Now at that feast he released one prisoner to them, whomever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, who was bound with those who had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. And crying aloud, the multitude began to ask him to do as he had always done for them. But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him out of envy. But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas to them. And Pilate answered and said again to them, “What then do you want me to do to Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
And they cried out again, “Crucify Him.”
Then Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has He done?”
And they cried out the more exceedingly, “Crucify Him!”
And so Pilate, wishing to satisfy the people, released Barabbas to them and, when he had scourged Jesus, delivered Him to be crucified. — Mark 15:6-15

Barabbas (sometimes spelled Barabus) is a biblical figure from the New Testament, known as the insurrectionist and murderer chosen by the Jerusalem crowd to be released by Pontius Pilate instead of Jesus Christ. His release symbolizes substitutionary sacrifice, where a guilty man is freed while the innocent Jesus takes his place on the cross.

Key details about Barabbas from the Gospels

Significance: He represents a pivotal moment in the Passion story, highlighting the people’s rejection of Jesus in favor of a violent rebel.

Name Meaning: “Barabbas” is derived from Aramaic “bar abba,” meaning “son of the father.” Some ancient manuscripts suggest his full name was Jesus Barabbas, creating a direct contrast between “Jesus Barabbas” and “Jesus called Messiah.”

Criminal Profile: Matthew 27:16 describes him as a “notorious prisoner,” while Mark 15:7 states he was imprisoned with rebels who committed murder during an insurrection.

Context: His release was part of a Passover custom in which a prisoner was pardoned.

Why did they choose to release him rather than Jesus? Jesus was a threat to their way of life. He revealed their utter sinfulness and called upon all to repent and look to Him in faith for pardon and forgiveness (Mark 15:10-14; cf. John 3:19-20).

Even today, people defending their sinful ways, rabidly reject the truth and will listen to no reason or instruction. They stop their ears to the truth and shout, “Crucify Him.”

If you were in the crowd outside the Praetorium on that first Good Friday and you heard these words from Pontius Pilate, offering to release unto you either Jesus or Barabbas, what would you say? Would you ask that Jesus, who was innocent and without sin, who claimed to be the very Son of God, be released unto you? Or would you join the crowd in asking for Barabbas?

And, what would you say after the crowd asked for Barabbas and Pilate asked what he should do with Jesus, who is called Christ? Would you join the crowd in crying out of Jesus, “Crucify Him!”?

Why was Barabbas released and Jesus condemned? The Scriptures answer this for us in Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

We are guilty before God and deserving of death for our transgressions against his commandments. We may claim God as our Father, but our lives show otherwise. Jesus is the innocent, holy, and righteous Son of God who loved the Lord God with all His heart, soul, and mind. He kept God’s commands perfectly and without sin in His thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. He deserved to be released, but the LORD God laid on Him the guilt of all our sins and punished Him in our stead that we might be released and pardoned through faith in His name.

What happened to Barabbas after his release, we do not know. We do know that Jesus, God’s own dear Son, died in His stead and paid for the crimes of Barabbas, as well as for the sins of the whole world (cf. 1 John 2:2). Barabbas may ignored the price Jesus paid for sin and gone on in his sinful ways, only to be condemned again by God, if not also by the Romans. But, if he was penitent and looked to Jesus and His death on the cross in faith, he was also pardoned by God Himself and has eternal life (cf. John 3:16, 18).

And, what about you? You also are deserving of eternal death and damnation. The Bible plainly says, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19-20).

But Jesus, the righteous and holy Son of God, died in our stead and suffered our punishment that we might look to Him in faith and be pardoned and forgiven. The Bible tells us: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Galatians 4:4-5; John 3:16,18).

Again, the Bible says, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:21-26).

It is true that we, by our sins, are guilty of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. With the crowd on Good Friday, we by our sins say of Jesus, “Let Him be crucified!”

But because Jesus went to the cross for us, we, who are guilty like Barabbas, have God’s gracious offer of pardon and forgiveness through faith in Christ Jesus! When we trust in Christ, God graciously forgives our sins against Him, and He offers and gives us everlasting life with Him in heaven.

It is as the old hymn verse states: “The sinless Son of God must die in sadness; the sinful child of man may live in gladness; Man forfeited his life and is acquitted — God is committed.” (O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken, Johann Heermann, 1630. Tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1863.)

Let us give thanks to our Savior for bearing upon the cross the guilt and punishment for our sins that we might be acquitted and partake of the everlasting blessings of heaven through faith in Jesus’ name. And let us use our lives here in this world to the praise and glory of Him who has redeemed us and set us free.

Oh, dearest Jesus, we thank and praise You for bearing on the cross the guilt and punishment for all our sins that we might look to You in faith and be pardoned and forgiven. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are taken from the Barbour Simplified KJV, copyright 2022, 2025. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc. Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683. All rights reserved.]