Saul’s Misplaced Zeal (Acts 9, 22, 26)

 Back to Saul— breathing out threatenings and slaughter, who wanted to kill every last one of the Lord’s disciples: he went to the high priest in Jerusalem for authorization to purge all the synagogues in Damascus of followers of the way of Jesus. 

Christianity became known as The Way based on Christ calling Himself “the way” (John 14:6). It also reminds us that there is a path to following Christ. It’s not just a decision in a moment. It’s a lifestyle.[1]

 His plan was to arrest and chain any of Jesus’ followers—women as well as men[2]—and transport them back to Jerusalem. He traveled north toward Damascus with a group of companions.

Damascus was the middle of a huge commerce network, with trade stretching into Mesopotamia, Persia, and Arabia. If the new “Way” of Christianity flourished in Damascus, it would spread fast. To Saul, The Way had to be stopped in Damascus.[3]

Suddenly a light flashes from the sky around Saul, and he falls to the ground at the sound of a voice (speaking in Aramaic – Acts 26).[4] The Lord: Saul, Saul, why are you attacking Me?[5] It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 26) Saul: Lord, who are You?

Goads are spikes used to prod farm animals.[6] Sometimes a stubborn ox kicks back against the goad and wounds itself. This proverb has to do with the pointlessness of rebelling against lawful authority.

The Lord: I am Jesus. I am the One you are attacking. Get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. Enter the city. You will learn there what you are to do. 

 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26) 

 His other traveling companions just stand there, paralyzed, speechless because they, too, heard the voice; but there is nobody in sight.  Saul rises to his feet, his eyes wide open, but he can’t see a thing. So his companions lead their blind friend by the hand and take him into Damascus. He waits for three days—completely blind—and does not eat a bite or drink a drop of anything. 

Meanwhile, in Damascus a disciple named Ananias had a vision in which the Lord Jesus spoke to him. (He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. – Acts 22) The Lord: Ananias. Ananias: Here I am, Lord. 

Ananias was likely one of Saul's targets for arrest in Damascus. He served as first bishop of that city.[7]The Greek Church has a tradition that Ananias was one of the seventy-two disciples, and that he was martyred; they celebrate his martyrdom on the first of October.[8]

The Lord: Get up and go to Straight Boulevard. Go to the house of Judas, and inquire about a man from Tarsus, Saul by name. He is praying to Me at this very instant. He has had a vision—a vision of a man by your name who will come, lay hands on him, and heal his eyesight. 

Ananias: Lord, I know whom You’re talking about. I’ve heard rumors about this fellow. He’s an evil man and has caused great harm for Your special people in Jerusalem. I’ve heard that he has been authorized by the religious authorities to come here and chain everyone who associates with Your name. 

The Lord: Yes, but you must go! He is my chosen vessel to bring My name far and wide—to outsiders, to kings, and to the people of Israel as well. I have much to show him, including how much he must suffer for My name. So Ananias went and entered the house where Saul was staying. He laid his hands on Saul and called to him. 

 Ananias: Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, sent me so you can regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 22 - “‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 

 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes,[9]and he could see.  

So he got up, received the ceremonial washing of baptism identifying him as a disciple, ate some food (remember, he had not eaten for three days), and regained his strength. He spent a lot of time with the disciples in Damascus over the next several days.  

 Then he went into the very synagogues he had intended to purge, proclaiming, Saul: Jesus is God’s Son![10]

Let’s see what we can learn from Saul in this passage.   

“Saul, breathing out threatenings and slaughter.” That kind of language is also very frequent in the Greek writers, who use it to represent a remarkable amount of hostility.  Luke wrote in a sophisticated version of Greek called Koine Greek. It is likely he was trained in Greek classics. This kind of language is found often there. For example:

They came into the assembly, breathing mutual slaughter. (Theocritus)

They breathed spears, and pikes, and helmets, and crests, and greaves, and the fury of redoubted heroes. (Aristophanes)

His description of Saul shows someone desperately and incessantly bent on accomplishing the destruction of the objects of its resentment.[11]

Why was Saul so mad? He was convinced that Jesus was dead and buried. He did not believe the resurrection happened. As a Pharisee, a keeper of the law, he was bent on wiping out this idolatrous and blasphemous movement. You see a bit of zealotry shine through as he is determined to kill the enemies of his faith.[12] It’s not clear if he participated in the Zealot movement (as they generally targeted Rome), but his embrace of violence as a means of advancing or protecting God’s kingdom surely had some overlap.

