For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy

 

 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.  

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

 

- Mark 15:1–11 

 

Yesterday we read that as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."  And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.

 

  Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  My study Bible comments that while the Jewish religious law dictated the death penalty for blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16), under Roman occupation the Jews were prohibited from carrying out an execution.  So, therefore, they had to get a sentence issued by Pilate, the Roman governor.  

Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  My study Bible notes that Pilate's question, "Are You the King of the Jews?" comes from the political charges made against Jesus. Since Pilate would not execute a man over religious matters, the chief priests had to find a political crime of which to accuse Jesus which would guarantee the death penalty.  Therefore they accuse Jesus of making Himself an earthly king, which would be considered treason against Caesar.

And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.   According to my study Bible, that the Savior answered nothing fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7, which portrays the Messiah being silent as He is led "as a sheep to the slaughter."

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  Pilate seeks to release Jesus, for he knows He is innocent (Mark 15:10, 14; John 18:38, 19:4-6).  So, he turns to the crowd for support, hoping they will ask for Jesus in spite of the chief priests.  My study Bible notes also that Barabbas means "son of the father."  So, ironically, the crowds must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  It says that by influencing the crowds to choose Barabbas, the chief priests indicate to which father they belong (see John 8:44). 

 

 It is quite interesting that Barabbas means "son of the father," and therefore -- as my study Bible points out -- the crowds must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  It gives a type of poetic expression to something much more common than one might suspect, that the true and false are often not such glaringly obvious choices, but rather that one is a counterfeit of the other.  It is as if one poses as the other in order to mislead, and for the devil's own ends, who is himself the father of the false (see again John 8:44).  This is also illustrated quite clearly by Jesus' parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30).  This parable is frequently called the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, but it's important to understand that these particular "weeds" (or tares) are a plant that closely resembles wheat, a kind of false wheat that is inedible for human beings.  It's especially noteworthy that these weeds resemble closely the wheat, the crop beneficial for human beings, because this is the way we're taught that evil operates, that the devil operates.  So human beings frequently find that they have a choice not just between what's true and what's false, but rather between what is true and authentic versus what is a sham, a false presentation designed to resemble what is true but in effect presenting to us shabby and misleading goods that are not good for us at all.  This is the case with Barabbas and Christ.  One indeed is the Son of the Father, and the other is a false liberator, one in whom the people should not place their hopes.  Throughout the history of Israel, there is this basic struggle between reliance upon God, and placing faith in being like the Gentiles.  That is, faith in weaponry, wealth, and material power.  It is not that these things should not exist, but they must not come first.  When finally David is chosen as God relents and allows the people the kings they seek, it is of primary importance that David is a follower of God, one who will keep all of God's commandments.  Strict material power and prosperity does not come first.  Should David fail to do this, the kingdom will be lost.  The same lesson is given to David's successor, his son Solomon, and while Solomon begins well, other false gods -- for all kinds of reasons -- begin to creep in.  The eventual outcome is loss of the kingdom, and exile for the people.  In Matthew's Gospel, when Peter took up a sword to defend Christ at His arrest, Jesus says, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).  But this works as a kind of warning stretching over this period in which Jesus prophesies the destruction to come in Israel, specifically at the Siege of Jerusalem in AD 70.  For faith in those like Barabbas will not ultimately save Israel nor will it save the temple.  The counterfeit always resembles the authentic and true, in order to deceive.  It is a similar analogy to heresies in the Church; they sound like the truths we know, but ultimately they deceive and lead to the wrong place.  In a world dominated by the garish and fantastic in our entertainments, and seduced by violence and manipulation, it's important to remember the nature of deceit:   that so often it takes on the costume of a phony resemblance to truths we know, a false front.  Good and evil frequently take on the characteristics of the wheat and the weeds that look so much alike, and it's only in the consumption and aftermath that we realize we've been had.  Here the chief priests stirred up the crowd for their own ends, while the true Son of God stands meekly without speaking in His own defense.  Barabbas, the "son of the father" comes as brigand and revolutionary, perhaps akin to the popular idea of a Robin Hood, but who will he save?  How will he save?  For there is one Savior here, and He is easily overlooked by those who trust in mammon before God.  How will we know true from false?  Let us put our trust first in God, and seek God's kingdom, and let all things fall in line behind that priority.  In our passions we will be misled, in our astonishment and awe for power and all the products of material achievement we can be deceived, in all the means of manipulation available to empire we may find ourselves with false information and misleading news.  Those who seek to deceive do so for their own gain and motivations, even acccusing others of things they've done themselves.  Ultimately it all depends upon where our trust is first, so that we may know the counterfeit.  Jesus warns us of false saviors, false christs, teaching us that "by their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:15-20).  Bad fruit and "wheat" that fails to nurture are warnings to us about the paths we choose, and in whom we will put our trust.  Let us follow Him.