One thing they understood was that there was only one choice: either the promised Messiah or the criminal; the Peace-bringer or the rebel; the Prince of Life or the murderer; Christ or Barabbas.

Their decision was loud and clear: “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” This was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, nor was it the result of careful consideration. It was the culmination of consistent prejudice. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (Jn. 1:11). Even at His birth, “there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk. 2:7); this remained characteristic of His entire life. The better He became known, the greater the hatred of the people became. Why?

He had come into the world as Savior. In Him, the grace of God had appeared, bringing salvation to all people (Tit. 2:11). But this grace shined a light on them, and they shied away from this light. It made it clear to them that they were sinners, that none of them had anything good to offer God. That was hard! They did not like to hear that. They could not bear to be disqualified in such a way. After all, there was an alternative to Jesus Christ. Their choice was clear: “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Since that time, the history of the Jews has been a story of never-ending turmoil, blood, tears, and death.

It is no different today: to reject Christ is to choose Barabbas; to reject the grace of God is to live towards eternal punishment in the lake of fire: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (Jn. 3:36).