Unexpected Freedom

The man startled awake when he heard the sound of his name coming from the courtyard above. He raised himself to an elbow, then sat up on the dirt floor. He rubbed his face with the rags dangling from his arms. What day is it? How long have I been in this stinking prison? Again, the crowd was shouting his name…”Barabbas!” 

He muttered curses and found an open space to lean his back against the cold stone wall. The others were stirring now, straining to hear. Why all this commotion? Why was the crowd calling his name? The indistinct shouts from above grew louder. It sounded like a mob. A religious mob. Barabbas heard his name shouted repeatedly over the noise. 

They heard Pilate’s voice, but no one could make out his muffled words. Again the crowd grew louder. “Crucify! Crucify!” rang through the prison walls loud and clear. If Barabbas had ever had the dimmest hope of freedom, it was extinguished now. A chill ran down his defiant spine. The others said nothing. Footfalls approached. Keys rattled.

“Which of you is Barabbas?” He was shoved to the front, yanked out, and the door slammed behind him. The guard hurried him through the rough corridor, gripping his right arm. He squinted in the daylight, as he was shoved into the courtyard, before the crowd. The high priests, teachers of the law, and hundreds of others spoke in angry tones. So this would be his execution audience.  

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pilate. The man with the authority to end his life with a single word. He turned and saw another prisoner standing silently beside him, no defiance, no resistance. A humble, quiet strength behind His eyes. Would they hang together today? 

As he surveyed his surroundings, he again heard the cry, “Crucify Him!” He snapped his head toward Pilate, who looked nervous. That was unusual. But an uproar was swelling. Pilate stood between his prisoner and Barabbas. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” he shouted.

Release? How can this be? That's right! Today is the Passover festival. It’s the governor’s custom to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. But me, of all people? A murderer? An insurrectionist? Surely they’ll choose the other.  

“Barabbas!” 

They’re shouting MY name! I’m being released, not crucified. This stranger is taking my place. The one they’re calling Jesus. 

I wonder what went through Barabbas’s mind that day. Did he stay around and watch the crucifixion? Was he relieved that Jesus had shown up at just the right time? Did he even give a nod in His direction? As Jesus hung on the cross, laying down His life, did Barabbas think, “That should have been me?” I hope so. Though we’re given no reason to believe he ever acknowledged Jesus as his substitute, His Savior.

“Barabbas” means “son of a father”. Interesting name. We are all sons/daughters of a father, are we not? The name couldn’t be more generic. He could’ve been named, “person”.  

Yet, on the cross that day was The Son of The Father, dying instead. Dying for the person. The one man. The one woman. You. Me.

He laid down His life for the guilty, so we could be set free. The pure for the defiled, the beautiful for the filthy, the righteous for the sinful. On that good, good Friday.

If we strain our ears, we might hear the voice of another crowd shouting our name. In our sin, in our captivity, in our filth and shame, a chorus of angels chants our name. They are calling for our release. They call as a result of the prayers of mothers and grandmothers, of friends and neighbors, and of Jesus Himself, who came to die in our place.  

 Three years earlier…

[Jesus] went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day, He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,
because he has anointed Me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:16-21 (NIV)