Becoming Barabbas: why you must see yourself in the guilty man Jesus saved

Becoming Barabbas — Part 5 of 5 · John 18:28–40

We have walked through the courtyard of John 18:28–40 and met four very different people. A Roman governor. A group of religious leaders. A frightened disciple. And a condemned prisoner. Each one stood at a different distance from Jesus. Each one responded to Him differently. And yet, all four shared one thing in common: they all needed what only Jesus could give.

Four People, One Problem

Pilate stood the furthest from Christ. He was a man of the world — powerful, pragmatic, philosophically curious but spiritually uncommitted. He asked “What is truth?” and then walked away from the answer. His distance from Jesus was not physical; it was a distance of the will. He was unwilling to let the truth cost him anything.

The Pharisees stood near to Christ but in opposition to Him. They knew the Scriptures. They had seen His miracles. They had heard His teaching. And they hated Him for it, because He exposed their hypocrisy and threatened their control. Their proximity to Jesus made their rejection of Him all the more tragic.

Peter stood the closest to Christ of anyone in this passage — and yet, at the critical moment, he denied even knowing Him. His faith was genuine but fragile. His love was real but untested. And when the fire was hot and the questions were pointed, he chose self-preservation over faithfulness.

And then there was Barabbas. The robber. The murderer. The insurrectionist. The man who, by every measure, deserved the cross more than anyone else in Jerusalem that day. And he was the only one who went free.

The One Who Went Free

Here is the great paradox of this passage: the man with the worst record received the best outcome. Barabbas did not earn his freedom. He did not negotiate for it. He did not even know it was coming. While he sat in his cell, an exchange was being made on his behalf — an exchange he never asked for and could never repay.

Jesus took his cross. Literally. The cross that had been prepared for Barabbas was the cross on which Jesus died. This is not a metaphor. This is not a theological abstraction. This is what happened. The innocent Son of God hung on a guilty man’s cross so that the guilty man could walk free.

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”— Romans 5:6–8

You Are Barabbas

Until we see ourselves in Barabbas, we will never fully understand the gospel. We are not Pilate, capable of reasoning our way to God if only we try hard enough. We are not the Pharisees, good enough in our religion to stand before Him on our own merit. We are not even Peter, close enough to Jesus that our failures can be overlooked.

We are Barabbas. We are the ones who sit in the cell, guilty as charged, with no defense and no appeal. We are the ones for whom the cross was built. And we are the ones for whom Jesus stepped in and said, “I will take their place.”

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”— Ephesians 2:8–9

You cannot be Pilate — holding on to your power and position — and walk away free. You cannot be the Pharisees — clinging to your self-righteousness — and walk away free. You cannot be Peter — relying on a faith that folds under pressure — and walk away free. You must come to Jesus the way Barabbas came: with nothing. No merit. No bargaining power. No righteousness of your own. Just a sinner in desperate need of a substitute.

Walking Free

Think about what that morning must have been like for Barabbas. He woke up expecting to die. He heard the crowd outside. He heard the shouts. And then the door opened, and someone told him he could go. The cross he had been dreading was no longer his to bear. Someone else had taken it.

That is what Jesus did for you. He took the cross that had your name on it. He bore the punishment you deserved. He died the death that was yours to die. And now the door is open, and you can walk free — not because of anything you have done, but because of everything He has done.

“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.”— Romans 3:27

Whether you are far from Jesus like Pilate, religious like the Pharisees, or even close to Him like Peter — the invitation is the same. Admit your need. Accept His exchange. And walk free, like Barabbas, as a true child of the Father.

Because Jesus died for all men — not because some deserved it, but because none of us did. And that’s the most beautiful thing in all of history: the Son of God took a criminal’s cross so criminals like you and me could become sons and daughters of God.

Before you close this

If you’ve never trusted Jesus — you’ve now read five weeks about four men, and one of them walked out free. You can be him. Admit your need, believe that Jesus died for your sin and rose again, and call on Him. He has never turned one away.

And if you follow Him already: you’ve been Pilate, you’ve been a Pharisee, you’ve been Peter, and you were Barabbas. So walk humble, and go tell somebody whose cross He carried.

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Becoming Barabbas is a five-part study in John 18:28–40. ← Part 4 · Start the series over →