So, envision Saul as a Jewish hero to probably all but the Essenes. He is a Pharisee, using the method of Zealots to kill these Jewish insurrectionists, which the Sadducees probably appreciated, since keeping their own people in line kept them in good standing with Rome.

I don’t think I can overstate this: Saul was profoundly convinced that he was God’s man doing God’s work. He told the church in Philippi,

“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” (Philippians 3:4-6)

That was his mindset when God confronted him: “I am crushing it. Surely God is pleased with me!” In this context, Jesus’ greeting to him is either obvious or shocking. “Saul, Saul,” is a repetition that signifies intimate personal address. Here are all the examples in Scripture other than God’s address to Saul.

 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven,“Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. (Genesis 22:11) 

And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,” he replied. (Genesis 46:2) 

God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” ( Exodus 34:4) 

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10) 

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things…” (Luke 10:41) 

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31)

In all cases, it is not language of anger or condemnation. It is the gentle address of a caring Heavenly Father.  Here is Saul, violently hunting down and killing followers of Jesus, and Jesus “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,”[13] so of course Jesus loved him in the midst of his sin.

Meanwhile, Saul knows the OT, which is full of stories of God appearing to and speaking to people. This should be amazing for Saul: God is speaking to him! He must be doing GREAT!  But then Jesus says that Saul is actually persecuting him. (At that time, treatment of messengers reflected the attitude toward their sender.)[14]

It must have been overwhelming for Saul to do the math. If by persecuting the followers of Jesus he is persecuting God, then Jesus must be God, which means those pesky rumors about Jesus rising from the dead must be true.

It’s hard to imagine what was going on inside Saul.

In spite of all this, God calls him a “chosen vessel.”  It’s a very Jewish way of describing Saul as an excellent or well-adapted instrument, a choice or eminent person. How can this be? It turns out that Saul has attributes that, if applied to kingdom work, are fantastic.

• His character: dedicated zealously to the purity of his faith  

• His education: trained Jewish; trained in Greek by Roman benefactors, so primed to be all things to all people.

• His reputation: stellar. He was the upcoming next big thing in his circles.

To the early Christians, Paul must have looked like a monster because of the outcome of his actions, and understandably so. As church history unfolds, we continue to see far too many times when zealous followers of God get His will terribly wrong. 

• The Inquisition and other periods of intra-church violence, Christians believed they were protecting truth, saving souls, and guarding orthodoxy, yet used fear, coercion, imprisonment, and torture in the name of Christ. Even John Calvin had a man burned at the stake over theological differences.

• Colonial missionary efforts toward Indigenous peoples, including the forced removal of Native American children into government and church-run schools in order to “kill the Indian and save the man.” Cultural erasure and family separation were framed as obedience to the Great Commission.

• In the Crusades, nations and armies claimed to advance Christendom at the edge of the sword, and large segments of the church supported violence because they believed God’s kingdom would expand through conquest.

• The church’s long defense of slavery. Scripture was quoted sincerely.
  Pulpits defended the system. Faithful Christians believed they were upholding God’s order—while denying the image of God in others.

• Antisemitism within Christian theology and practice. People as famous as Martin Luther portrayed Jews as Christ-killers, cursed, or rejected by God. This theological zeal helped justify centuries of violence, exclusion, and persecution. (Hitler was a fan of Luther.)

• The silencing of abuse “for the sake of the church.” Victims were told to forgive quickly. Leaders were protected to avoid scandal. What was framed as protecting God’s reputation often perpetuated harm.

In nearly every one of these moments, the church was not trying to rebel against God. The church believed it was being faithful – but it wasn’t.

To the victims in all of these circumstances, it must be really hard to see people doing terrible things under the banner of zealous allegiance to God and respond with imprecatory prayers and a desire for their destruction. And I totally get it. It’s a very human response to human rights violations.

