you were. But so was Jesus.
