Easter Devotional: “What Can We Learn”

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you? ‘Barabbas,’ they answered. ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’” (Matthew 27:21-22).

From these verses, we learn three things.

First, many prefer murderers over the Messiah. Sinners love other sinners more than the Savior when they are living in sin. If we think little of sin, we will never think highly of Christ.

Second, Jesus’ crucifixion allowed Barabbas to go free. He was on death row, with no hope. But because of Jesus Christ, he was released from the punishment he deserved. Likewise, Jesus took the punishment we deserve so that we could be set free from the terrible judgment to come.

Third, Barabbas means ‘son of the Father.’ The reason Jesus died was to make us sons and daughters of the Father. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God (1 John 3:1), wrote John. Jesus takes the worst of us and gives us a glorious future.

In Peter’s sermon in Acts 3:19, he said, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.”

I’ve heard it said that when Judgment Day arrives, and we are in God’s courtroom awaiting trial, all our sins are listed on a whiteboard for everyone to see. We try to erase our worst sins only to find they have been written in permanent ink. They won’t come off, no matter how hard we try.

Then Jesus enters the courtroom and pulls out an eraser dipped in His blood. As it touches the whiteboard, all our sins vanish, leaving it spotless. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Repent and turn to God, so your sins may be wiped out.