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Now, I'm going to tell you a story and I'm asking you not to judge me as I tell it.

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Okay?

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A couple of weeks ago, I was taking it easy and laying on the couch and decided to watch

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Braveheart.

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Again, it's been a long time since I've seen it.

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So I thought while the kids are at school and it's quiet, I'm just going to lay here

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and do nothing for three hours.

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So I did.

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Now hopefully I won't spoil it for you, but to be fair, it is a 30-year-old movie.

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So you've had your chance.

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Now in that movie, which is based loosely on history, William Wallace helps lead the Scots

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against the King of England.

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What they were fighting for was freedom.

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So blue-face freedom, right?

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They wanted their independence so that they could determine their future.

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They wanted to determine where their taxes were going and things like that, very similar

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to the American Revolution that happened a couple hundred years ago, right?

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But in the eyes of King Edward, William Wallace was an insurrectionist.

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Edward just wanted to hold on to as much power for as long as he could, and Wallace was making

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it difficult for that to happen.

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Throughout the movie, Wallace steals from and kills many men who belonged to the English

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Army.

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The movie portrays Wallace as a hero.

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And depending on what history book you read, Wallace is portrayed as a hero.

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Now at the end of the movie, Wallace is captured, here's a spoiler alert, okay?

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He's captured because someone who he thought was loyal to him betrayed him.

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He's thrown into prison, and then he is tortured.

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He's eventually beheaded and dismembered.

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History says that his body parts were sent to different regions as a symbol that you

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don't mess with England.

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So why are we here this evening?

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And I'm not talking about why we are here in this building on this night.

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I'm talking about why are we here remembering the crucifixion of Jesus?

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We're here because of one man that we don't talk about very often.

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He is usually only mentioned around this time of year, but not many other times.

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His name is Barabbas.

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That's not a name we say very often.

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It's not a name we name our children after.

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We don't celebrate any of his accomplishments, but he is the reason that we are here this

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evening.

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But similar to William Wallace, we have this man Barabbas.

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So let's consider who he was and why he is significant for us tonight.

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In the Gospels of Mark and Luke, he is referred to as a murderer.

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In the Gospel of John, he is referred to as a robber.

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What we also know about Barabbas based on the Scriptures is that he was condemned to

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die.

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Now, if we were to take only the idea of him as a robber based on the Gospel of John, that

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doesn't make much sense as to why he is being condemned to die.

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So we need to take a deeper look at what had Barabbas done to deserve death in the eyes

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of the Romans.

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Now, Jan, the Romans are in a region now known as Italy.

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I don't know where she is.

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That was news to her this week.

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Now the Romans usually only crucified insurrectionists.

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They had such a strong grip on the people that they ruled over that anyone who tried

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to harm their empire would be sentenced to death because they wanted to try to send a

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message to anybody who would dare rise up against them that it wasn't a good idea.

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Anybody that thought that they could overthrow Rome, the Romans wanted to send a message

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and said that's not going to go well for you.

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So what men like Barabbas would do is they would go from village to village acting like

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William Wallace in order to create unrest amongst the people because people will begin

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to rebel when they don't feel safe, when their living conditions aren't the best.

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And eventually that makes them desperate enough to form a coalition to overthrow the government.

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The Romans could not let that happen.

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So Barabbas is caught and he's thrown into prison.

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Now he had to have known what his fate was, right?

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He had to have seen crucified criminals along the roads between village and village.

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He heard the people screaming out in pain as they were dying on a cross and now he sits

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in a prison cell waiting for that to happen to him.

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I would imagine just the thought of that punishment would be torture enough.

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I would imagine that it was all he could think about from the moment that he was caught.

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While Barabbas awaits his fate, something is happening in the early hours of Friday morning.

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Barabbas is desperately trying to find his way out of the situation that he is in.

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Now to the Romans, Barabbas is essentially a terrorist.

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And we can tell that as we read through the trials of Jesus, that Pilate wanted to release

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Jesus because Jesus was no threat to the empire.

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But he was also aware that if he released Jesus, it could cause a major uproar amongst the people.

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This is why he washed his hands of the situation and said that Jesus' blood was on the hands

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of the people.

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In Matthew chapter 27 and verse 24 it reads, So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing,

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but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd,

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saying, I am innocent of this man's blood, see to it yourselves.

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And all the people answered, His blood be on us and on our children.

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Then he released for them Barabbas and having scourged Jesus delivered him to be crucified.

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Now Pilate was just trying to keep the peace.

