I’d like you to consider Barabbas this morning, because, ironically, he has wonderful lessons to teach us. He was an evil, wicked man, who was “saved” by the grace of God – in a certain sense of the word. But first, let me try to set the stage just a little bit.
Matthew introduces us to Pontius Pilate as governor – procurator – of Judea. Luke goes beyond this, getting very specific – “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests.” The name “Pontius” indicates that Pilate was from a very famous, or infamous, military family. An earlier relative of his, Lucius Pontius Aquila, was one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. Depending on who was in currently in power, that could have been good or troublesome for Pilate. He was, at the time of Matthew 27, the fifth procurator of Judea, and he stayed in office for about ten years. As Luke reminds us there were other rulers over the other three parts of Israel. And in a very confused Roman world, they all had different political ranks. In this chapter we see that Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, was visiting in Jerusalem for the Passover.
As a “procurator,” Pilate was a personal servant of Caesar and higher in rank than his three neighbors, but a more distant neighbor, the ruler of Syria, was in some ways his superior. It was this Syrian who got Pilate fired after complaints that he had slaughtered a some Jews on the slopes of Mt. Gerazim. This is probably Luke’s reference in chapter 13, to “the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.” As procurator, Pilate had civil, military and criminal jurisdiction of Judea, but he granted the Jews as much authority as he could – balancing his responsibilities to Rome with as much peace in the region as he could afford to buy. So the Jewish Sanhedrin was allowed to exercise some judicial and religious functions, but if they desired to inflict the death penalty, the sentence had to be confirmed by the Pilate, the procurator. And thus we see Christ Jesus, condemned by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy and His Messianic claims, but to keep themselves from being seen as they murderers they really were, they sent Jesus to Pilate for his rubber stamp – based on more common political/social charges.
And this brings us to Barabbas.
“Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.” The only information we have on this man comes to us from the few references we have in the Gospels. Matthew says that he was a “notable prisoner.” He was famous in a negative sort of way – he was infamous. But was that from Rome’s perspective – or was it Israel’s? John tells us that he was “a robber” – he was a thief. But from whom did he steal – from the coffers of Rome or was it from his Jewish neighbors? If I had to guess, I’d say that Barabbas’ life of crime began with stealing from his neighbors. Luke tells us that Barabbas had been arrested by Pilate for “a certain sedition made in the city.” That word could mean anything from “insurrection” to “disturbing the peace.” But then Mark adds that he “lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.” Again, my guess would be that as a young man, Barabbas had started his life of crime in a small way – as is true with just about any other sinner. He stole a little bit here – he purloined a little bit there. But, as I said a couple weeks ago, sin, no matter what kind, is alive and gregarious – it is rarely solitary. It grows; it multiplies; greedily it expands its vision, horizons and friends. Barabbas fell into the company of other criminals, or perhaps they were drawn to him. Eventually he went far beyond petty theft, apparently taking on the Roman government itself. And in the commission of his crimes, he had taken the life of another man – perhaps many. There is little doubt but that this man deserved execution, according to Roman law. He deserved to die according to Jewish law. And without specifically getting into it today, he deserved to die according to Christian law.
But “at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.” There is no hint anywhere in the Bible or Hebrew literature to indicate that this was a Jewish custom. “At that feast the GOVERNOR was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.” He “was WONT to release unto the people a prisoner.” The word “wont” is also translated “manner” or “custom.” At some point, Pilate or one of his predecessors had initiated a “prisoner release” which took place on the day of the Passover. It was perhaps a meaningless gesture. Sure for a few moments, some in Israel might have smiled, depending on the crimes involved. Pilate might have appeared to possess a little bit of compassion, earning a few points with the people. But if he wanted, Pilate could re-arrest the man in a few weeks. It meant very little.
Remember that Matthew’s account of all this is condensed. Pilate condescended to meet with the Jews outside the judgment hall. Then he went in and interrogated our Lord. At some point his wife came to tell him about her dream, recommending that he have nothing to do with “that just man.” Then Christ was sent to Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee. After the abuse laid upon Him by Herod, Jesus was returned to Pilate. All of this took some time.
And during that time the priests had been calling their friends and associates to join them outside the judgment hall. The majority were probably hand selected – but working with the crowd were their agitators. They could see that Pilate was “wont” to release Jesus, whom he saw as no threat to Rome. So “the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.” Thus when Pilate presented Christ to the mob – beaten, bruised and bloody, the priests were well prepared. “Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto? Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” And it was so – Barabbas, the criminal, was released back into the not-so-innocent society. “And when (Pilate) had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.”
I have given this message the title – “Barabbas, the God-blessed Man.”
It shouldn’t be necessary to explain that title, because to some degree it is obvious. He was set free. Barabbas was released, but we can only guess the sort of man he became. Had he been brutalized while under Roman custody? Did he emerge from his prison, blinking at the sun through swollen eyes? Or perhaps he was blinded. Did he come out limping or had his fingers been broken, to keep him from stealing again? Did he go back to a life of crime and insurrection, or did he retire into obscurity? Did he become an anti-Rome, political activist? Was he later re-arrested and sent to Rome for public execution for sedition against the government? There are no answers.
But I would like you to engage your sanctified imaginations for the rest of my message today. I would like to try to apply this man in a spiritual way. I admit that I have no Biblical authority to do so, because neither Christ, nor Peter, nor Paul did so. But there is a spiritual parallel between Barabbas and me – between him and every true saint of God.
Starting at the beginning, “Barabbas” was the man’s name. Some of you can do the linguistic mathematics – “bar” is one of the words which is translated “son.” “Abba” is one of the Hebrew words for “Father.” As silly as it sounds “Barabbas” could mean “son of the father” – Barabbas was the chip off the old block. Theologically and Biblically, this is correct – we are all children of our parents – each and every one of us was born a sinner, just like our parents and grandparents. When Adam sinned, he polluted his gene pool, and all his descendants were born sinners. Thereafter every human city became “a city of destruction.” Personally, as David correctly said, “I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” He was not speaking about his mother’s behavior, but about his mother’s sin nature. Much the same could have been said about Jesse, David’s Father. And also about your father.
Another point of theology in regards to this man’s name, was presented to us by the Lord Jesus. One day as the scribes and Pharisees were trying to attack Christ, Jesus said, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your Father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your Father. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” Barabbas was indeed the son of his father – his father was a sinner, just like his father before him. But also, all the men in that family – all the children in every family are by nature, children of our father the devil.
And Barabbas, for the crimes he had committed, was worthy of death in the eyes of the Roman government. Pilate didn’t need the permission of Rome to execute this man – the authority was his. How long had Barabbas been in custody? Perhaps just a short time, but who knows? He came within a whisker of being nailed to one of those three crosses on Calvary. In fact, it is possible that the two men crucified with Christ that day, were associates of his man.
Now may I point out that the Word of God has ALSO condemned YOU of capital crimes against God? “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” and “the wages of sin is death.” As God said through Ezekiel – “Behold all souls are mine, as the soul of the Father, so also the soul of son is mine: the soul that sinneth it shall die.” That isn’t referring to Old Testament corporal capital punishment, but to spiritual capital punishment. Paul once wrote in what may be one of the most important of all scriptures – “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” As a young teenager, I was in the shoes of Barabbas – I was born in sin, and I was living in sin. I was a resident of “the City of Destruction” – as all of us are. The only thing to have kept me from greater crimes against God was my youth to that point. I was living under the executioner’s blade, awaiting my date with eternal death.
But then along came Christ Jesus. Clearly, Jesus took Barabbas’ place in crucifixion. That man walked or limped to freedom, while Christ stumbled His was to Golgotha. Essentially, it was nothing more or less than the sovereign will of Jehovah that Jesus be nailed to that cross as a substitute for Barabbas.
Not all the words which speak of salvation can be applied to this illustration, but some of them can. For example, Barabbas was delivered – he had been in prison, but because of Christ he had been freed. He was on the cusp of having nails driven through his hands and feet, but he was spared. He was saved from certain death – delivered. One of Barabbas’ great, great grandfathers was a man named “Abraham” – most Jews loved Abraham. Paul spent a chapter in Romans talking about Abraham, beginning with the fact that he, too, was a sinner. But Jehovah God gave to that man some astounding promises, to which Abraham began to cling. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” – Romans 4:20-25. The Lord “imputed” unto Abraham God’s own righteousness, and then giving the man the ability to see it and trust Him. It was not exactly the same with Barabbas, because faith was not a part of that equation. But can YOU believe that God’s Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, was delivered for your offences? If you can trust that Christ was delivered for you and your sins, you may, like Abraham, be justified – you may be delivered as Barabbas was by way of illustration.
In Galatians Paul once again picks up the subject of Abraham, but he uses a different word this time. “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Barabbas was in Pilate’s prison cursed and condemned by the law – both Roman and Divine. But once again, along came Christ Jesus, who became a curse for that condemned sinner. Christ redeemed Barabbas from the curse of the Roman law, being made a curse for him. Barabbas was redeemed – delivered – saved from certain death by Christ Jesus’ willing substitution for him
Yet another Biblical word might be applied to Barabbas’ deliverance – he was “ransomed.” In Matthew 20 Jesus said, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for man.” The word translated “ransom” is “lutron” (loo’-tron), and its root refers to “setting free” or “loosing” something. There was a law – a complete law book which condemned Barabbas. On the other hand, as we have seen over the last few weeks, Christ was innocent, just, sinless. There was no law against Christ, demanding His death. He permitted Himself to be taken and brought to this position before Pilate – eventually going to the cross. And in doing that, He essentially paid the penalty which demanded the death of Barabbas, but not for Himself. And not only Barabbas in this physical way, but spiritually and eternally for all those for whom Christ intended to save.
I am not going to tell you that Barabbas is in Heaven awaiting the arrival of today’s saints, like the character “Faithful” in “Pilgrim’s Progress.” I would like to hope that he is, but we have no Biblical evidence of his spiritual condition. But by way of illustration, that murderous criminal depicts the salvation, deliverance, and redemption of thousands of the spiritual descendants of Abraham. Are you one of them? Did Christ die for your salvation? Is your humble faith in Christ Jesus, as the God-ordained substitute for your death penalty? You, like Barabbas did for a time, may enjoy a bounty of God’s day-to-day blessings – health and wealth – but still you may die only to be cast into Hell. I implore you to repent before God and to put your