Barabbas

Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?

They cried out again, Not this one but Barabbas!

Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

John 18:39-40

The Greek word is closer to brigand or robber than revolutionary, although all 3 are used in English translations. I guess Robin Hood would be a good point of comparison. A popular thief, stealing from the less popular.

I thought of this with the events in NYC, a black dude shooting up the subway. Here he is on Good Friday being led away on the front pages. Does he have a popular movement behind him? No. Did Black Lives Matter lead to this? Yes, although this will be controversial, in a way it did.  BLM chose Marx over Christ. Every black adult in America has to make a similar choice. America is often compared to Rome, as a declining world power. If white supremacy in America is a thing, and clearly people disagree to what extrent it is (I will note Kamala the VP is Jamaican/Indian, & the last Dem Prez was Kenyan-American) then you can choose the Prince of Peace & King of the Jews, Jesus, or you can choose violence. Every oppressed people makes their choice also. Violence, or the Way of Christ. In Japan, it is noteworthy that in 1945, there was virtually no terrorism against the US occupation, to my knowledge. Maybe the Japanese had had enough of fighting & war at that point?

 Is Zelensky in Ukraine a Barabbas or a Christ? 🤔 What about Putin? Boris? Biden? Kishida? Violence or peace?