Barabbas or Jesus

In connection with the Passover festival, the Roman governor Pilate released a prisoner—apparently with the intention of giving the Jews a benevolent signal from the hated occupying power. In this gesture, Pilate saw a chance to release the accused, whose innocence he was convinced of.

During the trial of Jesus Christ, Barabbas was in prison, a “notorious prisoner” (Matthew 27:16). He was a robber (John 18:40) and someone who had committed murder in the insurrection (Luke 23:19). Barabbas means, translated: son of the father. It is not difficult to make a connection to John 8:44; there the Lord Jesus says: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning.”

On the other side stood Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the eternal Father who became Man—indeed, the complete revelation of God as Father—who went about on this earth “doing good and healing” (Acts 10:38), who did not rob but lived by the principle: It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35), who did not take life but—on the contrary—had raised the dead.

The Choice of the Crowd

Pilate set these two persons before the people to choose from—two people who could not have been more opposite. Whom would they decide for?

Once again, in their boundless hatred the chief priests and elders are the driving force: “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, but to put Jesus to death” (Matthew 27:20). Obviously, from the chief priests’ and elders’ point of view, there was the risk that the crowd might in fact decide in favor of Jesus. That is why “persuasion” was needed.

And it was not enough for them to put Jesus in prison instead of Barabbas; no, the demand was: “He shall be crucified!” (Matthew 27:22).

The Rejection of the Lord Jesus

What must that have been for the heart of the Lord Jesus! How many sick people He had healed, how many possessed people He had freed from demons, He had raised the dead, fed thousands of people, taught with authority, had been tirelessly on the move in service to people—and now the crowds decided against Him and instead for a murderer.

In Matthew 9:36 we read: “Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd.” And this very people now decided: “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (John 18:40)!

At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, a Simeon is introduced, “who was waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). And toward the end of his Gospel he writes: “But they all shouted together, saying, ‘Away with this man’” (Luke 23:18). Instead of living in lively expectation of the Messiah, in the end the people shouted: “Away with this man!” What must it have been for the Savior to hear this outcry: Away with you!

Grace Triumphs in the End

Some time later, Peter holds up this very scene to the people: “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead” (Acts 3:14–15). God’s Spirit worked on the hearts of these people: “But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand” (Acts 4:4).

Shattering choice by people—and wonderful triumph of the grace of God!