12-8-2014

 Good Morning All,

       Matthew 27:21; “The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

      Our verse occurs during Jesus’ trial before Pilate.  Pilate wanted to release Jesus but was a coward.  He tried a back door approach by trying to stack the deck.  He would free one prisoner at the feast of Passover.  He gave the people the choice between Jesus, a seemingly harmless itinerant rabbi from Galilee, and Barabbas, a murderous thief and anarchist.  It should have been obvious but the crowd chose Barabbas.

     There are numerous theories as to why the crowd chose Barabbas.  Some think the crowd was paid off by the Scribes and the Pharisees.  Some think the devil possessed the crowd.  Some think the crowd didn’t know any different.  I am no great theologian but I think the crowd chose Barabbas because they wanted to.  Barabbas was a pain in the side of the Romans; he was the bad guy who only brought mayhem.  He would cause a riot where Roman property was destroyed.  The people wanted to cause problems for the Romans so they picked Barabbas.

     So do you pick Barabbas?  Do we seek being part of the problem?  Do we seek to avenge even the smallest of slights?  Maybe we don’t do it intentionally but we still do it.  We want to get even, balance the scales, get square or whatever we call it.  Do we tend to gravitate toward what the world calls “making it fair”?  It can feel so right but it causes so much pain.

    The world will always pick Barabbas; our sinful nature tells us to pick Barabbas.  Picking Barabbas is the way of greed, selfishness, of an inward curved view of life.  It is part of the view of life that thinks by tearing others down we can build ourself up.  It is the view that leads to others pain and to our own destruction. 

    It is the view that sin causes.  Sin chooses Barabbas.  Yet we know that this painful way of life is not the only way.  Christ came, rejected by the world, rejected by sinful man in order to redeem sinful man.  Jesus came so you would have a choice.  The lost, the condemned and the unbeliever have no choice; that person always chooses Barabbas and always suffers the consequences of that decision.  We, as God’s children have a choice.  God gives us the ability to choose Jesus.  He comes to us in his Word and his Spirit moves us to desire Jesus.  His Spirit gives us the desire to look outward.  His Spirit gives to us the desire to love rather than hurt; to give rather than take; to have compassion rather than selfishness. 

    God, because of Jesus and by his Spirit, gives you the ability to choose Jesus and reject Barabbas.  This should always be our hope.  There will be days when we fail but God picks us up and stands us up again so we can choose Jesus.  Because of Jesus we can live; so live.  Trust in his grace to always guard our ways.

Father of all mercy, move us by your Spirit to choose Jesus as the one we want to live as.  Help us to bring the healing that the world needs.  Stir in our hearts the desire to do your will.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret