For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. --John 3:16; Act 2:37-38. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. -- Mat 27:17-18 Barabbas was free. You would think he would run out of Jerusalem as fast as he could, but he could not leave. He had to see what was happening. He made his way down the Via Dolorosa to the Place of the Skull--to Golgotha. Not only was Jesus there, but also there were two thieves--presumably acquantances of Barabbas. One was on His right, and one on His left. On could picture Barabbas as he takes this scene in: I recognized them. They had been in the prison the night before. All of us condemned criminals were there together. Two of them were hanging on crosses, but the middle cross should have been mine. It was occupied by this Jesus. I went closer--I just could not help myself. I heard the insults and the mockery people were hurling at him. Even one of my two buddies was part of it. Then I heard the other thief speak, the first. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:40-43). I couldnt believe it. Jesus just handed a dying criminal a type of absolution. He was dying too, but obviously He was no criminal. At that moment, I knew that what my fellow criminal had just received was even better and far more valuable than my own gift of freedom. I wanted more than anything to hear those words being spoken to me, Today you will be with Me in paradise. Barabbas was no theologian. He, perhaps, knew nothing about redemption or substitutionary atonement. But there is one thing he knew down to the very core of his being: That Man was dying in his place. That was his Cross; those were his spikes, that was his death He was dying there on that Cross. Barabbas knew the meaning of Calvary. For you are Barabbas and I am Barabbas. We are all Barrabas---sinful sons of sinful fathers. Just like Barabbas, Jesus Christ died in our places, so we dont have to. He went to Hell for us, so we need never go. Will eternity be long enough to thank Him for what He has done for us? I wonder if Barabbas spent the rest of his life thanking God for dying in his place. Meanwhile, surely that is the way we should spend the rest of our lives. -- Christs Passion The Power and the Promise, D. James Kennedy with Jerry Newcombe, p. 112, 113
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:37:38 +0000
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