Barabbas

Biblical Account

Barabbas appears in all four Gospels, and only in the account of the trial of Jesus.

• Matthew 27:15-26 calls him "a notable prisoner." Following the custom of releasing at the feast one prisoner chosen by the crowd, the governor Pontius Pilate asks whom they want released: "Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?"
• Mark 15:6-15 records that he lay bound with those who had made insurrection and "had committed murder in the insurrection," and reports that the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas.
• Luke 23:18-25 likewise introduces him as one who "for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison."
• John 18:39-40 describes him only briefly: "Now Barabbas was a robber."

The outcome is the same in every Gospel. At the crowd's demand, Pilate releases Barabbas and hands Jesus over to be crucified. Scripture does not say what became of Barabbas afterward.

Significance within Scripture

The Barabbas episode depicts the exchange of the innocent Jesus for a guilty man. Through it the Gospels show both that even Pilate could find no fault in Jesus and that the crowd rejected him. In Acts 3:14, Peter does not mention Barabbas by name but alludes to the event when he says, "But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you."

Interpretations and Issues

• Name: "Barabbas" is commonly interpreted as Aramaic for "son of the father." Some manuscripts of Matthew 27:16-17 give his name as "Jesus Barabbas." The New Korean Revised Version does not follow this reading.
• Festival amnesty custom: The custom of releasing one prisoner at Passover is not attested in sources outside the Gospels, and scholars are divided over its historicity.
• Identity: On the basis of the terms "insurrection" and "robber," some interpreters regard him as a member of the resistance against Rome (associated with the Zealots). The text, however, does not state his affiliation.
• Illustration of substitution: Many church traditions read Barabbas as a picture of atonement, in which the righteous one dies in place of the sinner. Others hold that the text's direct focus is on Jesus' innocence and on the choice made by the crowd and the leaders.
• Later legends: Stories such as Barabbas's later conversion are not found in Scripture. They are the products of later literature, such as the novel Barabbas (1950) by the Swedish author Pär Lagerkvist.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Barabbas appears mainly in sermons during Lent and Holy Week. Preachers often use him as an illustration that links Christ's substitutionary death to personal salvation, along the lines of "I am the Barabbas who was set free in Jesus' place." In Sunday schools, his story is taught as part of lessons on Jesus' trial and crucifixion.