Barabbas

Tag: Barabbas

Barabbas

by DAVe on Jul.08, 2010, under Blog

Barabbas and Peter:
The Parallelism of Faith in the Gospel of Mark and Barabbas

Barabbas and the apostle Peter share the same world view of living under the rule of the Roman empire. Their lives intersect one day when they both encounter Jesus. Peter had the benefit of living, learning from and traveling with Jesus for three years. In spite of his time with Jesus, Peter still has trouble understanding the true reason for Jesus’ life and eventual death. The reason for Peter’s lack of understanding may come from his uneducated life as a fisherman. He was not a scholar of scripture and did not study the prophesies of the messiah. He was looking for Jesus to transform their lives by the usual means of force and power. He heard repeatedly the lesson of love and kindness taught by Jesus but in his heart he was waiting for a physical revolution that never came. In the novel by Par Lagerkvist, Barabbas hears all the lessons and life story of Jesus long after Jesus lived. Barabbas is trying to reconcile the great changes promised by Jesus’ stories with his knowledge of how changes are made in his world. In Barabbas’ world people respect power, wealth and might. Barabbas witnesses the death of a man that showed none of those things. He has seen many men who have died yet the death of Jesus is very troubling for him personally. He is unable for his whole life to remove the thought of Jesus’ death and how a man void of power and might could capture his interest for so long. The apostle Peter and Barabbas have many parallels in their walk of faith, including their belief that the Messiah will be a political conqueror of the Romans and their denial of Jesus when they cannot reconcile his death to their messianic worldview.

