This past Sunday, there was discussion in our Sunday School class about the two things we have difficulty grasping as humans that keep us from seeing our need for a Savior:
- The depravity of our sin.
- The holiness of God.
We talked about how we have a hard time accepting that we are truly sinners because we think we are good people. We aren't criminals, terrorists, drunks or drug addicts. We must be ok. In the story of Jesus crucifixion, there is an unlikely representative of us as sinners. One who knew the power of the cross of Christ in a more tangible way than anyone, and yet, he probably had no idea...
Picture this: a convicted criminal sits in a Roman jail cell in Jerusalem. He doesn't know what is happening outside his walls. He gets a little of the crowd noise and he probably knows it is Passover. He awaits his sentence knowing that it is probably going to cost him his life. He can't hear Pilate's questions to the crowd, but what if he could hear the crowd's response? "Crucify him!" "We want Barabbus!" He wouldn't know the crowd wanted him freed. He probably thought they were calling for HIS crucifixion. Soon a guard shows up at the door of his cell. He thinks, "This is it. They are going to kill me. I'm about to be nailed to a cross." But instead...his chains were gone, he's been set free...
I wonder if he just skipped town as fast as he could or if he hung around to find out about this character that was to be killed instead of him. I wonder if he followed the crowd to Golgotha. I wonder if he saw Jesus crucified in his place. I wonder if he understood more than anyone else what it meant for Jesus to die in his place. I wonder what would happen if we all realized we are as guilty as Barabbus.
"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
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