Which Jesus Will You Choose: Barabbas or Christ?

Mar 23, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Daily Decision of What to Do with Jesus

Each new day presents us with a choice. We must decide whether we will live for Christ or for ourselves, to please Him or to please our own desires. This is not a one-time question but a recurring one that meets us every morning. Our answer shapes the direction of our hours and the posture of our hearts. It is a question of daily surrender and commitment. [05:49]

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23, ESV)

Reflection: As you consider the rhythm of your upcoming week, what does choosing to live for Jesus—rather than for yourself—look like in the practical details of your schedule and priorities?

Day 2: Rejecting the Counterfeit for the True Christ

It is possible to chase after a version of Jesus that we have crafted to fit our preferences. We can subtly reshape Him into a more comfortable figure who demands less and approves more. Yet, the real Jesus is unchanging and will not be redefined by our desires. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, the complete Son of God revealed in Scripture. Accepting Him means accepting all of who He is. [16:27]

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, ESV)

Reflection: In what specific area of your life have you been tempted to reshape Jesus’ character or commands to better align with your own comfort or desires?

Day 3: The Danger of Hiding Envy Behind Good Intentions

Envy can often disguise itself as concern for the greater good. We may justify actions or attitudes by claiming they are for the benefit of others, all while masking a heart that is jealous of another’s influence or success. This was the path of the religious leaders, who used the language of compassion to conceal their envy. God calls us to examine our motives with honesty and humility. [29:13]

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10, ESV)

Reflection: Where might you be pursuing a personal agenda or protecting your own status under the guise of doing what is “best for everyone else”?

Day 4: There Is No Neutral Ground with Jesus

Acknowledging Jesus as a good teacher or a moral example is not enough. He Himself declared that there is no middle position; we are either for Him or against Him. To attempt neutrality is to already have chosen. A life of genuine faith requires moving from polite appreciation to wholehearted surrender and confession that He is Lord. [37:35]

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30, ESV)

Reflection: In what relationships or environments do you feel the pressure to remain neutral about your faith in Christ, and what is one step you can take to lovingly stand for Him there?

Day 5: Our Answer Informs a Watching World

The world is asking what to do with Jesus, and it looks to those who claim to know Him for the answer. Our lives are the testimony they see. A inconsistent or half-hearted witness only adds to the confusion, while a life sold out for Christ provides a clear and compelling picture. Our commitment is not just for our own sake, but for the sake of those who are watching. [42:00]

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV)

Reflection: If someone who does not know Jesus were to observe your life for a week, what conclusion do you think they would draw about what it means to follow Him?

Sermon Summary

A focused study of Matthew 27 traces the moment Pilate must decide Jesus’ fate and draws practical spiritual lessons from every voice in the courtroom. The narrative frames a stark choice: the genuine Christ or a counterfeit savior. Pilate’s attempt to appease the crowd by offering a choice between Jesus and Barabbas exposes the danger of pleasing people at the expense of truth. The name Barabbas (son of the father) and manuscript evidence that he may also have borne the name Jesus heighten the irony: people chose a false substitute over the Messiah.

The account insists that Jesus refuses all attempts to be trimmed into a popular or convenient figure. Titles like prophet, teacher, or master prove incomplete when divorced from the full confession that Jesus is the Son of God, Messiah, and sacrificial Lamb. Attempts to reshape Jesus to fit comfort, culture, or convenience distort salvation and lead to rejection of the real Christ.

Religious leaders respond out of envy, cloaking self-preservation as concern for the people. Their strategy trades authenticity for reputation; they rationalize removing Jesus as a public good while protecting their own place. Neutrality emerges as a third danger: admiration without surrender. A dream warns against passive assent—recognizing Jesus’ innocence without accepting his lordship leaves one effectively opposed, since noncommitment carries its own verdict.

The passage closes with a pastoral urgency: the wider world watches. The community of faith must offer a clear, uncompromised testimony about who Jesus is, because wavering signals confuse those seeking direction. The right response requires decisive allegiance—living and proclaiming Jesus as Lord rather than crafting a domesticated version for comfort, culture, or convenience.

