John 18:40

Pilate suggests a way out of the difficulty: the usual release of a prisoner at the feast. He offers to let their King go. But this only draws out the depth of their hatred, and they all cry out: … "Not this man, but Barabbas." Now, Barabbas, as the Gospel writer adds, was a robber. So the Jews chose Satan's "son of the father" — that is what the name means. How clear it is that a man who rejects Jesus is Satan's slave!

Five words were enough to express their utter rejection of the Lord — "Not this Man, but Barabbas." They were completely unanimous, for this was the cry of all. The Gospel writer's comment is just as short, also packed into five words: "Now Barabbas was a robber." Without exaggeration we may call this cry the most fateful in all history. It has controlled the course of the world for nearly two thousand years and will finally seal its doom… They demanded Barabbas, the robber, who was also a revolutionary and a murderer, as other Gospels show.

Pilate has the Son of God on his hands, and would gladly be rid of the heavy responsibility. He fell back on the custom of releasing a prisoner at the Passover. He brought out Barabbas, murderer and robber, and told the crowd to choose between him and Jesus. Urged on by their religious chiefs, the people shouted "Not this Man, but Barabbas." The question this time was: "Whom will you RECEIVE?" Sadly, anyone but Jesus was welcome. It is not that the crowd had the smallest regard for Barabbas; the point was that they did not want Jesus.

If we want a perfect standard by which to measure the world, to measure the human heart, to measure sin, we must look at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ… Man preferred a robber and murderer to Christ. By that he proved that he would rather have robbery and murder than light and love. The cross shows this enormous fact so clearly that it leaves not the shadow of a question.

That is exactly where the world is today… They want to have happiness without Him. Forms and ceremonies are an advantage to them. They can profit by such things, and will go in for them to any extent — the more of them the better. But Christ is not wanted, and He is not welcome. "Not this Man, but Barabbas."… You have your Barabbas in some shape or form. But it is the very contrast to Jesus Christ, the very opposite to Him. The Barabbas of today is no doubt different in character from the Barabbas of former days. But then or now, the world's choice is not Christ.

"Even in this last scene, Jesus delivers others at His own cost, and in every sense. A moment earlier He had kept the disciples from being arrested. Now He is the means of setting Barabbas free, wicked as he was. He never saved Himself. It was the very perfection of the moral glory of Christ to deliver, bless and save, and to do it all at His own expense." (W. Kelly) Barabbas went free, though guilty and condemned, because the Lord Jesus took his place. Christ was his substitute. Once free, Barabbas might have looked up to Him who hung on the cross and said, "He died for me; He paid my penalty." It is a wonderful illustration of the atonement.