Lent Day 39 [4.18.2025] / The Account of Barabbas

Scripture: Matthew 27:32-56 / 마태복음 27:32-56

Luke 23:18 - But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”

Overview:

The entirety of lent season has been a preparation for this moment we share together as believers. While there are many ways to reveal the nature and meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross, all of which are equally important in telling a different perspective of the expanse of His great love for us, we would like to take the perspective of Barabbas.

Barabbas had been imprisoned for the duration of Jesus’ ministry for leading an insurrection against Rome. In his rebellion against Rome, he was also accused of larceny and murder, and had been rightfully imprisoned for his crimes. Not a single person had any sympathy for Barabbas for there was no question regarding his guilt. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in charge of Jesus’ trial found Jesus innocent on all charges, yet gave Jesus over to the crowd out of fear of their disapproval. As customary for the Jews during the festival of the Passover, the Roman governor granted clemency to one criminal as a good will of forgiveness and placed Jesus next to Barabbas for the crowd to choose. Jesus, who had healed, fed, and preached the word of God to the masses, stood next to a convicted rebel and insurrectionist. Who did the crowds choose? They cried out for Barabbas’ freedom and for Christ’s crucifixion; and Jesus stood silent.

Barabbas would have leaped into the arms of the crowd, who would have welcomed him with a roar of approval amid cries for Jesus’ crucifixion. You see, Barabbas had been released under impending death due to his crimes. Upon receiving the approval of the crowd, what would Barabbas have thought? Looking over his shoulder, he must have wondered what this man Jesus had done to become deathly unpopular with the crowd. In curiosity, Barabbas would have followed Jesus as He was tortured soon after. Crucifixion was the most gruesome, cruelest, and humiliating form of capital punishment that was reserved only for criminals and slaves. One of the most grotesque practices of crucifixion was the scourging that took place prior to the cross. Jesus would have been stripped of His clothing with His hands tied to a post above His head. This would have stretched out the flesh of His abdomen, shoulders, and back, exposing the full length of His torso. The Roman legionnaire would step forward with a flagrum in his hand. A flagrum was a short whip that consisted of nine leather thongs, each with small lead balls, riddled with glass, stone, and bone. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again, first tearing through the skin, then cutting deeper into the flesh, with blood exploding from capillaries, veins, and ultimately the arteries. The beads of lead would lead to deep bruising which would be torn open with subsequent blows. The whips would further wrap around Jesus’ body and when pulled back forcefully, would rip and tear the flesh off of Jesus’ chest and abdomen. Eventually, Jesus’ skin and muscles would hang off His bones like long ribbons and His blood would have soaked the ground.

The Roman soldiers then took a crown of thorns and carved it into Jesus’ head and continued to deliver blunt blows to Jesus’ face. At this point the only understanding of how tortured Jesus was is found in Isaiah 52:14, which describes His physical disfigurement as an object of horror. Jesus was then forced to carry His own cross, which weighed around 300 pounds, to Golgotha where He would be crucified. Upon reaching the hill of Calvary, the soldiers would stretch Jesus over the cross and drive a nail through each of Jesus’ wrists and through both of His feet. Each nail was 5 to 7 inches long and 3/8 of an inch in diameter. As the soldiers lifted the cross, Jesus’ body would have weighted down on His wrists and feet leading to excruciating nerve pain that would have traveled through His entire body. This position would have made breathing impossible, so Jesus would have to lift Himself up by the nails in His wrists and feet to take a breath of air. Most victims would die from suffocation and if they did not die quick enough, their legs would be broken, but upon coming to Jesus, they already found Him dead. They drove a spear in Jesus’ side to confirm this and when they did, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus’ body down, wrapped Him in burial clothes, and laid Him in a stone tomb.

An autopsy of Jesus reveals that He died from blood loss that began in the Garden of Gethsemane leading up to His arrest as the bible recounts that He was sweating blood. Through the shear brutality of the torture, Jesus had already lost a significant amount of blood that while victims would usually die after two to three days, Jesus had passed within six hours. In witnessing all this what would Barabbas have thought?

