But who was Barabbas? His name means "Son of
the Father," which was the appellation that Jesus had given for himself. This is a huge hint that readers and listeners
are supposed to contrast the two. Jesus,
who was blameless, was condemned, and the other "Son of the Father"
was shown undeserving mercy.
Pilate is also an obvious foil to Jesus. One is the representative of an earthly
kingdom, the other a representative of God's kingdom. One can and does kill to get his way, the
other turns the other cheek. One is justice incarnate, the other the perpetrator of gross injustice.
But do the Gospels also tell us something about the relationship between these two foils of Jesus, Barabbas and Pilate? Some more detail on Barabbas is in order. He was not any ordinary criminal. He was involved in a riot, or rebellion, and was an insurrectionary, one who likely killed Romans and their collaborators. So the unjust prefect of Rome set free the violent revolutionary, and played their roles in the execution of Jesus. I wonder if the two shook hands, or perhaps winked at each other. As John Crossan, a very
smart biblical scholar, has asked, "What was a bandit but an emperor on the make, what was an emperor but a bandit on the throne?"
Yes, the bandit is the emperor.
Once this insight sunk in, these
two started showing up everywhere. He's
the drug kingpin in Mexico who battles the federal army and tries to control streets in
Chicago. He is the bloody dictator of
the Soviet Union who started out robbing banks to finance the revolution. He is the signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence
who was wanted by the British for smuggling.
He is the police anti-gang squad that under color of law participated in
unprovoked
shootings and beatings, planting of false evidence, framing of
suspects, stealing, dealing narcotics, bank robbery, perjury and covering up of
evidence.
I don't know
whether all the sinners are saints, but it seems to me that all the Pilates were
Barabbases.
No comments:
Post a Comment