There is something within you and there is something within me that we want to see people get what they deserve.
Have you ever seen the running of the bulls in Spain? These people are nuts. They actually run, in front of bulls, down a street. And sometimes the bull catches up to the person and puts a world of hurt on them.
Here is what is interesting. I don’t feel bad for them. Maybe I should. I mean I hurt for their injuries but come on. If you run with the bulls you should expect to get some horns in your backside. You run with the bulls, you get what you get.
There is something within me that likes to see people get what they deserve.
You see there is something within me that gets annoyed when great things happen to people who have done nothing to earn it? And yet that’s what happens to a guy named Barabbas.
Who in the world is Barabbas?
He’s a bad guy. If you’re watching a movie about the life of Barabbas, the only thing that keeps you watching the movie is the hope that in the end the guy gets what he deserves.
By the time Barabbas comes on the scene here’s what’s happened. Jesus has been arrested for claiming that he is the son of God. They have taken Jesus from one place to another and they have beat him, spit on him, mocked him and laughed at him.
Jesus now stands before Pilate the Roman Governor and he is trying to figure out a way to have Jesus released.
It was customary during the Passover to release a prisoner so Pilate thinks, “Hmmm, who could I put up against Jesus where I know they would choose Jesus and not the other guy to release?”
It is then that Pilate remembers that the worst prisoner that he has got in jail who has already been sentenced to death is Barabbas. Now as I have already told you this man was not a good man at all. In fact, when he was captured weeks earlier the people rejoiced that he had finally come to justice and when he was sentenced to death no one shed a tear. He was finally getting what he deserved so Pilate came before the crowd. This is Matthew chapter 27.
“So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’” For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.” “The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ‘Which of the two do you want me to release to you?’ asked the governor. ‘Barabbas,’ they answered. ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’ Matthew 27:17
Barabbas would’ve been imprisoned at a place called The Fortress of Antonia which is about 2,000 feet away from where Pilate is standing.
The question is, did Barabbas know what was happening?
The answer is probably yes. Barabbas is too far away to actually hear what Pilate is saying but he can hear the crowd.
Have you ever been late to a concert or a sporting event? You can’t hear exactly what is being played by the time you step out of your car, you can hear the beat and the rhythm but you can’t hear the words. That’s what Barabbas is hearing. Imagine being Barabbas and hearing this: “Barabbas! Crucify him!” and he thinks, “This is it.” The Roman soldiers come and he knows this is the end. Knowing the kind of man Barabbas was, perhaps he said this to himself, “They make take me down, but I’m not going down without a fight.”
So the prison door slams open and Barabbas sits there. They come over to him, and the moment they unleash his chains he goes crazy. There’s a great struggle as he fights for his life, determined to take some of these soldiers with him. And he hears one of them say, “Barabbas, you’re free! Barabbas, you’re free!” Barabbas takes a moment to let that sink in and one of the soldiers looks at him and says, “Somebody else is dying on your cross.”
Barabbas looks at them and asks, “Who? Who is taking my cross?” “It’s Jesus who is called the Christ.” And that’s where our story ends.
Barabbas did nothing to earn his freedom. As far as we know, he didn’t even ask for it. He is completely undeserving.
Can you relate?
Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Every single one is guilty and according to Romans 6:23 we deserve to pay for our sins. And the payment that God requires for our rebellion against God is our eternal separation from God. Look at the verse.
"The wages of sin (that means the payment we owe God for our sin) is death (eternal separation from God.) But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
Jesus saw the mess we were in and he died in our place and paid the sin debt that we owed God so that we could be released from the prison of sin that we were once in.
Out of all the people we are going to look at in this series this is the person we have the most in common with.
Barabbas had no way of saving himself and neither do we. Jesus took Barabbas' place on the cross and died for him. Jesus has done the same thing for you and for me.
So the question is after Jesus took Barabbas place how did Barabbas respond to what Jesus did for him. One Scenario is that:
Barabbas stayed the same.
It didn’t affect him that Jesus died in his place. He just went back to his old way of life of murder and theft?
Some people are like that. They hear that Jesus died for them on the cross so they can be forgiven of their sin and they don’t care. It doesn’t affect them. They just live their life doing whatever they want to do and ignore what Jesus did for them by paying the price for their sin.
Maybe that is what Barabbas did. Maybe that is what you are doing today. You don’t really care what he did for you. You are just going to live your life however you want to.
Barabbas tried to pay Jesus back.
You are in a jail cell and you are sentenced to die and then someone dies in your place. Wouldn’t you be grateful? Would you want to pay the person back for what they did for you?
Some of us have asked Jesus into your life and you are trying to pay Jesus back for what he has done for you so you come to church every week not because you want to but because you have to. You read the Bible almost every day not because you want to but because you have to. It is the right thing to do. Everything is a “have to”. I’m just trying to pay Jesus back for what he has done for me. I don’t really want to do it. I mean, I would rather be out partying and doing other stuff but he died for me so I will reluctantly live for him.
Following Jesus and living for him should never be a have to but a get to. Jesus chose to die for our sins and there is no way we can repay what he has done for us. Look at
Titus 3:5, “God saved us, not because of any good work that we ourselves have done (not because we’ve earned it), but because of his own mercy He saved us.”
We live our life for Jesus because we love him. We don’t read the Bible because we have to, we get to, we want to. We don’t help people who are hurting because we have to but because we get to. We want to. We don’t follow Jesus because we have to. We follow Jesus because we love him and are blown away at what he did for us and we want to live our life for him.
You see there is a third scenario for Barabbas and that scenario is:
Barabbas accepted the forgiveness of Jesus
I would like to think that’s the way it happened. I would like to think that he stayed in Jerusalem out of curiosity to see who this man was that was dying on his cross.
Perhaps he stayed in Jerusalem and maybe he saw Jesus carrying that cross up to Calvary, and perhaps Barabbas just whispered to himself, “That’s my cross! That’s my cross.”
Maybe he stuck around long enough to see the Roman soldiers slamming the nails through the hands of Jesus, and maybe he said to himself as he just instinctively grabbed his own hands, maybe he said, “Those nails were meant for me.”
Maybe he realized that this man had just died in his place.
And because of Jesus' love and forgiveness Barabbas was never the same. That’s what happened to me. When I understood what Jesus did for me, I wanted to love him and I wanted to live for him. This is not a have to but a get to.
Where are you at in all of this? Does Jesus dying in your place affect your life at all or do you just live your life however you want to live your life and how is that working out for you?
Are you here today because you have to be here? Is all this following Jesus stuff kind of a burden to you. Or do you follow him because you love him? Jesus died in your place and paid the price for your sins. Now you get to choose how your story will end.
So when you're tempted to sin this week, think back to what Jesus did on the cross and what Barabbas did. Ask yourself, is that my cross? Challenge yourself to accept His forgiveness and live for Him, different then you are now.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