But Jesus has a Jesus-like response to Paul (and I assume others who have sincerely used their power and skills in the belief they were doing God’s will, but were actually in the service of evil).

God sees what is possible on the other side of redemption. There is something here about hope and potential.

Don’t hear me say that God does not see what is happening in the moment. A God whose love is just will not be indifferent to injustice. God stopped Saul, after all. The Bible is clear that God is on the side of the oppressed.

Yet a God whose love is merciful and redemptive also knows what could happen in a surrendered and repentant heart, which is why God did not give up on Saul, and God will not give up on…..here you fill in the blank. Think big.

Immediately, God asks His people to trust that He can do transformational miracles. Paul seeks fellowship with the very people he was there to arrest. God could have informed him at once what His will was – He and Saul were having a conversation after all – but God chose to send Saul to God’s people. Why? Believer’s Bible Commentary offers two suggestions. I’m going to paraphrase:

• First, so that those already in the Kingdom clearly understand the love and forgiveness God expects of them.

• Second, so that those new to the kingdom experience the goodness of God through the goodness of God’s people.

Being a follower of Jesus is a high calling. Much has been given to us; much is required. It will be hard to love, forgive, confront, embrace, repent, be peacemakers; it’s a challenge to consistently show gentleness, meekness, and humility when we want so badly to be harsh, blustering, and proud.

Following in the path of Jesus is a high calling and a hard one. There’s a reason Jesus told his disciples to count the cost. (Luke 14:28-30) Following Jesus is a sacrifice that will cost us something if we take it seriously. But when we do, we introduce people to the goodness of God by living as faithful ambassadors of God.

And when you consider that kind of community, does it not sound like a beautiful place to be? A place built on the foundation of the cruciform love of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and filled with people who increasingly remind us of Jesus. 

No wonder the next thing we read is that Paul began to testify powerfully (Acts 9:20). He had met Jesus; that was life-changing. And then he met the followers of Jesus who faithfully represented Jesus, and that was life-changing.  

* * * * *

Pastor: Lord, when we are full of zeal but mistaken about what You are actually calling us to…

Congregation: Slow us down, open our eyes, and turn our passion toward Your heart.

Pastor: When we are convinced we are defending You, yet our lives reveal fear, anger, pride, or harm…

Congregation: Remind us that You call us by name, not to shame us, but to heal us.

Pastor: When we are confident in our knowledge, our tradition, or our certainty…

Congregation: Teach us again that You are Jesus, the One we meet in mercy, the One we meet in truth.

Pastor: When our blindness is self-inflicted, when we kick against what You are doing in us…

Congregation: Give us the courage to stop resisting and the humility to be led by Your hand.

Pastor: When we struggle to believe that transformation is possible in others, or in ourselves…

Congregation: Remind us that You see not only what is, but also what can be made new.

Pastor: When You call us to love difficult people, to forgive deeply, to welcome boldly…

Congregation: Fill us with Your Spirit, so Your goodness is made visible through Your people.

Pastor: Lord Jesus, You met Saul on the road, You met him through Your people, and You sent him out with good news.

Congregation: As you meet us on our roads, may we respond by declaring Your mercy and Your light.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

[1] HT Orthodox Study Bible

[2] The fact that both men and women were targeted makes it clear that women had a prominent role in the early church. (Africa Bible Commentary)

[3] NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

[4] My commentary crush Adam Clarke sees God using nature as a means of divine revelation: “Verse Acts 9:3.  This might have been an extraordinary flash of [lightning] accompanied with thunder… out of this thunder, or immediately after it, Christ spoke in a distinct voice, which appears to have been understood by Saul only.”

[5] To persecute Jesus’ disciples was to persecute Jesus (Matt. 5:10–12; John 15:19, 20).

[6] “Sometimes used as a metaphor for the promptings of God (Ecc 12:11, “pointed sticks”).” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[7] Orthodox Study Bible

[8] Adam Clarke’s commentary

[9] Some of Luke’s audience may have recalled the scales or films that fell from Tobit’s eyes when he was healed in a traditional Jewish story (Tobit 3:17; 11:11 – 13). (NIV Cultural  Backgrounds Study Bible)

[10] This translation is The Voice, which you can find on Bible Gateway.

