A real man, not a monster — which is what makes the exchange so staggering.
Barabbas
The Prisoner Set Free
In Mark’s Gospel
It was Pilate's custom at the feast to release one prisoner for the crowd
Mark 15:6
Pilate offered the crowd a choice: "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" — hoping to free Jesus
Mark 15:9
The chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead
Mark 15:11
"What then do you want me to do with him whom you call the King of the Jews?" — "Crucify him!"
Mark 15:12-13
Who they were
- Violent — a murderer in an armed uprising (Mark 15:7)
- Popular — the crowd chose him over Jesus (Mark 15:11)
- The exchanged — the guilty went free; the innocent took his cross (Mark 15:15)
Read about them
Faces of Faith
“Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” — Hebrews 12:1
A keepsake of Barabbas’s story — the portrait on the front, the key moments on the back.
Faces of Faith cards coming soon to the TruVINE store.
Every claim above is from Scripture unless labeled “Tradition.” Depictions are checked against the WEB text on this site.
