144. Wednesday after Third Sunday in Lent.
Mercy and righteousness kiss each other.
Luke 23, 17-24. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
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Barabbas, or Jesus; one to die, and one to live. Either Barabbas is to die, and Jesus be released; or Jesus must die, in which case Barabbas is free. The death of one buys life for the other. So Pilate has decided. But his power as a judge is from above; and the decision of this unrighteous man agrees with that of the righteous God in the eternal counsel of his will. Barabbas, or Jesus! But Barabbas, the man guilty of sedition and murder, is Adam and all his generation, who have rebelled against God and brought death into all the world. The choice, then, lies between these two: sinful humanity and the righteous Jesus, God’s apostate family, and the only begotten and well beloved Son of the Father. Justice demands the death of the transgressors; but mercy toward us has decided on the other course. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Barabbas means me. My heart is by nature disobedient and proud, rebellious and prone to anger; and in the sight of God this is murder. In all sincerity I must confess that, guided by my evil nature alone, without the grace of God, I would have fallen into the sin of David; I am guilty, and deserve to die. However, — O, the ineffable love of God! — I am now entirely safe from his wrath and from the terror of death. Even as Barabbas obtained full release by the death of Jesus, so have I, also, by the same means been ransomed and absolved from the curse of the law, the guilt of sin, and the power of death. There is herein so much of assurance and comfort, that I no longer have the least reason to doubt that I shall be saved from perdition. My death has been suffered already; and even the justice of God demands my acquittal. It is Barabbas or Christ; not both.
Nevertheless, we must not for a moment forget that the death of Jesus in our stead has delivered us from the power of the murderer: and hence we must not serve sin, thereby crucifying the Son of God anew and turning him into derision. Barabbas must not commit new murders and acts of sedition!
O God, how shall we thank thee for thy scheme of love in regard to us poor lost creatures! Blessed be thy name forevermore! In this world and in the next we will lie at thy feet with holy fear and rejoicing, and will worship, thank, and praise thee. Here and in all eternity we will give ourselves as an offering to thee, with soul and body, and live for thee only. Give us this grace; we must come to thee for all that we need. Grant our prayer, we ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Come to Calvary’s holy mountain,
Sinners ruined by the fall;
Here a pure and healing fountain
Flows to you, to me, to all,
In a full perpetual tide,
Opened when our Savior died.
Come in poverty and meanness,
Come, defiled without, within;
From infection and uncleanness,
From the leprosy of sin,
Wash your robes and make them white:
Ye shall walk with God in light.