[11] Adam Clarke

[12] Paul describes himself several times as “zealous,” which has raised some questions about whether or not he was referencing Old Testament characters who were zealous for Got, the temple or the Torah, or if there was some sense in which he took the approach of the Zealots (who were Pharisees, though not all Pharisees were zealots.)

[13] Romans 5:8

[14] See Exodus 16:8; 1 Samuel 8:7; Luke 10:16).

Harmony #96: Which Jesus Would We Choose? (Matthew 27:15-31; Mark 15:6-20; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:39-19:16)

Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, who came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom.

(During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd, whomever they requested. At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus Barabbas, who had been thrown into prison with other rebels for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.)

Pilate said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. When I examined him before you, I did not find this man guilty of anything you accused him of doing. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing deserving death. It is your custom that I release one prisoner for you at the Passover.

I will therefore have him flogged and release him. ”But the chief priests and the elders stirred up the crowd and persuaded them to ask for Barabbas to be released instead and to have Jesus killed. So they all shouted out together, “Take this man away! Release Barabbas for us!”

 Pilate addressed them once again because he wanted to release Jesus, for as he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream about him today.”[1]

Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ, the king of the Jews?” (For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”

Then they shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” So Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?” They all shouted back, “Crucify him!” and kept on shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”

A third time Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done wrong? I have found him guilty of no crime deserving death. I will therefore flog him and release him.” Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called together the whole cohort. They stripped him and flogged him severely.

Then they put a purple cloak on him, and after braiding a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand, and kneeling down before him they mocked him, paid homage to him, and saluted him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” They spat on him and took the staff and struck him repeatedly on the head and face.

Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation against him.” So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Look, here is the man!”

But when the chief priests and their officers saw him, they were insistent, demanding with loud shouts, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” And their shouts prevailed. [2]

* * * * *

PILATE AND HIS WIFE

This is a church history footnote which could be an interesting study if you feel like it.  The view of Pontius Pilate split into Western and Eastern traditions. The Western tradition sees Pilate as a villain, plain and simple. At minimum, he is complicit in evil by his lack of backbone.

In Eastern traditions, however, Pilate and his wife (Procula, or Claudia) will eventually become Christians themselves. Origen taught that Claudia became a Christian after the Resurrection because of that dream. Tertullian wrote that soon after the crucifixion, Pilate converted to Christianity and tried to convince Tiberius to follow suit. Irenaeus said there was even an icon of Jesus painted by Pontius Pilate.

Some traditions claim that Claudia died as a martyr. In the Ethiopian and Coptic church, Pilate and his wife are revered as saints. [3] The Ethiopian tradition even has a feast day for them on June 25.

One reason I like this tradition is because I like being hopeful. I don’t need a villain in Jesus’ story to die a villain. I don’t even want that to be true. I love that part of church history that takes one of the most widely condemned people in the story (Pilate) and closes the story with redemption. Even if it is just tradition, it reminds us of why Jesus died, and who Jesus died for, and what God offers to all of us: salvation, redemption, hope.

JESUS AND BARABBAS

Barabbas, a Zealot, was guilty of murder and insurrection (Mark 15:6; Matthew 27:15; John 18:39). I think we might be sympathetic to some degree if we had been Jewish at that time.

He grew up under the boot of Roman Empire. How much humiliation had he and his family gone through? How many Zealot friends did he see crucified (as that was the punishment for insurrection)? He was going to fight these oppressors.[4] The people probably saw him as a man who acted on his convictions. Turn the other cheek? No, thank you. [5] It was time to pick up a sword and fight.[6] That’s what a Savior would look like.

And we get it to some degree, don’t we? Braveheart? Rob Roy? The Patriot? There is an appeal to hero who rides in (on a horse, in those three movies) to free people from tyranny and oppression, to stop injustice, to make things right. Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ depicted Barabbas as a crude, almost beastly man. I doubt that’s what was happening. Barabbas was likely much like William Wallace to many of them.

