And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will

 

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who has been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

 

- Luke 23:13–25 

 

Yesterday we read that the whole multitude of the religious leaders who seized at night and held Him for questioning the next morning arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at this time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

 

  Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who has been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.  My study Bible notes of today's passage that three times Pilate attempts to release Jesus (verses 16, 20, 22), and three times the chief priest the rulers incite the people to demand He be put to death.  In the end, these men demand the release of a rebel like themselves.  Barabbas, my study Bible continues, means "son of the father" and indicates to which father these rulers belong -- the devil (John 8:44).  

 

Over the course of the past several readings, we have spoken of the darkness that is present, to which Jesus referred at His arrest, when He said, "But this is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Monday's reading).  In today's reading, the darkness is still present.  There are those who vehemently hurl false accusations against Jesus: the chief priests, rulers, and the people they've stirred up to shout against Him.  But into this darkness we start to get hints of exposure, of light shining through to expose the lies.  Three times Pilate tries to let Him go, saying he's found no fault in Jesus worthy of death.  Even Herod found no fault in the man, said Pilate.  Pilate -- a shrewd and, in a sense, disinterested administrator -- has as his top priority one thing:  to keep the peace, so that he keeps his head, so to speak, and his position as governor.  This was the difficult job of the Roman governor of Judea.  But the darkness has another evil plan in mind, and the leaders and the people demand instead the release of Barabbas.  Barabbas, as my study Bible points out, means "son of the father."  And so, for those who read the Scriptures and know them, Jesus has already pronounced who the father of the darkness is, for he is the same as the father of lies.  In an earlier encounter with these men, the religious leaders who seek to kill Him, as reported in St. John's Gospel, Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God" (John 8:42-47).  The darkness is present, of that there is no doubt.  It's present in the murderer, Barabbas, whom they prefer.  It's present in the lies they tell.  And it's present spiritually in the reality of the one who is the father of lies.  But here, the light shines also, because the darkness is exposed in Barabbas' name and in what he's done, in the truth obvious even to Pilate and Herod about Jesus, in the open preference for a murderer and rebel to Jesus the Christ.  If we look around us in life, with our eyes opened, we may also find hints of exposure like this when we're caught in evil circumstances, for the light can't stay hidden, and evil is exposed through its own arrogance and ignorance.  The hints are all here to what is really going on.  They're there for those who are willing to see them, named and identified:  murder, lies, deceit, false accusation.  They are all there in the open for those who will see.  For again, in St. John's Gospel, Jesus says to Nicodemus, "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed" (John 3:20).  But in St. Luke's Gospel, He also affirms, "For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him" Luke 8:17-18).  Even in the midst of deception, the truth of these men is exposed, the lies understood, the murder in their hearts revealed.  And even what they seem to have will be taken from them.  Let us, even today, keep our full trust in the light, and remember what we're to be about as His followers.  Will we be the ones who go along with the lies, or those who remain in the truth?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hail, King of the Jews!

 

 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. 

 

- Matthew 27:24-31 

 

On Saturday, we read about Jesus brought to trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.   Jesus stood before the governor.  And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.  Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?"  But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.  And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you  want me to release to you?  Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"  For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"  They said, "Barabbas!"  Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"  Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"   

 "When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  My study Bible has a comment on verse 25, regarding the people's answer, "His blood be on us and on our children."  It notes that this verse has been used by certain groups to try to justify persecuting Jews, which is a grave and terrible sin.  It notes that what was seen by many as a curse is in fact a blessing which is invoked unwittingly, for Christ's blood is the source of everyone's redemption.  These words are implicitly spoken by anyone who sins.  My study Bible adds that St. John Chrysostom teaches that even those these particular Judeans under the coercion of the religious leaders "acted with such madness, so far from confirming a sentence on them or their children, Christ instead received those who repented and counted them worthy of good things beyond number."  Additionally, St.  Chrysostom goes on to note the thousands who were converted in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41) as evidence of Christ's mercy.  

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.  My study Bible states that every king is proclaimed by his soldiers.  Although the intention here is mockery, it is again prophetic that Jesus should be crowned and hailed as King by soldiers of the governor (see also John 11:49-51, where Caiaphas unwittingly prophesies of Christ's redemptive work).  This mockery shows Christ as the One despised and rejected by human beings and bears the iniquity of all of us (see Isaiah 53:3-9).  My study Bible notes also that Jesus is clothed in scarlet, which represents both His royalty and also the sins of humanity which He has taken upon Himself. 

