Barabbas

This evening I would like to spend a short amount of time studying about a man that we do not know too much about, but a man that for a small amount of time plays an important role in the darkness and injustice that happens the day our Lord was crucified. The man I am speaking of is Barabbas.

As I have already stated, there is not too much that we know about him. There are only a few texts that speak about him. Let’s look at one in particular.

Jesus is before Pilate for His trial. We see in parallel accounts that Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent, and in verse 18 we are told that Pilate knows that they handed Jesus over because of envy. Their motives were not good in handing Jesus over to him. So Pilate makes a plan of what to do about this. There is a custom that the Romans have towards the Jews that they observe at Passover where the governor, here being Pilate, gives one prisoner freedom. This may have been done as a gesture of political courtesy. They wanted to show some goodwill towards the Jewish people. They did it at the time of Passover, which is interesting. One criminal who is sentenced to death can be passed over by being released. The criminal does not have to receive the punishment they are deserving of. It may be the case that Pilate was not the biggest fan of this custom. Just think about it: you are releasing guilty criminals into the streets who may commit more crimes! But it seems that he welcomed the possibility of using this custom in the case of Jesus because he seemed to be convinced that Jesus is innocent.

We are introduced to Barabbas in verse 16. We are told that he is a notorious prisoner, which means that he is infamous; well known for his crimes. We are not told what crimes he committed in Matthew’s account, but in other accounts we learn about them. In , we are told that he was in prison for being an insurrectionist. Some commentators assume that there is a possibility that Barabbas was a member of the group called the Zealots, a group known for being anti-Roman and causing riots and rebellion against them. Whether he was a member of this group or not is debatable. Either way, he was guilty of causing an insurrection or uprising against Pilate’s authority over them. And during this uprising, this group murdered people, more than likely Romans. John’s account tells us that Barabbas was also a robber, or a thief. This is the picture that the scriptures paint of Barabbas. He was arrested for these things and put into prison, and the purpose of being put into prison at those times was two-fold. One reason was to await judgment, the other to await execution. More than likely for Barabbas, he was awaiting execution. On this day, there was the planned execution of three thieves, the 2 that were crucified to the left and right of Jesus, and the third: Barabbas. So just imagine what is going through Barabbas’ mind as he contemplates what will happen to him for his crimes. A cross is awaiting him. So as the guards come to his cell, unlock the door, and bring him out, he was probably surprised (along with Pilate) about what soon followed. Instead of execution, he receives freedom.

Pilate probably expected that if he gave the people the choice to release a notorious criminal or the King of the Jews that the people would cry out for the King’s release. But one thing he did not count on was the chief priests and Jewish elders had done. They convinced the people to cry out for the release of Barabbas and the execution of the King. The people were convinced to do this; and it seems convinced about the supposed guilt of Jesus, that they were even willing to make this amazing statement in verse 25, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!" So Barabbas is released and Jesus is sentenced to be crucified. Jesus took the place of Barabbas on that cross. Barabbas became a free man.

I stated at the beginning of this lesson that we just do not know much about Barabbas. The things that I just stated about him pretty much exhausts the knowledge that we have about him. But there is one more thing about Barabbas I would like to talk about: his name. We do not know for sure what his name is. You may be saying to yourself, “Umm, Jason… you already told us his name… it’s Barabbas.” Well, yes and no. This name may not be the name given to him at birth. The name Barabbas in the original Greek means “Son of father.” Bar means “son of” and abba means “father.” There is a passage in that refers to Simon Peter as “Simon Barjona,” which literally means Simon, son of Jonah.” So the question is, if Barabbas isn’t his name, what is his name? That is a very good question. And the answer is… we don’t know for sure. So for a moment I would like to give Barabbas a new name… We are going to call him ___insert name here___. I would like each one of us to look at ourselves as though we are Barabbas. Put yourself into his shoes. Whenever we do this, we will learn some very powerful lessons!

You are a criminal. You have committed some terrible crimes: murder, theft, and leading a rebellion against the powers to be. You are before the judge (Pilate) for your verdict and sentencing. You know you are guilty. Everyone knows you are guilty. There is nothing you can say or do to get escape the sentence. Your crimes cannot be overlooked. Pilate cannot just forgive you of your crimes against Rome. Then the guilty verdict comes, and your sentence: death! You bury your head into your hands in sorrow, crying because of the consequences of your crimes. You are scared of what is ahead of you. A terrible, painful death on a cross awaits you! You are put into prison to await your execution.

