I Am Barabbas

Intro: Easter is here! I like Easter. It's fun and colorful, and where I spent the last 15 Easters, in Texas, you never know if it is going to snow, or if it's going to be so hot that your chocolate Easter bunny is going to melt before you finished eating it!

And since it is Easter, I found some Easter "dad" jokes. I'm sorry, I cannot help myself. Dad jokes are irresistible to me. So, I'll tell you a few.

- Where does Christmas come before Easter? In the dictionary

- What's the best way to make Easter easier? Replace the "t" with an "i"

- How does Easter end? With an "R"

- What is the Easter bunny's favorite restaurant? IHOP

- How does the Easter bunny stay in shape? He eggs-ercises.

- What happened to the Easter bunny that misbehaved in school? He got eggs-spelled

Ok, that's probably enough of that.

Let's get into the passage today. I'd like you to turn with me to Matthew 27. Before we begin reading, I want to tell you what has happened up to this point with Jesus. Matthew 27 encompasses the day of Jesus' crucifixion. If you're following along in the Bible app, you will the rundown there as well.

- Just a week prior to the events in chapter 27, starting in chapter 21, Jesus made, what is commonly referred to as his triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding a donkey's colt. This of course happens shortly after he has raised Lazarus from the dead, and news of this miracle and of Jesus making his way to Jerusalem has spread fast. So as Jesus rides into Jerusalem, there is a multitude crying out "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Many of these people are cutting down palm branches or taking of their own cloaks and casting them before the donkey that Jesus is riding, giving Jesus royal treatment, or the honor of a triumphant general coming back from battle. If you were here last week and have an elementary aged child, they went home with "palm" branches that they made in their craft time last Sunday during children's church.

- Jesus then goes to the temple, and for the second time in his ministry, he casts out all money changers and the people selling sacrificial animals in the temple. These men are charging outrageous prices and taking advantage of people who travel far and are hoping to purchase a clean and unblemished animal to sacrifice. Jesus calls them thieves and casts them out.

- People start coming to Jesus in the temple, and He heals them as they praise him.

- With all this, the Pharisees and temple leaders, already angry with Jesus and looking for reasons to kill him, begin to hate him even more because he has such a following.

- During this last week before his crucifixion, Jesus tells many more parables and is questioned by the Pharisees as they try increasingly to trap him. It is in this time frame that we Jesus gives an explanation of the greatest 2 commandments: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and might; and love your neighbor as yourself.

- Jesus once again rebukes the religious leaders for being hypocrites and for looking good on the outside but being dead on the inside.

- After this, as Jesus is looking at the buildings of the temple, he prophesies that it will be destroyed (this happens in the yead 70 A.D. and it is destroyed by Romans under the command of General Titus). He uses this time to also speak some prophesies of the end times (Matt. 24), followed by more parables in Chapter 25.

- When we come to chapter 26, we see a plot involving the chief priest to kill Jesus, and Judas agreeing to sell Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver.

- The disciples and Jesus celebrate the Passover.

- Before the Passover feast, Jesus washes his disciples feet, and once they are at the table, Judas gets up and leaves to betray Jesus.

- Later that evening, Jesus takes the remaining 11 disciples to the Gethsemane where Jesus prays, and twice he checks on his disciples, only to find them sleeping.

- It is after this second time that Judas arrives with a band of men and officers and religious leaders to arrest Jesus. To identify Jesus clearly, Judas betrays his master with a kiss.

- Jesus is lead off to be tried (illegally) before before a Jewish court. There they bring in false witnesses and accuse Jesus of blasphemy, and of trying to revolt against the Roman government.

- In the morning, they bring these accusations before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea. Jesus is questioned by Pilate, but he doesn't answer much. So Pilate sends him to Herod, who, after being bored with Jesus not answering any of his questions either, sends him back to Pilate.

- When Jesus goes back to Pilate, he is accused by the priests again, but does not answer his accusers, and Pilate, the Bible says, marvelled greatly at this.

