“Barabbas, the Mob, the Roman Soldier – and Another Man”

Steve Corley

Given in Roanoke and Kingsport on Sabbath, March 11, 2023

Given in London, KY on Sabbath, March 16, 2024

A number of years ago a movie featuring a well known actor’s interpretation of the final day in the human life of Jesus Christ reached the top of the charts.  Some said that the movie contained a number of major departures from the Biblical narrative.  Some said that it fostered anti-Jewish feelings.  I do not judge the movie – I never saw it.  But suppose all the criticisms of the movie are correct.  Just who were the people involved in the events of that day?  Do we humanly look on their actions as strange – as something in which we never could have been involved – and judge them, as many throughout the last 1900 years have extended that judgment to a whole ethnic group?  Do people tend to point the finger at someone else instead of at themselves?  Do we realize that we are all sinners and that we all caused the death of Christ?  On the other hand, did a particular person commit an “ultimate” sin for which the sacrifice of Christ cannot be applied to pay the penalty?  These are areas we should consider especially as we examine ourselves in preparation for Passover.

I would like to focus on how we should see ourselves when we look at two individuals and a group involved in the Crucifixion – as well as another particular individual – and how that should help us focus on the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice for us.  We can title this sermon “Barabbas, the Mob, the Roman Soldier – and Another Man.”

Barabbas was someone who “had committed murder in an insurrection” (Mark 15:7, Luke 23:19) and was hence deserving of death.  He was also a “robber” (John 18:40).  He was indeed a “bad guy.”  We read in these chapters how his life was spared when he was released and the sinless Jesus Christ was crucified in his stead.  Shouldn’t the account of Barabbas remind us of someone we know?  We have all sinned and the wages of sin is death.  We are all “bad guys.”  When I look in a mirror, shouldn’t I see Barabbas?

And who had requested freedom for Barabbas?  The mob.  The mob cried out for Jesus’ crucifixion when Pilate wanted to release Him.  When Pilate said he did not want to be guilty of Jesus’ blood, and publicly washed his hands, then, according to Matthew 27:25, “All the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’ ”  All the people.  Shouldn’t this also remind us of someone?  Had I been present in that time and place, acting in ignorance, might I not have been part of the actual mob?  I think that would have been quite possible.  Historically, this has been one of the most misused verses in the Bible, used to justify persecuting a whole ethnic group as “Christ-killers.”  But that was not the meaning of the verse.  When it is properly understood, we are all children of the mob.  Since we have all sinned, we have all been “Christ-killers.”  Christ’s blood is on them and on us and on every human being – and it has the potential to justify every human being. 

The mob wanted Christ killed, but who really carried out the deed?  Christ was dead in six hours.   Crucifixion normally took many hours or even days to kill.  A stab wound with major loss of blood can kill much faster.  If any single individual can be identified as the one who killed Christ, it would probably be the one who pierced Him with a spear (Matt. 27:49), identified as a Roman soldier in John 19:34.  But wait.  Zech. 12:10 says “they will look on Me whom they have pierced” – referring to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem (whether Jew or Gentile).   The Roman soldier who pierced Christ and killed Him likewise represented all the people there – and represents all of us today.  When I think in my mind’s eye of the face of that Roman soldier who pierced Jesus with the spear, I should see the face of Steve Corley – not the face of some generic John Doe.

When we read of these people, if we think “How could they have done such a thing?  That is something I could have never done,” that shows that we do not know ourselves well enough.  When we look at them we should not feel condemnation.  We should see that we are, in effect, looking in a mirror.  As the Roman soldier poured out the blood of Christ with his spear, in just over five weeks we will take the symbol of this blood and drink it.  As the blood of Christ was on the mob and their children, so is the guilt of His blood on us, but by His blood shall we also be justified and reconciled to God.  And just as the sacrifice of Christ freed Barabbas from the physical penalty for his crimes, so will it save us from the penalty of eternal death for sin.  And not only us but someday all mankind.  And, if when we look at what happened, if we still do not see ourselves but rather point the finger, then, to quote an expression that Mr. HWA was fond of using, “we just don’t get it!”

As we approach Passover, we need to remember our guilt in causing the death of Christ through our sins – we all have sinned and He would have had to die if even a single human being had sinned (cf. Rev. 13:8).  We have seen how Barabbas, the mob and the Roman soldier who killed Jesus with the spear symbolize all of us – indeed, symbolize all mankind.  But there was another man who does not symbolize all mankind – who indeed should not symbolize any of us, who should not symbolize a single other person.  There are many evil deeds described throughout the pages of the Bible, and many negative things are said about those who did those deeds.  But there is one specific statement that is the most negative thing ever said in the Bible about any specific person. 

