Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Mark 15:6-15)
Observation:
We have two men, Jesus and Barabbas. Jesus is an innocent man, Barabbas is a guilty man. Jesus is the Son of God, Barabbas is a child of the devil. A guilty man is going free, and an innocent man is being punished. Barabbas is guilty of murder, Jesus' crime is healing and miracles. This seems to be a lucky day for Barabbas. I'm sure that Barabbas had no idea he was going to be released when he woke up that morning. I'm sure that if it had been anyone beside Jesus who was in this situation, Barabbas would have never been released. It wasn't that the people loved Barabbas, it was because of their deep hatred of Jesus. Barabbas seems to be the first person to directly benefit from Jesus' death on the cross. He is the first person to receive life (in the physical sense) because of Jesus' death.
Application:
When I think about Barabbas, it seems like the ultimate picture of the gospel. The death of the innocent in place of the guilty. If it wasn't for Jesus death on the cross, Barabbas would have died. Jesus received the punishment that Barabbas deserved. I see myself in Barabbas. I am guilty, but Jesus stepped in and died on the cross for me. I am a criminal, in need of an act of mercy and grace. I wonder if Barabbas visited Golgotha when Jesus was on the cross. I wonder if Barabbas looked up and said, "I should be there, I deserve to be there and He doesn't". When I see Jesus on the cross, I say to myself, "I deserve to be there." I think I can learn a lot from Barabbas. I learn about the wickedness of my heart, and I compare it to the grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus shed his blood and gave his life, for sinners who were bound for hell. This is the source of my joy and confidence.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for paying the price for my crimes. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank you for adopting me as your child. You are so holy and so loving and so merciful. I love you so much, but you loved me first, even while I was still wicked to the core. Thank you for giving me a new heart. In Jesus name, amen!
1 comment:
First of all it wasn't "at a feast" that "he used to release for them one prisoner...", -the feast of the Jewish Passover was approaching (the next day)... and, the was no 'custom' to release one prisoner that was ever exercised before or since.
More importantly, the so-called prisoner "was called Barabbas", -that was Not His 'name'. His name was Jesus (see the original Greek Gospel of Matthew 27:17). His name was removed or omitted from the Latin translation of the same text (around 390 c.e.) and most of the 'translations' thereafter.
'Barabbas', in and of itself', is not a proper or surname per se' (any more so than is "Christ"), -rather, it is an Aramaic appellation, the meaning of which is: Bar = Son + Abba = Father (as in 'the Father or Creator of us all' or 'God'). Therefore, Jesus (was called the) 'Son of God'.
He was released.
Roland, -a reluctant iconoclast.
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