Who will you choose… Jesus or Barabbas?

Barabbas is a well known person in the Bible who was set at liberty at the trial of Jesus. He was a hardened criminal, however the Jewish leaders chose him over Jesus.

ÒIt was customary at this feast to release some one prisoner whom the people might choose. This custom was of pagan invention; there was not a shadow of justice in it, but it was greatly prized by the Jews. The Roman authorities at this time held a prisoner named Barabbas, who was under sentence of death. This man had claimed to be the Messiah. He claimed authority to establish a different order of things, to set the world right. Under satanic delusion he claimed that whatever he could obtain by theft and robbery was his own. He had done wonderful things through satanic agencies, he had gained a following among the people, and had excited sedition against the Roman government. Under cover of religious enthusiasm he was a hardened and desperate villain, bent on rebellion and cruelty. By giving the people a choice between this man and the innocent Saviour, Pilate thought to arouse them to a sense of justice. He hoped to gain their sympathy for Jesus in opposition to the priests and rulers. So, turning to the crowd, he said with great earnestness, “Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?”” DA 733

“There stood the Son of God, wearing the robe of mockery and the crown of thorns. Stripped to the waist, His back showed the long, cruel stripes, from which the blood flowed freely. His face was stained with blood, and bore the marks of exhaustion and pain; but never had it appeared more beautiful than now. The Saviour’s visage was not marred before His enemies. Every feature expressed gentleness and resignation and the tenderest pity for His cruel foes. In His manner there was no cowardly weakness, but the strength and dignity of long-suffering. In striking contrast was the prisoner at His side. Every line of the countenance of Barabbas proclaimed him the hardened ruffian that he was. The contrast spoke to every beholder. Some of the spectators were weeping. As they looked upon Jesus, their hearts were full of sympathy. Even the priests and rulers were convicted that He was all that He claimed to be.” DA 735

It didn’t take them long to make their decision. “Like the bellowing of wild beasts came the answer of the mob, ÔRelease unto us Barabbas!” Louder and louder swelled the cry, Barabbas! Barabbas! Thinking that the people had not understood his question, Pilate asked, “Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?” But they cried out again, “Away with this Man, and release unto us Barabbas!” “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” Pilate asked. Again the surging multitude roared like demons. Demons themselves, in human form, were in the crowd, and what could be expected but the answer, “Let Him be crucified?” DA 733. “Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.” John 19:15. They rejected Jesus as their master and chose Caesar as their king and chose to release Barabbas.

Every time this story is read, people cringe at the decision of the Jewish people. No one who claims to be a follower of Christ today would claim to be of that crowd. Even Pilate trembled, knowing that he was not facing an ordinary man. He was facing the Son of God. Pilate therefore made an attempt to free himself from the guilt. He washed his hands, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person.” At this point Caiaphas took full responsibility for the guilt.

“When Pilate declared himself innocent of the blood of Christ, Caiaphas answered defiantly, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” The awful words were taken up by the priests and rulers, and echoed by the crowd in an inhuman roar of voices. The whole multitude answered and said, “His blood be on us, and on our children.”

“The people of Israel had made their choice. Pointing to Jesus they had said, “Not this man, but Barabbas.” Barabbas, the robber and murderer, was the representative of Satan. Christ was the representative of God. Christ had been rejected; Barabbas had been chosen. Barabbas they were to have. In making this choice they accepted him who from the beginning was a liar and a murderer. Satan was their leader. As a nation they would act out his dictation. His works they would do. His rule they must endure. That people who chose Barabbas in the place of Christ were to feel the cruelty of Barabbas as long as time should last.

“Looking upon the smitten Lamb of God, the Jews had cried, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” That awful cry ascended to the throne of God. That sentence, pronounced upon themselves, was written in heaven. That prayer was heard. The blood of the Son of God was upon their children and their children’s children, a perpetual curse.” DA 738/739

Throughout history we read of atrocities of the heathen against the righteous. Evil cannot tolerate good. Darkness hates light and attempts to stamp it out. Persecutions have arisen on many occasions against the people of God. The Apostle Paul, before his conversion, made a concerted effort to crush out the Christian religion by persecuting the followers of Christ – putting many of them to death. The persecutions have continued from that time onward and still today; in some parts of the world, being a Christian can cause you much difficulty.