At the start of it all, he would’ve wondered what this man Jesus had done to deserve all of this, but by the end of it all, Barabbas would have looked up to the cross and wondered, why was He silent? Through His trial why was He silent? Through the torture, why was He silent? Through the mocking and the beating, why was He silent? Why didn’t Jesus accuse, hiss with hatred, defend Himself, and prove His innocence? The answer is love. Because He loves you. How do you cope with this truth? That the God we worship, put Himself on a cross because of His love for us. That He would choose the cross and despite having the power to stop everything in an instant, love kept Him silent so that we could go free. Peek over your shoulder today and look at our Savior who took on our sin to clothe us in His righteousness. Our Savior who prays for the ones who put the nails through His wrists and feet, and even in His greatest moment of agony extended Heaven to a sinner on a cross. We are Barabbas, that in our impending death and rightful punishment, Jesus came in silence and took our place. God paid the price of our sins, and now in believing Him, we can receive the gift of salvation and eternal life.

Prayer:

1. God, help me to receive the love that tells me you gave up your one and only Son for me.

2. Jesus, teach me to receive the love that you show me on the cross.

3. Holy Spirit, help me to live in the grace and mercy that is extended to me by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  

   
   

개요:

사순절 전체는 우리가 신앙인으로서 함께 나누는 이 순간을 준비하는 시간이었습니다. 예수님의 십자가 죽음의 본질과 의미를 드러내는 방법은 여러 가지가 있으며, 이 모두는 그분의 크신 사랑을 다양한 관점에서 보여주는 데 있어 똑같이 중요합니다. 이번에는 바라바의 시선을 통해 그 의미를 바라보려 합니다.

바라바는 로마에 대한 반란을 주도한 죄로 예수님의 공생애 기간 내내 감옥에 갇혀 있었습니다. 그는 반역뿐 아니라 강도와 살인죄로도 기소되었고, 그 죄가 명백했기 때문에 동정을 받지 못했습니다. 예수님의 재판을 맡은 로마 총독 본디오 빌라도는 예수님에게 아무런 죄가 없음을 알았지만, 군중의 비난을 두려워하여 그들에게 넘겨주었습니다. 유월절 명절에 로마 총독은 유대인에게 한 명의 죄수를 석방해 주는 관례가 있었고, 예수님과 바라바를 군중 앞에 세워 선택하게 했습니다. 병든 자를 고치고, 굶주린 자를 먹이시며, 하나님의 말씀을 전하신 예수님은 반역자요 살인자인 바라바 옆에 서 계셨습니다. 군중은 누구를 선택했을까요? 그들은 바라바의 석방을 외치고 예수님의 십자가 처형을 요구했습니다. 그리고 예수님은 침묵하셨습니다.

바라바는 사형을 기다리고 있던 죄인이었기에, 석방되었을 때 군중의 환호 속으로 뛰어들었을 것입니다. 아마도 그는 뒤를 돌아보며, 예수라는 이 사람이 대체 무엇을 했기에 이렇게 미움을 받는지 의문을 가졌을 것입니다. 호기심에 바라바는 예수님의 뒤를 따라가며 그분이 고난당하는 모습을 지켜봤을지도 모릅니다. 십자가형은 노예나 중범죄자에게만 적용되는 가장 잔인하고 수치스러운 처형 방식이었습니다.

십자가형 전에 있었던 형벌 중 가장 끔찍한 것은 채찍질이었습니다. 예수님은 벌거벗겨진 채 손이 머리 위 기둥에 묶여 몸이 완전히 드러나도록 하신 후 채찍을 맞으셨습니다. 로마 병사는 플래그룸(flagrum)이라는 채찍으로 예수님을 때렸습니다. 이 채찍은 아홉 개의 가죽 끈으로 되어 있었으며, 그 끈에는 납덩이, 유리 조각, 돌, 뼛조각이 박혀 있었습니다. 이 채찍은 피부를 찢고 살점을 도려내며, 모세혈관, 정맥, 나아가 동맥에서까지 피가 터져 나왔습니다.

