Week 13: Matt 27:26

In Matt 27:26 Pilate releases Barabbas, a man accused of theft, murder, and sedition, and lets him go free while he delivers Christ to be crucified. When reading this verse we naturally dislike Barabbas and the fact that he would let the innocent Christ go to the cross when he himself is guilty. However, don't we all do the same thing? Barabbas is a representation of each one of us. We are all far more wicked than Christ and yet he suffered and died for us. While there is no record of how Barabbas responded to being set free there are two options. He could be grateful for the second chance he was given and hold Jesus near to him knowing that an innocent man died in his place or, he can go about his life forgetting the incident and acting as if he was never sentenced to death. These are the same choices we face. When we partake of the sacrament each week we covenant to always remember him and therefore need to choose the first option. We must not go about our lives forgetting the pains and sacrifice that Jesus bore for each one of us. We are all guilty of doing so but each week as we partake of the sacrament we are given the opportunity to start over and try again to do better.