Barabbas

The crowd had to make a choice. Two prisoners stood in front of them. One was standing quietly, not speaking, patiently waiting. The other was arrogant, disrespectful, jeering at the crowds below where they both stood. One had taught of love, how to turn from sin and receive forgiveness. He brought hope to the world. The other was full of hate, and mocked the Roman Empire. He had committed murder; he had taken a life in the name of his own cause.

The choice to free one of these two prisoners should have been easy. This man would walk their streets, shop in their marketplaces. He would be around their children. But there was no voice of reason in the crowd. The decision had already been made: They wanted the killer, the man who wanted to overthrow the government. They wanted Barabbas.

Little did the crowds know that their decision to free Barabbas fulfilled what had been written in Isaiah 700 years earlier. Because in freeing him, it meant the other prisoner, Jesus of Nazareth, would be crucified. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was now on a path to die. 

And He did. But before that, He was beaten, spit on, and mocked. He collapsed while carrying the cross that would eventually kill Him. His head bled from the "crown" of thorns the soldiers had placed there. A written notice hung on the cross that said, "The King of the Jews." And as He hung there, struggling to breathe, He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34a). His love and compassion for the world, even those who took part in hanging Him on the cross, never waivered. He died in our place, for our sins, so that we could be saved.

Barabbas. Because his life had been spared, Jesus was able to fulfill what God had planned for Him: To die in exchange for our sins, to save our souls, even the soul of a scoundrel like Barabbas. Whether he turned his life around or not is not recorded in the Bible. But because of his freedom, we now have freedom in Jesus. 

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."    Isaiah 53:5