Key Takeaways

1. Decide which Jesus to follow Choosing between the real Christ and a counterfeit requires deliberate discernment. Many settle for an appealing, malleable image of Jesus that fits personal preferences or social comfort. True allegiance demands naming Jesus as Lord in ways that alter daily choices and loyalties. The crowd’s choice of Barabbas illustrates how easily a people can pick a familiar substitute over the Messiah. [08:47]
2. Jesus resists being redefined The fullness of Christ cannot compress into partial titles or cultural edits. Calling Jesus merely teacher or prophet omits his identity as the incarnate Son and atoning Lamb; such truncation changes the implications of discipleship. Integrity toward God’s revelation requires confessing the whole Christ and letting that truth disrupt cultural convenience. The refusal to be redefined provoked rejection, not compromise. [13:50]
3. Neutrality is itself a rejection Admiration without surrender keeps a person outside salvation’s relationship. Remaining “not against” Jesus masks a decisive posture that the text calls condemned when faith remains unclaimed. Commitment requires active belief; passive tolerance functions practically as opposition. Neutral positions leave the world without a witness and individuals without rescue. [36:54]
4. Church must give a clear testimony The broader world looks to faith communities for cues about Jesus’ identity and authority. Mixed signals—culturally accommodating or reputationally driven representations—make the gospel ambiguous and hinder conversion. Clarity demands faithful proclamation and lives that visibly honor Christ’s lordship, not shaped replicas for popularity. The public question “What shall we do with Jesus?” expects a confident, uncompromised answer from those who follow him. [41:24]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:26] - Lessons from Pilate introduced
[03:09] - Reading Matthew 27 aloud
[04:38] - The question: What shall I do with Jesus?
[07:01] - Pilate’s gamble with the crowd
[08:47] - Which Jesus do you want?
[13:50] - Jesus will not be redefined
[22:13] - Religious leaders acted from envy
[33:40] - Pilate’s wife and neutral ground
[41:24] - The world watches the church
[45:06] - Call to be sold out for Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: Matthew 27:15-26 (ESV)
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified.” He said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified.” So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Observation questions

What choice did Pilate present to the crowd, and what was their surprising response?
What reason does the text give for why the chief priests and elders wanted to destroy Jesus?
What was the message Pilate received from his wife regarding Jesus, and what was her reason for it?
How did Pilate ultimately try to absolve himself of the decision regarding Jesus?

Interpretation questions

The name Barabbas means "son of the father." [08:22] Given that many manuscripts also list his first name as Jesus, what was the profound irony of the choice Pilate presented?
Pilate’s wife called Jesus a "righteous man" and warned her husband to have nothing todo with harming him [35:01], yet there's no record of her placing faith in him. What does this suggest about the difference between acknowledging Jesus’ goodness and surrendering to his lordship?
The religious leaders were motivated by envy [23:48] but framed their actions as being for the good of the people [29:13]. How can good intentions be used to mask selfish or envious motives when it comes to following Jesus?
Pilate asked the crowd, "What shall I do with Jesus?" [04:38] after hearing from many voices. Why is it impossible for someone else to answer this question for us?

Application questions

The crowd chose a "counterfeit Jesus" [10:18] who was familiar and fit their expectations. In what ways are we sometimes tempted to follow a version of Jesus that we've shaped to be more comfortable or less demanding?
Jesus refuses to be redefined into a more convenient figure [13:50]. What are some biblical truths about Jesus (e.g., his lordship, his call to take up our cross) that our culture, or even our own hearts, try to downplay or ignore?
Envy caused the religious leaders to protect their own status and "place" [28:10] while pretending to act for the common good. When have you seen envy—a desire for recognition, influence, or success—disguise itself as ministry or concern for others?
Pilate’s wife represents a neutral position: admiring Jesus but not fully committing to him [35:51]. What are the practical signs in a person's life that show they admire Jesus from a distance rather than living in surrendered allegiance to him?
The world is watching and asking, "What shall I do with Jesus?" based on the testimony of believers [42:00]. What is one area of your life where your actions could give a clearer, more uncompromised answer to that question for those who are watching?