This is where we find ourselves now. Matthew 27:15-23 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

This is all that Matthew says about Barabbas, that he was notable. But the other gospels tell us a bit more about why Barabbas was notable. Mark and Luke tell us that Barabbas was part of a group of men who started an insurrection in Jerusalem and had murdered people during that insurrection. John tells us that in addition to that, Barabbas was a thief or a robber. It is the same word used to describe the two that were later crucified with Jesus, leading some scholars to believe that Barabbas was possibly a in the same group as those two other thieves.

17 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?

As the verses before said, Pilate had a custom to deliver a prisoner during the time of the feast of the Passover. So he lets the crowd decide whether they want Jesus or Barabbas released. This, in his mind, should be a logical choice. Free Jesus, a non-violent offender, a miracle worker, a healer; or free Barabbas, a violent thief, robber, murderer, and insurrectionist. The choice should be clear.

18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

They had given Jesus to the Romans for their own self-serving reasons. They were envious of how many people were following Him, which meant that fewer people were following them, which in turn meant that they were losing power and influence among the people.

19 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.

20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

Pilate puts these two contrasting people knowing that the reason the Jews had arrested Jesus was out of petty envy.

The gospel of Luke tells us this about the crowd, that ...they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: Give us Barabbas. The crowd sees Jesus, the man that just 7 days before they had praised and worshipped. The man that they had witnessed do so many miracles. They have him, and they have Barabbas. A violent man, a murderer and thief, and a rioter. And they ask for his freedom. But they don't stop there...

22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

I always hated this part. How cruel, and foolish, and heartless could this crowd be? I hated reading this passage, and I hated hearing it. It would make my insides just well up with anger. Some of these people may have been the same people that just days before were shouting "Hosanna!" as Jesus entered Jerusalem.

As a teen, I heard a preacher preach on this passage, and he said, "If you were there, you'd probably be one of that crowd." I was deeply offended. I thought to myself, "Who does he think he is? I would not be part of the crowd calling for his crucifixion! Those people were bad, those people were evil."

And it is easy to think that way, and it is easy to get angry with them.

But much later in life, I came to a realization that I have no right to judge that crowd.

My call for you and for me this morning is a call to reflect and understand that we have no right to judge those that called for the release of Barabbas. We have no right to look down upon those men and women that cried out "Give us Barabbas; crucify Jesus!" We are the crowd. If you and I were in that time and in their shoes, would do the same thing they did. But I don't want to focus today so much on the crowd. I want to focus more on one man. Because as much as we are the crowd, we are Barabbas.

We are Barabbas, and this is how. Before the love of God came to us, we we lived as defiantly against God as anyone of the religious leaders that called for the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. Before Christ life was exchanged for Barabbas, we were as despicable as Barabbas was. The reason that Pilate brought out Barabbas as an option to release was exactly because Barabbas was the worst person in that prison. Pilate was under such conviction that Jesus was innocent that he was looking for ways to release Jesus, so he brought out the worst criminal they had, Barabbas, in the hopes that the Jews would want the murderer crucified.

But Jesus came to die so that we would live. Think about this: the first person to experience this was the worst person, Barabbas. In fact, Barabbas was the ONLY person to experience the physical salvation of his earthly life because Christ's physical death.

We do not know what happened to Barabbas. There are so many assumptions that have been made: that Barabbas got saved later because he was so impacted by the exchange that saved his life or that he was such an evil man that he continued his wicked, murderous life. We see no record in the Bible that or outside of the Bible of Barabbas' life after his encounter with Jesus, so it would be unwise to to preach on assumptions.

What we can know is this: just as bad as Barabbas was, so are we. And you might say, "But I've never killed anyone! I have never started riots or robbed anyone." Maybe not, but I think our love for Christ is affected by what we think we were saved out of.

This is not true 100% of the time, but why is it that people that were saved out of horrible lifestyles, drugs, prostitution, alcohol, gangs, etc., seem to have a deeper love for God than those that were saved who "weren't that bad?" I struggled with this question personally. I phrased it like this: Why is it that people that were saved out of horrible lifestyles like drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, gang members seem to love God and have a fire for serving Him that I don't have? Why is it that they talk more about Jesus, and when they talk about Jesus it is always with a big smile. They don't seem to take it for granted. They are truly on fire for what God has done for them. Why do I not have that?

