Barabbas and the Middle Cross

One of the great marvels of Scripture is the way minor characters embody an entire narrative. The Bible is full of obscure individuals about whom we know little except their names, and on occasion, we do not even know their names.

The Ethiopian Eunuch

The Philippian Jailer

The Woman Caught in Adultery

At Calvary, we see an unnamed individual who I believe to be the first Gentile missionary as he proclaimed to the entire Gentile world that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God.

Matthew 27:54 “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.”

Tonight, we are going to focus on Barabbas. We all know Barabbas, but do you know the incredible significance of Barabbas? Do you know the symbolism of who Barabbas represents?

1. BARABBAS

Make no mistake about this fact. Barabbas was a criminal. He was a murderer, an evil man.

Mark 15:7 “And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.”

Barabbas led a rebellion against Rome in Jerusalem, and in the process of that insurrection, he committed murder.

Matthew, the great record keeper, in his book calls Barabbas the notable prisoner meaning what Barabbas had done was known by everyone.

Barabbas was guilty. He was an insurrectionist. He was a murderer. He deserved to die, and he was condemned to die justly by the Romans. His were capital offenses.

The Romans used crucifixion as a means of capital punishment, and on this day, there were three criminals that were to be executed. All three deserved what they were given.

Luke 23:39–40 “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?”

We casually call these other two thieves, but that is not correct terminology.

The Bible calls them malefactors. A malefactor was someone who committed murder during another criminal act, more than likely robbery, but they could have been two of Barabbas’s men.

If what they did was shared on the evening news, everyone of us here would be in agreement that all three deserved to die.

I want you to consider this.

The Romans reserved the cross for capital crime and political opposition.

According to Roman law, all three of these men deserved to die by crucifixion.

They deserved what they were getting. They were guilty. Their guilt was determined and settled, and their sentences were justified, death by crucifixion.

Let’s dig a little deeper into the name Barabbas.

Barabbas, as a name, means son of the father.

Using the entire Bible, we know what the name Barabbas is telling us.

Barabbas was a son of Adam. He deserved to die just as everyone here deserves to die. Why?

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

“Well, Jimmy, I am not a murderer or an insurrectionist.”

Dear friend, you must not know your Bible.

James 2:10–11 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.”

In God’s court, we are all Barabbas. We are all capital criminals. We are worthy of the death penalty. We just do not realize how much we are like Barabbas.

Matthew 5:28 “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

There goes you shall not commit adultery slam out the door.

1 John 4:20 “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

There goes you shall not bear false witness slam out the door. There goes you shall not murder slam out the door. Baptists say things like this, and they really should save their breath for later in life.

“I love them, but I don’t like them.” Really?

Did you know some Christians have so much hatred for Nancy Pelosi that if they had half the chance, I do not know what they might do to her? Is that Biblical? No, it is criminal according to God.

Barabbas deserved to die. He was an evil person, but so are you and I. None of us are good according to Romans Chap. 3. All of us are transgressors of the law. All of us deserve death. We should die. I am not talking about physical death. I am talking about permanent death.

A death that forever separates us from God.

I have read that it was customary, when there was more than one person being executed, that the most prominent of the criminals would be executed in the middle. On that day, that is what was going to happen.

There were three crosses built. The middle cross WAS NOT for Jesus. It was for Barabbas.

Barabbas knew the middle cross was his, but do you realize that just as that middle cross was built for Barabbas, it was also built for you?

2. Jesus for Barabbas.

Barabbas was guilty, but the Jews were so determined to kill Jesus that they were willing to overlook his guilt, so they brought Jesus before Pilate, but Pilate could find not fault in Jesus.

Matthew 27:18–19 “For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.”

Matthew 27:23–24 “And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.”

If Pilate had been a person of character and courage, he would have released Jesus, but his character and courage were absent as instead he chose to be a crooked politician.

Pilate knew, as custom, that the Romans would release one Jewish prisoner before the Feast of the Passover .

This prisoner would be released as an act of goodwill toward the Jews. Above all else, Rome sought political peace. Pilate sought that peace even if it meant releasing a convicted murderer, but Pilate “freed” himself from that decision by washing his hands, but dear friend, he could never wash away his rejection of Jesus as Pilate was on trial just as everyone of us were.

Pilate left Jesus’s fate in the hands of the people even though he himself could find no fault in Him. If any man searches Jesus, tries Jesus, he is not going to find fault.

Mark 15:6 “Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.”

Do you remember the significance of the Passover?

Exodus 12:23–24 “For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.”

