Let me paint a picture for you.
When we look at the last week of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion—particularly when looking at the gospel of Matthew—there’s a pretty huge character inconsistency that pastors, preachers, and teachers love to point out and use for illustrations. We see this inconsistency in “the crowd,” the people of Jerusalem. In Matthew 21, Jesus enters Jerusalem and the people are pumped. They’re waving palm branches (hence the name of the holiday “Palm Sunday,” the Sunday before Black Friday, exactly one week before Easter), throwing their coats, and chanting “Hosanna! Hosanna!” It was an incredible moment, the people were so excited that the Savior that they had learned about from the prophets had finally arrived.
But when we read on, we find in chapter 27, five days later, those same people were chanting to have Jesus beaten and hung like a criminal. The people were so upset because they had an expectation of how Jesus was going to redeem them that was incorrect. When Jesus didn’t fulfill their redemptive plan, they were furious and accused Him of blasphemy. It didn’t help that they were being egged on by the Pharisees too, who had been at odds with Jesus and His teachings since the beginning of His ministry.
Oftentimes, when we look at the inconsistency of the people of Jerusalem and how quickly they turned on Jesus for not meeting their expectations, we put ourselves in their shoes. How often do we go to church on Sunday to worship the Lord and then turn on Him during the week? Comparing ourselves to the crowd is a really great analogy, but there’s another character in this story that doesn’t get talked about very much.
Five days before the people turned on Him and had Him crucified, while Jesus was triumphantly entering the city of Jerusalem being worshiped and praised, another man sat in a holding cell awaiting his execution. His name was Barabbas. We don’t know much about Barabbas aside from a few of his crimes. He was a murderer, a rebel, and the leader of an insurrection. They don’t nail just anyone to a cross. The decided punishment for his crimes is the modern day equivalent of the death sentence, except death on a cross wasn’t quick, it was slow and agonizing. He was a menace to society and the people in power wanted him gone.
So there they sat. Jesus on His donkey. Barabbas in his cell.
Barabbas didn’t know Jesus. He had no idea who just walked into the city five days before his execution.
But Jesus knew Barabbas.
Five days passed.
There’s an uproar in the city. People are upset. Jesus is arrested and brought before Pilate, a Roman governor, by the Jewish leaders. They wanted Him dead, but Pilate didn’t understand why. What had Jesus done to deserve death? In the midst of all the confusion, he gets a message from his wife telling him not to have anything to do with Jesus because she had a dream about Him. Pilate doesn’t want to kill Jesus, but the people are on the verge of rioting, so he thinks.
Barabbas.
It was custom that every year during the Passover celebration, a prisoner would be released—whoever the crowd wanted. Pilate knew what Barabbas had done, he knew the kind of monster he had locked up in a cell, and he thought that there was no way the crowd would pick him over this Jesus guy. And thus, Barabbas enters the narrative.
And so the three of them stood before the crowd, Barabbas chained on one side of the platform, Jesus chained on the other, and Pilate seated between the two. Barabbas knew his time was soon, and Pilate knew it, too.
But neither of them knew Jesus.
Pilate looked out at the crowd and asked them, “Who do you want to be released back to you,” he hovered his hand over Barabbas’ head, “Barabbas,” he moved his hand over Jesus’ head, “or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
The three of them stood there as the crowd chattered and deliberated and the religious leaders used their influence to sway the masses. Finally, people started yelling, “Barabbas!”
Barabbas.
If the man was still sane enough to process what was going on, he was probably shaken to his core in that moment. After all the crimes he had committed—murders, rebellion, insurrection—the people wanted him? He was a menace. A monster. He was unfit to walk the streets of Jerusalem a free man. He deserved every bit of punishment that he had been sentenced to. But now, someone else was taking it for him? I imagine he probably looked over at Jesus and thought, “What did this guy do that the people picked me over Him?”
And so the guards came and took Barabbas’ chains off him and set him free into the crowd. That’s the last we hear from him in Scripture. We don’t know if he turned and thanked Jesus. We don’t know if he left and started asking around, trying to find out who this Jesus guy is. We don’t know if he regrouped with his criminal friends and started killing again. All we know is what happened to Jesus as a result.
Pilate asked, then, “What do we do with Jesus?”
The people responded, “Crucify Him!”
Crucify Him.
And so Jesus, wearing Barabbas’ chains, was dragged off to a post and flogged with Barabbas’ lead-tipped whip. After taking Barabbas’ beatings, he carried Barabbas’ cross up a hill (with help from someone from the crowd). Jesus then laid down on Barabbas’ cross as Barabbas’ nails were driven through His hands and feet. Barabbas’ cross was then stood up, the very punishment for all of Barabbas’ monstrous crimes standing tall for all to see.
But Barabbas wasn’t hanging there.
In this story, we are not the crowd, although there’s plenty to learn from the crowd’s behavior.
We are Barabbas.
Guilty of every crime, every sin, we were sentenced to death, and as we stood before the Judge, waiting for our execution, Jesus stepped up onto the platform with us. He took off our chains and set us free. He took our beating. He carried our cross. It was our nails that were driven through His hands and feet. It was our cross that He hung from.
We don’t know how Barabbas responded to being freed, but you know how you responded. Did you run off and return to your old ways, ignoring what Jesus did for you? Did you find Jesus’ followers and start asking questions? Did you stand on the platform and try to stop the guards from removing your chains demanding that you deserve what was coming to you? Are you trying to shake your chains off by yourself?
God loves Barabbas. If He didn’t, Jesus would’ve never carried that cross for him.
And God loves you too.
In the words of Judah Smith, the greatest challenge is not your discipline, devotion, or focus. Your greatest challenge is believing the gospel.
This is the gospel.
Jesus took Barabbas’ place.
Jesus took our place.
Read the story yourself: Matthew 21-27 (but it’s better if you read through chapter 28 too).
Author:
My name is Connor. I recently started an internship at my church leading our Young Adult Ministry while I take classes online through Grace College. I’m passionate about ministry, specifically in America. I want to be part of helping the American church change and grow. Read more of my writing here.
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