Today's scripture reading is from the book of Matthew chapter 27 verses 11 through 31 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him are you the king of the Jews? Yes, it is as you say Jesus replied When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he gave no answer Then pilot asked him don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you But Jesus made no reply not even to a single charge to the great amazement of the governor Now it was the governor's custom at the feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas So when the crowd had gathered pilot asked them Which one do you want me to release to you Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ? For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him When pilot was sitting on the judge's seat his wife sent him this message Don't have anything to do with that innocent man for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed Which of the two do you want me to release to you ask the governor? Barabbas they answered What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ pilot asked? They all answered crucify him Why what crime has he committed asked pilot but they shouted all the louder crucify him? When pilots saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting He took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd I am innocent of this man's blood. He said it is your responsibility All the people answered let his blood be on us and on our children Then he released Barabbas to them, but he had Jesus flagged and handed him over to be crucified Then the governor soldiers took Jesus into the Praethorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him Then they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him pale king of the Jews they said They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again After they had mocked him they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him Then they led him away to crucify him This is the word of the Lord. I remember that morning like it was yesterday It was the morning my life was changed by a man who took my place Let me introduce myself to you My name is Barabbas You heard my story a few moments ago You can read about it also in the other gospel writers Mark and Luke and John Thanks to Jesus. I'm pretty famous Although hardly anyone knows what became of me I Had quite an interesting life after the events that you just heard about and my release from prison But my later years are not nearly as important as the story that I'm about to tell you
I've heard that you folks sometimes sing a song called amazing grace Well, I think that phrase pretty well sums up my life You see I'd made a mess out of my life I Ran around with the wrong crowd. I made some really bad choices. I got into a lot of trouble By the time I was 20 or so I had quiet a reputation I Was a good thief Well, I could walk through a crowded market in Jerusalem and before you could say Kutspa I'd have picked the pockets of 10 or 15 different people I Could walk into a shop and before anybody knew what had happened. I could get out with any with anything I wanted I drove my parents crazy They didn't know what to do with me My father he just ignored me My mother used to say God rest her soul Brabus you know what it says in the law You know it says that the Lord will judge the law breaker The Lord has told us you must not steal Brabus honor your father and mother so that it may go well with you and you may live long in the land God has given you But I didn't listen to her And I didn't listen to God either. Oh, I would go to synagogue on Saturday like everybody else, but it was just to look good in front of people I could apologize to God and tell him I was really sorry, but then the rest of the week I'd go right back to the rest of my life of crime By my mid-twenties I was no longer just a small-time thief Now people called me Brabus the bandit. I Found a few other guys and we formed a gang We broke into homes and shops and stole whatever we could get our hands on and Then I'd sell it on the black market. I made a ton of money the Roman soldiers They knew what I was up to, but they couldn't do anything about it. I always managed to stay a couple of steps ahead of them Besides those Roman soldiers they were scared of me They knew I had connections, so to speak See even though I was breaking the law most Jews liked me They kind of admired me. I was sort of like some of your Hollywood celebrities, you know what I mean they Play fast and loose with the law, but everybody seems to want their autograph Well, that was kind of like my life women adored me The men wanted to be me Yeah, I was quite a celebrity in Jerusalem even though looking back on it now I'm ashamed of what I had become
Speaking of those Romans I despised them We Jews we were God's chosen people, right? They were Gentiles. They were pagans Sometime back they had declared our land the land of Judea a Roman province And like all of my fellow Jews I hated being under Roman rule What were they doing in our city anyway the city of David? See the Romans had this emperor his name was Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus He imposed taxes on us that we couldn't pay they were burdensome Tax collectors would come around and double what we really owed They would raise our tax rate with no notice It wasn't right I thought Plus the Roman government meddled with our religion too What business did Rome have appointing our high priest? Besides that Tiberius the emperor was an ungodly man Stories went around about his extra marital affairs We didn't want to be under the thumb of that wicked man or his Roman Empire It made me really angry when Tiberius appointed Pontius Pilate the governor of Judea in the year 26 He was our governor for about ten years The moment I first laid eyes on Pilate I knew we were in trouble One of the first things that Pilate did when