What Old Testament prophecies connect to the choice presented in Matthew 27:17? The Scene in Pilate’s Court Matthew 27:17 pictures two men standing before the people: • “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” That stark choice had already been sketched out in the Old Testament. Prophecies of the Messiah’s Rejection • Psalm 118:22 — “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” • Isaiah 53:3 — “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” • Isaiah 49:7 — “Thus says the LORD… to Him whom the nation abhors.” The crowd’s preference for Barabbas over the true Christ fulfills these texts word-for-word: the One chosen by God is refused. Two Goats on the Day of Atonement • Two male goats were presented “before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.” • One was sacrificed “for the LORD”; the other was released alive into the wilderness “to Azazel.” In Pilate’s courtyard the pattern surfaces again: two “sons of the father” (Bar-abbas literally means “son of the father”). One innocent life is sacrificed; the guilty one goes free. The ritual prophecy becomes living history. Substitution Foretold • Isaiah 53:5 — “He was pierced for our transgressions… and by His stripes we are healed.” • Isaiah 53:12 — “He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” Barabbas, a violent rebel (Mark 15:7), walks out free because Jesus steps into the place where judgment falls—exactly what Isaiah promised. Liberty Proclaimed to Captives • Isaiah 61:1 — “The LORD has anointed Me… to proclaim liberty to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Here is the irony of prophecy: the Messiah proclaims freedom by losing His own. Barabbas becomes the first literal beneficiary. Innocent Blood Betrayed for Gain • Deuteronomy 27:25 — “Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.” • Zechariah 11:12-13 — “They weighed out my wages—thirty pieces of silver.” The chief priests embrace the curse, pay Judas, and press Pilate to condemn Innocence Himself, fulfilling Moses and Zechariah. The Builders’ Fatal Choice • Isaiah 28:16 — “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone… the one who believes will be unshaken.” Rejecting that Stone leaves only shifting sand—and a released criminal. The Old Testament repeatedly warned that Israel’s leaders would face this decision; Matthew 27:17 records their answer. Takeaway Matthew 27:17 is more than courtroom drama; it is the convergence of prophecies about rejection, substitution, and deliverance. Every Old Testament thread tightens around the chosen yet rejected Messiah so that sinners—symbolized by Barabbas—might walk free. |
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