So, standing in front of the crowd, on a stage filled with Roman oppressors who had already killed thousands of their Jewish family, are two people named Jesus.

The first is Jesus Barabbas, literally “son of the father.” (‘bar’= son and ‘abba’ = father). He is the alpha male; the fighter; the zealot, the embodiment of Jewish nationalism and patriotism, one who raged against the Roman machine.

The second is Jesus, the Christ, also a Son of the Father: advocate of turning the other cheek; promoter of the power of love over the power of the sword, insisting that in his kingdom, love was the weapon that defeated enemies. To many of them, Jesus Christ must have seemed weak, maybe even cowardly. “If the Roman soldier asks you to carry his load one mile, carry it two.” (Matthew 5:41) What? That’s not the way to promote the Jewish cause!

The differences between the two could not have been more glaring.

• Barabbas promised a victory for God’s people on the world’s terms and in the world’s way. We will look at where that goes.

• Barabbas was committed to waging war against Rome with the tools of Rome: the pax Romana, peace by the sword. They hated it when it was used against them and loved it when they could use it against others.

• Barabbas’ creed was likely something like this: “Hate your enemies and do anything it takes to defeat them.”

Meanwhile,

• Jesus promised an everlasting victory for a spiritual kingdom that would transform the world with the power of Heaven. The means – love -  might not feel comfortable or powerful in the moment, but it will bring Jesus’ vision of Kingdom life as we participate in God’s plan to reconcile all things to himself. (Colossians 1:20)

• Jesus would “overcome the world” (John 16:33) not by taking the lives of others, but giving his life for others. “This is my body, broken for you.” (Luke 22:19) The cross is not just the source of our salvation, it is the shape of our lives in and for the world. We followers of Jesus are a cruciformed people called to display cruciform love.

• Jesus, on the cross, asked God to forgive those who killed him rather than directing his followers to get their vengeance. He was fighting – and winning - the greatest fight of all on their behalf already.[7] And – get this – something far more important would happen to their enemies then vengeance. They would be transformed into brothers and sisters in Christ.

But…it’s so easy to default to the world’s terms and the worlds’ way. Consider God’s chosen people in the Old Testament.

They had the 10 Commandments. They had the tabernacle. They had the prophets, judges and kings. They were equipped to be a ‘holy’ (set apart) group that demonstrated what an ‘abundant life’ looked like when with God’s image bearers aligned their hearts and hands with His plan. This was God’s plan for revealing Himself to the world! Yet they kept failing to live as God’s holy people because they kept embracing the idolatrous ways of the cultures around them. Read the prophets. Not only did their witness crumble; the community of God’s people fell into ruin.

When Jesus showed us God’s plan for God’s community of people should be present in the world, he was showing us the path of life. The problem with the way of Barabbas is that it doesn’t lead to life.  

 Remember, we harvest what we plant. (Galatians 6:7) If the way of the world’s order is what we plant – if we follow Barabbas and follow a template established by the Empire - we shouldn’t expect a different harvest. The root determines the fruit. If wise choices are justified by “her children” (her legacy, Luke 7:35), surely foolish and destructive choices is revealed by its legacy as well.

This is what happened with the way of Barabbas/Rome. Rome wiped out the Zealots and the people around them and destroyed the Temple when the Zealots used the way of Barabbas one time too many.

“The Great Revolt of 66-70, followed some sixty years later by the Bar Kokhba revolt, were the greatest calamities in Jewish history prior to the Holocaust. In addition to the more than one million Jews killed, these failed rebellions led to the total loss of Jewish political authority in Israel until 1948.”[8]

That’s the fruit of the Barabbas root. I was reading an article called “Why We Still Choose Barabbas Today.” A phrase stuck with me.

“Every time we choose Barabbas, some innocent soul somewhere ends up on a cross.”[9]

The author was not suggesting that when innocent people die they are just like Jesus. The author’s point was that the way of Barabbas always leads to innocent people paying the price. This is often referred to as “collateral damage.” In times of actual warfare, the unfortunate reality is that innocent people get hurt. Even the best and most well-intentioned attempts to keep civilians safe often fall short. Those who fight guided by Just War Theory seek to avoid this at all costs.

