Day 18
John 18: 39-40
39But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" 40They cried out again, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber.
Barabbas (John 18: 39-40)
Barabbas was a murderer arrested for his part in an insurrection (Luke 23:19). The first part of his name ‘Bar’ means ‘son of’ and ‘abba’ was the Aramaic (the local Hebrew dialect) for ‘father’. So ‘son of a father’ was probably equivalent to the English ‘son of a gun’, the name put into a ship’s log on a British ‘man-of-war’ to record the birth of an illegitimate child. To put it another way, the Jews wanted the ‘son of a father’ released so that the ‘Son of the Father’ could die!
Think: How important is it to know Barabbas’ background?
