What can we learn about justice from Barabbas' situation in Mark 15:7? Setting the Scene “Then a man named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection.” (Mark 15:7) The Character of Barabbas • Violent revolutionary—guilty of sedition and bloodshed • Lawfully condemned—Roman justice had rightly placed him on death row • Publicly notorious—well known to the crowd (Mark 15:11) Human Justice on Display • Due process had pronounced Barabbas guilty and worthy of execution • Pilate’s custom of releasing a prisoner at Passover put justice into the hands of a fickle crowd (Mark 15:8-15) • Political expediency overruled righteousness; the innocent Jesus was condemned while the guilty Barabbas walked free Divine Justice Revealed • Substitution at the heart of the gospel—“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18) • God’s sovereign plan used human injustice to accomplish the greater justice of redemption (Acts 2:23) • Barabbas embodies humanity: guilty, condemned, yet offered freedom because Jesus takes the penalty Key Lessons for Our Lives • Earthly courts can err; God’s justice never fails (Deuteronomy 32:4) • Sin deserves judgment, but grace offers release through Christ’s substitution (Romans 5:8-9) • Gratitude flows from realizing we, like Barabbas, were spared because the Savior took our place (2 Corinthians 5:21) Scriptures for Further Reflection • Isaiah 53:5-6—Messiah wounded for transgressors • John 18:38-40—Parallel account of Barabbas before Pilate • Romans 3:23-26—God just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus |
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