Jesus the Christ vs. Jesus Barabbas

Matthew 27:16 read, “And then had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.” Barabbas was in prison for organizing riots against the Roman Empire. The writer of Matthew 27 draws a very interesting parallel between Christ and Barabbas. First, both had the very same name, one was Jesus of Nazareth, the other Jesus Barabbas. Both offered freedom to their people. Barabbas was a leader of an anti-roman group, and wanted to obtain political freedom through violence, whereas Christ offered freedom to the burdened soul. One last thing that we learned in class and that impacted me very much was the fact that we, as Barabbas, go free because Christ decides to stay and die for us. I am grateful for the sacrifice of our Savior, for His love, and for His compassion.