Ask Barabbas, and Destroy Jesus
“Ask Barabbas, and Destroy Jesus.”—Why did the Jews make such a choice?—It was natural. They had resisted the Spirit of God (Acts 7:51), hence they would act out the natural man, the “carnal mind,” which is “enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7). “For envy they had delivered” Jesus to Pilate; they were envious of His influence among the people, which had been shown on the occasion of the great ovation a few days before. On the contrary, they no doubt secretly sympathized with the constant uprising against the Roman Government of which Barabbas was an exponent. They were inconsistent in this, but Satanic fury is always inconsistent. They were persecuting Jesus because of His alleged designs against the government, but they favored the man who had been really guilty of such designs. In reality they were against Jesus because His deeds were righteous and their own were evil. In this they acted the part of Cain. 1 John 3:11, 12.