‘When the people assembled Pilate said to them, ‘Which would you like me to release to you – Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus called Messiah?” Mathew 27:17
It was high festival time and the governor would release one prisoner from sentence. He would release whomever the crowd chose among those he put up for release.
So Pilate proposed to release one of two prisoners, Jesus or Barabbas. Secretly, he thought they would choose Jesus and it would let him off the hook because he could find nothing wrong in Jesus.
Barabbas was, according to Matthew, Mark and Luke, a murderer and a man who incited rebellion.
His name, Jesus Barabbas, is believed to mean ‘son of the father’ so there is a real parallel here with Jesus the Son of God the Father.
It is interesting to note that Barabbas was also accused of insurrection, the very thing our Lord was accused of. According to the chief priests, Jesus’ teaching ‘is causing unrest among the people all over Judea. It started from Galilee and now has spread here.’
The whole story is graphic in Luke 23:1-25. You won’t be able to put it down when you see the parallels.
I think ‘our’ Jesus must have been appalled at any proposal to release him. If they released him, he could not save us. His death was the one I deserve. It was the death I was born into – and Jesus stood in for me.
Did Barabbas feel like the luckiest man in history? He went free because Jesus died in his place. But Barabbas never acknowledged Jesus. Like most of the world today, Barabbas took the goodies and ran.
Jesus died for him, as he died for the whole world and, if you ask what it means today, many will tell you ‘it’s irrelevant.’
Jesus set two men free that day. Barabbas and one of the thieves dying with him on a cross.
The thief made his choice, too and it echoes down to us today. His choice gives us the courage to turn to Jesus and say, ‘Lord, remember me ……’
Elizabeth Price,
team writer with Just a Minute