Jesus, Barabbas, and the Right and Left’s Stance Towards Violence and Social Change
When we look at the story of the crucifixion and Easter, one of the figures that emerges is the figure of Barabbas. He was the one that infamously was released in the place of Jesus, and thus avoid crucifixion. Sometimes there is the temptation to paint Barabbas as just a run of the mill criminal- a murderer, rapist, or thief. However, this fails to account for what his real role was and also how he contrasted so much with Jesus Christ. We miss the incredible symbolism of him being released and embraced by the people in exchange for Jesus. Barabbas was a Jewish revolutionary against the oppressive regime of Rome. Therefore, for many of the people he would not have been seen with disgust but rather as a hero against the oppression. They could even point to Old Testament passages to give them justification to support the violence that Barabbas represented.
Barabbas stands in direct opposition to the path and message of Jesus, which was explicitly nonviolent as he refused to join in the revolutionary movement against Rome. Though the Gospels are filled with anti-Imperial language, Jesus explicitly tells the people not to violently resist Rome, but to be peacemakers, turn the other cheek, and love their enemies. He weeps over the fact that the city of Jerusalem will choose the pathway of violence and reject his path. This becomes a reality in AD 70 when Rome destroys the city.
I believe it is vital, particularly this year, and this Easter season, for those across the ideological spectrum to really understand the significance of Barabbas and his contrast to Jesus. At the end of the day, there is a tendency for both those on the right and left to want to seize political power at any cost and even justify violence in the name of order, freedom, or social change. We see this, particularly on the American right with the justification for war and harsh police immigration policies. We even see this in the sacrosanct nature that we view our revolution against Great Britain, which despite all the language we use about us being founded as a Christian nation was the very opposite of what Jesus taught. We also though see it oftentimes on the left, where at least recently the ideas of non-violence have often been dismissed as unrealistic or even weak. I have seen this recently as sometimes the ideas and approach of those that followed in the path of Jesus such as Dr. King are dismissed as ineffective. There is also a tendency to glorify and paint with a distorted brush leftist movements that employ violence for revolutionary ends.
Understanding who Barabbas was and the contrast he had with Jesus should hopefully cause those of faith across the political spectrum to more fully grasp the real radical message of Jesus, which on one hand refused to embrace or give legitimacy the imperialistic regime of Rome, but also refused to join in violence against it. Instead, it took the violence of Rome on itself and in that self-sacrifice began dismantling the power of violence, empire, and oppression.
