BARABBAS AND ME
Mark 15:6-15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GOOD NEWS FROM THE REDEEMER
August 6, 2006 MESSAGE #644
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Now at the feast he [Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator] was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them [the Jews, his subjects], whomever they requested. And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. But Pilate answered them, saying, 'Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?' For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, 'What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?' So they cried out again, 'Crucify Him!' Then Pilate said to them, 'Why, what evil has He done?' But they cried out all the more, 'Crucify Him!' So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified."
I. Barabbas and I have the same name. The name Barabbas means "son of the father" (Aramaic bar="son" + abba="father"). We are not told how Barabbas came to be so-named. But I know how I obtained the "Son of the father"! And it has to do with "Like father, like son!"
1. I was born a natural son of Adam, the physical father of all the human race. My physical descent goes all the way back to the first man, of whom it is said, "Adam ... begot a son in his own likeness, after his image" (Genesis 5:3). Adam's "likeness" and "image" is that of God (Genesis 1:26; 5:1; see 1 Corinthians 11:27), but sadly deformed by sin and the consequence of Adam's fall (Genesis 3:1-8). I was therefore born spiritually dead (Romans 5:12, 17), under condemnation (vv.16, 18), a sinner (v.19). And what is here true of me is true of you also!
2. I was born a spiritual son of Satan, the spiritual father of all Adam's natural sons. Jesus the Christ says of us in our natural state, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do" (John 8:44). Paul the apostle describes us as "having been taken captive by [the devil] to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:26). Paul also writes that our natural state is that of being "dead in trespasses and sins" and that we have "walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan], the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all ... conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:1-3).
3. I was born a predestined son of God the Father. All who believe His gospel - as I by grace do (Acts 18:27) - are assured that "He chose us in ["our Lord Jesus Christ"] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace" (Ephesians 1:4-6). In time all who were predestined as sons by Jesus Christ will prove to be "sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26). They then will know "you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father'" (Romans 8:15).
II. Barabbas and I committed the same crimes.
1. We both participated "in the rebellion" (v.7). We know little else regarding his insurrection except that it was "a certain rebellion made in the city" (Luke 23:19), evidently against the Roman government. But I know much about my rebellion. I rebelled against God in refusing to walk in His statutes and observe His judgments - "which, if a man does, he shall live by them" (Ezekiel 20:21). And I rebelled against His Christ by joining those who say, "We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14). I was by nature the worst sort of rebel!
2. We both "committed murder" (v.7). Although I may not have done so with my hands, as did Barabbas, I was nevertheless among those of whom it is said, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer" (1 John 3:15; cp. Matthew 5:21f).
3. We both were known as "a robber" (John 18:40). I was "a thief and a robber" when in false religion I tried to climb over the wall of Christ's fold in order to steal and kill His sheep and destroy His church (John 10:1, 8, 10; Philippians 3:6a).
III. Barabbas and I were "chained with fellow rebels" (v.7). He was chained in Pilate's prison as punishment for his rebellion. I was chained in "the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:26) as a consequence of my fall in sin. I was imprisoned in my depravity, bound in my sin (Romans 6:17), without hope of escape.
IV. Barabbas and I were "notorious prisoner[s]" (Matthew 27:16). The Greek word translated notorious means "having a mark on it". We both were prisoners marked for death, the just penalty for our capital crimes. And every sin against God is a capital offense (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23).
V. Barabbas and I have been preferred over Christ. Isaiah the prophet writes of Christ, "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him" (Isaiah 53:3). Peter the apostle says the Jews "denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life" (Acts 3:14f). The Jews demanded Pilate liberate Barabbas, but crucify Christ. When I was a preacher in religion, the religious exalted me above Christ. Think of it:
1. A rebel was preferred over the "The King". Jesus Christ is the Sovereign of the universe, with regard to both His deity (Psalm 135:5f) and humanity (Matthew 28:18). False preachers are rebels denying His absolute sovereignty and the gospel of His free and sovereign grace, and averring the freewill of man trumps the freewill of God, and claiming God is incapable of saving a sinner unless we "let Him". Man-made religion prefers the rebel.
2. A life-taker was preferred over the Life-Giver. Jesus Christ gives eternal life to all who look to Him in faith (Isaiah 45:22). False preachers are murderers of souls when they deprive sinners of that life by pointing them away from Christ and to their own sectarian features. Man-made religion prefers the murderer, and would be "drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Revelation 17:1-6).
3. A robber was preferred over the Restorer. Jesus Christ gives Himself for the restoration of His sheep (John 10:11). False preachers endeavor to rob Christ of His sheep (John 10:1, 10), and also to rob and abuse their own sheep for their own gain (Ezekiel 34:1-3). God says of the religious who are His in name only and not truly, "My people love to have it so" (Jeremiah 5:26-31).
4. An unrighteous criminal was preferred over "the Holy One and the Just". Jesus Christ is the only man acknowledged by God as "the Holy One and the Just" (Acts 3:14; Luke 1:35; Mark 1:24; Acts 2:27 / Psalm 16:10; & Acts 7:52; 22:14; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:1, 20). We all, on the other hand, are by fleshly nature the very embodiment of evil (Romans 7:18): "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells." Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the only Holiness and Righteousness provided by God (1 Corinthians 1:30). However, false preachers unrighteously and unholily exalt personal self-righteousness over Christ's imputed righteousness, and personal self-holiness over Christ's imparted holiness. Man-made religion, being Pharisaical at heart and "because they have itching ears", prefers the unholy and unrighteous false preacher (2 Timothy 4:3f).
VI. Barabbas and I have been released through Christ's vicarious death. Barabbas was granted physical freedom by Pilate when Christ died in his place and stead, as his substitute. But I was granted spiritual salvation by God when Christ was "scourged" and "crucified" (v.15) in my place and stead, as my substitute (Isaiah 53:4f): "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 bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
VII. Barabbas and I have celebrated Passover as free men. The account regarding Barabbas occurred "at the feast" (v.6), specifically "at the Passover" (John 18:39), a feast instituted by God to commemorate Israel's deliverance from Egypt and to typify the saving work of Christ. Barabbas was liberated from prison just in time to celebrate it. We are not told anything regarding him after his release. But I hope that what happened to me happened to him also: When I was released from my spiritual prison through the vicarious death of Jesus Christ, I saw for the first time that "indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" who are believers in Him (1 Corinthians 5:7).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~