I Tremble at the Thought

Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. (Luke 23:13-25 ESV). Recently we had a night of hymns at our church. We do it a bit differently than some other churches might in that all of them are sung with a contemporary band. I love the old hymns as much as I do the contemporary choruses. Some of the great hymns that we are all so familiar with bring back great memories and stir our souls with great passion. One of those great old hymns is “Were You There.” It’s an African American spiritual that probably predates the Civil War. "Were You There" was first published in William Barton's Old Plantation Hymns (1899). The spiritual's earlier roots include a white spiritual known in Tennessee as "Have you heard how they crucified my Lord?" Just as modern Jews identify with the Hebrew slaves in Egypt at their Passover Seder ("When I was in Egypt"), we are encouraged in this text to identify with the witnesses to Christ's death and resurrection. With distances of geography and time removed, we become part of that great body of people who come trembling to the cross of Christ for salvation. When I think of that, I wonder what became of Barabbas. I wonder if he witnessed the crucifixion. If you knew that another man had taken your place on the cross, and the execution was happening right now, just a stone’s throw outside the city wall, wouldn’t you go and see? I can imagine Barabbas at Calvary. Whether he knew the other two being crucified or not, he knew the man in the middle. Slowly the truth must have percolated into Barabbas’s head that he was witnessing his own crucifixion. That was his cross. Those were his spikes. We sing songs about Jesus dying in our place but for Barabbas that was literally true. The Bible doesn’t say anything more of Barabbas. Maybe he became a Christian. Maybe he got himself crucified for some other crime. But whatever his outcome, Barabbas may have been the first person ever to understand a great Christian truth: Jesus died in our place. Jesus died in our place. That was my cross. Those were my nails. Like the song says, “Sometimes, it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.” How about you?