The Passover was to be celebrated forever as a reminder of the blood of the lamb protecting the Israelites from judgment. Where the blood was applied, there was no judgment. It was a foreshadowing of the blood shed at Calvary by Jesus Christ the Son of God. Where that blood is applied, there is no condemnation.

Now, I did some digging into the names of Barabbas and Jesus.

The Bible tells us what the name Jesus means.

Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Jesus, the Son of God, came to this earth to save people from their sins.

If you do some research, you are going to find that Jesus Christ was not the only person named Jesus in Galilee. Think of Jesus in biblical context.

Many times in the Scripture, He is referred to as Jesus of Nazareth which indicate there was more than one person named Jesus.

Now, I want you to pay close attention to Matthew Chap 27, verses 16 & 17.

Matthew 27:16–17 “And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?”

In some manuscripts, and I was shocked at this, Barabbas is referred to as Jesus Barabbas which would mean as we said earlier, “Jesus, the son of his father.”

If that is true, think of the choice Pilate offered in a spiritual context.

The people were making a choice between Jesus, the son of his father and Jesus, the Son of God. The crowd rejected Jesus, the Son of God for someone who was just like them, but Jesus had told His disciples that this would be the case.

John 5:43 “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.”

Think about the words of Jesus Christ here.

Barabbas came in his own name, Jesus Barabbas, and the people accepted him, but Jesus Christ came in His Father’s name, and the people rejected Him. It is absolutely incredible.

Can you imagine Barabbas? Let’s relive what he thought was his last few hours on earth.

He had his trial and was rightfully found guilty. The Roman soldiers locked him in his cell to await crucifixion.

As the Roman soldiers locked the door behind them, they nailed the charges against Barabbas on his prison door. Those charges were the handwritten ordinances violated by Barabbas. On that handwritten notice, there were at least three things written:

Insurrectionist

Murderer

Death by Crucifixion with the Roman seal attached to the document.

All night long Barabbas could hear the Roman soldiers preparing his cross. All night long, he peeked out his prison window in horror as the soldiers constructed his cross.

He could not sleep. He knew the Roman custom about releasing a prisoner to pacify the Jews, but there was no way that the Romans were going to release him. He was guilty. He was condemned. He was a murderer. There was no way he would be released from what he deserved.

Do you know who else is as guilty as Barabbas? Raise your hand!!!!!

You are guilty with no hope of being released. You have to die. You are guilty.

Barabbas counted down the hours as they seemed to passing by so quickly. He continued peeking through that window. His cross was finished. Suddenly, he hears a rooster crow three times as the sun starts rising over the horizon. Batabbas’s time on earth was reaching its end.

Suddenly, he hears a Roman soldier walking down the hall with keys clanging. He knows this is it. He knows the end is near. The soldier opens the door, and Barabbas hears words he thought he would never hear.

“Barabbas, you are the luckiest man in the world. You are free. Jesus of Nazareth is dying in your place.”

Barabbas was hanging by the thread of despair, but freedom replaced his hopelessness. He was minutes away from death, but Jesus, the Son of God, died for Barabbas, the son of Adam.

Every believer here was Barabbas. You and I were guilty before God. There was no denying our guilt. We deserved to die a painful death.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

But due to nothing we deserve, Jesus took my place on the cross I deserved. He chose to die as me for me. The innocent One became my guilt. Literally on Calvary that day, Jesus Christ became Jimmy Clendenin. He was me. He was my substitute. I deserved to be there, but Jesus took my place.

Jesus did not die on Barabbas’s cross. Jesus died on the Cross that only He was able to carry. Barabbas could not accomplish what Jesus accomplished for Barabbas and for me.

Like Barabbas, I was set free with no condemnation.

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

I want you to really consider what Jesus did for Barabbas. Barabbas was a murderer and an insurrectionist. He had a handwritten list of charges attached to his name, but when Jesus died in his place. That handwritten notice had “IT IS FINISHED” written on it. Those charges could never be brought against Barabbas again.

Colossians 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”

The same thing happened to me that happened to Barabbas. The list of charges on my handwritten notice of guilt were long and lengthy, but they were finished by my substitute, Jesus Christ.

Conclusion:

What happened to Barabbas after his release? Did he go back to his life of crime? Was he grateful? Did he live as Jesus would want him to live?

No one knows. The Bible is silent, and secular and church historians of the day offer contrasting opinions, but the choice available to Barabbas is available to you.

You can either accept what Jesus did in your place, or you can pay for your own list of offenses charged to your name.

Will you surrender to God grateful for what Christ has done for you? Will you reject what Christ did for you and live apart from God, left to your future judgment?