Today we are continuing our series called Dinner Guests. Last week we looked at Judas, and today we will be looking at Barabbas. Someone who doesn’t deserve to be invited to the table as a dinner guest, but Jesus invited him anyways. In case you are not familiar with Barabbas, you can read about him in Matthew 27:15-26

We see this same story play out in Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 18. And it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Why would the people choose Barabbas? Especially when we look at Matthew 21:1-11, and we see what happened just a week earlier.

How do you go from hero one week to the same people preferring Barabbas the next? One week the people are crying Hosannah, Praise God, It’s the prophet Jesus! And the next they want a murderer over you.

It doesn’t seem fair. It doesn’t seem right. But it is the right thing to happen. You see, at this moment, Jesus needed to be treated like Barabbas, in order for Barabbas to be treated like Jesus.

Jesus, being fully God and fully man, was tempted in all of the ways we are and was without sin. Jesus was the only one worthy to offer the offering and was the only one worthy to be that offering.

Due to him being without sin, Jesus was the only one who could fulfill the old covenant. Someone had to die for that covenant to be completed.

Why did Jesus allow this scenario to play out? Because Barabbas needed to be at the Table. Barabbas did not deserve it, but he NEEDED to be there. In the same way that a parent would lay down their life for their child, Jesus laid down his for Barabbas. Jesus knew that Barabbas was a sinner and that he was not right with God.

So what did Jesus do? He literally, on a stage, exchanged Barabbas life for His own life. Jesus allowed his life to be publically exchanged for a sinner. He did this literally for a show so that we could understand that he meant it for us as well.

Romans 3:21-24 tells us that while not all sin is equal, all sin (apart from redemption through Jesus) has a similar punishment—separation from God for eternity. What does this mean? What does this get at? While you may not have murdered someone, if you have sinned, apart from being redeemed by Christ, you will receive the same punishment Barabbas would have received.

Pilate could have put you up and on display. Do you want Pastor Scott, or do you want Jesus? And asking for me would have been the same thing as asking for Barabbas. And that is exactly what Jesus wanted.

Barabbas needs to be a dinner guest because he needs Jesus. Just as we need to invite Judas to the table, Barabbas needs to be invited because he is lost in his sin. At the end of the day, I am Barabbas, and you are Barabbas.

When we are exchanged for Jesus, we receive a new name and title. Christian, a follower of Christ.

We are all either Barabbas, or we need to invite Barabbas to the table. Even if it personally costs me. We need to consistently strive to make Jesus famous and not ourselves.

Why? Because Jesus made the exchange on our behalf. So help someone else today who doesn’t deserve the Good News of Jesus today!