Luke 23:20-25: a reflection

20Then Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Jesus, 21but they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!” 22He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no capital crime in him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.” 23But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. Their voices and the voices of the chief priests prevailed. 24Pilate decreed that what they asked for should be done. 25He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus up to their will.

Pilate wants to release Jesus. Three times he protests that he has found no crime deserving death. But the crowd presses harder, their voices rising, demanding crucifixion, and in the end their insistence prevails. Pilate hands Jesus over to their will and releases instead the man imprisoned for insurrection and murder. Justice is bent to the loudest demand.

Do not miss the exchange at the center of this scene. A guilty man, condemned for violence, walks free, while the innocent one is led away to die in his place. Barabbas is the first, in a way, to receive the benefit of the cross: the sentence that was his is carried by another. What happened to him in that moment is a picture of what Christ does for all who trust him.

Stand for a moment where Barabbas stood. The innocent takes the place of the guilty; the free gift comes at another's cost. This is the heart of the gospel, and it is meant to be personal. Jesus was handed over to their will so that you might be handed back your life. Receive that exchange with wonder, and let the gratitude of the pardoned shape how you live today.

Lord Jesus, you were condemned though innocent so that the guilty could go free, and in Barabbas I see myself, released because you took my place. I can never repay such an exchange; I can only receive it with wonder. Let the gratitude of one who has been pardoned shape all I do, and let me never take your cross for granted. Amen.