“Which one do you want?”
With Easter less than a month away I decided it would probably be a good idea to go ahead and read and study the betrayal, arrest, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This story that I’ve read so many times. I wondered and prayed if it could possibly speak to me in any type of unique way. Knowing that God is able to speak with us through His word, I knew that it could.
As I read and got to Matthew 27:11 I just imagined myself as a fly on the wall or person nearby with Jesus. Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus simply answers “You have said so.” I don’t know about you but if anyone other than Jesus responded to me that way I’d be a little annoyed and probably get an attitude with them. So I imagine Pilate’s next response being something more like, “Dude, don’t you get?! The priests and elders have all kinds of testimonies against you!” But still we see no answer from Jesus.
Shortly after this conversation we see a large crowd gathering as it was a custom that at this time Pilate would release a prisoner who was on death row. The two prisoners that were with Pilate were Jesus, and a man by the name of Barabbas. Barabbas was a well known criminal and someone who should definitely be on death row. There was really no comparison between him and Jesus, who we know is the son of the living God.
And what happens next is what stuck out to me the most. Pilate goes ahead and quiets everyone down and asks the crowd, “Which one do you want?” He’s like who are you going to choose for me to release? This rightful prisoner, Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah. And I think what struck me most, as I imagined myself in the crowd as Pilate asked this question was, I am faced with this question every single day.
Which one do I want? Do I want Jesus? Or do I want what the world has to offer me?
Not much time passes and Pilate’s wife sends him a little candy graham saying that she doesn’t want any part of that innocent man’s death (Jesus). But the chief priests and elders convince the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released.
So yet again in verse 21 Pilate asks, “Which of the two do you want?” And as I read that phrase a second time, I asked myself out loud, “What do I want?” All kinds of answers popped into my head and onto my paper…
- I want a great marriage
- I want a great home
- I want financial security
- I want my business to succeed
- I want to be loved
- I want to be looked up to
- I want to have fun
- I want to be a dad
- I want, I want, I want.
And finally, after thinking all of these other wants, I got down to the end and thought, I want Jesus.
You see, the problem with my answer was not that I wanted all these things. These things in and of themselves are not bad things. The problem with my answer was that I wanted all of these things more than I wanted Jesus.
I wanted to serve two masters. I wanted what this world has to offer me while still having what Jesus has to offer. And the bible tells us that is pretty dang tough, as a matter a fact its impossible to serve Jesus, and ourselves. When our heart is serving ourselves and Jesus the bible says that we will hate one and serve the other. And lets face it, as broken, flawed sinners we all have the tendency to serve ourselves first and foremost which ultimately means we would end up hating God, despising God, and resenting God. A true relationship with Jesus should not be hated, despised, forced, or resented. It should be peaceful, joyful, loving and the best thing in your life.
So after the crowd hears Pilate ask for the second time, “Which do you want?” they respond that they want Barabbas. And the final question that Pilate asks the crowd is this, “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
And that’s the question I want to leave all of you with today, “What shall YOU do, then, with Jesus who is the risen Christ, our Savior?” We know how the crowd responded in verse 22, “Crucify him!” They put Jesus to death in their lives that day. We can either put Him to death, or serve Him, but we can’t do both! “Which do you want?”
-Mitchel J Wiley
Lyrics from "Here's my Heart Lord"
“Here’s my heart Lord,
Speak what is true,
Cause I am found, I am yours,
I am loved, I’m made pure,
I have life, I can breathe,
I am healed, I am free,
Cause you are strong, you are sure,
You are life, you endure,
You are good, always true,
You are light breaking through,
Here’s my heart Lord,
Here’s my LIFE Lord.”
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