Slide 2:
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.
7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas.
8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he always did for them.
9 And he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.
12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?”
13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.”
Slide 3:
14 And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.”
15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Slide 4:
So much of these verses hinge upon Barabbas.
Barabbas was a notorious criminal who had committed robbery (Jn. 18:40), was a revolutionary and a murderer (Mk.15:7; Lk. 23:18–19).
He may have belonged to one of the rural guerilla bands that victimized the Romans and the wealthy upper class of Israel.
Therefore he would have been popular with the common people. Let us note that while Barabbas was a major sinner it was Jesus who paid the price for Barabbas’ sins on the cross.
The meaning of the word Barabbas is “Bar” which means “son of” and “abba” means father thus the name Barabbas means “son of the father.”
Jesus position in the Trinity is also is the son of the Father.
Jesus was charged with the crime of claiming that he was “King of the Jews.’
Slide 5:
Ironically when this title was nailed to Jesus’ cross in three different languages, so that it could be read by everyone in Jerusalem, it was the religious leaders who wanted it removed.
For them it was demeaning to have anyone think that the “king of the Jews,” could die on the cross.
The crowd is another interesting aspect of this reading.
Why were they so willing to crucify Jesus when only a few days before they were yelling, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mk. 11:9-10).
Remember, Mark 14:27 “And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’”
Jesus’ sympathizers were afraid of the Jewish leaders who were powerful enough to kill him.
Slide 6:
Another possibility is that the crowd turned against Jesus when they saw that he was not going to be an earthly conqueror and their deliverer from Rome.
What ever their reasons might have been they had fulfilled Jesus prediction that his followers would scatted.