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“The Characters of Lent: Herod & Barabbas
Luke 23:1-25

 

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas

Lent Service III—March 4, 2015

The Herod family had run-ins with Jesus at the very beginning and very end of Jesus’ earthly life.  It was Herod the Great, the father of Herod Antipas, who met with the Wise Men and then tried in vain to kill the new-born king of the Jews by slaughtering the baby boys of Bethlehem.  Now, 30 years later, his son, Herod Antipas, has the chance to finally finish what his father began.

Herod the Great had been recognized by Rome as the king of the Jews and ruler over all Palestine.  Herod Antipas wanted to follow in his father’s steps as king, but instead he was made merely a “tetrarach,” ruler of one-fourth of his father’s former kingdom.  Most galling of all was that the prize of his father’s kingdom, Judea and the capitol city of Jerusalem, was under control of a Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

Herod Antipas did everything possible to discredit and embarrass Pilate, hoping that he would be deposed as governor and perhaps Herod would be appointed king in his place.  That is why Pilate and Herod were enemies.

On Good Friday, Pontius Pilate found himself between a rock and a hard place.  Emperor Tiberius had warned Pilate that any more problems in Judea would result in his dismissal as governor.  Pilate knew Jesus was innocent; he had in fact already declared Jesus not guilty.  But, the chief priests would not be satisfied until Jesus was put to death.  If Pilate did not give in to the chief priests’ demands, a riot might break out.  Pilate had only a few hundred troops to control the Passover crowd of over 200,000.  A riot would be a disaster, just the kind of problem the emperor had warned about. 

But, on the other hand, executing an innocent man was an unforgivable breach of justice for a Roman governor.  If word got back to Rome that Pilate had crucified Jesus after publicly proclaiming him innocent, that too would mean the end of his career.

But, then, Pontius Pilate thinks he has been provided a way out: “The chief priests insisted, ‘He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.’  On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.”

Pilate carried out a clever legal maneuver called “change of venue.”  He sent Jesus over to be tried by Herod Antipas.  For Pilate, this killed two birds with one stone: It was a great compliment to Herod Antipas, maybe helping to patch up their relationship; and, Pilate probably assumed it would result in someone else being responsible for Jesus’ death. 

Because, the Herod family was notoriously ruthless: Herod the Great had executed anyone he thought threatened his throne, including his wife, mother-in-law, two brothers-in-law, and three of his own sons.  Herod Antipas had recently followed in his father’s murderous footsteps by beheading Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist.  Since Jesus claimed to the king of the Jews, a title which Herod Antipas desperately wanted for himself, surely Herod could be counted on to “take care” of Jesus for Pontius Pilate.

But, Herod looked upon Jesus not as a threat but as a court jester: “When Herod saw Jesus, he was delighted, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what Herod had heard about Jesus, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.  He asked him many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.”  Herod did not take Jesus seriously at all; he only wanted some entertainment from the marvelous magician he had heard about.  When Jesus would not cooperate, “Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.”

A joke is sometimes made about those whose relationship to Christ’s Church is limited to being baptized, married, and buried: “hatched, matched, and dispatched.”  But, even the Herod family had such run-ins with Jesus, at the beginning and end of his earthly life.  See to it that you and your family have much more than just an occasional run-in with Jesus of Nazareth. 

That is the lesson of the Lenten story of Herod Antipas.  Amen.

Pontius Pilate was surprised and disappointed when Jesus was sent back to him from Herod, at least with his head still attached.  Herod had not “taken care” of this problem as Pilate anticipated he would.  Change of venue had failed, so now Pilate tries to set Jesus free with another legal maneuver: amnesty.

“Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.  At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas who had taken part in a rebellion, and had been thrown into prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.”

Barabbas is actually Bar-Abbas, son of Abbas.  It’s an ironic coincidence that one of the most violent terrorist group in the Middle East today goes by the name of Abbas.  That’s exactly what Barabbas was, a terrorist, supposedly on the side of the Jewish people, trying to drive out the Romans, but actually using the cause just as an excuse to commit murder and mayhem, like the brutal terrorists in the Middle East still today.  Barabbas was public enemy number one of both the Romans and the Jews.  Setting Barabbas free would be like the cases today that make us so angry, when murderers and other violent criminals go free after just a few years. 

“So, wanting to release Jesus, when the crowd had gathered Pilate appealed to them: ‘It is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover.  Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.”

Pontius Pilate knows Jesus is innocent, he wants to set Jesus free, so he gives the crowd an offer they can’t refuse: Either take Jesus, or I set Barabbas free.  Surely they will take Jesus; no one wants Barabbas on the streets again.

“But the chief priests and the elders stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead and to have Jesus executed. ‘Which of the two do you want me to release to you?’ asked the governor.  ‘Do you want me to release “the king of the Jews”?’ They shouted back, ‘No, not him! Give us Barabbas!’”  Again Pontius Pilate’s legal maneuvering fails. 

“‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’  When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead a riot was starting, their shouts prevailed.  Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them, the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.  He had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.”

All of us are like Barabbas: guilty, deserving of punishment, even death.  And yet all of us, like Barabbas, have been set free—set free from our sins, because, like Barabbas, Jesus has been condemned in our place.  Isaiah puts it this way: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.”

Did Barabbas understand why he was set free that day?  Did Barabbas repent and become a Christian out of gratitude for being saved from death?  We don’t know.  But, like Barabbas, by Jesus’ death you have been saved—saved from eternal death and damnation. 

That is the lesson of the Lenten story of Barabbas.  Amen.

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