I would like to explore 1) what was said, 2) about whom and 3) what we can learn from this statement which we can use in our own lives, especially as we prepare for Passover.

Let us first look at the persons about whom this statement was not made.

• Not Adam and Eve, who introduced sin to the human race.
• Not Cain, the first human murderer.
• Not the people destroyed in the flood, whose intent was “only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5)
• Not Nimrod who set up human government in rebellion against God.
• Not the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, even though their deeds were so evil that God wiped out their cities with fire.
• Not the Pharaohs who oppressed Israel.  Not the Pharaoh of the Exodus who would not listen to the words of God coming from Moses.
• Not the 10 spies who were killed by God for discouraging the people from entering Canaan.
• Not Korah, Dathan and Abiram who were killed by God for rebelling against Moses, God’s representative.
• Not King Saul, who repeatedly disobeyed God and lost his kingship.
• Not Solomon, whose heart was not true to God.
• Not Jeroboam, who was promised an enduring dynasty but instead turned his back totally on God’s promise and set up a pagan religious system in Israel.
• Not the evil King Ahab of Israel or King Manasseh of Judah (the second in fact did repent).
• Not Herod the Great, who killed all the infants of Bethlehem he could find in an attempt to destroy Jesus.
• Not any specific Pharisee, although Jesus warned them that some were headed for the lake of fire if they did not repent.
• Not Caiaphas, Annas or any of the other chief priests who condemned Jesus.
• Not the mob who shouted for His crucifixion.
• Not Pontius Pilate who cravenly gave the mob what it wanted, even though he knew he was sending an innocent Man to a horrible death.
• Not the Roman soldiers who cruelly carried out the sentence.
• Not those who subsequently persecuted the Church.
• Possibly not even the beast or false prophet, even though they are to be thrown into fire at the beginning of the Millennium (Rev. 19:21) – the Bible does not tell us it is the second death for them.  [That is, if the “beast” and “false prophet” referred to in this verse are specific humans – remember that the four beasts of Daniel 7 were not human beings but instead referred to four empires.  Note also from Rev. 20:15 that “death” and “Hades” will be cast into the lake of fire (symbolizing the end of death and the grave) although they are obviously not human beings.]

Then who was it?  What was said?  The answer is in Matthew 26:24 and Mark 14:21.

Consider the enormity of this statement.  This was not something coming from a despondent man saying that he wished he himself had never been born, as Job did in Job 3:3.  This was a blistering condemnation from the very mouth of Jesus Christ Himself, who is the ultimate Judge of all with respect to salvation (John 5:22).  [It is true on the other hand that God the Father is our Judge with respect to our reward, the office we will be given in the Kingdom – 1 Peter 1:17, Matt. 20:23]  I see what we read in Matthew 26:24 and Mark 14:21 as nothing other than a statement that Judas Iscariot will be in the third resurrection, the resurrection of the incorrigible to be burned up in the lake of fire. 

Suppose Judas had really not understood what he was doing and will have his first real chance for eternal life later.  Then, if Judas still possibly would have a chance for eternal life, how could Jesus have said that it would have been better for Judas had he not been born?  Maybe I am wrong – in fact, I hope I am wrong (God does not wish that any should perish – 2 Peter 3:9, and we are supposed to be developing in ourselves the attitude of Jesus Christ and of God the Father) – but I see no other obvious way around Jesus’ plain statement.

Note also in John 19:11 that Jesus told Pilate “the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”  Although in the Greek the subject translated “the one” is somewhat ambiguous, the verb translated “has” (ἔχει) is third person singular – requiring a singular subject.  Jesus could not have been talking about the Sanhedrin or the soldiers who turned Him over to them.  The “one who had the greater sin” was none other than the betrayer, Judas Iscariot.  (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown (and also Irwin) in their commentaries thought that Jesus was referring to the high priest Caiaphas here – but such was very unlikely as we will see from other Scriptures.)

Why was Judas uniquely evil among the “bad guys” of the Bible, singularly worse than any of the other villains I mentioned earlier, who were not condemned in this way?  Remember what Jesus said about the mob, the chief priests and the Roman soldiers who sneered and mocked at Him (Luke 23:34-36)?  He did not condemn any of them – including Caiaphas, Annas or Pilate.  He said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (as was also mentioned by Peter in Acts 3:17).  The total contrast here should tell us something.  Christ was asking His Father to forgive the Sanhedrin, the mob and the Romans who were killing Him.  But His statement the previous evening regarding Judas Iscariot was completely different – it expressed no forgiveness but rather total condemnation.  In contrast to the mob, the chief priests and the Roman soldiers (who did not realize that they were killing the Messiah), Judas knew exactly what he was doing when he betrayed Jesus.  Judas had seen the miracles which Jesus performed and had been there when Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah (John 6:68-71). 

