As Pilate stood before the Jewish people, he presented to them two prisoners. It was tradition that at the feast of Passover, Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea, would release one prisoner of their choice. On one side stood Jesus, the Son of God, and on the other side stood Barabbas, an insurrectionist and murderer. The choice should be simple. Barabbas had literally murdered people and incited an insurrection against Rome. There was nothing about Barabbas that made him worthy to walk away from the punishment that he deserved. Jesus, on the other hand, did nothing wrong. He made the lame to walk again. He opened deaf ears. He gave sight to the blind. He taught that you should love your neighbor as yourself and he taught that He was bringing resurrection and life. He was the light of the world. He brought hope to a hopeless people. Jesus did nothing, but good. Surely, the Jewish people would want Jesus. They chose Barabbas…
How could this happen? This man named Jesus wasn’t just any other person. He was the Son of God. He was the Messiah. He was God in the flesh. How could the Jewish people choose Barabbas over Jesus? In addition, the Jewish people went a step further and called for His crucifixion. If we were in the position of Jesus, how would we react? I presume that most would react in anger. The Jewish people were putting the greatest man that has ever walked the Earth to death. Did they not understand what they were doing? If we were in Jesus’s position, we would pronounce judgment on them or call down thousands of angels to destroy the world. Perhaps many would defend themselves against the accusation. The trial of Jesus was a sham. He was accused by false witnesses. If we were in Jesus’s position, we would defend ourselves against the false accusation. What did Jesus do? He stood alone, in silence.
While Jesus stood alone and took the unfair punishment delivered to Him, Barabbas got to walk away. He got to walk away from the punishment that he deserved. He got to walk away from the whipping and the lashing. He got to walk away from the shame. He got to walk away from the cross. Barabbas was the man who got to walk away. Do you think Barabbas ever looked back to Jesus? Do you think he ever wondered how special of an event this was? Do you think he ever thanked Jesus for taking His punishment? Do you think Barabbas changed his life and followed Jesus? The text does not tell us any other information about Barabbas and that is fine, because what became of Barabbas is not the point of the story. The point is Jesus loved Barabbas.
We cannot understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ until we recognize who we are in this story. We are Barabbas. We are the people that got to walk away. We got to walk away from the punishment that we deserved. It is certainly true that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and the punishment of sin is death (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23), but consider the words of Paul. He writes, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8). There is nothing we could possibly do, say, or feel that would make us worthy of not being punished, but like Barabbas, Jesus loves us enough to take our place. This is the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
While we do not know whether or not Barabbas changed his life, we still have the opportunity to live a changed life. We have been set free by God’s grace and have been enabled to walk in newness of life. I encourage you to walk in the light of God’s grace knowing that God can set you free.
- Spend time in personal reflection. Think about the sins you have committed and how God forgives you of those sins. What does that tell you about God?
- Ask yourself. Has your life been changed because of Jesus? If it has not, why?
- Are there people in your life who may be Christians but still struggle to see how God has forgiven them? How can you and your family encourage them and remind them that, like Barabbas, they have been set free by God’s grace? Pray for these people.
- It is clear that even though Barabbas was a murderer and an insurrectionist, God loved Barabbas. Sometimes we can struggle to love someone like Barabbas. How can we better love someone like Barabbas?
Print article and questions HERE.