Faces of the Cross (Part 1)
This picture is an artist’s depiction of the first century prisoner, murderer, insurrectionist, and terrorist known as Barabbas. The crimes committed by Barabbas called for the death penalty, specifically death by crucifixion. Over the next few days I would like to take a deeper look at a few of the faces connected to the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. Today, I thought Barabbas would be a great place to start because this murderer is actually more like us (or, we are more like him) than we would probably care to admit. Mark’s gospel gives us this account:
Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. “Crucify him!” they shouted. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:6-15)
Here are a few reflections on the importance of this story:
1) Jesus stood in as the substitute for Barabbas’ wrongdoing. The guilty man went free; the innocent man paid the price. Jesus also serves as the substitute for us, standing in our place and taking the punishment we deserve. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is the core of the gospel.
2) The name “Barabbas” literally means “son of the father.” Jesus Christ is the Son of the Father and thus has served the world as the true Son who came to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice to deal with sin once and for all. Only Jesus has the authority and character to solve the sin problem.
In his book on Romans, author James Boice has written this powerful piece to capture some of the thinking that was probably going through Barabbas’ head during his experience of imprisonment and release:
Picture Barabbas sitting in the prison, staring at his hands, which were soon to be pierced by nails, and shuddering at any sound of hammering that might remind him with horror of his own impending crucifixion. Suddenly he hears a crowd roaring outside the prison. There are angry voices. “Crucify him! Crucify him!” He thinks he hears his own name. Then a jailer comes to unlock the door of his cell. Barabbas thinks that the time for his execution has come, but instead the jailer tells him that he is being set free. The crowd has called for his release. Jesus of Nazareth is to die instead. Stunned, Barabbas joins the processional that is making its way to Calvary and watches as Jesus is crucified. He hears the sound of the hammer and knows that the blows that are fastening Jesus to the rough wooden cross were meant for him. He sees the cross lifted high into place and knows that he is the one who should be dying on it. Jesus cries, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” The centurion who has commanded the execution party exclaims, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Barabbas must have been saying, “That man took my place. I am the one who should have died. I am the condemned murderer. That man did nothing wrong. He is dying for me.”
The Gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet you are more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope because Jesus lived and died in your place. A great exchange takes place when we place our trust and faith in Jesus Christ.
~Peter Scazzero