Guilty But Delivered From Death

“But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover.  Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”  Then they all cried again, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!”  Now Barabbas was a robber.  (John 18:39-40)

Barabbas was a thief who was on death row, having already been sentenced; he was, as we would say today, “one of the walking dead.”  After speaking to Jesus, Pilate could find no reason to have Him put to death, and yet, he did not want to anger the Jewish people.  So, he remembered that they had a custom, not a law, which could have possibly been introduced to ingratiate themselves into the affections of the people; and being repeated once and again, was now looked for during the Passover.  It seems Pilate was also looking for a way to not be held responsible for condemning an innocent man to death, and of the three men that were to die, Barabbas was the worst, and so Pilate offers the people to make the choice, Barabbas or Jesus, Matthew 27:17.  So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

Barabbas is sitting shackled in his cell knowing this was his last day, when suddenly the Roman guards come in with keys and a message that he was a free man, another has taken his place.  As he is released and goes to the streets bewildered by this sudden turn of events he drawn by the angry crowd yelling, “crucify Him! Crucify Him!”  He soon finds out that it is the man called Jesus, whom he has heard about, that they want crucified, and it is He that has taken his place.  His mind is racing; he stands in the angry crowd trying to comprehend why they would want to kill this man in his place.  He had heard about all the good things this man had been doing in the region, feeding the hungry, healing the lame and sick, even raising someone called Lazarus from the dead, and teaching about God.  Unlike himself who truly was guilty of committing crimes, he could think of no reason why this man would die, and especially take his place.

Whether you choose to believe it or not we all are sitting on death row, only ours is a spiritual death (unless you have already believed and received the gift of life through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus).  Just as Jesus took Barabbas’ place that day, He also took ours.  We are all sinners, deserving of death, Romans 3:23.  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.  However, Jesus has taken our place and has offered life eternal (not just physical like Barabbas received).  The choice is yours, you can receive the gift of life and be set free like Barabbas, or you can reject it and remain in your cell awaiting your eternal death sentence.  Your debt has been paid!  However, you must accept it in order to receive it, the cell door is open; the only thing keeping you there is yourself.  Today is the day of salvation, you may not have tomorrow!

Dale LaFrance                (please look up Leviticus 16:5-10)

Freedom in Christ

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  Mark my words!  I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.  You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision not uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.  (Galatians 5:1-6)

 

Before Jesus came to die for the sins of the world, there were many who decided to convert to Judaism, and one of the requirements was that the men had to be circumcised.  Circumcision was a practice that God had instructed Abram to do in Genesis 17, verse 10 states this.  This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.  God also changed Abram’s name to Abraham; Abram means, “exalted father”, Abraham means “father of many.”  From that point on circumcision defined the Israelites, so much so that after the death and resurrection of Jesus, many Jewish followers of Jesus taught that circumcision was necessary in order to be a Christian.  Even in the early stages of the Church the Lie Whisperer was trying to skew what it took to become a follower of Jesus.  Circumcision was a religious practice mandated by the Jewish law to become a follower of Yahweh. Paul knew this having been a student of the law.  However, he recognized that this practice was a yoke of slavery tied to a religious law that was burdensome and would negate the grace of God and point back to a work of man to earn God’s favor.

 

There are many today that trust in works or religious practices to pave their way to heaven.  These are man-made rules or rituals which only serve to make man feel good about him self, however, they negate the grace and mercy offered through the cross.  Sadly, many are enslaved by these rituals and have not experienced the freedom that Jesus offers to all who would repent and trust Him and only Him for their salvation.  Mans ways are enslaving and only point to self (look what I have done to earn God’s favor), the way of Jesus gives glory only to God and frees us from the entanglement of man made religious rituals.  The religious leaders during the time of Jesus were considered by most as very holy because of what others saw what they did.  Jesus, however, saw their hearts and called them white washed sepulchers (Matthew 23:27-28), looking good on the outside but inwardly full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  It is only by the blood of Christ that you can be set free, there is nothing else that needs to be done for salvation besides believe, repent, and receive your free gift of salvation and freedom in Christ.

 

                          Dale LaFrance                (please look up Romans 8:1-4)