One of my favorite church interactions is when someone tells me about a thought they had regarding the sermon’s text on Sunday – especially when it’s something I hadn’t fully considered. It’s always encouraging and interesting to see how people are interacting with God’s word in their own minds and hearts. On Sunday, Paul Nelson brought up a thought to me that added additional color to the peoples’ choice of Barabbas. When Pilate offered that Jesus be set free (in line with the Roman government’s Judean tradition of freeing one criminal on Passover), the people chose Barabbas. It is noted in the gospels that Barabbas was an insurrectionist and murderer. The additional angle that I hadn’t considered was that maybe this was exactly what the people wanted, in contrast with Jesus who, in his peaceful approach, seemed to be “failing.” Jesus wasn’t the kind of messiah they wanted. Jesus came in humble sacrifice and spiritual salvation, not violent overthrow and political power. And maybe they chose Barabbas not only because they were disappointed in Jesus’ apparent failure, but also because of the allure of Barabbas being exactly the kind of violent individual that represented their desire. They not only chose sinfulness over innocence – they chose violent uprising over sacrificial humility. They chose the way of the world over the kingdom of Christ. What do you think – do you think that was in the minds of the people as they made their decision of Barabbas? I would be curious to hear what other thoughts you have on the sermon texts.