Luke 23:18, 23-25

¹⁸ But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” ²³ But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate decided to grant their demand. ²⁵ He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

The exchange … “Barabbas for Jesus …”

“Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” the whole crowd shouted. A few verses earlier, we read that Pilate concluded: “I have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod…. he has not done anything to deserve death.” The authorities in the land declared that Jesus was in the clear. By contrast, Barabbas was one thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder. The crowd wanted to crucify the man in the clear and release the man whose conviction was clear; Matthew tells us they were even willing to have Jesus’ blood on them and their children. What an exchange!

... their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released [Barabbas]…and surrendered Jesus to their will. Pilate chose not to act for the truth but to yield to the fear of man; Matthew tells us that he washed his hands, declared his innocence, and placed full responsibility on the Jews. He dismissed God-honoring justice to protect himself for a superficial peace with man. What an exchange!

Meanwhile Jesus remained silent. Say something, Jesus! Why go to the cross when you are sinless? But God has another idea. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:5-7). God is enacting the greatest exchange.

Each of us has a Barabbas in us that we choose over Jesus and we make Pilate decisions time and again. Friends, we were dead in sin, incapable of righteousness and deserving of death. When he went to the cross instead of Barabbas, and Barabbas was freed instead of him, God was allowing Jesus to take our place in death to free us in life. Not only that, we are given the power to live this new life, not following Pilate’s love for self and fear of man but Jesus’ surrender of self and love for God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is the greatest exchange!

O the immense grace of God, the sacrificial love of his Son Jesus and the amazing power of his Holy Spirit to put this exchange into action! What exchanges do we make? Our lives offer repeated opportunities to recognize our weaknesses and lean on God. Every temptation to sin can become opportunities to glorify God if we are willing to exchange sin for righteousness one Christ-like decision at a time. What loves in our lives do we need to re-order for this to happen?

Prayer

May your great exchange on the cross cause us to lose ourselves in you, Lord, that we may live out your righteousness by the power of your love. Amen.