In Mark, Peter reveals to Jesus he believes He is the Messiah. But Peter believes that to mean something very different than what Jesus does when Jesus tells his disciples he will soon be killed and in three days rise again:
He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels”(8:32-38).
Peter hears these words but they do not sink in. Peter is looking for when Jesus will exert his power and might and make his kingdom known. Peter is waiting in the wings for when Jesus gives him the sign that it is time. A sign that never comes.
Jesus takes time out passing through Galilee to teach Peter and the other disciples that he will be betrayed, killed and three days later he will rise again. They do not understand and are afraid to ask Jesus to clarify, instead Peter and the disciples argue. Jesus questions them about it and none of them speak up: “But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest” (9:34). It was just earlier that Jesus told them what it meant to seek power. Jesus explains them again: “ ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all’ ” (9:35). A lesson that contradicts everything Peter is seeking. Peter wants to be thought of as a great co-leader. He is power hungry and opportunity seeking.
Jesus has just finished teaching in the synagogue. Jesus tells his disciples that the buildings they are all amazed by will be thrown down. Peter with three other disciples ask Jesus privately, “…what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” (13:4). Jesus describes what will come in the final days and this must have set Peter on fire. Having been told he will live to see the day when the kingdom of God arrives. Peter has his sign and is on the look out for it to come.
That sign does come when Jesus awakens Peter for the third time after asked to stay awake and pray with Jesus. Jesus says to Peter: “Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going” (14:41-42). In this scene Jesus is betrayed by a kiss and one of Jesus’ followers take a sword and fights back. This could have been Peter. If not, he would condone the act and joined in if Jesus had not put a stop to it. From there Peter is an eyewitness to what Jesus meant all along.
In Mark, the last thing heard from Peter is his denial of Jesus: “At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept” (14:72). Peter’s relationship with Jesus is over as far as Mark reveals. Peter is alone like Barabbas and he too weeps. They both watch from a distance, grieving their own inaction to do anything, Peter from the courtyard and Barabbas in the bushes. Both scenes are a parallel of each other of men who deny the truth in order to save themselves. Whether either character is reconciled to Jesus is not made clear. In Mark, the women at the tomb are told by an angel: “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you’ (16:7). This is an indication that Jesus still wishes to see Peter again. The reader is not told why but Peter is included with the disciples and the reader is left to only imagine what Jesus wants with Peter.
Barabbas and his companions discuss whether Jesus is the messiah or not: “–No, of course! In that case he would have come down from the cross and slain the lot of them” (15). Barabbas has in his own mind exactly who the messiah is. The messiah is someone who doesn’t allow himself to be put to death. The messiah has the final say whether he lives or dies. Not the Romans. The messiah also has the power to overcome any obstacle and destroys anyone who opposes him. This is a mash up of what they learned in the synagogues and what is popular culture. In modern times, this same twisting of scripture is done still. Jesus is more known by what people say about him than anyone’s direct knowledge of scripture. In Barabbas’ time it was more of the custom to pass on knowledge verbally. It was up to the priests to be the authority.
Barabbas and Peter are brought up believing the teachings they have heard prior to Jesus is right.Iin the Gospel of Mark, Jesus chastises the Pharisees and scribes when he tells them: “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition” (7:8).What Barabbas and Peter don’t know is the religious institution had been corrupted. The well of knowledge has been poisoned and Jesus alone comes to offer new water, pure water that will never go dry or allow them to go thirsty. Jesus’ new lesson sets everything right, but it takes awhile for those to catch on and believe. It is a great hurdle for Peter and Barabbas to believe what Jesus had said as being true. Barabbas has lengthy discussion with his companions over what Jesus taught his followers and most of those things taught everyone would gladly embrace. Most of Jesus’ time was spent teaching to people very much like Barabbas and his friends.
Though Barabbas and his friends liked what Jesus had to say, something didn’t set right with them: “But the third said that he had mixed mostly with the poor and used to promise them they would enter the kingdom of God: even the harlots, and that greatly amused them all, though they thought it was very nice, provided it was true” (12-13). Barabbas wants these things to be true. Unfortunately, it goes against everything he’s been taught and knows. He’s never been cherished or promised anything as great as the kingdom of God. Everything he has was earned or stolen by force. He is introduced to a new concept called love. Barabbas is being taught this from beyond the grave by a man he witnessed to have died. Barabbas is constantly dogged by the memory and teaching of Jesus. These life lessons follow him every where he goes and he desperately wishes to believe but cannot, very much like Peter, who can not understand the meaning of the messiah.
Both Peter and Barabbas have their mind set on human things. Barabbas is taking all he can grab for himself. He robs, murders, drinks and sleeps around with out remorse. Peter is trying to set himself along side Jesus when they overthrow the Romans. Barabbas is looking for when this kingdom of God is fully realized. Barabbas believes when he sees physical proof that this is all real he will gladly join the ranks of Christians.
Barabbas yearns to believe in Jesus. At one point the narrator tells us Barabbas does believe and becomes a Christian: “Now Barabbas knew he too was a Christian and that he was God’s own slave…” (94). At this point, Barabbas and Peter are at the same point in their walk with Jesus. They have both accepted that Jesus is lord. It does not match up to who Jesus knows who he is. This is just a crossroad in their walk. Neither of them are done. Neither of them completely understand who Jesus is. They still cling to the idea that Jesus will use his power to overthrow the Romans and set his kingdom in this world. Once Barabbas and Peter have accepted Jesus it is only a matter of time when both deny him.
Peter speaks to Barabbas about denying Jesus and whether he could ever be forgiven. Barabbas answers him: “Who hasn’t let somebody else down in one way or another?” (29). Barabbas understands that everyone fails. He fails the hare lip girl. He fails the fat woman. He lets down Sahak when they are both interrogated. Sahak is devastated when Barabbas denies believing in Jesus. Like Peter, Barabbas weeps when he realizes how much he failed his friend. Peter and Barabbas are alone to deal with their anguish. Barabbas thought it was only the chains that bonded them, but once the chains were gone, the bond was still there. Barabbas had denied his God and disappointed his only friend. Peter had done the same thing. Peter denied Jesus three times as prophesied. Peter was naive enough to believe he could never do it. Barabbas had a better understanding of people and that everyone let’s somebody else down in one way or another.
At the end of Barabbas, Barabbas is left alone with his thoughts. He wonders what his life really meant and if he deserves eternal life. Barabbas concludes that: “ It was not for him to judge”(148). Whatever happens to Barabbas is not shared. It is not for the reader to judge. This idea is also shared in Barabbas by Peter in the Roman prison: “We have no right to condemn a person because he has no god” (147). In both Barabbas and the Gospel of Mark the final story of Barabbas and Peter is never known. They both were influenced by the religious culture around them. They both were opportunists trying to make their world right with power and might. Peter and Barabbas both found God and quickly lose Him through their own misunderstandings of who Jesus is and what is the kingdom of God.
Even thought both narratives end vaguely positive, the truth is these stories are universal. So many believers have gone through these very same trails. Still today, believers misunderstand the true meaning of the kingdom of God. Power seekers try to legislate morality every election year. In the very end, Jesus promises everyone will see him come with great power and glory. Peter and Barabbas both desperately want to see that day come. They were blinded by their corrupted world view. If everyone is blinded, then who can be saved? Jesus explains: “ “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God: for God all things are possible’” (10:27).

Works Cited
Lagerkvist, Par. Barabbas. New York: Bantam Books, 1968. Print.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible. New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.