Judas Iscariot was a human type of Satan himself in a way that no other person mentioned in the Bible ever was.   The angel (Heylel or Lucifer) who became Satan had been trained by God at the throne of God for a long period of time but then rebelled and lifted his hand directly against God (Isaiah 14:12-17, Ezekiel 28:12-19).  Similarly Judas was trained by God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, for almost 3-1/2 years – not like Adam who was perhaps trained for a few days, or Solomon to whom God appeared twice in vision.  Just as Heylel/Lucifer had been trained at the throne of God, Judas had been trained by God in the flesh.  Lucifer thought he knew better than God and could rule the universe better than God could.  Likewise, Judas apparently thought Jesus was out of control (or something similar) and that a “roughing up” or something similar from the chief priests would bring Jesus to His senses – although Judas apparently had not intended or realized that the betrayal would actually result in the murder of Jesus (Matt. 27:3-5).  Remember that Satan himself entered Judas after Jesus gave him the piece of bread after dipping it (John 13:26-27).  So Judas Iscariot turned Jesus over to the custody of Satan’s government – enabling the fulfillment of the prophecy in Gen. 3:15.

Just as Lucifer – in full knowledge of exactly what he was doing – rebelled against God and became Satan, Judas likewise not only disobeyed but lifted his hand – not merely against God’s representatives as Korah and Uzziah did, but directly against God Himself – and his act led to the murder of God.  Judas had already planned to betray Jesus and he decided to go ahead with his plan even after personally hearing the chilling warning from the mouth of Jesus (compare Matt. 26:25 with the previous verse).  Judas was not acting in ignorance as were the chief priests and the Romans (Acts 3:17).  He had seen Jesus perform miracle after miracle after miracle.  As we read earlier in Matt. 27:3-5, the Bible in fact suggests that Judas did not actually intend for Christ to be killed.  However, still, Judas thought he had a better way – not a better way than God’s fallible human representatives, but a better way than God Himself.  And he was willing to lift his hand against God, in full knowledge that he was doing so, to try to impose his “better way” on God – just as Satan had done earlier.  And if Judas in fact did not intend murder, did he come in humble repentance to the resurrected Christ?  No.  Christ certainly would have accepted him back had he done so.  But Judas instead chose to commit suicide.

Remember that when Peter similarly for a brief moment thought he knew better than Jesus, Jesus called out such as the attitude of Satan (Matt. 16:21-23, Mark 8:31-33). 

What does all of this mean for us today?  As we prepare for Passover we should see in ourselves Barabbas, the mob who called out for Jesus’ crucifixion, and the Roman soldier who actually killed Him.  We are all sinners and our sins killed Christ.  But the ones who condemned Christ and killed Him did so in ignorance – just as when we started to sin we did not realize that our actions had killed the Messiah. 

But what Judas Iscariot did was sin at a whole different level.  It is an example of how an attitude of resentment can lead to lifting one’s hand against God Himself.  We need to watch our attitudes.  Bad things happen in our lives which we know God could have prevented.  People make mistakes.  God’s representatives make mistakes.  But we can never allow this to lead us to resent God Himself.  We must always avoid the attitude of thinking we know better than God. When we have the attitude of “Why does God allow this?  Why did God let this happen to me?  If I were running things I could do better,” we are getting perilously close to the attitude of Judas – and of Satan.  We are getting close to an attitude of rebellion against God Himself.

If we ever find ourselves doing this – that is the time to recognize it, say to ourselves “STOP!” and pray to God to remove the attitude from us.  As Elihu pointed out to Job, we need to remember that God is greater than man (Job 33:12).  He has a tremendously greater mind than ours, and can see – and declare – the end of a situation from its beginning (Isaiah 46:10).  Job also had feelings of resentment toward God but he, unlike Judas, came out of this attitude when God confronted him.  We have his good example – and the bad examples of Judas and Satan -- to show us what we need to do so that Christ may never say of any of us some day, “It would have been better for that man if he had never been born.”  May this never be said of any of us – but rather may all of us be greeted by Christ at His return with “Well done, good and faithful servant.”