AuburnChick's Adventures

On Sunday, my pastor read the passage of scripture that describes the criminal, Barabbas, being given his freedom in exchange for the execution of Jesus.

Matthew 27: 15-26

15Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. 16This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas.^d 17As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18(He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

19Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”

20Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. 21So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?”

The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”

22Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

23“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”

But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

24Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”

25And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!”^e

26So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

My pastor explained that though nothing is known of Barabbas afterward, a book had been written and a movie had been made that fictionalized what might have happened to him.

My pastor described a scene that could very well have happened…

Footsteps descending stone steps to the prison cells below…

The sound of keys turning in the locks…

The expectation that Barabbas must have had knowing that he was about to face his death…

The shock when, instead, Jesus was pulled out of the room…

The even greater shock when Barabbas was told he was a free man.

I cannot even begin to imagine what it must have felt like to know that I, very deserving of death, had been let go and that someone else was going to serve my death sentence for me.

Can you?

I just don’t know that I could live my life the same way afterward.

At this point, I had to wonder what had happened to Barabbas.

Perhaps Barabbas had never known unconditional love before, and that was why he had committed crimes that made him “notorious.”

Do you think that he left that prison with a heart so grateful for God’s gift of life that he went out and talked about it afterward?

Did Barabbas allow his entire life to be changed from that point forward?  Did he start a family or take up with the one he had left behind?  Did they see real change in his life?

Or, perhaps, he changed…for a little while…before gradually forgetting what had been done for him.

Hmmm…

Then again, perhaps he figured that the stars had aligned and he had gotten lucky.

Do you think he went back out and got in with his old crowd…taking up where he had left off before being caught?

I’ve seen all of these things happen as I’ve watched people receive incredible gifts from God.

In fact, I fear that I have, at times, reacted in similar fashions.

You know…I’ve been a Christian for nearly half of my life.  I’ve read the above passage more times than I can count; however, I’ve never stopped to ask whatever happened to Barabbas.

I doubt that any of us will ever know, yet I think this lack of knowledge serves as a warning.

Do not take the gift of salvation for granted.

Accept it.

Embrace it.

Acknowledge it.

Then, don’t ever walk away from it.

And don’t leave people wondering, “What happened to Insert-Your-Name.”

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: Barabbas, Christianity |