What does it mean to be forgiven? Is it something we must earn, or is it freely given?

If someone were to ask you these questions, what would you say? How would you describe forgiveness and how best to attain it?

Did you know that nearly every religion in this world is centered on the idea that forgiveness must be earned; that we must do something, or behave a certain way in order to be forgiven? The one and only exception is Christianity.

The crux of the Christian message is that sin must be punished, and there’s no way people can earn their own forgiveness. Therefore, Jesus had to come to earth, live the perfect life we could not live and die the death we deserved to die so that He could pay the penalty for our sins, and we could gain the forgiveness we so desperately need and could never be good enough to earn.

I don’t think anyone knew the meaning of this better than Barabbas that fateful day we read about in Luke 23 today.

If you studied a map of Jerusalem during that century, you’d discover that Barabbus was placed in a cell far enough away from the crowd before Pilate to hear the roar of the crowd and what they were shouting, but not close enough to hear the words of Pilate. I’m certain his ears must have perked up when he heard, “We want Barabbas!” I like to think he got as close to the window as he could only to hear the crowd next yell, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” At that point he must have felt his fate was sealed. There was no way of escape; he would get exactly what he deserved.

I wonder what he was thinking as he heard the guards footsteps coming closer to his cell knowing they were coming for him…hearing the key in the lock and seeing the door swing open… only to hear the guards tell him he was free to go! Can you imagine the moment Barabbas heard the words, “You’re free to go, for another will die in your place this day.”?

I can’t know for certain, but if I had been the one set free that day, I believe I would have run to see this man who was to die in my place. I would have wanted to be among the crowd watching the three crucified, all the while knowing I should have been the one hanging on that cross. What could have Barabbas been thinking as he heard the crowds mocking and laughing at this man who took his place? And then to hear this man, who had been beaten so badly that he hardly resembled a man at all (Is 52:14) say,” Father, forgive these people, for they don’t know what they are doing?” Who could be so forgiving?

 I also wonder if Barabbas had known the other two men on either side of Jesus. Had they been friends; co-convicts? What did he think when Jesus promised the one, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”? If he did know them, then he, more than anyone, knew that he was the last one who deserved to be in paradise!

We don’t know what happened to Barabbas after he was set free from the punishment of his crimes. We don’t know if he ever gained eternal freedom, but we do know it was possible! Our God is an equal opportunity God and we all are offered the same gift of forgiveness and able to spend eternity in paradise!

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, you can gain the same forgiveness as the murderer did that day. You can be forgiven and free to forgive others.

When you know you are forgiven, your past can stay in the past and your future can be totally different because you’ve been set free from all the guilt and shame over what you’ve done, because nothing you could ever do is more significant than what Jesus has already done for you on the cross that day. When Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He meant that the full price for our sins had been paid. We only need to ask Him:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.- 1 John 1:9-10

And once we’ve confessed to Him, any accusations you keep hearing won’t be from Him, because he won’t bring up your past again:

“For as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us”- Psalm 103:12

When you know, that you know, that you know, you are forgiven, you’re set free to live a new life with Him for all eternity!

Blessings! 

sue