Then that day comes, you are brought out of your cell, then unexpectedly you are brought outside before the people, and you are given the possibility of hope; of freedom. You hear as Pilate asks the question “Who do you want me release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus, the King of the Jews. And to much of your surprise, they pick you, and Jesus is taken for execution instead! You, the criminal, go free, and the innocent man (Jesus) ends up dying in your place. What kind of joy would you have!

The reason why I asked you to put yourself in the shoes of Barabbas this day is this: we are Barabbas in a sense! We have found ourselves in this position! This story of Barabbas is an amazing illustration of what Jesus Christ did for us!

You and I are criminals. We have committed terrible crimes against not only man, but God. We have broken God’s laws by lying, stealing, taking His name in vain and coveting. We have committed idolatry by putting so many things in our life ahead of God. We have thought hateful things, which God views as murder in our hearts. We have lusted, which God looks at as adultery in our hearts. He judges our actions, our words, and even our thoughts. We could go on and on listing the crimes we have committed against God!

Because of these crimes against God, we are guilty. There is no doubt about this fact, and there is nothing we can say or do to get out of suffering the consequences. There is nothing we can do to make up for the evil we have done. Also, God as a just judge cannot just forgive us of our crimes. No just judge can do this! The Bible says that there is a sentence that we have on our heads; death. We are separated from God. We are spiritually dead because of our sin, and we will be thrown into the lake of fire, God’s eternal prison of anguish and suffering.

But God, knowing about our helpless condition, made a plan to give us the hope of forgiveness and eternal life in Heaven through Jesus Christ. Jesus allowed Himself to be condemned as an innocent man, and took the punishment that we (the criminals) deserve. He took upon himself our death sentence, and God can look at us as though we are the ones who died. The price that is on our heads was paid by Jesus. He fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies in doing this for us, one example being .

Just as a side note, whenever I share the gospel with people, there will be times when the first thing I do is read this passage and ask who it is about. The majority of people say it is talking about Jesus. Anyone who knows the story of Jesus should come to this conclusion. It seems as you read these verses that Isaiah is at the foot of the cross, watching the events that are unfolding, and writing them down for us. But the fact is that Isaiah wrote this passage over 700 years before Jesus was even born. This is great evidence that the Bible is the word of God.

So Jesus took upon Himself the punishment that you and I deserve for our sin. We were the ones that had rebelled against God, had strayed from His precepts and laws, but Jesus being innocent took upon Himself the wrath of God. He was pierced for us, scourged for us, received our chastening so we can stand before God as justified and freed from sin.

Then three days after His death, Jesus was resurrected from His tomb, which was also a fulfillment of prophecy. His resurrection is the ultimate proof for the Bible being the word of God and the ultimate proof that Jesus is who He claims to be. He claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life. He claimed to be the only way to heaven. And we are told in the scriptures that the resurrection is proof that Jesus will be the one that we stand before in judgment when we leave this life! There is an abundance of eyewitness testimony to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ that demands a verdict from you and me!

Jesus defeated sin and death, and because of this, you can also! You can be set free! What God expects of you is that you believe this message about Jesus Christ, to turn away from your sins, and to submit yourself to God. The Bible says that we must be willing to confess Jesus as Lord, which means that He is our Master and we are His servants/slaves. We willingly give ourselves to Him and put His will ahead of our own. He deserves nothing less than this for what He has done for us in giving us hope. God promises to wash away your sins if you will come to him with this kind of humble heart, and Jesus says that “He who believes and is baptized will be saved…” At baptism, we are united with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. We come into contact with what He did for us, and are freed from our crimes against God. Have you done these things yet? If not, you are still a criminal before God. You are separated from God because of your sin. You are His enemy, and if you die in this position, you will spend an eternity away from His presence in the eternal prison of Hell. So if you have not obeyed the gospel yet, we beg you as ambassadors of Jesus Christ: be reconciled to God now! Bow before the throne of God know and confess Jesus as Lord, and be immersed into water for the forgiveness of your sins!