Barabbas: The Man Who Was Set Free
September 8, 2026
He was a murderer. A rebel. A man whose name would have been forgotten in three generations if not for one trade made at a Roman judgment seat.
His name was Barabbas. And the gospel writers — all four of them — tell us so deliberately about him that we should not miss why.
Barabbas was already condemned. He had killed a man during an uprising. He was sitting in chains awaiting execution. And on that Friday morning, Pilate dragged out an old custom — release one prisoner at the Passover feast — and gave the crowd a choice that had no business being a choice.
Jesus, or Barabbas.
The Sinless or the seditionist. The Healer or the killer. The Lamb of God or the man with blood on his hands.
The crowd, whipped up by the chief priests, roared the name that should not have been roared.
“They cried out, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him!'” (Luke 23:21, NKJV). “And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will” (Luke 23:25, NKJV).
And just like that, the chains came off the murderer. And the cross was lifted up for the Innocent.
Friend, do you see it?
Barabbas walked free that day not because he was righteous, not because he had repented, not because he deserved it. He walked free because somebody else took the death that belonged to him.
That is the gospel in one trade. That is the whole story of your salvation in one man’s chains falling to the ground.
You are Barabbas. I am Barabbas. We have all rebelled. We have all bloodied our hands in our own private uprisings against the rule of God. We have all earned the cross. And Jesus — the spotless Lamb of God — walked toward the wood while we walked free.
Hear me. This is not abstract theology. This is the very heart of why we sing, why we serve, why we never stop telling somebody about Him. The grace of God is not a transaction we earned. It is a swap we did not ask for, made by a Saviour who chose to die in our place.
Barabbas walked away that day. Scripture never tells us what he did with the rest of his life.
But you still have time to do something with yours.
Live the rest of it for the One who took your place.