| “ | I am running out of time. All my forces are gathered to Jerusalem for the feast. The time is ripe. The people are waiting. Never has the populace been so hungry, so expectant of the appearance of their Messiah. It all seems so natural in the course of my own destiny. I cannot ignore that the hand of God has carefully laid every stone of my pathway. But it does not really matter what I believe. What matters is what the people believe. And what my men believe. They need a messiah-someone to give them courage and strength. Someone who will instill in them a will to fight-a man who will lead them to victory. | „ |
| ~ Bar Abba's plan |
| “ | There, there. You see? I am not a heartless man. But merely a man of passion and conviction. It is my hope, James, that as you get to know me, you will come to understand the forces that guide me. I am, in my heart-as you will doubtless discover-the most peaceful man one can ever know. But alas, the days of peace are at an end. All right. That's enough. Heli, take her away. | „ |
| ~ Bar Abba to Jim Hawkins and Jenny Plimpton |
Barabbas, better known as Bar Abba, is one of the villains who appeared in Chris Heimerdinger's Tennnis Shoes Adventure Series. He appears as one of the two secondary antagonists in Kingdoms and Conquerors (alongside K'ayyum) and a minor antagonist in Drums of Desolation. He is a Zealot who plans to convince his people that he is the Messiah who will save them from their opposition.
History[]
Kingdoms and Conquerors[]
After Jim Hawkins and his sister Jenny Plimpton enter the pillar of energy in the Rainbow Room, they are transported into the side of the hill in the Judean desert. They are dug out by a passing group of travellers, who are amazed to see Jim performing CPR on Jenny (who had suffocated from being buried alive). The travellers bring Jim and Jenny to Jerusalem to meet Bar Abba.
In Jerusalem, Bar Abba is amazed to hear the story of Jim's miracle. He holds a meal for Jim and Jenny at his villa, hoping to grill them for information as they eat. Bar Abba shares his intentions to free Israel from the Romans, Edomites, and the betrayers of the House of Hanan. When Jim asks why Bar Abba is so interested in him, Bar Abba explains his plan. He wants to declare himself to be the Messiah in order to tell the people of Judea that it's time to rise against the opposition. But for many years, he had anticipated a forerunner-someone who performed miracles. Having heard the story of Jim supposedly bringing his sister back to life, Bar Abba believes that Jim is that man.
Jim is incredulous that Bar Abba thinks he's a miracle performer when in reality, he performed normal CPR. He tries to convince Bar Abba of the truth, only to get shot down. Bar Abba, along with his aide Heli, take Jim and Jenny upstairs to Bar Abba's office. Bar Abba shows Jim his treasure trove and promises to give it to him if he serves as a charlatan who will help him cement people's belief that he is the Messiah. Jim flatly refuses, much to Bar Abba's disappointment. Jim stresses that Bar Abba is not the real Messiah, and that that title belongs to Jesus Christ. Heli threatens Jenny's life to convince Jim to accompany Bar Abba, to which he reluctantly agrees. Bar Abba opts to bring both Jim and Jenny with him to Jerusalem, but threatens to kill Jenny if either of them step out of line.
Bar Abba brings Jim and Jenny to Jerusalem, with Heli and Gestas acting as security. When they arrive at the city, many of the citizens gather and are unsure of Bar Abba. Some of the Zealots accompanying Bar Abba begin boasting about the supposed miracles Bar Abba performed, but the crowd is uninterested and begins to clear out. Bar Abba's Zealot robbers go out to gather the dispersed people while Bar Abba reprimands Jim for not performing his duties to Bar Abba's satisfaction. He threatens that if Jim fails to herald Bar Abba as the Messiah, then he and his sister will die.
When the people are gathered back together, Bar Abba prepares to declare himself the Messiah. He commands Jim to stand before the people as his forerunner, to which Jim refuses. Bar Abba furiously vows to punish Jim later, after he has finished what he came to Jerusalem for. He approaches the crowd and provides a speech about the Israelites' current situation, and how he can help them as their Messiah. It is during this speech when Jim realizes that Bar Abba is actually Barabbas.
A rabbi asks who Bar Abba's forerunner is, and a Zealot indicates Jim. The crowd begins arguing over whether they want to hear the words of Jim or Bar Abba. Jim reluctantly speaks up and admits that Bar Abba can be their Messiah. But he also describes the true Messiah Jesus Christ, and how he can deliver everything Bar Abba promised and more. Jim states that Jesus will come to Jerusalem soon, and that they should seek him out.
Bar Abba is furious to hear Jim's words. He declares Jim to be a liar and a spy for Pontius Pilate. A random onlooker speaks up and contradicts Bar Abba, causing the rest of the crowd to break into a riot. Some of them try to attack Jim and Bar Abba. This attracts the attention of the Romans, who rush to arrest Bar Abba. Bar Abba escapes into a nearby shop and spots Jim reuniting with Jenny. He pursues them onto the roof of a building, where he tries to accost Jim. In his tussle with Bar Abba, Jim manages to knock him out. Shortly thereafter, the Roman soldiers find and arrest Bar Abba.
Drums of Desolation[]
In the prologue to the book, Bar Abba is brought into the same prison where Jim Hawkins is being held after being arrested by the Romans. While in prison, Bar Abba chides Jim for betraying him the day before. He insists that, if Jim hadn't done what he did, Bar Abba's rebellion might've been successful. Jim tells Bar Abba that his plan was always destined to fail. Gestas, Dysmas, and the other Zealot thugs in the prison tell Bar Abba that they have seen Jesus, the real Messiah, riding into Jerusalem. Bar Abba shrugs it off, saying that if Jesus were the real Messiah, he would've liberated Israel from its oppressors.
Right then, Jesus Christ is brought to the prison. Bar Abba laughs at Jesus and mocks him, much to Jim's chagrin.