Give us Barabbas! That was the cry of the crowd standing before Pilate when he asked them which they wanted him to release. Jesus or Barabbas? They cried out for Barabbas. Instead of releasing Jesus the crowd called for Him to be crucified. Pilate did not want to crucify Jesus but gave in to their demand. He released Barabbas to the crowd and had Jesus taken away to be crucified. Barabbas was a murderer and Jesus was sinless yet He was the one led away for crucifixion. Jesus took Barabbas' place and died on the cross that should have been his.
But here is the rub of what Jesus did that day. He just didn't take Barabbas' place on the cross but He took each one of our crosses for us. We, like Barabbas and the two thieves, are worthy of death because of our sin. We are sinners guilty before God and nothing we can do could cleanse us and make us right before God. So God in his infinite mercy and love made it possible for us to be forgiven and escape the penalty of death for our sin. He planned for His Son to come and die in our place before He even created the world (REV 13: 8). He sent His Son to become the Sacrificial Lamb whose blood would cover our sin. Jesus came to this earth to die for us. His blood wasn't spilt but was shed willing for us. He was beaten and whipped then crucified so we would not have to face our own punishment. So when Pilate had Him crucified, it was the plan that God had ordained to make eternal life possible for us in spite of our sin nature. What we couldn't do, Jesus did for us because of love. He took our place on the cross.
So when you read about Barabbas and how he was released and they crucified Jesus I would like to ask one question. Imagine if you were in the crowd that day and Pilate asked who you wanted to him to release, what would you have cried out? Give us Jesus or give us Barabbas? How would you have answered? How would you answer today?
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