The Son of the Father | John 18:39-40
A Faithful Congregation is a Prayerful Congregation
The Son of the Father
John 18:39-40
Pilate said, “You have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a bandit. -John 18:39-40
The Wrong Son of the Father
On the morning Jesus laid down His life to cover the sins of all who would believe in Him, the Jewish leaders chose to support the wrong ‘son of the father.’ Barabbas was a seditious insurrectionist from Rome’s point of view and a freedom fighter in the eyes of many Jews. He and two other men had been arrested and were awaiting crucifixion. When Jesus was arrested and presented to Pilate, Pilate found that Jesus was guilty of no crime against Rome. While the Jewish leaders declared that Jesus claimed to be ‘King of the Jews,” Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom was not of the earth (John 18:36). Sensing that Jesus was no threat to Rome, Pilate offered to release Jesus, but the Jewish leaders demanded that Barabbas be released.
The name Barabbas means ‘son of the father.’ Bar means ‘son of,’ and Abba in an intimate term for ‘father.’ So this man was his father’s son—the ‘son of the father.’ The Jewish leaders chose the son of the father instead of the Son of the Father. They should have known better. Jesus had declared to the Jewish leaders that He was the Son of the Father on many occasions. Recall that in John 10, Jesus declared to the Jewish authorities, “I and the Father are one…I am the Son of God…the Father is in Me, and I in the Father” (10:30-38). They knew full well that Jesus regularly claimed to be the Son of the Father and for this the Jewish authorities regularly sought to kill Jesus. This is, in fact, the primary reason they wanted Jesus to killed (John 19:7), so when presented with a choice—to have the son of the father released or to have the Son of the Father released—they chose Barabbas over Jesus. May we never make the same choice.
We know the true Son of the Father. We are meant to abide in His word and to bear good fruit. We must choose to allow Him to serve as Lord of our lives. We must deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow Him. Let us not choose comfort over Jesus. Let us not choose the love of money over Jesus. Let us not choose ease over Jesus. Let us not choose anything or anyone over Jesus.
Prayer Prompt
Dear Jesus, You are the true Son of the Father. You are the King of our hearts, the King of the universe. Your Kingdom is a heavenly Kingdom which overlays and undergirds all reality around us in the physical realm. Your way is better. You are the Way. You are the Truth. You are the Life. Please prompt us to choose Your way, to live according to the truth, and to support life. While the world clamors for our allegiance, we will not offer it directly, tacitly, or implicitly. Rather, we pledge our allegiance to You over the world. We will not choose the wrong son of the father. We choose You Jesus—the true Son of the Father. The Father sent You to rescue us. You laid down Your life for us. You overcame death for us. You live always to intercede for us. You sent the Spirit to us. You are our King. May we live like it. May we not stand idly by when we can bear witness to the truth by our word, our deeds, or our vote. We love You, Jesus, but please don’t just take our word for it, but see it in how we live for You. Amen.
Let our faithfulness in prayer mirror Yahweh’s faithfulness!
-FW, CC, SL,
Andrew
The Son of the Father
John 18:39-40
Pilate said, “You have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a bandit. -John 18:39-40
The Wrong Son of the Father
On the morning Jesus laid down His life to cover the sins of all who would believe in Him, the Jewish leaders chose to support the wrong ‘son of the father.’ Barabbas was a seditious insurrectionist from Rome’s point of view and a freedom fighter in the eyes of many Jews. He and two other men had been arrested and were awaiting crucifixion. When Jesus was arrested and presented to Pilate, Pilate found that Jesus was guilty of no crime against Rome. While the Jewish leaders declared that Jesus claimed to be ‘King of the Jews,” Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom was not of the earth (John 18:36). Sensing that Jesus was no threat to Rome, Pilate offered to release Jesus, but the Jewish leaders demanded that Barabbas be released.
The name Barabbas means ‘son of the father.’ Bar means ‘son of,’ and Abba in an intimate term for ‘father.’ So this man was his father’s son—the ‘son of the father.’ The Jewish leaders chose the son of the father instead of the Son of the Father. They should have known better. Jesus had declared to the Jewish leaders that He was the Son of the Father on many occasions. Recall that in John 10, Jesus declared to the Jewish authorities, “I and the Father are one…I am the Son of God…the Father is in Me, and I in the Father” (10:30-38). They knew full well that Jesus regularly claimed to be the Son of the Father and for this the Jewish authorities regularly sought to kill Jesus. This is, in fact, the primary reason they wanted Jesus to killed (John 19:7), so when presented with a choice—to have the son of the father released or to have the Son of the Father released—they chose Barabbas over Jesus. May we never make the same choice.
We know the true Son of the Father. We are meant to abide in His word and to bear good fruit. We must choose to allow Him to serve as Lord of our lives. We must deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow Him. Let us not choose comfort over Jesus. Let us not choose the love of money over Jesus. Let us not choose ease over Jesus. Let us not choose anything or anyone over Jesus.
Prayer Prompt
Dear Jesus, You are the true Son of the Father. You are the King of our hearts, the King of the universe. Your Kingdom is a heavenly Kingdom which overlays and undergirds all reality around us in the physical realm. Your way is better. You are the Way. You are the Truth. You are the Life. Please prompt us to choose Your way, to live according to the truth, and to support life. While the world clamors for our allegiance, we will not offer it directly, tacitly, or implicitly. Rather, we pledge our allegiance to You over the world. We will not choose the wrong son of the father. We choose You Jesus—the true Son of the Father. The Father sent You to rescue us. You laid down Your life for us. You overcame death for us. You live always to intercede for us. You sent the Spirit to us. You are our King. May we live like it. May we not stand idly by when we can bear witness to the truth by our word, our deeds, or our vote. We love You, Jesus, but please don’t just take our word for it, but see it in how we live for You. Amen.
Let our faithfulness in prayer mirror Yahweh’s faithfulness!
-FW, CC, SL,
Andrew
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