The Gospel of Luke 23:18-19 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.)” (Luke 23:18-19 KJV).

In response to Pilate's declaration of innocence and proposal to set our Lord Jesus Christ free, the crowd shouts in unison: “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”. Now, this man Barabbas had been thrown into prison for starting a rebellious riot in the city, and for murder. This scene gives us the ultimate visual and historic demonstration of the Gospel of Grace and the law of substitution.

These verses highlight several spiritual significance of the shouting exchange between Pilate and the throng of political and religious crowd.

* Barabbas represents every single one of us in our worldly state. He was legally guilty of rebellion and murder, deserving execution under the law. While our Lord Jesus Christ was perfectly innocent, with Pilate declaring multiple times that He found no fault in Him.

* We should note that the crowd choosing Barabbas over our Lord was not an accident. It's a physical manifestation of the "Divine Exchange." Our Lord Jesus took the place of the guilty criminal, so that the guilty criminal can walk out completely free, unpunished, and legally acquitted.

* It is amazing to reflect on the Hebrew origins of biblical names to unveil the hidden message of grace. The name "Barabbas" literally translates to: "Bar" meaning Son, and "Abba" meaning Father. This puts us in the know that Barabbas means "Son of the Father."

Hence, the profound beauty and irony in this exchange is that our Lord Jesus—the true, sinless Son of the Heavenly Father—stepped into the condemnation of Barabbas, the sinful son of the father, so that we could be redeemed. The Father treated our Lord Jesus like Barabbas on the cross so that He could treat us like our Lord Jesus Christ today by our faith in Him.

As Barabbas was, we are now alive and free in Christ Jesus our Lord. These, Apostle Peter sums up in his epistle exhortation. It is written: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” (1 Peter 3:18 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

Partners For Christ Ministries, INC.
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