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His role in this story is merely political.

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The people who wanted Jesus dead were the ones who were threatened by him.

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So Barabbas is going to be set free.

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How his stomach must have churned, if you can imagine that.

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As he listened to the soldiers coming down the stone corridor, hearing their keys rattle,

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stopping at the door of his cell, think about what must have been going on in his mind.

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Think about that situation.

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How stunned he must have been when one of them said, get out of here, the governor has

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set you free.

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Another is going to die in your place.

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Jesus really did die in Barabbas' place that day because the people made a choice.

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It was either going to be Barabbas or Jesus.

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So when they made their choice, Jesus literally became the substitute for the criminal.

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Think about that situation.

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The religious leaders of this day were more concerned about a man who believed differently

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than them.

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Than they were about a man who was guilty of killing their people.

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Because Jesus didn't live up to who they thought the Messiah would be and then potentially

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being wrong about what they had been teaching.

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They would rather set free a known robber and murderer than face the reality that they

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could be wrong.

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So Barabbas is free.

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No longer under punishment.

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I can just imagine that it probably took him a little bit of time to come to grips with

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that new reality.

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I would have been asking what's the catch?

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It can't be that easy.

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What's the catch?

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This is too good to be true.

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Now Barabbas drops out of our history for us at this point.

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But I wonder, I wonder, I was thinking about him, did he ever come to realize that not

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only did Jesus replace him on that wooden cross outside the walls of Jerusalem, but

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did he also realize that Jesus was his Passover lamb as well.

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Tradition says that Barabbas followed the procession to the cross and watched where

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Jesus was crucified.

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Now that makes sense.

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That makes sense to me.

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Notice about this man who took his place.

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Barabbas above all people knew it should have been him on that cross.

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Barabbas of all people knew it should have been him that had to carry it up there.

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Barabbas of all people should have known it should have been me that had the skin ripped

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off my back.

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It is believed that those who were crucified next to Jesus were part of the same insurrection

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that Barabbas was a part of.

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I wonder if Barabbas made his way to the tomb as they buried Jesus.

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On Friday, Barabbas was the winner and Jesus was the loser.

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On Friday, Barabbas lived and Jesus died.

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On Friday, love hung on the cross and hate walked free.

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History is measured not from Friday but from Sunday.

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And on Sunday, Jesus became the focal point of human history and Barabbas just becomes

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a footnote.

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We know nothing else for certainty about Barabbas.

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He walked away from the cross on Friday and walked into obscurity.

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We would think that Barabbas would have been more aware of the fact that Jesus had taken

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his place on the cross.

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And when the stories of the resurrection began to surface, that if only out of curiosity,

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if only out of curiosity, he would have checked the stories out.

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And that as a result of the resurrection, that Barabbas' life would have been turned

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around and he would have become a follower of Jesus but there's no evidence of that at

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all.

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And as rich as tradition is with stories of disciples and early followers of Jesus Christ,

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there's no mention of Barabbas.

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I think a day like today, it's important to think about Barabbas because he is us.

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Jesus took our place on that cross.

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He took the beating.

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He took the humiliation.

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He took the pain.

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Barabbas should have been the one to have long nails driven through his wrists and feet.

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His tendons in his arms should have been shredded when that occurred.

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And he should have finished his life in an unbelievable amount of pain.

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Barabbas should have been the one to struggle to catch every single breath as long as he

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hung on the cross.

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But it was Jesus.

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We are here this evening because of Barabbas.

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And the challenge this evening for all of us is how are we going to end it tonight?

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Because after he is released, we don't know what happens to him.

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There are many people who have experienced Jesus.

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They've heard the truth of the gospel and yet their life continues on in obscurity.

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If anyone should have been the greatest evangelist that ever lived, it should have been Barabbas.

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He was set free because of what Jesus did for him on that Friday.

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The same is true for all of us.

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We are set free because of what Jesus did for us on that Friday.

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We don't need to talk about the resurrection yet because that's still a couple days away.

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We just need to sit in the reality that there was a substitution on our behalf because of

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our sin.

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We just need to be grateful today that the punishment we deserved was replaced with

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freedom.

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And we have to make a choice.

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Understand and accept the freedom that we have been given in Jesus or continue to live

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our life of rebellion.

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The most ironic thing about Barabbas to me is that his name in Aramaic means son of Abba

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or son of the father.

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So the literal son of God took the place for us so that we could be considered sons of

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God through faith.

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So like William Wallace, maybe Barabbas' intentions were good and he was just trying

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to bring freedom to his people.

