June 27, 2016
JESUS WHO RULES BY LOVE, OR BARABBAS WHO RULES BY FORCE?
Mark 15:1–20
Doug Tigert
Central Truth
Who is Jesus to you when your expectations are not met? I make the decision daily to follow Jesus or Barabbas. I pray that I may choose Jesus today.
Key Verse | Mark 15:15
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Mark 15:15)
Mark 15:1–20
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
1 And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
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 usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “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 you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 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 1 15:15 A Roman judicial penalty, consisting of a severe beating with a multi-lashed whip containing embedded pieces of bone and metal Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), 2 15:16 Greek the praetorium and they called together the whole battalion. 3 15:16 Greek cohort; a tenth of a Roman legion, usually about 600 men 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
Dive Deeper | Mark 15:1–20
Barabbas. He was a murderer, a revolutionary, mean, and tough. I have been told that his name was Jesus Barabbas, meaning "son of the father." The crowd was supposed to pick between the first Jesus, Son of the Father, who ruled with love, willing to sacrifice Himself; or Barabbas, son of the father, who was a bully and murderer, living by wits and force.
I always wondered about how quickly the crowd forgot all the miracles Jesus performed—miracles those people probably saw or heard about first-hand. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, made the deaf hear, and commanded the lame to walk. He spoke and preached amazing things, but just one week after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the people are demanding His crucifixion. What happened?
I think He disappointed the expectations of the people. They wanted a ruler—mean and tough—to save them from Rome. But Jesus came to save us from our sins. He laid down His life for us willingly. That doesn't fit in well with people looking for an immediate deliverer from the bondage of Rome.
Have you ever felt disappointed in God? Did you not receive what you were expecting? I have been there. I have been angry and hurt that God didn't perform the way I wanted Him to or give me something I desired. Isaiah 55:8-9 says:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Jesus is my King and Savior. He will never lie nor deceive me. He will love me perfectly. How often I am like the crowd, turning from Jesus when I get mad or upset. I pray today we will spend time in God's Word. I pray His ways become our ways. With my family and community to help, I believe I am becoming more like Christ daily.
Discussion Questions
1. Why would the crowd, who probably were excited and happy about Jesus just one week earlier, choose Barabbas instead of Jesus?
2. How are we like Pilate? Why did he turn Jesus over to be crucified?
3. Why do people do such bad things and act out of character when they are in a crowd or group?
4. Would you have joined in with the crowd? Why or why not?