Barabbas

Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas.  So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”  For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”  But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.   “Barabbas,” they answered.  Matthew 27:15-21

Two men stood before Pilate that day.  One, a king.  The other, a bandit.  One calmed the storm.  The other incited riots.  One, the life giver.  The other, a murderer.  One was named Jesus Christ.  The other was named Jesus Barabbas.

That's right.  Barrabas' name was also Jesus.  Can you imagine?  Stew on that for just a few minutes.

Moving on . . .

If there is anyone we should identify with during the story of the crucifixion . . . shouldn't it be Barabbas?  He was guilty, but he went free.  He deserved his punishment, but Jesus took it for him.  He deserved death, but received life.

Yes, I think I can identify with that.

I wonder what happened to Barabbas after the crucifixion.
Was his life changed?
Did his encounter with Jesus change his heart?

We never hear from him or about him again.  So we don't know.

But we can imagine.

We can imagine that after the bloodthirsty crowd, whom the chief priests incited to demand Jesus' death, after they saw that Jesus was going to the cross, and Barabbas was going home - we can imagine how they shunned him, dropped him. 

We can imagine that Barabbas was ignored.  Pushed aside.

We can imagine Barabbas at the edge of the crowd at the cross, watching the Marys and John weep and mourn for their loved one.

We can imagine that Barabbas realizes that no one was mourning for him.  That no one really wanted him.  That now that he was free, he had nowhere to go.

We don't know if any of that is true.  But we do know that we can identify with Barabbas.  Because like him, we deserve death.  Like him, we should be held accountable for our sins.

But like him, we received life.  We had a substitute for our sins.

I heard once that justice is getting what we deserve.  Mercy is getting not getting what we deserve.  But grace . . . grace is getting what we don't deserve.

That's what happened to Barabbas.  And that's what offered to each of us, if we only say yes.