When Jesus and Barabbas were led before the people of Israel, the people were given a choice to release Jesus or Barabbas. The people choose to release Barabbas. Through the influence of the (religious) leaders of the people, the people didn’t choose for the good and for righteousness by releasing the innocent Man Jesus Christ, but they chose for evil and unrighteousness, by releasing the guilty prisoner Barabbas, who was a thief and murderer and deserved the death sentence. And so the guilty Barabbas, who deserved to be crucified was released and the innocent Jesus was scourged and crucified(Mateo 27:15-26, marka 15:6-15, Luke 23:13-25, John 18:38-40).
There are many aspects to this event, including the following two, ibig sabihin, that the people were influenced by the (religious) leaders and therefore chose evil instead of good and released the criminal; ang makasalanan, and judged the Righteous, and that Jesus Christ took the place of the prisoner Barabbas, ang makasalanan; the transgressor of the law, who deserved to be crucified and took the punishment upon Himself, while Barabbas was released.
Jesus or Barabbas?
Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. But Pilate answered them, kasabihan, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him for envy. But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify Him. Then Pilate said unto them, Bakit, what evil hath He done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify Him. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified (marka 15:6-15)
May mga tao, who don’t understand that when God’s people were given a choice between the releasing of Jesus or Barabbas, the people chose to release the guilty prisoner Barabbas, whose name means son of a father or teacher, instead of releasing the innocent Man Jesus Christ, and point with a judgmental finger to the people.
But isn’t it so, that in our age many do exact the same thing and reject Jesus Christ; ang salita, and chose the sinner and sin through the influence of the words of the devil and by believing and following his words and do the works of the flesh and approve of sin?
They don’t choose to submit to God and walk in obedience to the Word after the Spirit in the will of God and do righteous works, but they reject the words of God and chose to walk after the will, mga pagnanasa, and desires of the flesh and do the works of the flesh and persevere in sin.
And so many approve of sin and/or persevere in sin
God is light and in Him is no darkness
This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7)
Ang sinumang gumagawa ng kasalanan ay lumalabag din sa kautusan: sapagka't ang kasalanan ay ang pagsuway sa kautusan. At nalalaman ninyo na Siya ay nahayag upang alisin ang ating mga kasalanan; at sa Kanya ay walang kasalanan. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: ang sinumang nagkasala ay hindi nakakita sa Kanya, ni hindi Siya kilala (1 John 3:4-6).
Pero lahat, who is born of God and has received His nature and belongs to Him, should not walk in darkness and persevere in sin. Because in Him is no darkness and if we are in Him, then shall there be no darkness in us and we shall not do the works of darkness.
lahat, who persevers in sin walks in darkness and not in the light.
If someone says to walk in the light, but do the works of the flesh and doesn’t repent, then the unrighteous works of the person show that the person belongs to the world; ang kaharian ng kadiliman, and not to Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God (1 John 1:5-11).
Ang sabi ng Salita, that God has not called us unto uncleanness, kundi sa kabanalan. He, samakatuwid, that despises, despises not man, ngunit ang Diyos, who has also given unto us His Holy Spirit (1 Mga taga-Tesalonica 4:7)
When you refuse to submit to God’s Word and His will and keep living in uncleanness; kasalanan at kasamaan, then you shall not be any different from the world. Because those, na nabibilang sa mundo, belong to the generation of fallen man and walk as enemies of God and His Word as transgressors of the law of God in darkness and live after the flesh in uncleanness (Basahin din: ‘If Christians live like the world of what should the world repent off?').
He that does righteous is righteous, kahit na Siya ay matuwid, but he that commits sin is of the devil for the devil sinned from the beginning
Mga maliliit na bata, huwag kang linlangin ng sinuman: ang gumagawa ng katuwiran ay matuwid, kahit na Siya ay matuwid. Ang gumagawa ng kasalanan ay sa diyablo; sapagka't ang diyablo ay nagkakasala sa simula pa. Para sa layuning ito ang Anak ng Diyos ay nahayag, upang Kanyang wasakin ang mga gawa ng diyablo. Ang sinumang ipinanganak ng Diyos ay hindi nagkakasala; sapagkat ang Kanyang binhi ay nananatili sa kanya: at hindi siya maaaring magkasala, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, at ang mga anak ng diyablo: ang sinumang hindi gumagawa ng katuwiran ay hindi sa Diyos, ni ang hindi umiibig sa kaniyang kapatid (1 John 3:7-10)
And so many believe the lies of the darkness and chose to submit to the sinful nature of the flesh and obey the will of the flesh and do the works of darkness, whereby they obey their father, ang diyablo, who is a transgressor of the law of God and a liar, a thief, and a murderer.
Instead of choosing Jesus Christ; ang salita, and obeying the Word and doing the Word, they choose and obey the devil and the sinful flesh and because of that, they show that they love sin and death rather than righteousness and life.
