Which Jesus Will You Have?

After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
John 18:38b-40
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Which Jesus Will You Have?
Pilate’s question hangs in the air, not because he seeks truth, but because he wishes to escape it. Having declared Jesus innocent, he offers the crowd a choice meant to satisfy justice without cost. This moment exposes the world’s preference: not the true King who brings God’s reign through suffering, but a familiar kind of savior, violent, useful, controllable. Barabbas is released, and Jesus is bound. The guilty walks free, and the Innocent is handed over. Here the cross already casts its shadow. This is not a failure of justice but its fulfillment, though hidden. God’s truth does not arrive with force or popular approval, but with nails and wood. This is the great exchange. Barabbas stands where you and I stand, freed not by merit, but by substitution. The cross reveals the truth Pilate cannot see: Christ reigns by being rejected, and He saves by taking our place.        
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