Choosing Your Jesus, Accepting His Blood: Matthew 27:15-26

While reading Matthew’s gospel not too long ago, I ran across a powerful metaphor that I had never seen before. Thinking this metaphor may have been a typo in the translation I was reading, I cross-checked the verses in question with some other Bible translations. About half or a little over half included the idea that stood out to me, while the others simplified their translations by leaving out one key word.

I don’t fault the translators who dropped this word from their versions, mainly because it makes reading the passage a little smoother and it makes Matthew’s gospel match the other gospels. However, I am really glad for the translators who chose to include this unique detail Matthew included because it sets the stage for a powerful contrast and a powerful metaphor for everyone living throughout history.

To set up the event in our passage and our place in the gospel story, we have arrived at crucifixion morning, and the Jewish leaders have brought Jesus to Pilate to be sentenced to death. All the disciples, except for maybe John, have deserted Jesus and gone off into hiding. At this point in the weekend, Peter had already denied Jesus and all that is left is handing Jesus over to be crucified.

While all four gospels include unique versions of what happened, like I alluded to at the start of this episode, our passage for this episode comes from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 27, and we will read it using the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 15, Matthew tells us that:

¹⁵ It was the governor’s practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free? Jesus Barabbas? Or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ Pilate knew that the leaders wanted to get their own way. He knew this was why they had handed Jesus over to him.

I want to pause reading here to draw our attention onto this powerful metaphor. Most every time I have read or heard the crucifixion story, the subtle detail that Barabbas was also known as a “Jesus” gets left out.

But when we read the crucifixion event with this detail included, it makes for a powerful metaphor in what Pilate challenged the people present with. In essence, Pilate says, “Choose your Jesus. Do you want Jesus Barabbas, the self-proclaimed messiah who is the military leader you believe the messiah to be, or do you want Jesus, who others call the Messiah or Christ, the one many believe has been sent from God?”

Pilate is no pushover, and he is entirely aware of why the religious leaders handed Jesus Christ over to him for crucifixion.

While this was all happening, Matthew tells us another interesting detail. Continuing in verse 19, we read,

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don’t have anything to do with that man. He is not guilty. I have suffered a great deal in a dream today because of him.”

²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders talked the crowd into asking for Barabbas and having Jesus put to death.

Pausing again in our reading, we see two events happening simultaneously. First Pilate gives the challenge, before taking a brief break to look at the message from his wife. While Pilate is reading the message, the chief priests and elders spread the message through their crowd of supporters to ask for Barabbas, the self-proclaimed, human, military “messiah”.

Continuing in verse 21, Pilate returns to his seat and restates the question:

²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to set free?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

²² “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

²³ “Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴ Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Instead, the crowd was starting to get angry. So he took water and washed his hands in front of them. “I am not guilty of this man’s death,” he said. “You are accountable for that!”

²⁵ All the people answered, “Put the blame for his death on us and our children!”

²⁶ Pilate let Barabbas go free. But he had Jesus whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.

In this passage, the religious leaders chose their Jesus, and they chose the Jesus who didn’t present a challenge to their way of life. These leaders and elders walked a thin line of support, choosing to support the government to keep the peace, but secretly supporting military initiatives that might allow for them to break free from Roman occupation.

Jesus, who was called the Christ, clearly was not Someone who fit into the first-century religious leaders’ mold for a military leader to overthrow the Romans, but Jesus-Barabbas appeared to fit their mold.

While Pilate claims innocence over Jesus’ death, what the people answer is just as powerful as our metaphor about picking between two Jesus’. The crowd answers in unison: “Put the blame for his death on us and our children!”

The people shouting were Jewish leaders of all ranks and backgrounds. However, they represent all Jews and Gentiles when they say these words. Their words represent everyone in history who has ever sinned. For everyone who has sinned since the beginning of time, we all have the blame for Jesus’ death on our hands. While the leaders appear to speak for themselves and their families taking on the blame, we all are responsible as well.

But an interesting double meaning is present in the more literal translation of the crowd’s words. In this verse of Matthew, but instead reading from the New American Standard Bible translation, the crowd responds by saying, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”

Within the Bible, the concept of blood is not only literal, but also metaphorical. In the Bible, blood is a metaphor for life, and when the crowd said this, while they were taking the blame for Jesus’ death, they were also, unknowingly, requesting Jesus’ life to cover theirs. It is only through the metaphor of Jesus’ blood and sacrifice covering our sins that we can ever hope to achieve salvation.

We cannot save ourselves. But Jesus’ perfect life, sacrifice, and blood make it possible for us to experience salvation when we put on His life instead of ours. In a subtle way, the crowd demanding for Jesus’ crucifixion shares one of the most powerful metaphors in the whole Bible regarding how humanity can experience salvation.

So from this passage, we discover that we must choose the right Jesus. Will we choose a Jesus who is self-made, focused on self-exaltation, and who tries to push his own way? Or will we choose a Jesus who is selfless, who focused on building others up, and who died even though He was not guilty to open up the way for us to be saved? Just like the Jewish leaders faced the question, we also face the question as well.

We all share the blame for Jesus’ death because we have all sinned. But even with that stated, Jesus is willing to cover us with His blood – which is a symbol of His perfect life – when we place our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally place Jesus Christ first in your life. While I’m sure most of us listening to this podcast have chosen Jesus Christ over Jesus Barabbas, the challenge I want to begin with is to look at your motivation for this choice. Are you motivated by what you can get, build, do, or achieve? Another way of asking this is if your decisions are based on building yourself up? If so, you may be subtly choosing Jesus Barabbas over Jesus Christ. If this is the case, let the challenge for this episode be to shift your motivation over to being more Christ-like – which is selfless and based on helping build others up. Jesus gave up everything for you and I – and He has called us to focus on being like Him.

Also, as I always challenge you in one way or another, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself, and work on building up that personal relationship with God. While group relationships with God are important, so are personal relationships. If you have let either your personal relationship with God get crowded out through busyness, or if you have neglected joining with others in a bigger group relationship with God, let this episode also be a challenge to focus more intentionally on the area that is struggling the most.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!