This not only happens in the lives of many believers, but also in the lives of many preachers, sa ibang lugar, and leaders of churches, who suppose to be born again and spiritual and ought to walk as mature sons of God after the Spirit in de will of God, but instead, they carnal and walk after the flesh and do the will, mga pagnanasa, and desires of the flesh and a.o. lie, cheat, steal, drink, get involved with sexual uncleanness, pakikiapid, gumawa ng pangangalunya, at diborsyo and act like it’s all normal.
And if they are caught and people address their behavior and confront them with their deeds, their acting talents arise and they show some remorse and repent and are believed by the people and are restored and after a while, they revert to the same behavior and commit the same sin again and walk the same road as before, whereby they not only defile and damage the church, but also make a mockery of the gospel of Jesus Christ and crucify Jesus Christ again(Basahin din: ‘Can you crucify Jesus again and put Him to an open shame?', ‘‘Lay hands suddenly on no man, ano ang ibig sabihin ni Paul doon?, at ‘Can you be complicit with the sin of fellow believers?').
Many churches have become indifferent towards sin
Many churches have become indifferent towards sin and approve of sin in the church and allow the people to walk in sin and/or fall back into the same sin over and over again, even if they are in ministry.
Instead of condemning the sin and acting according to the Word and calling to repentance and the removal of sin, they condemn the believers of the church, who obey the Word and condemn sin, and to substantiate it, they use some pious words and subjects from the Bible, which are taken out of context, like false love, the grace, and forgiveness (Basahin din: ‘What does it mean to deliver a person unto satan?', ‘What is false love?’ and ‘Lost in the sea of grace’).
And so they turn evil into good and good into evil and because of their carnal humanistic behavior, they reject the Word and turn the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the sinner and their sins and give power to the devil, who continues his destructive work.
The grace of God is not a permit to sin
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, na napakarami sa atin na nabautismuhan kay Jesucristo ay nabautismuhan sa Kanyang kamatayan? (mga Romano 6:1-3)
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (mga Romano 6:15-16)
But Jesus has not taken man’s place on the cross, so that man could remain living in sin. The grace of God and the blood of Jesus Christ are not a permit to persevere in sin.
Just like sin reigned as king unto death in the old man, the grace reigns through righteousness in the new man unto eternal life by Jesus Christ and His perfect work of redemption.
Jesus has taken the place of (nahulog) man on the cross, so that through regeneration in Christ; the death of the flesh and the resurrection from the spirit from the dead, (nahulog) man would be healed (made whole, reconciled) and be truly free. Reconciled with God and free from the power of sin, free from the authority of the devil and the kingdom of darkness, where death reigns.
Just like what happened to Barabbas, the thief, and murderer. The sinner, the transgressor of the law, who was found guilty and deserved the death penalty, was released and Jesus took the place of Barabbas and carried sin (transgression of the law) and the punishment for sin, which is the death.
Jesus Christ gave His life and died for mankind
But what nobody knew, was that Jesus not only took the place of Barabbas and carried the punishment for sin, which is death, but Jesus took the place of the whole human race.
Jesus Christ gave His own life and died on the cross for all those sinners, who were born of the seed of Adam and belonged to the generation of the old man, and by hearing the words of God and the confrontation with their sins and sinful nature and their state as sinner repent and lay down their own lives and follow Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Living Word (Basahin din: ‘Kailangang may magbayad ng halaga!.').
Do you love Jesus Christ?
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10)
Kung mahal mo Ako, sundin mo ang Aking mga utos (John 14:15)
Kung paanong inibig Ako ng Ama, kaya minahal kita: magpatuloy kayo sa Aking pag-ibig. Kung tutuparin ninyo ang Aking mga utos, kayo ay mananatili sa Aking pag-ibig; gaya ng pagtupad Ko sa mga utos ng Aking Ama, at manatili sa Kanyang pag-ibig (John 15:9-10)
If you love Jesus Christ, you shall submit to Him and keep His commandments. Dahil sabi ni Hesus, that if you love Him you shall keep His commandments. And as long as you keep His commandments you will abide in His love.
But if your love for Jesus Christ becomes lukewarm and you don’t spend time with Him and don’t do what the Word says, but give priority to other things, it won’t take long before you will return to your old life and chose to please your flesh instead of the Spirit.
Jesus or Barabbas, who do you choose?
As soon as a person returns to his or her old life and listens to the carnal lusts and desires and is led by the poorly world spirits and does the works of the flesh, the person chooses to obey and serve the devil through sin and to reject Jesus Christ; ang salita.
And so a person chooses the devil, who is a transgressor of the law; a thief and a murderer, above Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Giver of eternal life, and chooses death rather than life.
‘Maging asin ng lupa’
