Most people have a general understanding of the event when Christ was crucified. However, this portion of Scripture is interesting when compared to the practice ordered by God in Leviticus 16.
Pilate found himself in an extremely difficult situation because he truly did believed Jesus was innocent of any crimes and said so. He made multiple attempts to persuade the crowd that Jesus be released because of his innocence. Even so, the crowd would have nothing to do with it. He also knew that the leaders of the Jewish people from the Sanhedrin Court brought Jesus to Pilate out of envy. Because of Jewish law, they could not crucify Jesus themselves and then persuaded Pilate to do their dirty work. (John 18: 29-32)
His last effort to save the life of Jesus was to offer a compromise. He put before the crowd Barabbas who was an insurrectionist, a thief, and a murderer. If anyone would be pronounced guilty of crimes it would be Barabbas. To his surprise they demanded the innocent Jesus be crucified and Barabbas set free.
Here is a comparison to Leviticus 16. In the passages of Scripture on what was called the Day of Atonement two young goats were brought before the high priest. He cast lots over the two. The lot decided which goat would be sacrificed and which would be turned loose into the wilderness. That goat is called a scapegoat. Can you not see the comparison the day Christ was crucified? He bore the sins of the world to the cross and became sin for us who knew no sin. His blood was shed in our stead for our sins. The death of Christ vindicated the holiness and righteousness of God. The death of Christ was a substitute for us. It did not avoid the commitment required in the Law but satisfied it.
Barabbas, the scapegoat, was released without stipulation, without complication. He bore his own sins upon his head to live out the rest of his life. The goat was taken by a “fit” man into the wilderness and set free. That man is similar to Pilate who set Barabbas free. The living goat was like that of Christ putting our sins from God never to be considered again.
Like Barabbas, like the scapegoat, we are free to live in the wilderness of this world. The main difference in this comparison is that Barabbas still had guilt on his head, while the law was not satisfied. For those of us who do not accept Christ as Savior, they still have guilt also on their head. The only difference, unlike the goat, we could decide our destiny whether it be the substitutional work of Christ for our sins or turned loose into the wilderness of the world facing guilt in eternity.
Christian Writer 