How quickly “Hosanna!” was replaced by a request to release Barabbas. Most commentators suggest that Mark's crowd is fickle, turning on the one who they once hailed. A few argue that Mark describes two different crowds with two different motives – Jesus’ loyal followers never turned. The latter interpretation doesn’t seem to take Mark seriously, where everyone abandons Jesus. And neither takes the crowd seriously.
Consider the beginning of their song at the triumphal entry: “Hosanna! Blessed is the one (ὁ) who comes in the name of the Lord!” “The one” is ambiguous: blessed by virtue of coming “in the name of the Lord.” Our minds make Jesus “the one.” He is, after all, the central figure of the Gospel narratives. And ritual reinforces our interpretation, since we regularly use these words in the “Holy, Holy” to proclaim Christ’s eucharistic entry in our midst.
But their song continued. “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father (πατρὸς) David!” Amidst militaristic overtones – the colt, leafy branches, “Hosanna” – these words strongly indicate their celebration of a nationalistic theology (or a theological nationalism?). “The one” they were cheering was the Son of “our father David,” who championed God’s liberation of Israel. In that moment Jesus was, for them, “the one.”
Enter Barabbas. Imprisoned along with rebels attempting to overthrow Roman rule, Barabbas, literally Bar-abbas, “son of the father,” had tried to do exactly what the crowd celebrated in their triumphal song. They had originally identified Jesus, but (with the chief priests’ help) they recognized how Barabbas more clearly presented as “the one who comes in the name of the Lord” by attempting to usher in “the kingdom of our abba/πατρὸς David.” Pilate, the outsider, perceived the priests’ jealousy. Had the crowd heeded him, they might have chosen differently. But, more faithful than fickle, they identified God’s Passover promise and acted accordingly.
Perhaps it is easy to think of “us” versus “them.” We know that Jesus is “the one,” not Barabbas. But our ease should be short-lived, because there are as many different Jesuses presented to us as there are theologies. And even the most genuine versions of Jesus challenge each other. Faithfully discerning between them, choosing some, abandoning others, situates us alongside the crowd. For then, as now, we hear God’s word through language distorted by our structural sin, and we perceive the messianic reign through lenses refracting our cultural biases.
Nevertheless, God – the divine Other – calls us to proceed differently. Listening vulnerably for God’s voice spoken by outsiders – the human others – in our midst critically checks our theological pre-conceptions. Without them, when we sing praise to the one “who comes in the name of the Lord,” who, ultimately, do we mean?
God of compassion, God of redemption,
Open our hearts to hear your word.
Grant us humility to better seek your will,
Give us wisdom to live your Gospel,
And confirm in us your grace,
That we might, more and more,
Be the priestly people who sing your praise.
Hosanna in the highest.
David Pitt, PhD
Cantor
Wartburg Theological Seminary
