I am Barabbas

As the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion go, Pilate wanted nothing to do with this 'King of the Jews'. But Jesus was in the hands of the governor of Judea during the annual festival of the Passover. It was at this time that Pilate would allow a Jewish prisoner to be freed, pardoned so to speak. But here was this man who had committed no crime. In fact, He healed people. He gave life back to people. He taught the Law of Moses. What better time to free this prisoner who was a good man. Except the Jewish leadership wanted Him dead. So Pilate gave the people a choice, Jesus or Barabbas, a criminal, a known rioter. Surely no one would want an unrepentant thief back in the population. That is what prisons are for. But the crowd was adamant. Crucify Jesus! We want Barabbas!

So here is this criminal. Imagine what he is thinking. I am free. But another man will die instead of me. Bullocks! Did Barabbas turn to thank Jesus? Hey, governor, thanks for everything! Probably not. But he did live to see another day. And so do we!

Every day we wake up to a new day. If you are reading this, you woke up this morning. As Scripture says, God's mercies are new everyday.(Lam. 3:22-23) But one day Jesus died for you. Just like He did for Barabbas. You see, when we take an inventory of our life measuring it against the 10 Commandments, we fall short. Jesus reminds us in The Sermon on the Mount that whatever sinful thoughts we have makes us just as guilty as if we had committed the infraction. After all, it does point to our character. It's who we are! We are a member of a mob and Barabbas is one of us! Can we stand before a righteous God for the numerous times we helped ourselves to office supplies for our personal use? Thief! Or how about the envy we carry regarding another person's success! Thou shalt not covet! Or those daydreams of rolling in the hay with your friend's spouse! Adulterer! And if you are smiling because your God doesn't send anyone to hell, idolater! Everyone of us is just as guilty as Barabbas. While we may not be in prison, we will die. And where will you go when you die? Heaven or hell. If you think your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, think again. What murderer has ever used that as a defense in the courtroom. Really your honor, I only killed one man. Think of all the ones I let live? In the eyes of God our good deeds amount to nothing more than used tampons! (Isaiah 64:6, Really! Read it in the Hebrew!)

Approximately 2000 years ago a criminal deserving of the death penalty walked free because an innocent man took his place. Everyday we walk free as God gives us time to turn back and thank Him who died for all our sins. (2 Pet. 3:8-9)And how does that make you feel? Bullocks!

Law and Gospel

Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian
. (Galatians 3:23-25)

St. Paul is writing to an early church in Galatia who were being led astray by those who felt strict adherence to the Law of Moses was the only way to be justified before God. To be justified meant to be found innocent before the judge. The problem that the law presents to us is that if at anytime we have broken just one aspect of the Law, we cannot be justified at all. We are all guilty before God.

The Law is our guardian. The guardian spoken of here was a slave to the master of the house whose responsibility was to protect the children and ensure their studies so that one day they may take over the family responsibilities. Therefore, until we are mature in faith, we have the Law to show us right and wrong. And it exposes our guilt. If we are honest and compare our thoughts, words and deeds, to the Law, we fall short and see our guilt as God sees it. But we have a redeemer!

Jesus Christ took our guilt upon Himself once and for all at Calvary! He stood in our place. By His stripes, we are healed! When we get a traffic ticket for breaking a law of the road, we must appear before the judge in traffic court and pay a fine. Jesus has stepped in between us and God the righteous and perfect judge to pay our fine. After all the wages of sin is death! When we know He has done this for us, we have faith that Jesus fulfilled the Law completely and perfectly for you and me!

The Law remains for us a remimder of our guilt. But Christ came that we might not be a slave to the law, but rather that we be a slave to righteousness. As Paul reminds us, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24) Let us feel sorry for our sins (repentance) and trust Christ as we accept His gift of eternal life!