Page 68 - laten-08-06-2020

Barabbas

Why Barabbas at the expense of Jesus Christ!?

Matthew 27:15-23; Mark 15:11-16, Luke 23:17-23; John 18:39-40
Introduction

hy Barrabbas? Really a dilemmic matter. But, curiously
Winteresting to explore more. Over the past years we had
been looking into the event of the reception of Barabbas at the
expense of the rejection of Jesus Christ. However, dilemmatic
nature of this ‘option’ is still continuing! Yet, it’s an attempt to
ponder on the event by using the specs of missional perspectives
which will help us to contemplate on mission, passion, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Barabbas was the ‘substitutive choice’ opted by the
aggressive mob who were politically misguided and manipulated
at the expense of Jesus Christ during the time of Jesus’ trials
under the control of Roman- Jewish hegemony. Evidently, it was
the plot made by the political and religious power-mongers of
the time to resist Jesus’ movement of liberative transformation.
Those fascists made people to ‘cry’ for Barabbas and ‘cry’ against
Jesus. Without considering the validity, a mob always will ‘dance
and shout’ according to the motion created by someone or
any vicious circle or group who have vested interest to do so.
Therefore, it was the false motion and a plot which was aimed at
the destruction of Jesus’ movement forever in order to safeguard
their self-motives and existence. Meanwhile, this event was also
revealing the amount of influence made by the gospel of Jesus in
the given community for the sustainable transformation which
was quite threat to the prevailing evil power structure. Jesus
movement was a constant threat and challenge to the existing
polluted structure of that period. They were disturbed! They
were waiting to end Jesus Christ.

There was a custom in the Roman-Jewish period to
release a prisoner during the time of festivals. Mathew 27: 15

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Lenten Meditations Re - Imaging People