Articles
You Are Barabbas
Reading: Luke 23:1-25
Before His crucifixion, Jesus was passed back and forth between authorities of the Jews and the Roman Empire. Through it all he was examined, questioned, mocked, and abused. Finally, Pilate the governor expressed his intent to release him. This was according to the custom of the time (v. 17); Pilate must have thought the choice was an easy one, given the case before him. But while the will of sinners prevailed (25), the will of God was also carried out: the crowd fumed and demanded that they receive a criminal, Barabbas, (18-19) while Jesus died instead.
In the unjust trials of the Christ, we see the scales of spiritual justice we all must reckon with in our own lives. We all, in some way, accuse God of misleading us or forbidding us from some desired action (v. 2). So we do things our own way, exercising the free will God grants us to oppose Him. This makes us rebels against our eternal, divine Creator. We find ourselves to be more like the insurrectionist and murder, Barabbas, than we would care to admit—but rather than rebellion against a worldly empire, our rebellion pits us against the God of our very lives.
You are Barabbas. You deserved death—not just the separation of your soul from your body, but eternal separation of your soul from its Maker. You stood condemned before the throne of God for your chosen actions. And yet Jesus, who did no wrong, the very Son of God Himself, allowed Himself to be sentenced to your punishment instead. When you are in Christ, condemnation and certain death is turned into inexpressible hope and remarkable salvation. This is jubilant and fantastic. This is heart-wrenching and devastating. This is the good news of Jesus Christ.