But in spiritual warfare – when Kingdom and Empire clash with ideas, and ideologies, and politics, and culture wars -  if we are truly following the path of Jesus, there will be no collateral damage. If every gift that comes from God is good (James 1:17), and we pass on the gifts that are given to us, then everything we pass on will be good. That’s part of the beauty of Jesus’ way. Here’s an easy test to see if we are following Jesus Barabbas or Jesus the Christ.

If the way in which we engage with people on behalf of the Kingdom results in collateral damage, we have strayed from the way of Jesus and into the way of Barabbas.

But if what we are doing is helping people to get out of the suffering or harm they are experiencing and protecting them from new damage, both practically and spiritually, that’s going to be the way of Jesus.[10]

The transforming, overwhelmingly powerful truth that Jesus revealed was the way to and of God the Father. The revelation of God as Jesus showed us the way God desires His people to be present in the world. The lesson culminated when, on the Cross, Jesus revealed definitively what God’s love and identity looks like: cruciform (“cross”), kenotic (“emptying”) love.

“It means God, in Christ, humbled himself, emptied himself of all status, safe places and physical power to selflessly reach out to the lowest levels of human existence. In an act of downward mobility he never used physical force or power in bringing the gospel to all, even to slaves, and in doing so he was crucified.  

The gospel of mercy and love, of downward empowerment, caused havoc in the worldly empires simply because it contradicts the value system of this world. Leaders and crowds can't take it. They prefer to crucify it or send it away!”[11]

Jesus entered our world and showed us the way his power should be used: he served others, ate meals with outcast sinners, empathized with the poor and the powerless, sought for and saved the lost, refused to break a bruised reed, challenged hypocrites who burdened others and distorted people’s view of God, healed the broken in body and soul, forgave and restored repentant sinners, and searched for every lost sheep until he found it.

Jesus’ power is seen in things Barabbas dismissed. It is the power of love, the embrace of grace and mercy, the emptying of self, the working for the good of others. For followers of Jesus, being "in Christ" means that this cruciform shape takes shape in us.

The secret to being present like Jesus in the world is likely going to mean being the kind of people considered weak in the eyes of the world:

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

Following Jesus means joyfully and relentlessly serving friends and enemies with sacrificial love in response to how Jesus served us.[12]

 * * * * *

We get the same question that the Jewish people got 2,000 years ago: who do we want? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus the Christ?[13] Charita Goshay has an interesting perspective on how embracing the way of Barabbas allows us to avoid the Kingdom of Truth in which Jesus is King.

They chose Barabbas because he demanded nothing from them; no self-examination, no repentance, no acts of mercy or forgiveness. Jesus, on the other hand, made folks uncomfortable. He was a radical who stood religion on its head by publicly exposing the religious hypocrisy while treating women, the poor and the powerless as people worth loving. He ate with crooks, talked to Samaritans and had the effrontery to heal on the Sabbath and forgive people of their sins. 

The crowd shouted for Barabbas that day because truth demands certain things from us. It calls us to grow up, to stretch and reexamine our innermost motives and to make sacrifices when we’d rather not…We might be required to change some things, and well, who needs that?

 We want a truth that doesn’t require anything of us. We prefer Barabbas because he doesn’t call us out. He lets us do what we want. Truth points out things that we’d rather not hear. It makes us defensive, angry and irrational until the next thing we know, we’re rooting for Barabbas with no idea how we lost our way.[14]

 We must love Gospel truth, because Christianity was designed to be the conscience of the culture, speaking truth to power, backed up by a witness in words and actions that is consistently faithful to the way of Jesus. Christians are meant to bring the salt of truthful, just and merciful love to keep the culture from decaying into deceit, injustice and mercilessness. Christians are meant to live in such a way that everything we do shines a gospel light of self-giving, cruciform love into the self-centered, unloving darkness of the broken empires in which we live.

