Daily Devotions
I Am Barabbas
Reading for August 10th: Isaiah 59-63
Weekly reading for August 9-15: Matthew 25-28
And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas... Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the people to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!"
Matthew 27:16, 20-22
When I read a gospel account of the crucifixion as we take the Lord's Supper, one of the things I try to do is identify with a character in the story. Each character provides a slightly different vantage point: Mary and the other women, Peter, John, the centurion, Pilate, the chief priests, Simon of Cyrene, the crowds. I try to imagine I am that person (or among that group of people). What are they feeling/thinking as they witness Jesus suffering on the cross?
One character that I have no problem identifying with is Barabbas, though it would seem I have very little in common with him. I'm not a criminal. I've never committed murder or caused an insurrection. However, there is no character that I resemble more than Barabbas. Jesus, an innocent man, took the place of a guilty man, Barabbas. A guilty man was released. An innocent man received the painful death that the guilty man deserved.
No, more than Peter, more than John, more than anyone else involved in the events that took place during Jesus' sufferings and death, I see myself in Barabbas.
Father, I am Barabbas! I deserved to die! How could you do this? How could you send your only Son to take my place? I am not worthy! I bow my head in reverence and humble gratitude!