I would think to myself, "If only I would have really messed my life up, I would be more happy to serve God and more willing to talk about Him; I would love Jesus more. I would have a true fire about me."

This bothered me and ate at me so much, until the day that I realized I was talking as if I were any different than "those people." I was thinking my life was different than theirs. I had the audacity to think my sin was "better" (?) than theirs was, to think that their life of sin was worse than mine. I was using words like "them" and "me" without realizing it is "we."

Isaiah 53:3-6 says 3 He is despised and rejected of MEN;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:

and WE hid as it were OUR faces from him;

he was despised, and WE esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne OUR griefs,

and carried OUR sorrows:

yet WE did esteem him stricken,

smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for OUR transgressions,

he was bruised for OUR iniquities:

the chastisement of OUR peace was upon him;

and with his stripes WE are healed.

6 ALL WE like sheep have gone astray;

WE have turned EVERY ONE to his own way;

and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of US ALL.

Jesus told Simon the Pharisee a parable of two men who owed their creditor certain amounts of money and were unable to pay. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

In today's money equivalent, on man owed about $60, the other man owed about $4000. The creditor forgave both. Then Jesus asks the question, "Which one of them will love the creditor most?" To which Simon replies, "I suppose that the one who was forgiven most."

And Jesus says, "Your spot on, Simon."

As a pharisee, Simon's whole religious outlook was one of "us" (the pharisees) and "them" (everyone else). And we look at Simon and the other pharisees and criticize them. We see the crowd that just days before had cheered Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, had cried, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," one day, and a week later are among the people crying out, "Crucify him," and we judge them. We can't believe people would be so shallow and savage.

We sit here, 2000 years later in disgust over what THEY did, little knowing that our voices would have rung out the same had we been there. Why? Because we cannot see to this day that we are as guilty as they. We are they. We are Barabbas. We are just as guilty and just as deserving of the lake of fire as they are. The only thing different between us and them is Jesus. Because though I may not have ever held someone at gunpoint, stolen their possessions, killed them, or started an insurrection against the government, I was a sinner.

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

So that means I am just as bad as Judas that betrayed Jesus, I am just as evil as the men that arrested Him and had him beaten and crucified, I am just as two-faced as the crowd that praised him and later demanded his crucifixion, I am just as wretched as Barabbas. But that is not all I mean when I say "I am Barabbas."

What I also mean is that I am just as loved as Barabbas. God was willing to forgive me just as much as he was Barabbas. Jesus died to let me live just as much as he did Barabbas. I say "I am Barabbas" because today I stand here not as a man that is any better than any of you in here or anyone out there, but I stand here with a life I do not deserve because Jesus took the death I did deserve. I am Barabbas in the sense that I live because Jesus died for me.

It is interesting, the name Barabbas. It means son of the father. Bar meaning son and abbas meaning father. We don't know what happened with him afterward, but we do know this: Barabbas was the freed physically because of Jesus' death, and on that day he had the chance to become the son of the heavenly Father.

Like I said earlier, I don't put a lot of stock in what we do not know about Barabbas. But what you are about to watch is someone's view of how an interview with Barabbas may have gone after the crucifixion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DIFugUsHvA&t=35s

Like I said before, we do not know if Barabbas was saved afterward or not. I personally like to think he was. But whether he was or not, we must all admit that Barabbas represents each of us.

I must realize I am Barabbas, a person that deserves death, and that Jesus gave his life to set me free.

Maybe you're here today and your fire, your zeal for the Lord has grown cold. Remember who you were before Christ, a sinner, guilty of every sin imaginable, worthy of death; and remember who you are now because of Christ: redeemed, clean, NOT GUILTY, a son of the Father.

Perhaps you're here and you do not know Jesus as your savior. Today you can become that son of the Father. You, just like me, are not worthy of heaven because of sin, but God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to pay for your sin. He died that you would be free.

As we stand, let's pray as we have a time of invitation.