My study Bible comments on verse 25, containing the curse "His blood be on us and on our children."   First noting that it's a great and terrible sin to use this as an excuse to persecute Jews, it adds importantly that this is an unwitting blessing.  It's important, to begin with, that we understand the important thing here is not exactly who is to blame for crucifying the innocent Christ.  Pilate seeks to wash his hands of the mess, but he can't evade his responsibility as governor for this decision.  Neither can the people who shout for Christ's crucifixion nor the religious leaders who exhort them to do so, and have presented Jesus to Pilate as a kind of fait accompli to have Him executed as a criminal.  All of them know that He is, in Pilate's words, a just Person.  What becomes really important is, first of all, everyone's capacity for repentance and thereby the receipt of Christ's saving grace.  What is also strikingly notable about this passage is a sort of crazy inversion of truth -- or perhaps we might call it truth hiding in plain sight.  What is meant as a curse is actually an invocation of a blessing, an unwitting statement of the power of Christ's blood to redeem and to save, to cast away sin and grant life.  His is the blood of the Passover but magnified to an eternal and truly universal sense of saving life.   The mocking scarlet robe given to Christ, and also the soldiers' ridiculing salute, "Hail, King of the Jews!" are also examples of the strange inversion of truth.  What is meant in derision is actually profound truth, again hiding in plain sight, obscured by terribly evil circumstances.   And the horrific evil we witness, of the ultimate Innocent knowingly unjustly condemned, abandoned, and given to torture and the most heinous form of punishment, is also a kind of strange inversion of truth.  For if we take it at its face value, and without the Resurrection that will follow, then all we see is a terrible monstrous evil.  But God will use even this as the foundation for the salvation of an entire created order, a whole universe, and grace abounding in all and through all things, and for all time.  This Christ knows and so willingly has gone to His death, with full knowledge He may be a stumbling block, and knowing the free will of people to reject what He has done and so reject their salvation.  But where He goes, He goes for us -- and in so doing, He proclaims the love of God for all.

Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

- Luke 23:13-25

Yesterday we read that after Christ's trial in the council, the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with one another.

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.  My study bible points out that Pilate attempts to release Jesus three times.  In response, three times the chief priests and the rulers incite the people to demand He be put to death.  Finally, the demand is for the release of a rebel.  Barabbas means "son of the father."  My study bible says it indicates to which father these particular rulers belong -- the devil, a fellow rebel (John 8:44).

Why is it that the innocent suffer?  Why do we see this scene repeated in our world, where it is the most innocent -- and in this case, the only true innocent -- who suffers and pays the price for the sins of the rest?  Perhaps Christ is the only one who is not manipulating anyone; He does not scheme for material power, He does not have a hidden agenda.  There is nothing duplicitous about Him.  My study bible uses the term "rebel" for the religious leaders, meaning their own rebellion against God, against the coming of the Son (see the parable of the vinedressers given by Jesus to them in the temple).  Certainly we understand that Christ has known that this would be His end -- for after all, He has warned the disciples three times of what was to come to Him in Jerusalem, in quite explicit detail.   Another question comes a close second, and that is, why does God permit it?  Indeed, we may ask why God permits any evil in our world.  I don't have all the answers to these questions.  But first of all, we may be given to understand clearly that evil is a choice we can make in our lives.  That is, evil exists as an option, an influence, a rebellion against truth and the good and the beautiful -- those things we associate with God.  We can point to the usual "culprits" inside of us, the influences and impulses that are at work in such a choice, all forms of selfishness and self-centeredness (as opposed to being God-centered), in particular, envy.  (Pilate, if anything a clever observer of human nature, probably essential to his rise in the Roman hierarchy, understands this himself; see Matthew 27:18, Mark 15:10).   These leaders want what they feel is their entitled share of the full pie, the whole ownership of the vineyard.  An innocent person, one who wields little to no currency or power in a given circumstance, makes an easy target, for obvious reasons.  Consistently the Gospels tell us that the religious leaders fear only the people, who love to hear Christ, and who have sought out champions for themselves, holy people like John the Baptist and Jesus.  Here in this crowd which they can easily stir up, the leaders have their way; they long to be rid of one who is not of their order, has no material authority, and stirs up the people as a natural leader.  It is only Gamaliel who will later show the wisdom befitting his position, when he counsels the religious leaders not to persecute the early Church (Acts 5:33-42).  It is a separate question to ask why the innocent suffer, and why Christ bears His suffering.   The Revelation, our book of the eschaton, the fullness of time, tells us that Christ is the Faithful and True Witness (Revelation 1:5, 3:14).  What is Jesus witness to?  Why does going to His death fulfill this role of witness (martyr in the Greek)?  He is a witness against the evil of this world, against the one "who was a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44), and those who continue to carry out his work in the world.  Christ bears witness, through His innocence.  He does not participate in the evil Himself, and therefore His testimony is true and pure.  It is a part of the culmination of the age which is judgment, a final and true reckoning, which is only possible through true witnessing, honest testimony.  Who makes a more competent witness than one who has no split allegiances, no hidden agenda, no conflict of interest?  Our own need to follow in Christ's footsteps may mean that we, too, experience what He did:  the injustice done to the innocent.  Truth is a threat to those who hate truth; the light is problematic for those who do not want their deeds to come to light (John 3:19).  Until such time as we are given to know better, we understand the need for living our lives in that light, so that we, too, may be witnesses and give true testimony.  We seek to live His way, alert and awake to who we are and what we need to serve -- but not in naivete.   It is part of our mission to be wise as serpents and simple as doves; to know what our world is about, and yet to see the purity of heart Christ praises.  It is in this struggle and tension that we are true witnesses, and we may live and share in His life by bearing our own cross as He did.  Let us be glad to share in His light, for it means the salvation of the world from the alternative we can observe only too well if we but look with the eyes He asks of us.

