Crucify Him!

In chapter 15 of Mark, the crowd has a choice to make. Jesus has been arrested and taken to Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect. Pilate finds no harm in this obscure rabbi, and offers the people a chance to save Him. Amazingly, they choose to save Barabbas, a notorious criminal! How could this be? I would never do that, would you?

Unfortunately, if I’m honest, I do it every day, and so do you. When we use His name carelessly, or hear others do so without objecting, haven’t we denied who He is? When we choose the practical, worldly solution to a problem instead of trusting the Word of God, haven’t we chosen Barabbas? When we ignore that homeless person on the street, walking by him without a thought for his condition, haven’t we failed to show compassion for Christ? When we chose to follow religious leaders who are not godly, aren’t we part of that crowd that condemned Him? When peer pressure leads us to run after more and more material goods when we could be contributing to the church, aren’t we as bad as those who yelled, “Crucify Him?”

I would say that we are. We all sin and it is our sin that made it necessary for Jesus to die.

“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.” 1 John 3:4-5

For more on the book of Mark see these posts:

,You Are Not Swayed by Appearances

No One is Good Except God Alone

Stay Awake!