Dear Explorer,
Read Luke 23:13-17
Note that the earliest manuscripts do not contain verse 17. That verse, possibly added by a scribe, is a duplicate of Matthew 27:15 and Mark 15:6, so we will cover it there.
Again, we see that even though Pilate wanted to release Jesus because neither he nor Herod found anything worthy of death, he seemed to have no power to enforce his judgment. Whether that was weakness that was always there or whether it was God intervening, we won't know until we get to Heaven and ask!
Read Matthew 27:15-26
And
Read Mark 15:6-15
And
Read Luke 23:18-25
We will look at the account recorded by John tomorrow.
Pilate remembered he still had one more ace up his sleeve. He remembered that the Romans had a custom of releasing one Jewish prisoner at Passover.
But when he tried to release Jesus, they demanded Barabbas' release instead.
What do you find out about Barabbas in these passages?
Here's the facts that I found.
1) he was well-known to the people
2) his full name was Jesus Barabbas or Jesus son of Abbas. The Bar means “son of” in Aramaic (the common language of Jesus' day).
3) he was an insurrectionist (attempting to overthrow the government)
4) he killed someone during the insurrection so was a murderer
Now I want you to take just a minute and picture Barabbas sitting in the dungeon. He's been arrested and tried for the crimes. His sentence is crucifixion – but it hasn't happened yet. When suddenly the cell door swings open and the solder tells him he's free to go.
Do you see the picture of your salvation?
You (and I) have been tried and sentenced to death by a Holy God who says, “The wages of sin is death”. We are doomed to everlasting death and there's nothing we can do to fight it or change it. We are hopelessly lost.
Then Jesus says, “I'll pay the price for his/her sins. Set him/her free!” We are free! Free to live. Free to live for all eternity.
You should also note that Pilate's wife sent him a message during the trial. What was the message?
Yet, Pilate continued to allow the Jewish leaders to take control and over-rule his judgment.
If you give in to a crowd talking you into shoplifting – can you escape the consequences?
Of course not. You can't blame it on them. Pilate had the responsibility to provide a fair trial for Jesus and he did not. He has gone down in history as a disgrace to the justice system of Rome.
But he tried to escape the blame. What did he do?
He took a pan of water and publicly “washed his hands” of the whole thing stating that he was not responsible for Jesus' death.
Can he be forgiven?
Certainly. I believe that when God said, “Whosoever will, may come,” He didn't exclude anyone! Did Pilate become a follower of Jesus? I don't know.
In His service, dale
Next study