Crucify Him, crucify Him!

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him, no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one of them at the feast).

And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

- Luke 23:13-25

It is Holy Week in Jerusalem, and Jesus has been arrested (betrayed by Judas His disciple), He has been denied by Peter His disciple, and He has been mocked and ridiculed by and beaten by guards and subject to a false trial.  In yesterday's reading, we were told that the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him, no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one of them at the feast).   My study bible says that "to chastise means to scourge,  a Roman punishment using a whip made from several leather strips with small bones or metal bits tied at the tips."  The text makes it clear, several times now, that Pilate believes none of the charges against Jesus.

And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.   A note tells us that "these men were the sympathizers of the Jewish leaders, not the general public whom the leaders feared (see 22:2, 6)." 

So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.  My study bible says:  "Here is a tragic irony.  The murderer is released and the innocent Jesus is given up to be murdered, a failure of both the Roman and Jewish systems of justice."

An irony indeed, that a murderer and rebel should be released by Pilate, while the innocent Jesus (a man Pilate understands to be innocent) is the one given over to execution.  And more than an irony.  Jesus' death reminds us that we live in a world where evil dwells side by side with the good, and where the innocent may be harmed.  We can see on the part of the religious leadership a whole host of ills:  a desire for power, to retain that power at all costs.  We can assume that they, too, understand that Jesus is innocent, but they have other concerns they consider more important (see John 11:49-50).  But the fact that the murderer and rebel Barabbas is released tells us something more, about the material-minded nature of the choices that are happening here.  Jesus is Messiah, but He's a Messiah of peace, having ridden into Jerusalem in His Triumphal Entry on a donkey's colt, and not with weapons of war and violence, such as those of Barabbas the rebel or a conquering general.  Luke's Gospel has told us that as Jesus drew near Jerusalem in His Triumphal Entry, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."  So peace and war are important elements in this scenario.  The ones making the ultimate decision here (albeit under considerable pressure from the local religious leadership) are representatives of the great Roman power of Caesar.  It's possible that in all of history there's been no greater imperial presence in the world known for its army like Rome was (certainly there have been many others, including today's modern technological warfare which is beyond measure more powerful), but Caesar's Rome remains the image of such power, force and discipline.  Up against all of these powers is Christ, who is the Prince of Peace, who weeps for Jerusalem as He is about to enter.  For Jerusalem is given over to violence in many more ways than we can even name, and on many more levels.  There is not just the colonial occupying power, but there is also the violence of the leadership in its treatment of the people, penalizing the poor, and keeping God far away -- all the things that Jesus has protested in various forms throughout His ministry.  As we will recall, a central bone of contention has been Jesus' insistence on healing on the Sabbath.  So, in so many ways, violence and peace are themes we look at today in the contrast between those in leadership (including the Roman leadership) and Jesus.  Jesus is the prisoner who has been mocked and chastised and beaten; He's the one bound and held captive.  But if we see with true eyes here, Jesus is the one who is free and it is the rest of them who are truly bound.  The religious leadership is bound by its greed and thirst for position and control, Pilate is bound although he knows Jesus is innocent and surely wants to let Him go.  No one wants to stand up and make a decision here for truth.  It is Jesus who has told us "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"  (John 8:31-32).  It is Jesus who is truly free here, and it is truth and freedom that are inextricably linked.  In order to understand this, we have to go deeper into the reality behind what we witness, for there is not only material reality; there is also spiritual and psychological reality, those things that dwell within us and work their way into the world through us.  Jesus has come here into our world as the "stronger man" whose real spiritual battle is with the "strong man" of this world, the evil one and the darkness of all forms of evil that truly bind us.  In all ways, Jesus' ministry has been an expression of freedom, because it is an expression of truth.  He teaches us about healing, about the freedom to heal and to know and to witness truth, about freedom from affliction, about God's love that really sets us free in so many countless ways.  It's those who are bound by position, and all that goes along with it, the priority of material-minded choice, who are not free here, and not at peace -- not even free enough to consider "the things that make for your peace."  When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, His lament was for what was to come, the great violence that would consume the city eventually, but His words reflect a deep-rooted failure to know what makes for the city's peace.  Let us not fail to heed that lament today.  Do we know what makes for our peace?  Do we put our priorities straight?  Or is it simply the material outcome we prioritize?  In a world that values and praises truth and justice and freedom, do we know and uphold what these words truly mean?  Whether it be nation to nation, or in the intimate setting of a family or friendship, even as we stare into a mirror -- where are our real values and what determines our choice?  What do we put our faith in?  Let us look to Him, bound as a prisoner and given over to death, and truly come to understand who is free here and who is not.  In John's Gospel, Pilate asks Jesus, "What is truth?"  The real answer to that question is that He is standing right before him.