Is it just a coincidence that the two men brought before the people by Pilate, one to be released and one to be executed, were both named "Jesus"? Is it just a coincidence that one was called by the Romans "Jesus King of the Jews" and the other Jesus Bar-Abbas or better yet, "Jesus Son of the Father" which is what "Bar-Abbas" actually means? Is it a mere coincidence that one Jesus is a POLITICAL JESUS and the other is presented as a RELIGIOUS JESUS?
Are these two men in a story to be taken literally or are these two titles of one man called Jesus, one political and called a King and the other religious and called the Son of the Father?
What's with this enigmatic story of Pilate offering to free a Jesus King of the Jews or a Jesus Son of the Father? Rome had no custom of releasing prisoners at Passover as far as we can tell. They certainly aren't literally going to release a seditious zealot with a nice name.
Something else is going on in this story....
I'd like to suggest that the Pilate of the Gospels, not behaving like the real Pilate of history is testing the crowd as to their loyalties to Rome and Caesar . This man Jesus was dead meat. He was going to die. There was only one man standing before the crowd but this one man was either religious Jesus, which Rome had no quarrel with and would "release" without a problem, or he was a political Jesus who the people viewed as King and that was a big problem for Pilate and Rome.
Which one do I give you and which one do I kill. Is this Jesus your religious Jesus or is he your King?
Be very careful how you answer citizens, or I'll kill you too
Jesus Before Pilate
Matthew 27
11Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesusb Barabbas. 17So 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?” 18For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”(Messiah was a rather military title of the day in radical Judaism and Zealotry) Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
(Good Answer)
26Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
It is well understood by scholars that Barabbas's first name used to be "Jesus Barabbas" in earlier texts. However....
Barabbas's name appears as bar-Abbas in the Greek texts of the gospels. It is derived ultimately from the Aramaic בר-אבא, Bar-abbâ, "son of the father". Some ancient manuscripts of Matthew 27:16–17 have the full name of Barabbas as "Jesus Barabbas" and this was probably the name as originally written in the text.[12] Early church father Origen was troubled by the fact tha
t his copies of the gospels gave Barabbas' name as "Jesus Barabbas" and declared that since it was impossible he could have had such a holy name, "Jesus" must have been added to Barabbas' name by a heretic.[13] It is possible that later scribes, copying the passage, removed the name "Jesus" from "Jesus Barabbas" to avoid dishonour to the name of Jesus the Messiah.[14]
Wikipedia "Barabbas"
This tale is a literary creation of the Author of "Mark" which was later copied by the author of Matthew for his story of Jesus. Actually Matthew copies approximately 94% of Mark for his book and Luke about 54%. Obviously not eyewitness accounts but rather just copying others.
John adds the telling and proper response of the people.
6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."
Correct Answer: He is our religious Jesus but not our King. Don't kill us all.
So what we really have here is not a story that is literally true, but a parable of sorts, a literary construct the readers of the day would have well understood.
There was just one Jesus in this story and this Jesus was either "The King of the Jews" or "The Son of the Father" Rome did not care about the religious Jesus and would more than happy to "release" him in the story. But a King Jesus of the Jews? NO! He dies and you all die if you claim him as your king. Their answer was clear. "We have no King but Caesar" and thus the crowd passed the test. Religious Jesus , Jesus Bar-Abbas, was "released." Jesus, King of the Jews was executed and the appropriate sign was placed above his head.
Matthew 27:37
"Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the King of the Jews."
![]()
And the Jews of Jerusalem lived on 40 more years until Vespasian and Titus scraped them off the face of the earth and destroyed Jerusalem and it's Temple for sedition against Rome.
So don't take every Gospel story literally. The Pro-Roman authors may have had a bigger message for the locals of that time with a healthy dose of "Let him
who has ears to hear understand"
You have no King but Caesar
So don't take every Gospel story literally. The Pro-Roman authors may have had a bigger message for the locals of that time with a healthy dose of "Let him
who has ears to hear understand"
You have no King but Caesar