Jesus, Barnabas And Pontius Pilate Series

Each week, we have asked you to identify with the characters in the Passion story. Today, we see ourselves in the crowd. Picture of the crowd. The crowd gathered there at 6 AM to call for the crucifixion of Jesus. And often we think of that crowd and associate them with the Jews of that day. And I have to say that is absolute heresy. Not all of the Jews in Jesus’ day called for his crucifixion. It was perhaps a very small crowd of people, maybe as many as are gathered today in the sanctuary, standing in front of the Antonio fortress and calling for Jesus to be crucified. Who were these people? Most who encountered Jesus saw him as a great teacher, a prophet speaking on God’s behalf, a wonder worker. I believe some of those gathered were the sellers in the temple whose tables were overturned by Jesus and were chased out of the temple by him. They must have felt that their livelihood was being threatened. So they must have cried out as an act of self-preservation to have him crucified. Then there were those gathered who were thugs and rebel rousers and just enjoyed seeing violent things happen. Still others must have been part of the zealots, a passionately committed minority whose desire was not only for religious freedom but political freedom too. They no doubt wanted one of their leaders freed so their insurrection would continue.

No doubt still others had come out of concern for Jesus and had been there at the gates as he processed into the Holy City, crying out, Hosanna, son of David. Blessed in he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And yet just days later, they call for his crucifixion. How could they have been so fickle? Just like everyone who approached Jesus, they had an idea of what the Messiah was going to be like. Some were looking to Jesus to lead an insurrection and throw off the bonds of Rome and free them from oppression. This had been their hope and expectation and prayer for decades. Jesus was not the first. According to Josephus, the historian, between the time when Jesus was born and when he came to Jerusalem for the Passover, there were at least 8 different persons hailed as Messiah by at least some of the people of Israel. Each of these would gather several 100 or 1000 to fight along side them. But every one of them fought by the sword and understood this was the central task of the Messiah. This was what the people were looking for in Jesus. How he must have sorely disappointed them.

When he began to teach in the temple courts, do you remember what he said, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Blessed are you who suffer for what is true and right. Blessed are the meek and blessed are the peacemakers. If a Roman soldier calls you to carry his backpack for one mile, carry it for two. If a Roman strikes you on the cheek then turn the other cheek. When it came to the oppressive taxes which in some cases exceeded 60% of your income, Jesus looking at one of their coins and seeing the Roman insignia said, Render under Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s and under God the things that are God’s. This is not what the people are looking for, nor what they were wanting to hear. By Friday, they had come to the conclusion that this Jesus was just another wannabe because he went against the grain of what everyone of those people expected. The only way to survive in this world and attain freedom was by force and the power of the sword. Jesus said to them, this is not the way to be free but rather by demonstrating to them sacrificial love.