Jesus has been predicting his own death. He has willingly walked the path from Galilee toward his final destination, Jerusalem, all the while knowing what will happen to him. The time is near:
Mark 14:32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
"Abba" is an Aramaic word, meaning "father." Jesus, the Son of the Father, prays that if God is willing, he might be released from the fate of the cross.
Everything is possible:
Mark 15:1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas (Aramaic = "son of the father") was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Everything is possible.
Barabbas,
"son of the father"
has been released.
"This cup"
has been taken from him.
He deserved to die,
but has been set free.
And Jesus will go to the cross:
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man
did not come to be served,
but to serve,
and to give his life
as a ransom for many.
In all four gospels, Barabbas is well known, but when Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, his use of the Aramaic word "Abba" is unique to the gospel of Mark.
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