When Barabbas Went Free: Mercy Over Justice

Barabbas stands beside Jesus as a picture of the gospel that is hard to miss. Matthew places a notorious prisoner, a murderer, thief, and insurrectionist, next to the innocent, holy, and harmless Son of God. Pilate thinks the choice will be easy, because nobody wants Barabbas turned loose on the street. Pilate does not understand his audience, though, because envy has driven the chief priests, and hatred has turned the crowd into a mob drunk on bloodlust.

The crowd cries, “Give us Barabbas,” and then cries, “Crucify Him.” Barabbas may not even know at first who the crowd is talking about in all that chaos. Barabbas wakes up expecting to die that day, likely expecting one of the three crosses outside the city. Jesus takes that place, while Barabbas walks free.

Barabbas gives every guilty person a place to stand and look at Christ. God’s holiness requires condemnation of wickedness, because fair is condemnation when guilt is real. Scripture closes every mouth before God and makes the whole world accountable to Him. David’s confession, Paul’s words in Romans, and Barabbas standing by Jesus all say the same thing: no man living is righteous before God.

Christ also exposes the lie the world tells guilty people. The crowd effectively tells Barabbas that murder, theft, rebellion, and destruction are no big deal. The world still says sin is fine, or maybe it will merely “negatively impact” somebody’s future. Sin does far more than that, because sin separates a soul from God and carries eternal consequences. God’s path, rather than the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the boastful pride of life, is the path where fullness of joy is found.

Jesus takes the place of Barabbas, the chief priests, the yelling crowd, and every sinner who comes to Him. Christ, who knew no sin, becomes sin on behalf of the guilty so that the guilty may become the righteousness of God in Him. The innocent is condemned, and the guilty goes free. Grace goes so far beyond fairness that fairness almost becomes a ridiculous word at the cross.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Guilt must be seen beside Christ Barabbas was plainly guilty, and no reasonable court could pretend otherwise. Sin becomes clearest not when people compare themselves to other people, but when they stand near the holiness of Jesus. Christ’s presence does not minimize guilt, but it makes mercy shine brighter. [26:53]
• 2. The world lies about sin The crowd treated Barabbas as if his crimes were no big deal, even though his life had wrecked others. The world still softens sin into a bad choice, a mistake, or something that might hurt somebody’s future. God calls sin what it is because eternity is at stake. [31:34]
• 3. God’s joy outlasts sin’s promises The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and human pride promise happiness but leave people miserable. God’s path of life may confront a person before it comforts him, because truth has to expose the wound. God’s presence alone holds fullness of joy and pleasures forever. [35:32]
• 4. Jesus takes the guilty man’s place Barabbas expected a cross, but Jesus went to that cross instead. The exchange is not merely a moving detail in the trial; it is the heart of the gospel. Christ the just died for the unjust in order to bring guilty people to God.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [12:54] - Barabbas Among Obscure Bible Characters
• [13:58] - Jesus Before the Jewish Courts
• [15:15] - Pilate Wants Out
• [16:47] - Pilate Brings Out Barabbas
• [18:11] - Give Us Barabbas
• [19:21] - Envy Drives the Crowd
• [21:14] - Barabbas the Notorious Prisoner
• [22:35] - Guilty Before a Holy God
• [28:43] - Seeing Sin Near Christ
• [30:07] - The World Calls Sin No Big Deal
• [35:14] - The Path of Life and Real Joy
• [37:42] - Jesus Takes Our Place
• [40:34] - The Gospel in One Line
• [41:17] - Redemption Through His Blood

1. “Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted.” [12:54]
2. “And they were holding at that time a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.” [16:47]
3. “So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’”
4. “For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.” [21:14]
5. “While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, ‘Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.’”
6. “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.”
7. “But the governor said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’” [18:11]
8. “Pilate *said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all *said, ‘Crucify Him!’” [19:21]
9. “And he said, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they kept shouting all the more, saying, ‘Crucify Him!’”
10. “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.’”
11. “And all the people said, ‘His blood shall be on us and on our children!’”
12. “Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”

1. “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;” [27:56]
2. “as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one;”
3. “There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;”
4. “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.’”

1. What details in Matthew 27 show the contrast between Barabbas and Jesus, both in their character and in how they were treated? [21:14]
2. What reason does Matthew give for the chief priests handing Jesus over, and how does that reason help explain the crowd’s choice? [19:21]
3. In Romans 3:9–12, what words does Paul use to describe the condition shared by both Jews and Greeks?
4. According to 2 Corinthians 5:21 and 1 Peter 3:18, what is true of Jesus, what is true of sinners, and what did Christ accomplish through His death? [40:56]

1. Pilate seems to expect that the crowd will obviously choose Jesus over Barabbas. What does the crowd’s choice reveal about what envy and hatred can do to a person or a group? [20:39]
2. Romans 3 says that no one is righteous before God. Why is it important for a believer to compare his or her life with the holiness of Christ rather than with the failures of other people? [26:53]
3. The crowd’s choice of Barabbas treated murder, theft, and rebellion as though they were no big deal. How does the world still soften the seriousness of sin, and why does that make the gospel harder for people to understand? [31:34]
4. Christ is “the just” who died “for the unjust” in order to bring people to God. How does Barabbas’s release give a clear picture of what substitution means in the gospel? [38:33]

1. It is easy to see guilt clearly in someone like Barabbas and much harder to see it in oneself. In what areas is there a temptation to excuse, rename, or minimize personal sin instead of bringing it honestly before God? [28:43]
2. Drawing near to Christ exposes sin, but it also makes His mercy more precious. What habits could help a person stay near Christ this week—through Scripture, prayer, confession, or fellowship—rather than drifting from Him? [29:23]
3. The world often describes sin merely as something that may “negatively impact” a person’s future. What messages from entertainment, social media, friends, or work make sin seem harmless or normal in daily life? [32:47]
4. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride all promise happiness but do not last. Which of those temptations is most persuasive in this season of life, and what would choosing God’s path of life look like in one specific situation? [35:32]
5. Barabbas expected condemnation, yet Jesus took the place he deserved. How does remembering, “Jesus took my place,” change the way a believer responds to shame, fear, or the feeling that forgiveness must be earned? [40:34]
6. Redemption through Christ’s blood means forgiveness comes according to the riches of God’s grace. Is there a sin, failure, or burden that is still being carried as though Christ’s grace were not enough? What would it look like to bring that honestly to God? [41:25]