Day 61: Jesus is sent to be crucified while a criminal goes free
If you could trade places with anyone, who would you pick? Perhaps a singer or a sports star. Or maybe someone super rich or beautiful or smart? Today, we see someone trading places with Jesus. That person had been condemned to death, but he went free, while Jesus headed to the cross.
What did the chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law do to Jesus (v. 1)?
Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from AD 26 to 36. The Roman historian Tacitus (who didn’t like Christians at all) confirms that Jesus was executed under the authority of this governor.
What question did Pilate ask Jesus (v. 2)?
How did Jesus answer (v. 2)?
What did Jesus say in response to all the accusations against Him (v. 5)?
What custom does Mark tell us about in verse 6?
What does Mark tell us about the prisoner named Barabbas (v. 7)?
An insurrection means a violent rebellion against a government.
Who did Pilate offer to release to the crowd when they came to claim a prisoner, according to the custom (v. 9)?
Why did Pilate offer to release Jesus (v. 10)?
Who did the chief priests persuade the crowd to ask for instead (v. 11)?
As we saw when Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, abba is the Aramaic word for “father,” so Barabbas means “son of the father.” Abba was a common name, so it was probably just this guy’s dad’s name. But it’s interesting that he went free, while Jesus—the Son of the heavenly Father—did not.
What did Pilate ask the crowd in verse 12?
How did they respond (v. 13)?
What does Pilate ask the crowd in verse 14?
How did they respond (v. 14)?
What did Pilate do to Barabbas to make the crowd happy (v. 15)?
Remember our memory verse: Mark 10:45? In today’s passage, Jesus—who is innocent—takes the place of Barabbas—who is guilty. This is a little picture of the ransom Jesus paid for us. He gave His life so we could live. He took God’s punishment for our sin so that we could go free!
Praise the Father for sending Jesus to take our place. Thank Jesus that He was willing to pay the price for our sin. Pray that more and more people would accept His offer of forgiveness and new life!