Mat. 27:21 ... "The governor again said to them, 'Which of the two do you want me to release for you?' And they said, 'Barabbas.'"
How much is Jesus Christ worth to you? For what price or for what advantage would you be willing to exchange your discipleship to Him? This is a very realistic question, for people are often confronted with it. The depth and sincerity of their relationship with Jesus are tested severely as they weigh the alternatives and come to their decision. Blessed is the one who rejects wealth and privilege for the sake of his commitment to Jesus. But everyone is not so blessed. There are those who find that Jesus is not worth as much as material gain, or the favor of peers, or the higher rung on the ladder of professional or social success.
Would anyone deny that the twelve men Jesus called to be His apostles occupied the highest positions attainable to men in the kingdom of God? And yet, one of them (Judas Iscariot) reached the conclusion that thirty pieces of silver was a fair price for which to sell his discipleship to Jesus. For well nigh twenty centuries people have condemned Judas for such meanness of spirit. Nevertheless, there are a great many individuals among us who once answered Jesus' call to be His disciples who have done virtually what Judas did. They ignore the service of their Savior to make a few dollars more with which to indulge themselves in the possessions and pleasures of the world. They will easily sacrifice the time they should give to Jesus in worship, evangelizing, and doing benevolent deeds to devote it rather to the effort to claim a larger slice of "the good life."
The crowds of Jerusalem valued the leadership and will of their clergy more than they did Jesus. Matthew reports that "the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus, (27:20). These spiritual "guides" of Israel moved in an aura of public esteem, if not awe; and their decisions were highly respected, even feared, by the common people. John states that they "feared the Jews"*, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue," (Jno. 9:22). To have the support, approval, and favor of these powerful men was of more value to the crowds than the Son of God. And so it is today! There are many of Jesus' disciples who will sell their loyalty to Him to gain the favor of those who are influential but hold views inimical to Jesus, His doctrine, and His church.
Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, valued his political career more than he did Jesus. He had concluded that Jesus was a "righteous man" (Mat. 27:24) since he could "find no guilt in Him," (Jno. 19:6). He wanted to let Jesus go, but the crowds retorted, "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend!" (Jno. 19:12). Though morally corrupt, Pilate was politically very astute. He knew that provincial governors had been recalled by Caesar because of the outcry of the native population over some emotional issue. Therefore the reply of the populace was for Pilate the near miss of a deadly projectile, the successor to which might find its mark. He immediately sold whatever value he had found in Jesus for the good will of the multitude in order to secure his political position. In like fashion many of Jesus' disciples today will readily surrender their commitment to His high and holy standard in order to secure their place in some position in life desirable to them. If maintaining their bond to Jesus threatens to bring them into opprobrium in their community, they will sever that bond to eliminate the threat. Their career and what it takes to develop it is of more value than allegiance to Jesus.
*In the Fourth Gospel, the term, "the Jews," often (as here) refers to the theocratic hierarchy of Judaism rather than the mass of Jewish commoners.
