So 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?” – Matthew 27:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 18, 2014): Matthew 27

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

William Shakespeare placed these iconic words in the mouth of Juliet in his play “Romeo and Juliet.” The words themselves have gone beyond the play to the point that even those who have never seen or read “Romeo and Juliet” have heard the words – although they may not know where the words were first spoken. Shakespeare seems to be alluding to something that we know all too well. The name doesn’t matter. All that matters is the essential character of the one whose name we are calling. And sometimes, people live up to their names, but often they don’t. And sometimes people can even restore honor to a name that has been dragged through the dirt.

And we know this, yet we sometimes seem to expect the name to mean something. A couple of years ago I was visiting a friend in another city and we decided to go to a local music store. While I was there I was looking at a new keyboard, and I happened to give my business card to the salesperson dealing who was dealing with me. She noticed my name and asked – are you an Eastern Mullen or a Western Mullen. I told her I was a transplanted Eastern Mullen (we were in a Western city), and while my closest relatives live Ontario and West, my roots are from the Atlantic Provinces. She nodded and added that she was also an Eastern Mullen, and then she added a question – are your relatives all drunks too. For her, the name carried an expectation of uncontrolled alcohol consumption – maybe stereotypical of our Irish roots. But in this conversation, the name meant something specific.

Matthew makes a point of giving us the full name of the man that most of us in the church simply know as Barabbas, and according Matthew the full name is Jesus Barabbas. Church historian Origen was so insulted that anyone with Barabbas’ pedigree could share the name of the Messiah, that he had the name removed from any of the texts he had control over. He was convinced that the name was slipped into the text by scribes bent on destroying the Christian faith. But the evidence that we have leads us to the conclusion that Matthew was right – the name of the man who was sentenced to death and then released in the place of Jesus Christ really was Jesus Barabbas.

And this is where the story begins to get weird. Not only did Jesus, who is called the Messiah and Jesus Barabbas share a name, but they also shared another designation. Barabbas literally means “bar” – son, combined with “abbas” - of the father. The question that the crowd is really being asked is, which “Jesus, Son of the Father” do you want freed? Barabbas was quite likely a revolutionary working for a military overthrow of Rome. And Jesus the Messiah was working towards a spiritual overthrow of Satan. Pilate’s unintentional question was which “Jesus, Son of the Father” do you want released?

And the question still hasn’t changed. Which Jesus are you chasing?   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Mark 15