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Conundrums of Barabbas
I was born in a world ruled by emperors and organized power.
I was Armed with a spirit of combat and weapons of warfare.
Resistance to the death led me to be captured and imprisoned.
There was one, Jesus, whom I had heard about but had no use
for him. Notwithstanding, here we were, accused criminals of capital
offenses. Authorities of the Jews preferred my release and not Jesus'.
We both were revolutionaries, but our methods were different.
His was a revolutionary plan based on love. Mine was a plan of
revolution to defeat the Romans by any means necessary. I sought
to destroy a system made by men of greed and power. He sought
to save all people from their sins. My crimes were against the kingdom
of Ceasar. Technically, his crimes were against the kingdom of Satan.
Before my arrest, I was very busy seeking to overthrow the
Romans, but not so busy that I was never aware of the ministry
of Jesus as he went about doing good. It never occurred to me that
we would meet, but here we were at the crossroads of our lives.
There were no words spoken between us, but I heard life-changing
words penetrating the very core of my soul.
So, as I freely walked away from my prison chains, I stared at
Jesus and wondered which of us was really free. Every fiber of my
being was wrapped in confusion and filled with questions, and I was
forced to deal with his claims of Deity.
Moreover, I was pardoned and released by a mob. Jesus was condemned
by a kangaroo court and crucified. I was released to fight again. Jesus
was crucified so that all mankind might be able to live forever.
032124PS
Copyright ©
Curtis Johnson
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