Sermon Clips

34s

#NoNeutralGround

“Nothing controversial to that at all. But, you stand up and say, and he's my lord, or he is lord, he's king of kings, he's lord of lords. You start saying those things, all of a sudden, controversy. You keep that out of our schools. You keep that out of our government. You keep that out of all these places. He doesn't belong here. As long as you stay neutral, nobody cares. But the moment you go all the way, people care. And here's what happens with Jesus. Jesus says, guess what? With me, there is no neutral ground.”

26s

#UnredefinableJesus

“And one thing that we find from Jesus, he will not be redefined. He makes it very clear who he is. He did not sway one way or the other. He will not be redefined to what people wanted him to be. And because Jesus was not willing to be redefined, guess what? They killed him. Because they couldn't make him who they wanted him to be, they crucified him.”

38s

#JesusUnchanging

“But because Jesus won't be redefined, you know what that means? That means Jesus is not your Jesus or your Jesus or your Jesus or my Jesus. He's Jesus of the Bible. Amen. He's Jesus, the son of god. He's Jesus who's unchanging, Jesus who's unmoving. He is Jesus who who will be the same yesterday, today, and forever and no matter how we try to mold him, shape him, redefine no matter what we try to do as people, he will not be changed and he will not be redefined. He's the same. Yes. He's the same.”

22s

#DontTweakJesus

“And the moment we start to tweak, we've now rejected this Jesus and said, no. Actually, this is the Jesus for me. And then all of a sudden, it starts to make a little bit more sense how the crowd could say, give us Barabbas. On the surface, it makes no sense whatsoever. But if we're not careful, we do the exact same thing. And we have to ask ourselves, what Jesus do we want?”

42s

#NoCounterfeitJesus

“And since we cannot redefine him and since we cannot change him, then we're left with two options. Do we accept Jesus who is called Christ for who he is, or do we accept a counterfeit? It's the only two choices we've got. We can't say, I want the real Jesus, but I wish he was a little less, you know, righteous. Or I wish he was a little less, you know, in my life and in my face about things. I like this Jesus, but I wish he was a little more, you know, understanding of what's like to be a human here on Earth. All of these things that go through our mind, I want him but I want some change. I want to tweak this or that.”

35s

#PleaseGodNotPeople

“Sometimes, we try to please people, and we gamble our relationship with Jesus. And I told you last week, our biggest enemy might not even be the people we're trying to please. It might be the flesh we're trying to please. Trying to do things our way, the way we like things done. And so we try to please ourselves, and we end up gambling what we have in Christ. And so we need to take our cues and our example from Christ. And he said, I only please one, and that's him. And in doing so, he's actually we all benefited from that. He actually was able to please all of us, but he was doing it to please his father.”

34s

#TheyDontKnowJesus

“Our world today out there, they don't know Jesus. They may know him by name, but they don't know Jesus. And guess what? They are unqualified judge. They don't know. If we just think that we just throw the name of Jesus out there to the world, that all of a sudden they're gonna be a good judge and make the right decision about him, we are mistaken. They don't know. And so they're begging and wondering and asking the same thing Pilate did. What do I do with this Jesus? What do I do with him?”

26s

#ChooseJesusDaily

“We also have to answer this for ourselves, not just today, but tomorrow and the next day and the next week. This is a reoccurring question because each morning when we wake up, we have to decide what are we gonna do with Jesus today? Am I gonna live for him today or am I gonna live for myself? Am I going to try to please him or am I gonna try to please myself? It is a question that keeps coming up over and over and over again in our lives.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Inspiration Church Colorado Springs, CO This sermon · AI assistant

What choices reveal who you truly serve?

How do you recognize a counterfeit Jesus?

Can neutrality be faithful or is it opposition?

Which Jesus Will You Choose: Barabbas or Christ?

Devotional

Day 1: The Daily Decision of What to Do with Jesus

Day 2: Rejecting the Counterfeit for the True Christ

Day 3: The Danger of Hiding Envy Behind Good Intentions

Day 4: There Is No Neutral Ground with Jesus

Day 5: Our Answer Informs a Watching World

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Which Jesus Will You Choose: Barabbas or Christ?

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