my draft lottery notice at age 18, and it will be the first question I raise when I get to heaven. We cannot resolve that dilemma in this sermon here and now. But this I think we can say with confidence: that the kingdom of God is not the same as the kingdoms or – democracies of this world. And the kingdom of God is never spread by the threat of a – sword. Instead of using a sword, Jesus uses the cross. As Samuel Wells writes, in contrast to Barabbas, Jesus is Jesus does not assume that “the real revolutionary. others must die so that he may be free. He recognized that he must die so that others may be The freedom Jesus comes to give is not worth killing for; but it is worth free.” dying for. Barabbas and Jesus offer us two different paths to follow today. The way of Barabbas is the more popular way. It is the way of strength and invulnerability, of returning an eye for an eye, of fighting fire with fire. The way of Jesus is much harder and far less popular. It is the way of love and vulnerability, of not repaying evil for evil, but overcoming evil with good. It is not the way of revenge, but the way of forgiveness. It is a way that is so difficult to follow that we can only follow it by the grace and power of God. Finally, there is a third difference Barabbas and Jesus, one that is subtle but extremely important. Barabbas is a man of the world, a man of action, in his own way, a man of politics. Some may contend that the way of Jesus is a more private and spiritual way, a way that ignores political issues and all that is outside of the church, or outside of our souls. But the choice between Barabbas and Jesus not a choice between a man “is who took a political route and a man who took a spiritual route. It is not a choice
my draft lottery notice at age 18, and it will be the first question I raise when I get to heaven. We cannot resolve that dilemma in this sermon here and now. But this I think we can say with confidence: that the kingdom of God is not the same as the kingdoms – or democracies – of this world. And the kingdom of God is never spread by the threat of a sword. Instead of using a sword, Jesus uses the cross. As Samuel Wells writes, in contrast to Barabbas, Jesus is “the real revolutionary. Jesus does not assume that others must die so that he may be free. He recognized that he must die so that others may be free.” The freedom Jesus comes to give is not worth killing for; but it is worth dying for. Barabbas and Jesus offer us two different paths to follow today. The way of Barabbas is the more popular way. It is the way of strength and invulnerability, of returning an eye for an eye, of fighting fire with fire. The way of Jesus is much harder and far less popular. It is the way of love and vulnerability, of not repaying evil for evil, but overcoming evil with good. It is not the way of revenge, but the way of forgiveness. It is a way that is so difficult to follow that we can only follow it by the grace and power of God. Finally, there is a third difference Barabbas and Jesus, one that is subtle but extremely important. Barabbas is a man of the world, a man of action, in his own way, a man of politics. Some may contend that the way of Jesus is a more private and spiritual way, a way that ignores political issues and all that is outside of the church, or outside of our souls. But the choice between Barabbas and Jesus “is not a choice between a man who took a political route and a man who took a spiritual route. It is not a choice