By My Hands, for My Sake
The Hands, Restrained
Bar~abbas
Matthew 27:15-23

 † In Jesus Name †

 May the grace of God our Father convince you that you’ve been freed from your sin!

•  Hearing from the man named the son of the father

He was named the son of the Father, but the intimate way of saying it, more like Daddy’s son, or Dad’s boy. A very ironic name, in two ways…

The first is that no father would be proud of this son, who hands were accustomed to restraints – back then they were heavier, and the chains longer- but the idea similar to these restraints, worn all day, every day, even during sleep, or taking care of other needs.

Not the kind of restraint a father would wish for a son… not the kind he could be proud of…

Ironic as well, for the actions of another man, who was called the Father’s Son who was also restrained by pieces of metal… and whose restraint would mean freedom, not only for Barabbas, but for every son of Abba…

For this day, when these restraints were supposed to be changed, something happened….

And so while we looked at Adam’s taking a piece of fruit from, and Nicodemus hand, not raised to ask a question, and Judas’s hand—with the money bag, today we look at Bar`abbas hands, the hands that were restrained.

• The Restrained Hands…

I like the fact that scripture doesn’t pull any punches, it doesn’t let people hide behind excuses, or what—ifs or if—onlys. Whether it is King David and his murdering the general whose wife he took advantage of, or Elijah or Moses when they burnt out, scripture is honest about that.

In Bar~abbas case, he is described as a “notorious prisoner”. We know from Luke and Mark’s account of the stories what made him notorious. He had led a rebellion against the Roman Soldiers, and in the process was labeled a murderer—we don’t know if it was one soldier or a dozen.

It doesn’t matter, ultimately; he is not the guy who would be described as someone who loved his enemies, who asked God to bless his persecutors, and even among all those imprisoned, await death, his sin was notorious.

As he was summoned from the cells, and brought up before Pilate, the chains rattling. I can only imagine him thinking that this was the end, that his dad would witness his son’s failure, and death… that the time to pay for his sins was upon him… and these restraints would be replaced—by the ones which would see him die.

• The Other Restraint…. The replacement

As he stands there, awaiting the spikes that will restrain him, that will nail him to the cross, the crowd is given a choice—between two men that share _bar-abbas—one as a name, one as a title.

It should be a sure thing – a revolutionary/murderer and a prophet. I can feel the resignation, the despair, the fatalism that Barabbas felt as he looked down at his shackles.

Can you imagine what is going through Barabbas’ mind as they cry out to Pilate to release him, not Jesus. I can imagine him looking over to Jesus in shock, and Jesus, all beaten and bloody, looks up at him, nods, and smiles.

More restraints than these are left behind…

I would like to imagine curiosity got the best of him, and he followed the one who would be restrained to a tree by spikes, that he would him, and witness the death, and then, hear of the resurrection.

And understand why, those the restraints Jesus, were taken for the joy set before Him, the joy of restoring Barabbas to his father on Earth, and His Father in heaven.

It would take a while to get used to freedom, it would take a while to get used to the idea that someone took his spot, and the death he deserved…

• You are bar aabbas

Here is the thing: Barabbas wasn’t the only sinner whose restraints were taken at the cross. You may think – well, I haven’t caused a revolution; I haven’t murdered anyone. I have done nothing that deserves a death penalty. Heck, I’ve never had a police officer cuff me. At least – not that I remember!

But hear the apostle Paul’s words from earlier

¹⁹  For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. Galatians 2:19

It could have been you, for I guaranteed you all have sinned more than once, and God caught you at it…spiritually, it is sin which cuffs us, binds us and won’t let us go.

but even as you deserved to be dead in your sins, Paul writes,

⁰  My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I imagine for three days at least – Barabbas felt odd, maybe even extremely guilty that someone else would die in his place…We are Barabbas….

But then, when he hears of the resurrection…

For you and me, we know all that—but Lent is a time to remember – and live it… that Jesus was put to death by our hands, but He was killed for Adam, and Nicodemus, and Barabbas, and your and my sake.  AMEN!