“Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.” (Mark 15:6-15)
A man went free the day He died. Thief. Terrorist. Killer.
A man went free the day He died. Barabbas’ name is interesting. “Bar” means “son of” and “abbas” comes from the word for father. “Son of his father” would be one translation. The name itself shows us the universality of his role. He stood there and represented every son of every father.
A man went free the day He died. A guilty man. One who, under Roman law, deserved the punishment that Christ received. His was an unexpected and undeserved reprieve.
A man went free the day He died. The guilty went free. The innocent was killed. The Holy One died, while the sinner lived. One man paid the price He never owed, one had his debt erased. The day Christ died another man received freedom and life, mercy and grace, liberty and forgiveness.
A man went free the day He died. And I AM THAT MAN.
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)