Which Messiah?

“At the festival it was Pilate’s custom to release for the people a prisoner they requested. There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion. The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom. So Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you? ” For he knew it was because of envy that the chief priests had handed Him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead. Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews? ” Again they shouted, “Crucify Him! ” Then Pilate said to them, “Why? What has He done wrong? ” But they shouted, “Crucify Him! ” all the more. Then, willing to gratify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:6-15 HCSB)

Irony, it’s not what you’d expect in a story about God’s promised Messiah. Yet, Mark is full of irony. For several weeks I’ve been telling you that the Messiah the Jewish religious leaders and Judas wanted and the kind of Messiah they received, in Jesus, were not the compatible. This was a source of tremendous conflict and great frustration for them as evidenced in their use of false witnesses and this trial before Pilate, the Roman prefect.

Mark tells us that it was Pilate’s custom to release a prisoner to the people at the annual Passover feast, whichever prisoner the people requested. While some scholars have questioned this, the practice is supported by Roman law and a few non-biblical examples. Mark then tells us that among the “rebels” being held in prison was one who was guilty of murder during an insurrection, a man called Barabbas. Mark doesn’t give us the meaning of the man’s name, but he has given us enough information in previous stories to easily make the translation ourselves. Bar = son of, Abba(s) = (intimate term for) Father. So, Barabbas is “son of Dad” or “son of father”. I like to translate it as, “daddy’s boy.” One last note, some of the manuscripts have his name as, Jesus Barabbas. While it doesn’t appear in all of the oldest manuscripts, it is more reasonable to think that it is original to the text and was dropped by later copyists because of their desire to revere and honor Jesus, the Christ.

Pilate recognized that the chief priests had brought Jesus to him for trial because of their intense hatred for His popularity with the common people and their envy of Him. So, he posed to the crowd, when they asked for the customary prisoner release, that Jesus was his choice as the one who should receive mercy that day. But notice, the chief priests began to stir up the crowd to ask for Barabbas’ release instead. Trust me, it isn’t too difficult to get a crowd to echo what you whisper in their ears. Besides, this crowd is most likely made up of primarily upper class folks who are much more likely to request what the chief priests want. The lower class folks would tend to avoid their Roman overlords, especially someone like Pilate, when possible.

Still seeking to release Jesus, Pilate asked again: “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” I think it is important to note how Pilate says that: “the man YOU call the King of the Jews.” He didn’t say, “the man who calls Himself the King of the Jews.” Pilate’s choice of wording seems to reflect Jesus’ attitude regarding that title and the fact that Jesus told him that His kingdom was not “of this world.”

But I need you to hear their request and Pilate’s response: “What shall I do with the man?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!”

The hated Roman prefect wanted to show Him mercy, but the people of God were out for blood. Let that sink in a bit. Jesus, the very man who was known for His mercy and love for people, would not be shown mercy by these people. The one who was recognized by the Roman prefect as one who had done no evil, was rejected by the crowd and would be treated as the epitome of evil. The one who was guilty of murder would be set free and the One who was the Source of Life would give His life for each of them.

Ironic isn’t it?

These people are given their choice of which man to set free. They were asked to choose which one deserved life. Technically, they are faced with the choice about the kind of Messiah they wanted. Did they want the One who loved others and offered mercy, grace and kindness to His enemies or the one who embraced violence and murdered his enemies?

Better yet, which kind of Messiah do you want?

Do you want one who strikes down His enemies or one who offers mercy to sinners? The kind of Savior you seek is reflective of how you view yourself in relation to God. If you view yourself as an enemy of God, you would most likely want a Savior who is merciful, loving and forgiving. If you view yourself as “in” with God then you might seek a Savior who is vengeful and strikes down those who are undeserving of God’s love. To put it another way, those who recognize they need grace are more likely to give grace and those who feel they don’t need grace are not very likely to offer it to others.

The chief priests saw themselves in that last group. They didn’t need mercy, they deserved God’s love and blessings. At least, that’s what THEY thought. Why should they offer any mercy to this religious upstart who thought He knew about God. He couldn’t possibly KNOW God. God would NEVER show mercy to an enemy. Would HE?

“What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:9-18 HCSB)

Is it possible that God is doing something beyond their understanding? Is it possible that their assumptions about and expectations of the Messiah are all WRONG? Is it possible that our assumptions about what God wants from us are all wrong? Is it possible that our expectations of what Jesus wants to do in and through our lives is all wrong?

But surely He wants what’s best for me, right?

Absolutely! But what you think is best for you and what He thinks is best for you are not the same thing. Not even close. We’re not seeking a God who makes us holy, we’re seeking a god who makes us happy. We don’t want a God who is sovereign and demands obedience, we want a god who does what we ask and satisfies our every whim. When we pray, we expect God to listen to us instead of us listening to Him.

That’s the kind of God this crowd wanted, too. One who gave them a savior who would defeat Rome and bless their lives. What they failed to see is that’s exactly the kind of savior God sent…

And that’s what we often fail to see, Jesus is the kind of Savior who changes the world in exactly the way God intended: One heart at a time.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27 HCSB)

What kind of Messiah or Savior are you seeking? Are you only looking for one who agrees with you, who gives you what you want? That’s not a god worthy of worship, that’s a genie. I want to serve a God who is worthy of worship. One who knows more than I do and who is holy, who’s better than I am. I know what I’m like. I’ve seen the darkness inside me. I know what I’m capable of doing, and it’s not pretty.

I need a Messiah like Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and the Son of God and not one like Jesus Barabbas, daddy’s boy. I need the One who was unworthy of death – who had done nothing evil – but was willing to die in my place. I’m too much like Barabbas, but I’m nothing like Jesus. I want to be more like Jesus and less like Barabbas.

I know which Messiah I need, do you?