Often these cases are not very well publicised. When Christians are persecuted in heathen nations, we don’t hear about it routinely on the news. Even the atrocities against Christians in the Dark Ages are not spoken about regularly. However, many people are aware of the Holocaust during the last World War. Many movies have been made about the heroes who helped to rescue the poor Jewish people who were persecuted. While it was a sad event, there were many Christians also who lost their lives, who we hear little about.

The unfortunate fact for the Jewish nation is that they rejected God as their leader and Caiaphas requested that the blood of Jesus be placed on his nation and his children’s children. Is it any wonder that they have suffered as much as they have through the ages?

As a nation, they rejected Christ as their Master, and Jesus is calling them individually to come back. “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:18 The opposite is also true; if we refuse to be servants of Christ, we become servants of sin. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16. Going from one side to the other is simply a change of masters. The person is either a slave to the tyrant of sin or a servant of righteousness. But to be a servant of righteousness is actually real freedom. Those who serve sin and Satan are slaves to their own impulses and passions, which in turn places them under the control of the wicked one. In calling men to serve righteousness, God is offering them freedom. God is calling them to make Him their Master on an individual basis.

“The Jewish rulers did not love God; therefore they cut themselves away from Him, and rejected all His overtures for a just settlement. Christ, the Beloved of God, came to assert the claims of the Owner of the vineyard; but the husbandmen treated Him with marked contempt, saying, “We will not have this man to rule over us.” They changed masters – why? They envied Christ’s beauty of character. His manner of teaching was far superior to theirs, and they dreaded His success. He remonstrated with them, unveiling their hypocrisy, and showing them the sure results of their course of action. This stirred them to madness. They smarted under the rebukes they could not silence. They hated the high standard of righteousness which Christ continually presented. They saw that His teaching was placing them where their selfishness would be uncloaked, and they determined to kill Him. They hated His example of truthfulness and piety and the elevated spirituality revealed in all He did. His whole life was a reproof to their selfishness, and when the final test came, the test which meant obedience unto eternal life or disobedience unto eternal death, they rejected the Holy One of Israel. When they were asked to choose between Christ and Barabbas, they cried out, “Release unto us Barabbas!” Luke 23:18″ COL 293

“With a father’s heart, God bore with His people. He pleaded with them by mercies given and mercies withdrawn. Patiently He set their sins before them, and in forbearance waited for their acknowledgment. Prophets and messengers were sent to urge God’s claim upon the husbandmen; but instead of being welcomed, they were treated as enemies. The husbandmen persecuted and killed them. God sent still other messengers, but they received the same treatment as the first, only that the husbandmen showed still more determined hatred.” COL 293

Thus the Jewish leaders made their choice. Their decision was registered in the book which John saw in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne, the book which no man could open. In all its vindictiveness this decision will appear before them in the day when this book is unsealed by the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” COL 294

Is Jesus pleading for you? Would you choose Barabbas? What choice are you making?

Unfortunately although they condemn the Jewish nation for what they did to Jesus, many are choosing Barabbas still today. When they refuse to accept Jesus they are choosing Barabbas. Even if they claim to be Christians they may be choosing Barabbas. When they love the idols of this world Ð they choose Barabbas. When they have no time for Jesus Ð they choose Barabbas. When they don’t have time to pray, study and attend religious services – they are choosing Barabbas. When they refuse to keep the law of God Ð they are choosing Barabbas. When they would rather watch TV or read a novel, than read the Bible – they are choosing Barabbas. There are many other ways that people choose Barabbas. It would do well for each one of us to investigate our lives to see if we are choosing Barabbas over Jesus in any areas.

Jesus told a parable about people who were choosing Barabbas rather like the kindness of a rich man who made a feast for his friends (Luke 14:16-26). One of his friends had just married a wife, another one had just purchased some oxen and another had just purchased a piece of land. These were more important to them than Jesus. They had no time for Him. Even family ties are not to be more important than Jesus. Some have stayed away from the truth to please a parent or spouse, but this is not acceptable with God. “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37

In the day of Judgement these people will sadly be found wanting. Too long they’ve delayed changing masters. “When sinners are compelled to look upon Him who clothed His divinity with humanity, and who still wears this garb, their confusion is indescribable. The scales fall from their eyes, and they see that which before they would not see. They realize what they might have been had they received Christ, and improved the opportunities granted them. They see the law which they have spurned, exalted even as God’s throne is exalted. They see God Himself giving reverence to His law.” (RH June 18, 1901).

