Give Us Barabbas

But the whole crowd shouted, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!"  

Luke 23:18

How quickly things change. Weren’t these the same people who had been shouting “Hosanna!” a few verses back? Some of them still had hoofprints on their cloaks from laying them in the street for the donkey to walk on. But they had exchanged palm branches for clubs and adoration for scorn. What kind of Messiah lets Himself be arrested and charged with insurrection? Was it true what the religious leaders were saying? Had this Rabbi committed blasphemy? Was He causing riots? What a fraud! They’d called Him a King, but now condemned Him as a criminal. They’d rather have that murdering Barabbas released than this Man who had dashed their hopes. What kind of people change allegiance so quickly? People like us.

“Give us Barabbas!” the Jews cried. “Give us health, wealth, and happiness!” we cry. Maybe there was a time when you welcomed Jesus as your King. Your eyes were opened to Who He was and what He had done for you. But you also welcomed a lot of extras with Him, expectations He did not meet. Maybe you assumed the Christian life would be a smooth ride through Easy Street, but instead, everything got worse. “Forget it,” you thought. “I’ll make myself happy the way I want to.” We’d rather have our rights and our comforts than a God who has dashed our hopes. So we slam the Bible, disconnect from God, and join the Jews in choosing Barabbas. Before we judge their betrayal too harshly, maybe we should first look in the mirror.