Barabbas Went Free

Not This Man, but Barabbas

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A Passover custom. Every year at the Passover feast, the governor set one prisoner free, whomever the people asked for. Mark says, “Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested” (Mark 15:6).

Who Barabbas was. All four Gospels tell us about him. Luke says he was in prison “for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder” (Luke 23:19). Mark says he was “chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion” (Mark 15:7).

Well known. Matthew calls him “a notorious prisoner” (Matthew 27:16). Notorious means that many people knew about the wrong he had done. John adds, “Now Barabbas was a robber” (John 18:40).

Guilty. Barabbas had not been put in prison by mistake. He had really done these things. Luke says it twice: he was in prison “for rebellion and murder” (Luke 23:19, 25).

Pilate's offer. Pilate knew that the chief priests had handed Jesus over “because of envy” (Mark 15:10). He asked the crowd, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:17).

The crowd is stirred up. “But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them” (Mark 15:11). Matthew says the chief priests and elders “persuaded the multitudes” (Matthew 27:20).

The choice. The people shouted, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” (John 18:40). Luke writes that they cried, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas” (Luke 23:18).

Released. In the end Pilate “released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will” (Luke 23:25).

Walking out. Barabbas walked out of prison a free man. He had not paid for what he had done, and he had done nothing to earn his freedom. Someone else was going to the cross.

Our problem too. We have all done wrong, and sin brings death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The good news. Jesus, who had done nothing wrong, went to the cross in the place of sinners. He died for our sins, and on the third day He rose again.

What this means for you. Jesus went to the cross so that guilty people, people like Barabbas and people like us, could go free. Thank Him for it today.

The custom. “Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished” (Matthew 27:15). Luke notes, “it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast” (Luke 23:17), and John records Pilate saying, “you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover” (John 18:39).

Apolyo. The verb is apolyo (say: ah-poh-LOO-oh), to release, to set free, to let go. It comes again and again in Luke 23. Pilate wants to release Jesus (Luke 23:16, 20, 22), and the crowd demands, “release to us Barabbas” (23:18).

The prisoner. Barabbas was “a notorious prisoner” (Matthew 27:16), “chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion” (Mark 15:7). Luke names both crimes: “a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder” (Luke 23:19). John adds that he “was a robber” (John 18:40). Every Gospel agrees that he was guilty.

The offer. Pilate set the two side by side: “Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:17). He knew “that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy” (Mark 15:10).

The persuading. “But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus” (Matthew 27:20). Mark says they “stirred up the crowd” (Mark 15:11).

Not this Man. “Then they all cried again, saying, ‘Not this Man, but Barabbas!’” (John 18:40). When Pilate asked what to do with Jesus, “They all said to him, ‘Let Him be crucified!’” (Matthew 27:22).

The exchange. “So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified” (Mark 15:15). Luke puts it in one sentence: Pilate released the guilty man, “but he delivered Jesus to their will” (Luke 23:25).

Nothing earned. Barabbas did nothing to earn his release. He went free because Jesus was condemned. He walked out of the prison while the innocent One was led away.

Our need. Every one of us stands guilty before God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The cross and the empty tomb. Jesus died in the place of the guilty and rose again on the third day. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

For you. Barabbas went free because Jesus was handed over. If you belong to Jesus, the same is true of you. Thank Him, and live as someone whose prison door has been opened.

In Our Place

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A picture. Barabbas was guilty, and he went free. Jesus was innocent, and He was handed over. Many Christians see in this exchange a picture of what Jesus does for every person who trusts Him.

Isaiah saw it. Hundreds of years before Jesus, Isaiah wrote about God's Servant who would suffer for His people: “He was taken from prison and from judgment” (Isaiah 53:8). Jesus was arrested, held and judged.

For whose sins? Isaiah went on, “For the transgressions of My people He was stricken” (Isaiah 53:8). Transgressions are sins, times we cross the lines God has drawn. The Servant was struck down for the sins of others, not for His own.

All of us. “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Iniquity is another word for sin.

A ransom. Jesus said that He came “to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). A ransom is a price paid to set a prisoner free. Jesus paid it with His own life.

While we were weak. Paul wrote, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Ungodly means people who do not live for God. That was us.

A great love. Paul also wrote that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus did not wait for us to become good first.

The real rebel. The leaders had said that Jesus “stirs up the people” (Luke 23:5). But Barabbas was the one who had really led a rebellion in the city (Luke 23:19). The crowd set free the man who had done the very thing Jesus was falsely blamed for.

For me. Paul wrote about “the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Jesus did not die only for people in general. He died for you.

Alive and setting people free. Jesus rose from the dead, and He still sets people free. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

What freedom is for. Being set free does not mean we may do whatever we want. We are free to love God, to serve other people and to live for the One who took our place.

What this means for you. Tell Jesus that you know you are guilty, and thank Him for taking your place. Trust Him, and walk out free.

The exchange. That morning one man walked out of prison, and Another was led to the cross. Many Christians see in the release of Barabbas a living picture of substitution, one person taking another person's place.

Taken from judgment. Isaiah 53 describes the suffering Servant of the Lord: “He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living” (Isaiah 53:8). The Servant was taken away by an unjust judgment and cut off from the land of the living. That is what happened to Jesus.

Stricken for others. The verse ends, “For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.” The guilt belonged to the people. The blow fell on Him. Two verses earlier Isaiah wrote, “the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (53:6).

Anti. Jesus described His own mission: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). In “a ransom for many,” the little word for is the Greek anti (say: ahn-TEE), which means in place of. A ransom was the price paid to free a captive.

Without strength. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Barabbas could not free himself, and neither can we. Paul goes on: “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8).

The charge turned around. The council accused Jesus of “perverting the nation” and said, “He stirs up the people” (Luke 23:2, 5). Barabbas had actually done it. He was in prison “for a certain rebellion made in the city” (23:19). The man guilty of the charge walked free, and the One falsely charged was condemned. Barabbas' release was a gift he could never repay. So is ours.

Personal. Paul did not speak of the cross only in general terms. He wrote of “the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The exchange is personal.

Raised. The exchange would end in sorrow if Jesus had stayed dead. He rose on the third day, and the risen Son still sets captives free: “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Freed for something. Freedom from guilt is also freedom for a new life. The one who has been set free now belongs to the One who paid for him, and he is free to love God and to serve others.

For you. Confess your guilt to God, trust the One who took your place, and live as someone set free.

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