he arrived in Jerusalem was that he put Roman shields with pagan inscriptions right out there in the city in front of everybody to see We didn't want Caesar's picture all around the holy city like that Pilate hated the Jews and we Jews hated him back Somebody once described Pilate as a man of a very inflexible disposition merciless as well as very obstinate Even though he was our governor He hardly ever visited Jerusalem. He kept away from us most of the time and when he did come for a visit He stayed in the palace of Herod the great Pilate wanted to be treated like a king Pontius Pilate did a couple of things that really wrankled us Jews One time he sent Roman troops into the temple during Passover and they butchered some of our pilgrims from Galilee The Roman soldiers mixed our blood with God's sacrifices Pilate was afraid that we were gonna try and overthrow the government so you know what he did he clamped down us all the more But it just made us want to rebel more Another thing that angered us was when Pilate took money that belonged to our temple and used it to finance one of his building projects It was an aqueduct That was God's money Didn't belong to Rome So finally, I'd had enough of Pontius Pilate and the Romans. I Decided to join a group of people called the zealots You've heard of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, right? Well the zealots were one more of the sects of the Jews Only we were more like an underground group of activists and troublemakers today if we were around you would call us terrorists The zealots had been formed in the year 6 AD by a guy named Judas the Galilee and It was the perfect outlet for me. I thought The zealots wanted to get rid of the Romans once and for all We stirred up trouble and started riots in Jerusalem hoping we could kill a few of the Romans and create such trouble and Make Pilate so sick and tired of us that he'd close up shop and go home so I Barabbas the bandit became Barabbas the freedom fighter I Became something of a folk hero now one thing. I want to make clear It wasn't right the way that the Romans were treating us Jews But the way that I dealt with it wasn't right either In fact, I only made things worse Instead of a man of peace. I was a man of violence. I Riled people up instead of calming them down and helping them talk to one another. I Told people to break the law if they had to I said the end justifies the means But I was blind I was blind to the truth. I know that now I Was living a life totally separate from the God who had made me I Was trying to live life on my own. I was my own God I realized that now, but I didn't see it then So I rose up through the ranks until I became one of the most outspoken fired up zealots of them all I Organized riots I did I gave hate speeches against Pontius Pilate and Emperor Tiberius. I spread propaganda about what the Romans were doing and To my shame I Confessed to you That I killed a man it happened during a particularly violent demonstration that I helped to organize a Large crowd of us Jews gathered out in the street We were chanting and throwing rocks at the Roman soldiers. I was yelling Romans go home When a few soldiers came over and grabbed one of my friends and without thinking I yanked out my dagger and plunged it into the one of the soldiers He fell down dead at my feet The other soldiers grabbed me threw me down on the ground and beat me mercilessly. I Thought I was going to die But they arrested me put me in prison and told me I would soon be executed as an insurrectionist a
Week or so went by as I was in prison and Then came the day that I first heard about Jesus It was a Sunday Less than a week before Jesus was crucified. I Woke up in my jail cell to hear this commotion outside my prison. I Looked out the window and I saw this huge crowd of people gathering into the street the street that led into the city of Jerusalem and first I thought it was another riot against Rome and I thought way to go Give it to him But this was not a riot as I soon found out The people who were gathering there were all shouting Hosanna to the son of David blessed as he who comes in the name of the Lord and Children were waving palm branches out there in the street and Then I saw him Jesus He was riding on a donkey This rather ordinary looking man was what the commotion was all about People were shouting and celebrating like this man was the Messiah the one who would come and deliver Israel from our enemies But but I was just like everybody else I Didn't think he matched the description of the Messiah that I was hoping for I was looking for a Messiah who was strong and powerful enough To break the back of those Romans Can this be the anointed one I thought surely not With a Messiah come into Jerusalem welcomed by children and riding on a donkey No way I thought Well, I put that man out of my mind and I didn't really give any more thought to Jesus until early Friday morning That's the day my life changed Here's what happened I Was sound asleep that Friday early in the morning when one of the guards woke me up and told me what was going on at the governor's palace He said to me hey, Verabis Get's what's going down there at the palace of the governor your Jesus the king of the Jews is on trial before Pontius Pilate I Said to this guard well first of all he's not my king Second of all I don't care leave me alone. It's still dark outside. It's too early. Let me go back to sleep But that's when I heard it often the distance I Heard people chanting something over and over again At first I thought my sleepy mind was playing tricks on me it couldn't have been But no there was no mistaking it. They were chanting my name Brabis Brabis I thought I got to be dreaming Why would one person be shouting my name out in the street of Jerusalem much less a crowd of people? Before I could figure out what was happening one of the prison guards unlocked myself