Most people don’t realize this but when Jesus was wrongly convicted and executed, another person also named Jesus went free in his place. He is more popularly known as Barabbas, but his full name was in fact Jesus Barabbas.

The Other Jesus.

Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” (Bible, Book of Matthew Chapter 27)

Jesus Christ promoted world peace, care for the marginalized, forgiveness, love, and the use of religion in a way that frees people and doesn’t spiritually (or otherwise) oppress them. He taught his students in The Way - a teaching that forced them to GIVE UP their power, privilege, and comfort, for the benefit of others. He modeled an advanced form of leadership, where those in charge would do the hardest jobs and the greatest would become the least. For his beliefs and actions against the status quo of the day he, sadly, lost his life.

Jesus Barabbas, on the other hand, had a leadership style perhaps more familiar to the people of that time. We are told that he had killed people and took part in a rebellion.

A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. (Bible, Book of Mark Chapter 15)

barrabas is an archetype

Whether it’s warranted or not, Barabbas has become an archetype. He is a powerful contrast to Jesus Christ.

Barabbas represents violence over peace, hate over love, power over sacrifice, political expediency over spiritual revolution. There have been books written on him, movies made about him, and he has been the topic of countless sermons.

It is not lost on me that The Other Jesus went free while Jesus went to the cross. The people of that day made their choice and I am convinced we will often make the same choice over and over again.

We do not want to hear the voice of Jesus today. He tells us we’re sick and there’s a problem. He tells us we need to change. Whereas the Barabbases of our day tell us we’re basically good people and while there is a problem, the problem is mostly ‘out there’ and not inside ourselves.

We don’t like Jesus’ methods, his “way of the Cross” where we are called to lay down our power, pleasure, and privileges for the sake of others. We don’t like his call to compassion, where we ‘suffer with’ others and share their burdens.

We much prefer Barabbas and his “way of the Sword”, which serves to increase our power, pleasure and privileges whilst still maintaining our image of being good people. The Other Jesus comes to us, like a snake in the garden, and whispers that we can insulate ourselves from the pain of others by the successful wielding of power. Rather than sharing others burdens, we “fix problems” and this becomes yet another trophy in our case of good deeds.

We especially resent Jesus, he forgives people, he shows abundant grace to those we hate and those who have hurt us. He’s patient, too patient. He hangs out with our enemies and seems to enjoy their time together. Jesus is just too joyful, which is highly inappropriate given the direness of the times we live in. He’s eating, drinking, laughing, healing - while the world goes to hell in a handbasket. He teaches us all things can be made right in the end through reconciliation, which is a bridge too far.

Barabbas is far more palatable. He convinces us that things can only be made right in the end through revenge. The Other Jesus is somber and warlike. He looks the part. He feeds our feelings of grievance.

And he will let us off the hook with our enemies - not only does he refuse to call us out when we don’t forgive, he calls us to kill, not love, our enemies.

Turning People into DOGS

Barabbas teaches us a worldview that makes our enemies into DOGS.

D - Demonized

O - Otherized

G - Given up on

S - Simplified

In following the way of Barabbas, people are Demonized. They are inherently evil. They haven’t made unhealthy choices, rather, they were born bad. As such, they become Otherized and not one of us. This makes it cognitively easier to Give Up on them. We do this through killing them - whether it be a literal killing, a social killing, a verbal killing, or a relational killing. Indeed, to “kill” one of our own would be too distressing, hence we must otherize them and tell ourselves it was hopeless to ever try engaging them.

Finally, we complete the process of making our enemies DOGS by Simplifying them, their motives and their experiences. “They’re a bad person”, “He’s a narcissist”, “She’s just plain crazy”. This shuts down the possibility of further exploration and prevents us from experiencing the pain and discomfort of unresolved tension.

turning dogs into people

An enemy could be someone you’ve never met, in a faraway land, a person on the other side of the comments section or someone who is sitting right next to you at this moment. A rough criteria for who is an enemy is anyone towards whom you engage in the Three R’s:

R- Rage

R- Resentment

R- Rumors

But Jesus offers hope that we can turn our DOGS back into people. We can see them as human, not monsters. And in doing so we realize that they are in fact “one of us”, because we are all one. When we have trouble seeing this truth, we can look for areas of connection through eating together, sharing something we’ve made, or listening to music.

When we’re tempted to give up and write someone off, Jesus pushes us towards prayer, meditation, centering and then eventual forgiveness when we are more grounded internally. When asked “how many times should I forgive someone?” Jesus essentially says forgiveness is not a decision, it is a lifestyle.

And when we arrive at that place of forgiveness we are able to listen. Listening to the experiences, beliefs and motivations of others helps us to once again see the complexities of those around us. We go from seeing others in black and white, back to seeing them in high definition color again.

We’re still choosing

It is sad, but maybe predictable as well.

In the end, the Barabbases of Christ’s day got what they wanted. In 66 AD the insurrection in Israel went full tilt. The desire to kick out the Roman occupiers and restore the greatness of Israel led to the First Jewish-Roman war. For a brief time, they dispelled the Roman legions and enjoyed independence. But in the end Rome came back and crushed the rebellion, destroyed the temple, and killed an untold number of people.

By the time these scriptures in Matthew had been published all of these events had already unfolded.

The Way of Barabbas had been proven a failure.

And yet humanity chooses The Other Jesus again and again.