When Satan tempted him with that power of earthly thrones, Jesus flatly rejected it. He had a better plan. He offered a vision in which power serves others out of cruciform love: the ‘haves’ (with finances, reputation, resources, etc.) take care of the ‘have nots’ (just like God gives us provision from His abundance); the healthy of all kinds take care of the sick of all kinds (just like God has done for us); the strong use their strength to take care of the weak (you see the pattern here), and the truth-tellers speak healing and hope-filled words that first illuminate and then dispel the darkness of deceit.[15]

So that we don’t get confused about which path we are on, let’s look at the truth of Jesus’ Kingdom so that we are clear about the difference between the way of Jesus Barabbas and the way of Jesus the Christ.

Barabbas was a violent revolutionary on behalf of God’s people; Jesus is the suffering servant so that all people may become God’s people (Isiah 52-53).

Barabbas hated his enemies enough to kill them to bring about God’s kingdom; Jesus loved his enemies enough to die for them to expand God’s kingdom. (John 3:16)

Barabbas wanted to destroy the lost (Romans); Jesus came to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:10)

Barabbas wanted to condemn and punish the world around him; Jesus did not come to condemn the world (it stood condemned already): he came to solve that problem and save it. (John 3:17)

Barabbas chose a solution where power bullies and coerces; Jesus chose a solution where power invites and beckons. (John 1:39)[16]

Barabbas decided that the Kingdom ends justified using Roman means; Jesus showed that the means of bringing about the Kingdom of God are inseparable from the end result of the Kingdom of God. (#sermononthemount, Matthew 5-7)

When the disciples wanted to call down fire on Samaria, they were following the way of Barabbas. (Luke 9) When they were sent there to evangelize instead, that was the way of Jesus. (Luke 10)

When Peter pulled a sword to protect Jesus and fight for the kingdom of God, that was the way of Barabbas. (Luke 22) When Jesus died on the cross to further the kingdom of God, that was the way of Jesus. (Matthew 27)

When we demand honor and prestige, that’s the way of Barabbas. When we stop pursuing honor and prestige and instead eagerly ‘esteem others better than ourselves,’ that’s the way of Jesus. (Philippians 2:3, for example)

When our priorities are formed by the demands of the powerful, that’s the way of Barabbas. When our priorities are formed by the needs of the powerless, the “least of these” found in the highways and byways and from which Jesus invites them to feast at his table, that’s the way of Jesus. (Luke 14:23)[17]

Whenever we abandon cruciform love as the heartbeat of everything we do, that’s the way of Barabbas. Whenever we embrace cruciform love as the heartbeat of everything we do, that’s the way of Jesus.[18]

There is a price to doing this. It’s not for the faint of heart. We will have to take up a cross and know the fellowship of Jesus’ suffering to know the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10). The cross testifies to the price of following Jesus into a life of cruciform love.

But, the way of Jesus is the only way for followers of Jesus.

When God wanted to confront the powers and principalities of this world, He died as an act of love. It was the most powerful thing that has happened in the history of the world. Evil, death, hell, the grave: all of it defeated through the power of Jesus’ cruciform love.

And if the power of the cross is the greatest, most profound, most sweeping power in the world – well, then being like Jesus to present Jesus to the world is the most powerful thing we can do to in a world groaning under the weight of sin-filled brokeness as it awaits God’s redemption. (Romans 8)

And because the most powerful act in human history is a man laying down his life for his enemies in an act of cruciform love, every time I am led by the Holy Spirit to respond in worship with my cruciform presence in the world, that is the most powerful thing I can do as I join in Jesus’ mission.[19]

The all-powerful God in Christ has leveraged His power for us, by his love, so that our love for our enemies would be stronger than our desire to destroy them, and thus reveal the cruciform love of Jesus.

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we proclaim. This is the way of Jesus.

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[1] From Pulpit Commentary: “In the whole history of the Passion of Christ no one pleads for him but a woman, the wife of a heathen governor, the deputy of the emperor of the world."