jerked me out of out of bed and said come on Barabbas, it looks like you have an appointment with the governor I Tried to resist but it was no use Roman soldiers on both sides marched me up out of the prison and down the street The sun was just now rising. I figured it couldn't have been any later than 6 a.m. I Had no idea what was happening all I knew was what I'd been told Jesus must have been Guilty of something very bad to be on trial before the governor and I was being summoned there for some unknown reason When we arrived at the governor's palace a large angry mob was pressing out against each other in the street They were all looking up to where Pontius Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat and Standing next to him bound in chains was Jesus I Could see bruises on Jesus's body and on his face. He was bleeding from open gashes over his eyes He had obviously been beaten up by the soldiers See that's what they did to criminals like me And I wondered to myself how could this be how could the same man who was welcomed and celebrated just a few days ago Be treated like a common criminal what's going on? I asked somebody in the crowd what Jesus had done and the man said to me Well according to the high priest and the teachers of the law this man's a false prophet He said he was going to destroy the temple and he's also been telling people to stop paying their taxes to Caesar This man went on. He said Caiaphas the high priest says he claims to be equal to God He called himself this guy told me Son of man He's a blasphemer He's gonna die for that and that's when I heard Pilate say to the crowd Again, I ask you which one do you want me to release to you? Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ and as one man the crowd all roared Barabbas Barabbas we want Barabbas, I couldn't believe what I was hearing Pilate said what shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ? Crucify him said the people crucify him the soldiers who had brought me from the prison At that pushed me forward through the crowd up to the front where everybody could see me here He is governor said one of the guards. Here's that murderer Barabbas The soldiers who had brought me from the prison now They let me stand there in full view of everybody and Pilate said to the crowd I Find no basis to charge this man Jesus But the people drowned out his words crucify him give us Barabbas. They all said Why said Pilate what crime is he guilty of?
Pilate didn't want to displease the crowd But at the same time I could tell that the governor was troubled as Evil as Pilate was he seemed to believe that Jesus was innocent of all charges and As I looked into the face of the man standing next to Pilate, I knew he was innocent too I could tell this man was not guilty Jesus was looking straight into my eyes I felt he was looking into my heart Into my sin into my hate into my self-centeredness and into my shame and in those eyes of Jesus Strange as it may sound. I saw love
Love for me Let his blood be on us and upon our children the crowd all shouted And I watched as Jesus was led away to be scourged and later crucified
Suddenly I I can't explain it, but I found myself weeping uncontrollably
You see I'd never been loved before
I'd never been loved before I'd given up on hope I'd given up hope on love many years before that
Well the Roman soldiers unlocked my chains and I was free Free to go Free to live Jesus the innocent Had traded places with me the guilty I remembered something that the prophet Isaiah had said He said that the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his stripes We've been healed Well that Friday morning I committed the rest of my days to the man who gave his life for me Now do you see why amazing grace makes a good title for my story Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now I'm found Was blind but now I See oh, I didn't tell you about my name did I Barabbas that's the way you pronounce it But the Jewish people of my day pronounced it Bar Abba Son of the father
That day when my life was changed by the one who traded places with me I became a son Of the father and I've never been the same since
Perhaps you know this Bible verse greater love has no one than this That he lay down his life for his friends
Have you given up hope on love? Do you need a reason for hope? Think of my story the next time you wonder Can Jesus love me? Let's pray Father, I truly hope that through that somewhat fictionalized story of The very mysterious man Barabbas We can see what Jesus has done for us in a little different light And we thank you Lord Jesus that you went all the way to the cross For people like Barabbas people like us people who were guilty of breaking the law people Who didn't love you people who in fact were your enemies You traded places with us Lord Thank you that though you were sinless You Accepted upon yourself Our sins and our guilt and shame And I just pray right now Lord that if there's somebody here today who Does not have the assurance of your love Maybe this person has um kept you at arm's length for most of his or her life And they don't want to live the rest of their life that way
If that describes anyone here, I'm going to lead you in a little short prayer and I would invite you to pray this prayer silently after me Lord, I'm a sinner in need of forgiveness And I've been trying to live like Barabbas did for so long independent of you Trying to be my own God trying to be a A savior of myself And so here and now I ask you Lord Jesus to take my sins away I turn from them and receive you into my life And I pray that you will become my Lord my leader my savior the rest of my days Lord Thank you for the forgiveness of sins that comes because of the cross And we commit ourselves to you afresh and pray that we will leave here today Living as I suspect Barabbas did For your honor and for your glory and we pray this in Jesus name Amen