Mat 27:11-25 And Jesus [Yeshua] stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus [Yeshua] said unto him, Thou sayest. (12) And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. (13) Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? (14) And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly. (15) Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. (16) And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. (17) Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus [Yeshua] which is called Christ? 18. For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. (19) When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. (20) But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus [Yeshua]. (21) The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. (22) Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. (23) And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. (24) When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. (25) Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
This is a rather fascinating passage of Scripture that sheds some light on a couple of fundamental principles of the human psyche and the ability to manipulate it.
Here we have Yeshua, the Messiah. The one foretold in the Law and the Prophets, of which the ruling class who were hell-bent on murdering him were supposed to be experts. Yeshua was teaching that the laws, or takanots (man-made laws and traditions, NOT the Torah that YHVH gave Moses…Christ never teaches that God’s law is null and void) of the Pharisees and Sadducees were an abomination to God, and grievous to follow. Now, we know that Matthew was actually originally written in Hebrew, not Greek. Therefore, a passage in which Yeshua battles the Pharisees religious system becomes a little clearer, when correctly translated…
Mat 23:2-4 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: (3) All therefore whatsoever [HE(MOSES)] bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their [TAKANOTS, RULES]: for they say, and do not. (4) For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
Here, we have a ruling class, which according to Yeshua Himself, bind heavy burdens that are painful to be borne, yet they themselves do not even follow these laws.
These things were designed for one purpose: Control. If I can devise a religious system which gets you to jump through my flaming hoop, then I have control over your life. I can then bleed you dry, and kill you. This is the system that was in place during Yeshua’s ministry.
In every time of tyranny in history, people have been controlled, manipulated, sucked dry, and murdered. And even at this time, it was nothing new. Several ancient civilizations had already exhibited these traits prior to Jerusalem in Yeshua’s time.
Now, a rational person who still somehow maintains even just a shred of the ability to question, reason, and think independently, would come to the conclusion that this system of control is morally reprehensible, and should be fought at all cost.
But what happened, when the people were given a choice?
Here is Barabbas, a known career criminal. And Yeshua, God’s offer of reconciliation and renewal of His covenant with His people. The Truth. Declared by the Roman magistrate to have been found a just man.
Not only did they deny the Truth, but they chose to have it removed from them so it could no longer inconvenience their seared consciences.
Mat 27:16-20 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. (17) Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? (18) For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. (19) When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. (20) But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
The ruling class, or government in control of the people had such a hold on them that they actually were successful in persuading the masses to choose to remain blind sheep. Amazingly, they were so thoroughly successful that these people actually chose to unleash a known predator on themselves, rather than admit they were slaves! Wow.
So, here is the ruling class, controlling the people, extorting and lying to them. And then the people are given a choice. And this same government told the people to choose to release a thief which could potentially prey on them, over the Truth.
And we know the outcome of this amazing example of the power of propaganda. The people chose their own destruction over the Truth.
Thinking about “pleasant” things to the point where you deny reality isn’t called optimism…its blindness. It’s a sad fact that Americans today would rather be unaware of the Truth. This denial is so deeply ingrained in our hearts that, when given a choice between the Truth and self-destruction, we choose the latter.
This is man without God. This is why the secularization of our society was so aggressively pursued by those in control; because blindness and ignorance are the most infectious, and deadly diseases in the history of mankind.
How else can we explain the Western Gentile Christian’s enthusiastic embrace of outright abominable pagan religious holy days as his own? How else do we explain the apathy of the American public to the atrocities that are being committed against themselves by our own government?
We cried for a choice, we were given one, and we chose Barabbas. Not only did we choose, but we even declared that the blood of the Truth be on our own children.
WAKE UP.
