The Man Released By The Death He Deserved
The name Barabbas appears in all four Gospels, marking the single most dramatic prisoner exchange in human history. His life intersected the destiny of the world on the day of Christ’s trial before Pontius Pilate. Barabbas was a man who deserved death, yet walked free because the Son of God was chosen to take his place.
The name Barabbas is an Aramaic patronym meaning “son of the father” (Bar-Abbas). The irony is profound: standing beside Jesus, the true Son of the Father, was an earthly “son of the father” who represented everything the Messiah was not.
A Notorious Prisoner
The Gospel accounts leave no doubt about the character and crimes of Barabbas. He was not a mere thief, but a dangerous criminal involved in deep opposition to the civil order.
- A Notorious Prisoner: Matthew describes him as a “notable prisoner” (Matthew 27:16, KJV), meaning his crimes were high-profile and well-known.
- A Murderer and Insurrectionist: Mark and Luke add the detail that he was “bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection” (Mark 15:7, KJV; Luke 23:19, KJV). He was a political revolutionary who was guilty of bloodshed.
- A Robber: John’s Gospel confirms his low moral character, stating plainly that “Barabbas was a robber” (John 18:40, KJV).
Barabbas was awaiting the cross—the Roman punishment for insurrectionists and those who defied the empire. He was unequivocally guilty and destined for death.
The Divine Exchange
During the Passover feast, it was the custom of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to release one prisoner to the multitude. Pilate, knowing Christ was innocent and delivered up only out of envy, sought to release Jesus.
He presented the crowd with the starkest choice possible:
Matthew 27:17 (KJV): “Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?“
The chief priests and elders, working with the crowd, persuaded them to ask for the release of the murderer and the destruction of the Messiah. The crowd’s collective voice sealed the fate of the two men:
Luke 23:18 (KJV): “And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:”
The guilty one was released, and the innocent one was condemned to the cross. Pilate “released Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified” (Matthew 27:26, KJV).
The Ultimate Type of Redemption
Barabbas’s story is an eternal illustration of the foundational truth of the Gospel. He is a type of every sinner.
- Guilty and Condemned: Like Barabbas, all men are “under sin” (Romans 3:9, KJV) and justly face the penalty of death: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, KJV).
- The Substitution: Barabbas’s sentence was carried out on Jesus Christ. The Son of God willingly took the place of the insurrectionist, the robber, and the murderer. This is the heart of substitutionary atonement—the Innocent died for the guilty.
- Free by Another’s Death: Barabbas was released with a pardon he did not earn, by a sacrifice he did not make. He walked out of his dark prison cell and into the light of freedom, knowing that the man standing next to him was going to the cross for him.
The Defence of Grace
The story of Barabbas provides the ultimate Defence of the Truth concerning salvation. It is pure, undeserved grace.
For those awaiting the Lord’s Return, Barabbas asks every believer a piercing question: “What will you do with the freedom Christ purchased for you?” We, who were prisoners of sin and destined for eternal death, have been set free by the death of the Holy and Just One. Our lives, like Barabbas’s, are to be lived in gratitude and obedience to the One who took our cross.
The ultimate hope is that the Lord, who willingly suffered the condemnation of Barabbas, will one day return to fully and eternally vindicate all those who were freed by His shed blood.