Barabbas
Copyright © April 7, 2011
by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.
Barabbas heard the key turn as they unlocked the door into his dungeon.
Shackled by his hands and feet he was led out into the early morning sun.
There he saw the two other criminals who were to be crucified with him.
The three men were led in chains to stand before Pilate the governor.
Barabbas listened as Pilate spoke to the large crowd that had begun to gather,
"Whom shall I set free: Jesus the Christ or this Barrabas the murderer?"
At that moment Barrabas could not believe what the people loudly cried:
"Set Barrabas the criminal free and let Jesus the Christ be crucified."
How could this be? Barrabas knew he was guilty and he deserved to die.
But Pilate gave the order and a guard unlocked his chains for all to see.
As his shackles fell to the ground Pilate stood up and he said quite clearly,
"Your crimes have all been forgiven. Go now. You have been set free."
But Barrabas was curious and he followed behind the crowd to Calvary.
There he saw three crosses and the center one should have been his destiny.
But they nailed Jesus to his cross and he watched Jesus die in great agony.
That center cross was not just for Barrabas. It was also for you and for me.
But Jesus shed his Holy Blood on that cross so that we could all be set free.
Believe in Jesus and you will be forgiven and eternal life you will receive.
Reference Scripture Verses
Mark 15:7 - A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.
Matthew 27:15-18 - Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.
At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.
So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them,
"Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"
for he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
Matthew 27:21-24 - "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor.
"Barabbas," they answered.
"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.
They all answered, "Crucify him!"
"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
Matthew 27:26 - Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Luke 23:32-43 - Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals -- one on his right, the other on his left.
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.
They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Matthew 27:50-54 - And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth shook and the rocks split.
The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
John 19:31-34 - Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.
But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
Matthew 27:57-66 - As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."
"Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Matthew 28:1-7 - After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
Matthew 28:16-20 - Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
John 20:30-31 - Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com