WEEK ONE: When Someone Takes Your Place (Barabbas)

Have you ever done something that you knew was wrong and then had to deal with the consequences? Did you get the penalty you should have received, or did you get off easier? Most every person believes in and desires that justice is served in every aspect of life. If someone does something wrong, we believe that they should be held accountable and receive the just penalty for whatever they did. Many times, this even goes beyond just being a fair penalty; society often feels that what was received was either too lenient or too strict depending on how a person views the specific offence. We believe that the decision or penalty was unjust. 

But how would we feel if we were the offender?  Imagine being guilty and knowing that you deserve whatever the penalty is for your offence.  Now imagine that someone else steps up and takes your place.  What would you do? How would you react?  Every one of us longs to be free, but deep down we know that we deserve judgment in some area of life. We would love to be free of the guilt and condemnation, avoiding the penalty for our misdoings… but all the time, we know full well what we deserve.

Barabbas was an insurrectionist and a murderer. He had led a rebellion against the government and had killed people in the process. He was guilty and everyone knew it. Yet when Pilate offers to let either Barabbas or Jesus go free, the people choose to release Barabbas. Jesus then took on and bore the sentence that should have belonged to Barabbas.

Just like Barabbas, we all have done something that we shouldn’t have done. We all have this inherent nature in us that we call sin, and it separates us from God and requires a penalty to be paid. Yet in the middle of all of our sin and shame, Jesus steps into our lives and offers us a way out. When Jesus went to the cross, he became the substitutionary sacrifice for all of us, taking on the penalty that should have been ours and offering us freedom. But it shouldn’t end there.

Receiving this freedom doesn’t just free us from punishment; it also calls us into participation in the life of the one who took our place. It frees us from judgment but it also calls us into a life of following Jesus. However, the temptation is to accept that freedom but forget about discipleship, cheapening the cost of the grace that God so generously has offered us. But that decision is up to us. Will you embrace freedom or go back into bondage? Will you accept what Jesus did for you and take up a life of following him? It is for freedom that we have been set free, but we must choose to walk right in that freedom.