04/05/2026
Easter isn't about a bunny.
It's not about eggs.
It's not even about spring.
It's about freedom.
In Mark 15:6–15, we meet a man most people overlook: Barabbas.
Pilate, the Roman governor, had a custom during Passover. He would release one prisoner chosen by the crowd. That year, the choice came down to two men:
Jesus… or Barabbas.
Barabbas wasn't misunderstood. He wasn't innocent.
Scripture says he was a rebel and a murderer (Mark 15:7).
Guilty.
Deserving punishment.
Headed for death.
Jesus, on the other hand, was innocent.
Pilate knew it.
His wife knew it.
Even the crowd had to be stirred up to reject Him (Mark 15:10–11).
And still… they chose Barabbas.
The guilty man walks free.
The innocent man is sent to die.
But this isn't random. It's a pattern.
Go back to Leviticus 16.
On the Day of Atonement, two goats were brought before the Lord.
One was killed for sin.
The other carried the sins of the people and was released.
One dies.
One goes free.
Year after year, God was painting a picture.
Then Jesus steps in and the picture becomes reality.
Now it's not two goats.
It's two men.
One will die.
One will go free.
And here's where it gets even more striking:
“Barabbas” isn't really a name, it's a title.
Bar = son of
Abba = father
Barabbas literally means “son of the father.”
And Matthew tells us something most people miss, his first name was Jesus (Matthew 27:16).
So now the crowd stands before two men:
Jesus, son of the father…
and Jesus, The true Son of The Father.
And they choose.
They release one.
They sacrifice the other.
Do you see it?
Barabbas is guilty.
Jesus is innocent.
Barabbas deserves death.
Jesus does not.
Barabbas walks free…
while Jesus takes his place.
That's not just his story.
That's yours.
That's mine.
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We're not neutral in this story.
We are Barabbas.
We are the guilty ones.
We are the ones who should stand condemned.
We are the ones with a sentence over our heads.
And yet…
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
Why?
Because Jesus stepped into our place.
The guilty go free.
The innocent is condemned.
“Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
That's the cross.
And the empty tomb?
That's the receipt.
The resurrection is God's declaration:
The payment worked.
Sin is paid for.
Death is defeated.
Freedom is available.
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25).
So let me ask you:
Why keep living like you're still in chains…
when the door is already open?
Why go back to guilt, shame, addiction, and fear…
the very things Jesus died to free you from?
You don't have to earn it.
You don't have to clean yourself up first.
You just receive it.
Because on that day, two men stood before the crowd.
One walked away free.
The other went to the cross.
And because He went to the cross…
you don't have to.
He is risen.
And because He is risen
you can be free.
Jonathan Pokluda
