But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
The scene is the judgment-hall of Pilate the Roman governor, where Jesus stands bound as a prisoner with a guard of Roman soldiers around Him and the hall fast filling with spectators, while just outside stand the judges of the Sanhedrin, priests, rulers, elders and the mob who after condemning Jesus have come to have Pilate confirm and execute the sentence but will not enter because they would be ceremonially defiled and kept from the Passover feast, while murderous hatred has defiled their hearts and because they have rejected Christ the real Passover Lamb the feast has lost its significance for them. Pilate regarded Jesus as innocent and sought to release Him and save His life, even having Him scourged and mocked hoping to excite pity and satisfy priestly malice. He expected that the contrast between guilty, notorious Barabbas and the innocent Christ would lead the people to choose Jesus.
The chief priests were determined that Jesus should not be released, saw weakness in punishing a man declared innocent, knew Pilate was trying to save Him, and reasoned that pressing the matter to a decided issue would gain their end, acting from fanatical hatred toward Him who as the light of the world had exposed their darkness and error. They stirred up, inflamed and moved the people, priests, rulers and mob to mad fury to demand that Barabbas be released unto them instead of Jesus and to raise the cry for the crucifixion of Jesus. The priests started the cry and the mob took it up after they had inflamed the people against Jesus. The choice set gentle, suffering, innocent Jesus, the beloved Teacher and Son of God who made the world and all things in it, against hardened, guilty, notorious, murderous Barabbas, a ruffian, thief and murderer, and the contrast convicted beholders even as the people chose Barabbas.
The verse shows Jesus in the hands of wicked men with His own nation clamoring for His blood, and the choice is part of His descent into humiliation approaching the cross alongside the crown of thorns, the purple robe, the mock bowing and striking with the reed, the scourging as the worst of criminals, and being lifted up on the cross dying as a malefactor. The crowd's demand for Barabbas and later call to crucify Jesus reveals how quickly public favor could turn against Him, and the disciples who had seen this fickleness were prepared not to base their faith on the crowd's approval. In the disciples' experience the choice centered on their beloved Teacher in whom they centered their hopes of eternal life and whom they thought was to take His place on David's throne, and witnessing His humiliation fulfilled His word that the Bridegroom would be taken away, giving them cause to mourn and fast, with their faith tried and their hope and courage failing.
Barabbas represents Satan in character when set beside Christ, so choosing him expressed the people's rejection of Christ and their choice of Satan's rule. The choice shows what people may do when they are not under the control of God's Spirit, and it is repeated whenever people choose against Christ, with each person's choices showing whom they have chosen. The choice represents the spirit of those who will oppose Christ's followers in the coming crisis and serves as a picture of the deception near the end of time, when people who have rejected truth will again choose Barabbas and call for Christ to be crucified.
The scene is the judgment-hall of Pilate the Roman governor, where Jesus stands bound as a prisoner with a guard of Roman soldiers around Him and the hall fast filling with spectators, while just outside stand the judges of the Sanhedrin, priests, rulers, elders and the mob who after condemning Jesus have come to have Pilate confirm and execute the sentence but will not enter because they would be ceremonially defiled and kept from the Passover feast, while murderous hatred has defiled their hearts and because they have rejected Christ the real Passover Lamb the feast has lost its significance for them. Pilate regarded Jesus as innocent and sought to release Him and save His life, even having Him scourged and mocked hoping to excite pity and satisfy priestly malice. He expected that the contrast between guilty, notorious Barabbas and the innocent Christ would lead the people to choose Jesus.
The chief priests were determined that Jesus should not be released, saw weakness in punishing a man declared innocent, knew Pilate was trying to save Him, and reasoned that pressing the matter to a decided issue would gain their end, acting from fanatical hatred toward Him who as the light of the world had exposed their darkness and error. They stirred up, inflamed and moved the people, priests, rulers and mob to mad fury to demand that Barabbas be released unto them instead of Jesus and to raise the cry for the crucifixion of Jesus. The priests started the cry and the mob took it up after they had inflamed the people against Jesus. The choice set gentle, suffering, innocent Jesus, the beloved Teacher and Son of God who made the world and all things in it, against hardened, guilty, notorious, murderous Barabbas, a ruffian, thief and murderer, and the contrast convicted beholders even as the people chose Barabbas.
The verse shows Jesus in the hands of wicked men with His own nation clamoring for His blood, and the choice is part of His descent into humiliation approaching the cross alongside the crown of thorns, the purple robe, the mock bowing and striking with the reed, the scourging as the worst of criminals, and being lifted up on the cross dying as a malefactor. The crowd's demand for Barabbas and later call to crucify Jesus reveals how quickly public favor could turn against Him, and the disciples who had seen this fickleness were prepared not to base their faith on the crowd's approval. In the disciples' experience the choice centered on their beloved Teacher in whom they centered their hopes of eternal life and whom they thought was to take His place on David's throne, and witnessing His humiliation fulfilled His word that the Bridegroom would be taken away, giving them cause to mourn and fast, with their faith tried and their hope and courage failing.
Barabbas represents Satan in character when set beside Christ, so choosing him expressed the people's rejection of Christ and their choice of Satan's rule. The choice shows what people may do when they are not under the control of God's Spirit, and it is repeated whenever people choose against Christ, with each person's choices showing whom they have chosen. The choice represents the spirit of those who will oppose Christ's followers in the coming crisis and serves as a picture of the deception near the end of time, when people who have rejected truth will again choose Barabbas and call for Christ to be crucified.