Where will these people who have chosen Barabbas be when Jesus comes?

Jesus is pleading with all sinners through His chosen messengers to give up their sinful ways. Some will gladly accept the reproof and admonishment, while others will reject the message and get angry.

“Those who reject the mercy so freely proffered, will yet be made to know the worth of that which they have despised. They will feel the agony which Christ endured upon the cross to purchase redemption for all who would receive it. And they will then realize what they have lost Ð eternal life and the immortal inheritance.” RH Sept. 4, 1883

“What a scene that will be! No pen can describe it! The accumulated guilt of the world will be laid bare, and the voice of the Judge will be heard saying to the wicked, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

“Then those who pierced Christ will remember how they slighted His love and abused His compassion; how they chose in His stead Barabbas, a robber and murderer; how they crowned the Saviour with thorns, and caused Him to be scourged and crucified; how, in the agony of His death on the cross, they taunted Him, saying, “Let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.Õ ÔHe saved others; himself he cannot save.” They will seem to hear again His voice of entreaty. Every tone of solicitude will vibrate as distinctly in their ears as when the Saviour spoke to them. Every act of insult and mockery done to Christ will be as fresh in their memory as when the satanic deeds were done.

“They will call on the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. “The wrath of the Lamb”–One who ever showed Himself full of tenderness, patience, and long-suffering, who, having given Himself up as the sacrificial offering, was led as a lamb to the slaughter, to save sinners from the doom now falling upon them because they would not allow Him to take away their guilt.” RH June 18, 1901. You too will share in this fate if you are choosing Barabbas over Jesus.

“The whole world stands condemned before the great moral standard of righteousness. In the great day of judgment every soul that has lived on the earth will receive sentence in accordance as to whether his deeds have been good or evil in the light of the law of God. Every mouth will be stopped as the cross with its dying Victim shall be presented, and its real bearing shall be seen by every mind that has been sin blinded and corrupted. Sinners will stand condemned before the cross, with its mysterious Victim bowing beneath the infinite burden of human transgression. How quickly will be swept away every subterfuge, every lying excuse! Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. They will then understand that they have chosen Barabbas instead of Christ, the Prince of Peace.” ST March 7, 1895

WHO WILL YOU CHOOSE?

Some people in God’s church are also choosing Barabbas today. People have left the faith because they loved the world. They have left the faith because they were offended. They have also left the faith because they did not love the truth and therefore God sent them a strong delusion that they believed a lie (2 Thess. 2:11).

“The scene in the judgement hall in Jerusalem is a symbol of what will take place in the closing scenes of this earth’s history. The world will accept Christ, the Truth, or they will accept Satan, the first great rebel, a robber, apostate, and murderer. They will either reject the message of mercy in regard to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, or they will accept the truth as it is in Jesus. If they accept Satan and his falsehoods, they identify themselves with the chief of all liars, and with all who are disloyal, while they turn from no less a personage than the Son of the infinite God.” RH Jan. 30, 1900.

“When Jesus was on earth, Satan led the people to reject the Son of God, and to choose Barabbas, who in character represented Satan, the god of this world. The Lord Jesus Christ came to dispute the usurpation of Satan in the kingdoms of the world. The conflict is not yet ended; and as we draw near the close of time, the battle waxes more intense. As the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, satanic agencies are moved from beneath. Satan will not only appear as a human being, but he will personate Jesus Christ; and the world that has rejected the truth will receive him as the Lord of lords and King of kings. He will exercise his power, and work upon the human imagination. He will corrupt both the minds and the bodies of men, and will work through the children of disobedience, fascinating and charming, as does a serpent. What a spectacle will the world be for heavenly intelligences! What a spectacle for God, the Creator of the world, to behold!

