Jesus and Barabbas

Matthew 27:15-18 & 20-26

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. . . . Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Vol. 2)

As the story of Jesus’ crucifixion winds towards its great climax, pulling more and more characters and motives into its wake, there now emerges into the light one who summed up, in the most unlikely way, one of its central themes. When Jesus dies, Barabbas goes free. . . .

By the end of the passage it is crystal clear. Barabbas represents all of us. When Jesus dies, the brigand goes free, we all go free. That, after all, is what a Passover story ought to be about. . . .

The point for Matthew is that all are guilty: the chief priests and elder who have handed Jesus over; Pilate the weak bully; and the crowds themselves. And part of the reason for stressing universal guilt is that, with the death of Jesus redemption is offered to all. What happened, close up and in sharp focus, to Barabbas is now open to all. When Jesus ides as King of the Jews, he draws on to himself the guilt and death of Israel, and thence also of the world (178-9).