Scripture
Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Mark 15:6-15 ESV)
Devotional
It was a tradition during the feast of Passover for the governor to release a prisoner as a sign of goodwill toward the Jews. Pontius Pilate used this as an opportunity to appease the angry Jewish crowd that was crying out for Jesus to be crucified. In a way, he offered this solution up as a way to help the people see things logically. Would they rather have a known murderer, robber, and insurrectionist (Matthew 27:16; John 18:40; Mark 15:7) back on the streets or a man whose only “crime” was claiming to be the Son of God?
Barabbas was fully deserving of the consequences for the crimes he had committed. He was rightfully in prison and deserved punishment. There was not a single thing he could do to save himself. Someone would have to take his place in order for him to be truly free.
That someone was Jesus.
We are just like Barabbas. We are guilty.
But Jesus steps into our place so we can be set free.
For Barabbas, Jesus was his escape to a better life. Jesus is our substitute for a new life.
But why do we even need a substitute?
We have a need we can’t fix.
“Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.” (Isaiah 59:2). There is no way back. We are dead because of our sin (Romans 6:23). No one who is dead has ever been able to make themselves alive again. There is no amount of trying hard enough, praying enough, reading our Bible enough, serving the community enough that will make us right with God. There is consequence for our brokenness. We have a problem that we can’t fix ourselves.
We have a Savior who is willing to switch.
Here’s the hope we have. Everyone needs the grace of God; and no one is beyond the grace of God. From the beginning of time, death has always been a requirement to atone for our sin. The Old Testament sacrificial system points to this. Until Jesus, people would sacrifice animals to receive forgiveness for their sin. But Jesus steps in and pays the ultimate price for sin on the cross. Because of the work of Jesus, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,” (Hebrews 10:10 ESV).
The forgiveness God offers is available for all of us through the work of Jesus. We are deserving of death, but Jesus stands in our place that we might experience true life.
Barabbas was fully deserving of the consequences for the crimes he had committed. He was rightfully in prison and deserved punishment. There was not a single thing he could do to save himself. Someone would have to take his place in order for him to be truly free.
That someone was Jesus.
We are just like Barabbas. We are guilty.
But Jesus steps into our place so we can be set free.
For Barabbas, Jesus was his escape to a better life. Jesus is our substitute for a new life.
But why do we even need a substitute?
We have a need we can’t fix.
“Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.” (Isaiah 59:2). There is no way back. We are dead because of our sin (Romans 6:23). No one who is dead has ever been able to make themselves alive again. There is no amount of trying hard enough, praying enough, reading our Bible enough, serving the community enough that will make us right with God. There is consequence for our brokenness. We have a problem that we can’t fix ourselves.
We have a Savior who is willing to switch.
Here’s the hope we have. Everyone needs the grace of God; and no one is beyond the grace of God. From the beginning of time, death has always been a requirement to atone for our sin. The Old Testament sacrificial system points to this. Until Jesus, people would sacrifice animals to receive forgiveness for their sin. But Jesus steps in and pays the ultimate price for sin on the cross. Because of the work of Jesus, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,” (Hebrews 10:10 ESV).
The forgiveness God offers is available for all of us through the work of Jesus. We are deserving of death, but Jesus stands in our place that we might experience true life.
"Everyone needs the grace of God;
And no one is beyond the grace of God."
Pastor Mike
Go Deeper
As a church, we've been walking through the Last 24 Hours of Jesus' life for the past several weeks. Watch the full message below.