THE EASTER OPTION: you, Jesus and Barabbas
INTRODUCTION
In a recent conversation with Pastor David Johnson about Tim Alberta’s book The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, Pat Kahnke, host of the YouTube channel: Culture, Faith, and Politics, asked how Christian leaders can respond to the constant messaging that ties the MAGA movement to Christianity. David’s answer was simple but profound:
“Stick to the biblical text.”
He illustrated this by retelling the Easter scene where Pontius Pilate offers the crowd a choice between Barabbas and Jesus (Matthew 27:17, Mark 15:11, Luke 23:18 and John 18:40). That moment, David explained, is not so different from the choices we face today—choices that cut to the heart of faith, truth, and allegiance.
It’s a message every Christian should hear (link to the video at the end).
SUMMARY
Pat Kahnke begins by asking Pastor David how, in a culture so saturated with political messaging, pastors can respond to the constant linking of right‑wing politics with Christianity. David replies that pastors must return to the biblical text and the story itself.
He illustrates this with Palm Sunday.
For years, David recalls, he has taught that Palm Sunday is often misunderstood. Traditionally, it’s seen as children waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna,” as if it were simply call to praise. But “Hosanna” does not mean “Halleluiah.” It means “Lord, save us now.” The crowd was not asking for forgiveness of sins or heaven after death; they were pleading for liberation from Rome. Palm branches themselves were symbols of the Maccabean revolt, a call for a hammer to crush the empire. This was a call for political liberation not spiritual salvation
When people were waving palm leaves they were pleading for an immediate intervention from the oppressive Roman empire. This was not a call for redemption nor a hope for eternity.
When people laid down their garments, it also echoed ancient coronation rituals, signaling submission to a new king. In essence, the crowd was trying to force Jesus into kingship, demanding that he become a strongman who would make Israel great again—like David’s throne restored.
But Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt, a humble donkey, in stark contrast to Pilate, who arrived at Passover with war horses and soldiers to suppress any form of rebellion. The people wanted a warrior king; Jesus came as a suffering servant. They cried, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” longing for national greatness.
At this point Pastor David jokingly remarks that they might as well have been wearing hats that said MIGA: “Make Israel Great Again.”
Yet at the end of the procession, Jesus wept over Jerusalem, lamenting that they were blind to the things that make for peace. They believed peace would come through sword and hammer, but Jesus offered another way.
This disconnect explains why, days later, the crowd chose Barabbas over Jesus.
The crowd did not like Barabbas more than the liked Jesus. But they liked the WAY of Barabbas more than they liked the WAY of Jesus. Barabbas represented liberation through force. Jesus, who healed the sick and turned water into wine, was rejected not because people hated him, but because they rejected his way. They wanted power, not humility. David reflects that every time we exert power over others—whether in family, staff, or community—we too choose Barabbas’s way instead of Christ’s.
This version keeps the heart of Pastor David’s teaching intact, showing how Palm Sunday reveals the clash between worldly power and Jesus’ way of peace, and how that tension still echoes in modern political movements.
Pastor David continues by saying: You chose Barabbas—you chose the way of Barabbas. He then offers a contemporary example. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the influential First Baptist Church in Dallas, was asked after the 2016 election how he could support Donald Trump, given that evangelicals had long insisted that character mattered most. Jeffress’s response became famous:
“In that office, I want the biggest, baddest, meanest son of a [expletive] I can find.”
David points out that this is precisely the way of Barabbas. It reflects a truncated gospel—one that emphasizes accepting Jesus as personal Savior to secure heaven after death, but ignores following Jesus in his way of humility, peace, and sacrifice. When Jeffress says he wants the strongest man to win the culture wars, he is effectively saying, Give me Barabbas.
Dave recalls another story about Jeffress. In 2018 or 2020, Jeffress invited Trump to speak at his church on Christmas Day. Instead of celebrating the birth of Christ, the service turned into a political rally. At the end, the congregation did not sing Silent Night but stood, clapped, and chanted USA, USA. Dave reflects on this moment with grief: Christians were celebrating nationalism in place of Christ. He insists that if people cannot see what is wrong with that, then something has gone terribly astray. For him, this is not just misguided—it is blasphemy. And with that, he concludes.
This version captures the heart of the critique: the choice of Barabbas over Jesus is not just an ancient story, but a living reality when Christians embrace power, nationalism, and empire instead of the way of Christ.
Watch the full discussion here (13:39 minutes):