“The form Satan assumed in Eden when leading our first parents to transgress, was of a character to bewilder and confuse the mind. He will work in as subtle a manner as we near the end of earth’s history. All his deceiving power will be brought to bear upon human subjects, to complete the work of deluding the human family. So deceptive will be his working, that men will do as they did in the days of Christ; and when asked, Whom shall I release unto you, Christ or Barabbas? the almost universal cry will be, Barabbas, Barabbas! And when the question is asked, ÔWhat what will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?Õ the cry again will be, “Crucify him!”

“Christ will be represented in the person of those who accept the truth, and who identify their interest with that of their Lord. The world will be enraged at them in the same way that they were enraged at Christ, and the disciples of Christ will know that they are to be treated no better than was their Lord. But Christ will surely identify His interest with that of those who accept Him as their personal Saviour. Every insult, every reproach, every false accusation made against them by those who have turned their ears away from the truth and are turned unto fables, will be charged upon the guilty ones as done to Christ in the person of His saints.” RH April 14, 1896

“When Christ was upon this earth, the world preferred Barabbas. And today the world and the churches are making the same choice. The scenes of the betrayal, the rejection, and the crucifixion of Christ have been re-enacted, and will again be re-enacted on an immense scale. People will be filled with the attributes of the enemy, and with them his delusions will have great power. Just to that degree that light is refused will there be misconception and misunderstanding. Those who reject Christ and choose Barabbas work under a ruinous deception. Misrepresentation and false witness will grow to open rebellion. The eye being evil, the whole body will be full of darkness. Those who give their affections to any leader but Christ will find themselves under the control, body, soul, and spirit, of an infatuation that is so entrancing that under its power souls turn away from hearing the truth to believe a lie. They are ensnared and taken, and by their every action they cry, Release unto us Barabbas, but crucify Christ.

“Even now this decision is being made. The scenes enacted at the cross are being re-enacted. In the churches that have departed from truth and righteousness it is being revealed what human nature can do and will do when the love of God is not an abiding principle in the soul. We need not be surprised at anything that may take place now. We need not marvel at any developments of horror. Those who trample under their unholy feet the law of God have the same spirit as had the men who insulted and betrayed Jesus. Without any compunction of conscience, they will do the deeds of their father, the devil. They will ask the question that came from the traitorous lips of Judas, What will you give me if I betray unto you Jesus the Christ? Even now Christ is being betrayed in the person of His saints.

“In view of the history of the life and death of Christ, can we be surprised if the world is hollow and insincere? Can we in our day trust in man, or make flesh our arm? Shall we not choose Christ as our Leader? He alone can save us from sin.

“When the world is at last brought up for trial before the great white throne, to account for its rejection of Jesus Christ, God’s own messenger to our world, what a solemn scene it will be! What a reckoning will have to be made for nailing to the cross One who came to our world as a living epistle of the law. God will ask each one the question, What have you done with My only-begotten Son? What will those answer who have refused to accept the truth? They will be obliged to say, We hated Jesus, and cast Him out. We cried, Crucify Him, crucify Him. We chose Barabbas in His stead. If those to whom the light of Heaven is presented reject it, they reject Christ. They reject the only provision whereby they may be cleansed from pollution. They crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame. To them it will be said, “I never knew you: depart from me.” God will assuredly avenge the death of His Son.” RH Jan. 30, 1900

“On whose side are we? The world cast Christ out, the heavens received Him. Man, finite man, rejected the Prince of life; God, our sovereign Ruler, received Him into the heavens. God has exalted Him. Man crowned Him with a crown of thorns, God has crowned Him with a crown of royal majesty. We must all think candidly. Will you have this man Christ Jesus to rule over you, or will you have Barabbas? The death of Christ brings to the rejecter of His mercy the wrath and judgments of God, unmixed with mercy. This is the wrath of the Lamb. But the death of Christ is hope and eternal life to all who receive Him and believe in Him.” 5BC 1107.

“Each son and daughter of Adam chooses either Christ or Barabbas as his general. And all who place themselves on the side of the disloyal are standing under Satan’s black banner, and are charged with rejecting and despitefully using Christ. They are charged with deliberately crucifying the Lord of life and glory.” (RH Jan. 30, 1900.

Who will you choose as your master? Will you choose Jesus or Barabbas?

Wendy Eaton, Australia