[2] “The most that we can say for Pilate is, that he was disposed to justice, but was not inclined to hazard his comfort or safety in doing it. He was an easy, pliable man, who had no objection to do a right thing if it should cost him no trouble; but he felt no disposition to make any sacrifice, even in behalf of innocence, righteousness, and truth.” (Adam Clarke)

[3] An author wrote on The Byzantine Forum: “I attended an Orthodox icon blessing in a private home once where there was also an Ethiopian Orthodox priest. So I took that opportunity to ask him if he and his Church really venerated "St Pontius Pilate?" To which he answered enthusiastically, "Yes, of course - don't you?"

[4] This section is considerably influenced by “Jesus or Barabbas – which “son of the father” are we following?” from One Lord One Body Ministries.

  https://onelordonebody.com/2013/08/10/jesus-or-barabbas-which-son-of-the-father-are-we-following/

[5] I’m thinking of a recent hockey game where the Canadian fans booed our national anthem because of the tension between the U.S. and Canda, and the American hockey players promptly started a brawl with the Canadian hockey players. Social media loved it. “America is back!” That may be, but it’s not looking like the way of Jesus.

[6] In 2021, a prominent speaker at a Turning Point USA conference said, in reference to how Christians should be fighting the culture wars, “We’ve turned the other cheek, and I understand, sort of, the biblical reference — I understand the mentality — but it’s gotten us nothing. OK?” In his report for Relevant, Senior Editor Tyler Huckabee wrote that [the speaker] “is more correct than he probably knows here. Christianity is a poor device for gaining worldly influence.”

[7] I am passing on things I learned in “Who do you want: Barabbas or Jesus? Power and empowerment in theological education.” Stellenbosch Theological Journal

[8] https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-great-revolt-66-70-ce

[9] Thanks to thoughtful insight found “Why We Still Choose Barabbas Today” at https://goodfaithmedia.org/why-we-still-choose-barabbas-today-cms-15823/

[10] I am borrowing thoughts articulated well “Jesus Barabbas or Jesus Christ?” at  https://www.thebanner.org/departments/2015/12/jesus-barabbas-or-jesus-christ

[11] “Who do you want: Barabbas or Jesus? Power and empowerment in theological education.” Jurgens Hendriks.

[12] A theologian and author named Marva Dawn says that the "tabernacling" (dwelling) of God that takes place in our weakness creates the openness for the power of the Holy Spirit to operate through us. "Dying to ourselves, dying to our attempts to use our own power to accomplish God's purposes are all part of the gospel of grace - the end of ourselves and therefore the possibilities of new life with Christ, in vital union to him."

[13] HT to “Why We Still Choose Barabbas Today.”  https://goodfaithmedia.org/why-we-still-choose-barabbas-today-cms-15823/

[14] HT to “Even Today, We Are Still Choosing Barabbas.”  https://www.tmnews.com/story/news/2021/04/04/commentary-even-today-were-still-choosing-barabbas/44030405/

[15] History reveals over and over that whenever Christianity seeks to join the gatekeepers exercising power in Empire culture, it stops being salt and light. (The Sanhedrin were a prime example of this in Judaism in Jesus’ day). Why does this happen? It stops speaking truth to power because it is the power, and self-reflection is uncomfortable.  It doesn’t see the decay embedded in the world order because it is using the tools of the world order, and it’s so easy to let the ends justify the means. It doesn’t effectively shine gospel light into the darkness because its compromised gospel light grows increasingly dim, and it gets harder to separate what’s dark from what’s light.

[16] Google “the invitations of Jesus”

[17] Think of the classic “quarter of the vulnerable” in the Old Testament around which Jewish society banded together to care for: widows, orphans, immigrants, and the poor. 

[18] Jesus told two of His disciples who wanted to take action like Barabbas (Luke 9:55, 56) that they didn’t know what “spirit” they are of. Jesus doesn’t want us becoming like the world while challenging the world order.  Martin Luther King Jr. was a minister deeply formed by biblical ethics. He once said, “But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

[19] I am paraphrasing some comments found at https://restorationlex.com/blog/choosing-barabbas-a-response-to-the-capitol-insurrection/. One money quote from the article: “The response to this moment is to remember who we are: the people of Jesus. Together, we are the politics of God in this world. As Stanley Hauerwas has said: “The church…stands as a political alternative to every nation, witnessing to the kind of social life possible for those that have been formed by the story of Christ.”