Take a good look at those three crosses. If you are familiar with the story of the crucifixion then you know that two criminals hung on the two outer crosses and you know that Jesus hung on the middle cross. Did you know, however, that the middle cross wasn’t originally built by the Romans for Jesus?
The middle cross was built for a man named Barabbas. Who was this man named Barabbas? We don’t know much about him, but we do know enough to know that he was deserving of death. Barabbas was an insurrectionist. In other words, he was a man who participated in a violent uprising against the Roman government. There is a good chance that he was one of the key leaders of the insurrection. The Bible tells us that in the process of rebelling against the Roman government Barabbas, along with other insurrectionists, had committed murder. Mark 15:7 says: The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. Barabbas was a rebel, and a murderer. As a result of what he had done, he was not only deserving of death but was under the sentence of death. Unless something happened, Barabbas was going to be crucified on a cross alongside two of his partners in crime.
Something did happen.
We discover that one of the customs of Pilate, the Romans Governor, was to release for the Jews any prisoner they requested during the feast of the Passover. Mark 15:6 says: Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. Verse 8 we read: The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. So, Pilate asks them: Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews? We can only imagine his surprise when the crowd responded by saying they wanted him to release Barabbas.
Barabbas?
A man guilty of rebellion and murder?
You want me to release a man deserving of death?
After hearing that they wanted him to release Barabbas we find Pilate asking the crowd this question in verse 12: Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” If Pilate was surprised to hear that they wanted Barabbas released he must have been shocked when he heard what they wanted him to do to Jesus. In verse 13 we read: They shouted [a]back, “Crucify Him!”
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent.
Pilate knew that Jesus didn’t deserve to die.
So, he says back to the crowd in verse 14: “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” Then we read words that will change the course of history for not only Barabbas but for the entire world. Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
The one who was guilty walks away pardoned and the One who was innocent is led away to be crucified Share on XAt that moment the middle cross became a symbol of salvation not just for Barabbas but for the world.
The middle cross wasn’t just built for the sin of one human but for the sin of all humanity. Share on XThe Bible tells us in Romans 3:23: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all have missed the mark of righteousness God has set. We are rebels, lawbreakers, and deserving of death. We deserved to be on the middle cross as much as Barabbas deserved to be on it. The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23: the wages of sin is death. The verse doesn’t end there though. It tells us “the wages of sin is death” and then continues, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We deserve to die because of our sin but God offers us the gift of eternal life. It’s a gift received through Jesus Christ. On that Friday over 2,000 years ago Jesus wasn’t just nailed to that middle cross in place of Barabbas; Jesus was nailed to that middle cross in place of all of us reading this post. 1 Peter 3:18 says: For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God. The reason Jesus died for Barabbas and for us was to bring us to God. Sin separated us from God, so Jesus laid down His life to become our way back to God. In John 14:6 Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
When Jesus shed His blood on that middle cross it symbolized Jesus standing in the middle between God and man making a way for them to be reunited. Ephesians 1:7 says: In [a]Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven of our sin when He took our place on that middle cross and shed His blood.
Jesus made a way for Barabbas to be forgiven of his sin, but the Bible gives us no record that ever happened. Instead of turning to Jesus in repentance and recognizing Jesus was taking his place on that middle cross; Barabbas turns away from Jesus and continues in his sin. Barabbas received the pardon of man, but he never received the pardon of God.
Let me ask you: are you living like Barabbas?
Has there ever been a time in your life when you have confessed that Jesus Christ took your place on the middle cross and died for your sin?
Would you like to receive the gift of salvation, the forgiveness of your sin, offered to you by God through Jesus Christ? John 3:16 says: For God so loved the world, that He gave His [a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Then in Romans 10:13 it says: Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. If the answer is yes I invite you to pray the following words with all your heart:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.
If you just prayed that prayer the words “paid in full” have been written across the sin debt of your life with the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s something to celebrate. If you received news that a huge financial debt you owed had been forgiven you would shout about it and tell others about it. Something better than that has happened to those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ for our salvation. A debt we could never pay Jesus paid for us.
I close with the words of the hymn “Jesus Paid It All” written by Elvina Hall. As you read the words I want to encourage you to shout about it and then tell others about.
“Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.”
That’s the story of The Middle Cross.
©2020 Travis L. Edwards. All rights reserved.