Good Wednesday morning, my friends.
There were several criminals intertwined in the story of the crucifiction of Jesus. The obvious examples are the two that were crucified with Him - one on either side of Him. One of these is the poster child for salvation by faith and faith alone - he recognized who Jesus was, recognized his own sin, and asked for forgiveness. And he received it (Luke 23:42-43). This man had no opportunity at this point in his life to perform good deeds and earn his way into heaven - he was accepted on faith alone.
Now there was another criminal that perhaps we do not give much thought to - Barabbas. Barabbas was the man Pilot freed as per the Jewish custom of releasing a prisoner at the Passover (Matthew 27:15-22). Barabbas is another example of the Gospel at work. Jesus loved Barabbas. Jesus died in his place. The criminal was allowed to walk away scott free, with no punishment for his crimes. We have no indication that he ever repented of his ways, and became a follower of Jesus. And yet Jesus died for Barabbas anyway. My friends, I am Barabbas. You are Barabbas. "...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Jesus loved us enough to die for us when we were thieves, adulterers (lust) and murderers (anger).
Perhaps this video (about 8 minutes long) explains it better.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
Bruce
Father, we thank You for sending Jesus to live among us over 2000 years ago.
We thank You for His teachings, His sinless life, and for His death on the cross that provides for our salvation.
Each of us has sinned and we know through Scripture that the penalty for our sin is death.
So we thank You for Jesus who died instead for our sin.
We ask for Your forgiveness as we believe and confess that Jesus is Lord, because salvation comes to us through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thank You for Your gift of salvation.
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