I am Barabbas
Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber. John 18:40
This is one of the clearest scriptures about what Jesus came to do. He came to the world to save sinners and He did that by trading places with them. On the day Jesus was crucified, the people were offered a choice. They could let Jesus go or they could free the well-known criminal, Barabbas. Barabbas was a sinner for sure. He deserved the punishment he was scheduled to receive, but Jesus stepped in and took his place. It doesn’t look like Jesus had a choice, but He most certainly did. He could have prayed to His Father and God would have given Him more than twelve legions of angels to protect and rescue Him. (See Matthew 25:53) Jesus chose to pay Barabbas penalty for his crimes the same way He chose to pay the penalty for my crimes.
He did it for you too. I like to call it the great exchange. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that He became my sin so I could become His righteousness. Jesus took my sin, your sin and the sin of the whole world and in exchange, He gave me a right relationship with God. He opened the door for me to enter into the presence of my Father in heaven by bridging the gap that was between us. Now that door is open for me to walk in and spend time with Him each day and walk out my life in His wisdom and direction. Jesus died to set me free from the bondage of sin and the prison of a sinful lifestyle.
Barabbas was free to go back to his life before prison the day Jesus took his place. It’s the same for you. The day Jesus died was the day He made provision for your life of freedom, you only need to invite Him into your life and enter the door He opened to have a right relationship with the God and Father that created and loves you!
Today I want to encourage you to consider the choice Jesus made to free you from the grip of sin. Recognize that He traded places with you and paid your penalty for being a person far from God. Thank Him for bridging that gap and opening the door for you to enter into salvation and press into your Father in heaven to walk out the blessed life He planned for you before the foundation of the world, before the world fell under the curse of sin.
Today’s scripture reading: John 18:39-40 & John 19:1-4
39 “But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.
2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.
3 Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.
4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
The Daily Dose 