예수님의 몸은 채찍에 의해 피범벅이 되었고, 근육과 살점은 뼈에 매달린 띠처럼 매달렸습니다. 병사들은 가시관을 만들어 예수님의 머리에 씌우고, 얼굴을 주먹으로 치며 조롱했습니다. 이사야 52:14은 예수님의 고통받는 모습이 너무나 끔찍하여 ‘사람의 모습이라 하기 어려울 정도’였다고 묘사합니다.

그 후 예수님은 자신이 못 박힐 십자가를 지고 골고다 언덕까지 가셔야 했습니다. 십자가는 약 136kg에 달했습니다. 언덕에 도착하면 예수님의 양 손목과 발에 각각 길이 13~18cm, 지름 약 1cm의 못이 박혔습니다. 십자가가 세워진 후에는 예수님의 몸무게가 못을 통해 손과 발에 실렸고, 이는 극심한 신경통을 유발했습니다.

이 자세로는 숨 쉬는 것조차 힘들어 예수님은 숨을 쉬기 위해 손과 발의 못을 지지대 삼아 몸을 들어 올리셔야 했습니다. 대부분의 십자가형 사형수는 질식으로 죽었고, 사망이 지연될 경우 다리를 부러뜨렸습니다. 그러나 예수님께 다가갔을 때는 이미 돌아가신 후였기에, 병사들은 옆구리에 창을 찔러 그분의 죽음을 확인했습니다.

예수님의 부검 기록을 보면, 그분은 겟세마네 동산에서부터 고통 중 피를 흘리기 시작하셨고, 재판과 고문, 십자가형에 이르기까지 엄청난 출혈로 인해 돌아가셨습니다. 대부분의 십자가형 사형수는 2~3일간 생존했지만, 예수님은 6시간 만에 숨을 거두셨습니다.

바라바는 이 모든 것을 지켜보며 무슨 생각을 했을까요? 처음엔 예수님이 대체 무슨 죄를 지었는지 궁금했겠지만, 마지막에는 이렇게 생각하지 않았을까요?

“왜 침묵하셨을까? 왜 재판 내내 침묵하셨을까? 왜 고문과 조롱 중에도 침묵하셨을까? 왜 스스로를 변호하지 않으셨을까?”

그 대답은 사랑입니다.예수님은 당신을 사랑하시기에 침묵하셨습니다.

우리가 믿는 하나님께서 우리를 위해 십자가를 선택하셨다는 이 사실을 우리는 어떻게 감당해야 할까요? 모든 것을 멈출 수 있는 능력을 가지신 분이었지만, 우리를 사랑하시기에 침묵하셨고, 우리를 대신하여 죽음을 선택하셨습니다.

오늘 뒤를 돌아보고 예수님의 얼굴을 바라보세요. 우리의 죄를 대신하여 고통당하신 예수님,우리를 의로움으로 옷 입히시기 위해 자신의 생명을 내어주신 예수님,자신을 못 박은 자들을 위해 기도하시고, 십자가 위에서도 한 죄인에게 천국을 약속하신 그분을 바라보세요.

우리는 바라바입니다.정당한 형벌을 앞두고 있었지만, 예수님께서 우리의 자리를 대신하셨습니다.하나님은 우리의 죄 값을 치르셨고, 이제 우리가 예수님을 믿으면 구원과 영원한 생명을 선물로 받을 수 있습니다.

기도:

1. 하나님, 저를 위해 당신의 외아들을 내어주신 그 사랑을 깨닫게 도와주세요.

2. 예수님, 십자가에서 보여주신 그 사랑을 배우고 누리게 해주세요.

3. 성령님, 제 주 예수 그리스도를 통해 주어진 은혜와 자비 안에서 살아갈 수 있도록 인도해주세요