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Maybe they weren't.

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The truth of the matter is that the only way that he was able to gain freedom is because

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Jesus stepped in and took his place.

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The same is true for us.

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We walk around in bondage, don't we?

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We carry around these chains of sin and we need to understand.

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We need to let it see deep into us that that penalty has already been paid.

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We are free.

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We don't have to carry it around anymore.

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We don't have to walk around with it anymore.

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You are no longer under a death sentence.

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The issue is that once the prison was opened, Barabbas had to walk through that door.

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Jesus has paid the price for our freedom.

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We need to take off the chains.

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We need to walk through that door.

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Do you think that when that prison cell was opened that Barabbas' pride just kept him

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in there?

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Do you think that as they were un-chaining the things that were tying him down, that

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he talked them into putting them back on?

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You got to believe when that cell was opened, when those chains were removed, that dude

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was sprinting out of that place, hoping they don't change their mind.

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Are you willing to do that tonight?

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Now here in just a second, we're going to take communion together.

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And as we take communion together, take the chains off and don't put them back on.

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As we take communion together, understand the freedom that has been given to you because

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of what happened on a Friday.

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As you eat the bread, consider that it should have been your broken body, but Jesus stepped

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in.

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As you drink the juice, understand that it should have been your blood spilled all over

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creation, but Jesus stepped in.

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The human body can hold around one and a half gallons of blood.

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Every single drop of Jesus' blood was spilled for you to the point where only water remained.

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So let's remember that tonight as we take these elements together.

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So as we take these, and how we're doing it tonight, they're available for you.

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But before you take these things, it's important that you understand that you should not, we

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are commanded in Scripture not to take this in an unworthy way.

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You need to confess your sin.

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You need to make amends with your brother.

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You need to lay your chains at the altar.

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And you need to proclaim victory over sin because Jesus stepped in and took your place.

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And so our worship team is going to lead us in some songs as we do that.

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And as they lead us, as you feel led, as you've prepared your heart, as you've laid these

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things down before Him.

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Then come, remember His broken body and spilled blood for you.

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And not before Jesus is with His disciples.

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Now I think about that often because if I knew that my last day was a certain time,

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you ever played that game with yourself?

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Like if I knew I was going to die in a week, here's the list of things I would do.

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I take out a massive loan that I didn't have to pay back.

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Whatever the list is, right?

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Have you done that? I'm sure you've all done that.

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What Jesus did was He washed His disciples' feet.

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He had at one last meal with them together.

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And Scripture says that on that night He broke bread with them and He says, this is going

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to be my body broken for you.

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Every time you eat it, do it in remembrance of me.

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And then He took the cup and He says, this is a new covenant in my blood.

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Every time you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.

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For as often as you eat and drink, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

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So that's what we're going to do tonight.

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So here's my encouragement to you.

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Love your heart.

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Confess those things before Him.

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He has set you free.

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And I think so many of us in church that the prison gates are opened and we just, because

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of our pride, we just want to sit there.

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We just want to continue to sit in our misery when He's calling us to be set free.

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So I don't know how you need to respond tonight.

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But I think some things need to be laid down.

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I think some amends might need to be made.

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I think some things need to be confessed.

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What a better day to do it than on Good Friday.

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The day we remember His broken body and spilled blood so that you and I have freedom.

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So I'm going to pray for us.

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We're going to welcome our worship team back up and I'm going to sit right here.

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And if I can pray with you or encourage you in any way, then let me do that.

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I'm inviting any of our other elders as well that are in the room to just want to join

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me here and minister to people as God calls them.

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But however you feel that, there's no order and there's no rush.

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As you feel that come and remember His broken body and spilled blood for you.

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Let me pray for us.

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Father God, I pray right now that as we remember your sacrifice of giving us your one and only

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son.

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Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts.

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I pray Father that as you take off chains and as you open prison doors that we will

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sprint to you.

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We will sprint to the freedom that you have offered us.

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So Father, I pray that you will help us feel the weight of the sin that you have forgiven

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us for today and today.

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Help us understand that it was because of us that you had to give up your son because

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you were good and loving.

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So Father, I pray that you minister to our hearts this evening.

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I pray that you're homeless this evening.

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And so Father, we give over this time to you.

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We thank you for Jesus.

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We thank you for the broken body.

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We thank you that every ounce of His blood was spilled on our behalf.

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And so Father, I pray that as we take these elements that you will remind us of how much

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we are loved.

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We ask all these things in your name.