Would you choose – Jesus or Barabbas?

Honestly, that’s a choice we make every day.

Jesus or Tradition

Jesus or Culture

Jesus or Instant Gratification

Jesus or Self

Everyone knows Jesus is the son of God (whom he calls Abba or Father) and Ironically, Barabbas
( Bar + Abbas) means “ Son of Father”.

Here, People are left with a choice to choose between the real and fake, between Truth and Lie,
between Life and Death, between Heaven and Hell.

Gerrit Vos says, “Everyone in the world is in this Barabbas. The man born of a human
father . ( God was probably thinking of Adam, the first father. Barabbas is Adam’s son.”
Barabbas was therefore the son of sin (All the junk in the soul of ancestors is passed
through genes you know).

Jesus was the Son of God and Barabbas the son of sin. Therefore, we have Jesus Christ the
Son of the heavenly Father, and Barabbas the son of an earthly father. 

Jesus was innocent while Barabbas was a political terrorist and a murderer.

The decision was left to the mob that made their choice based on what their religious leaders said.

All of them may not have thought Jesus to be on the wrong side but they wanted to please their
leaders (didn’t want to fall out of favour) and rest of the crowd and so they shouted along with
others and fell out of favour with God. (However Jesus asks the father to forgive them)

Why didn’t the religious leaders recognise Christ?

They had another expectations about Christ like that of someone who would overthrow all
Kingdoms, free Israel and establish Peace kind of, but This Christ was too humble, too
knowledgeable and didn’t seem to challenge the Roman leaders. When He was present they seemed
to have no role, people’s attention were on Him. So to advance their self interests they had to
finish him off.

Scripturally speaking, Jesus was not a victim of society. He came to this world for the
purpose of dying on the cross for our sins. He allowed himself to be crucified, even though
he could have called down thousands of angels (Since He is the Lord of Angel armies) to
rescue him. But, because Jesus Christ is God, he knew ahead of time what would surround
his trial and crucifixion, and he saw that Barabbas would be released to the crowd instead of
him. Jesus allowed himself to be killed instead of Barabbas. So, Jesus died for Barabbas,
and Jesus died for us.
Paul the Apostle in his Letter to the Philippians wrote this,

(A brief bio of Paul, he was not a direct witness, but a religious Jew who persecuted
Christians, on one such journey to torture Christians, he had direct encounter with
Christ, he was transformed following the vision and became a great advocate of
Christianity)

Philippians 3:20-21 
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we
20 

are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our
weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own,
using the same power with which he will bring everything under his
control.

Revelation 19:16 says Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Jesus does says to Pilate I am the King of another Kingdom

So what does this make us believers?

Citizens of Heaven.

Do we know our identity?

Are we obeying the orders of our King?

Our King IS love.

Our King represented us on the cross even though we are supposed to
represent Him. Our King does not demand our love, obedience, and
service, but asks for it.
Our King gives us a choice. Do you choose to be His loyal subject? Do you
choose to represent your King in this world?
Are you serving Jesus?
Are you living with a Kingdom mindset?
You are either in the Kingdom or not—there’s no in-between. 
Beloved, are you “In or out?”