Rev. Cyril A. Stevens – Sermon 0980B recorded on March 17, 1985 teaching from Luke 23:1-25 – The Character of Barabbas.
Pastor Cyril A. Stevens analyzes the characters surrounding Jesus’s trial in Luke 23, dedicating particular focus to Barabbas, the bound false messiah. The initial portion details figures like Annas and Caiaphas, highlighting their corrupt religious authority, and Pontius Pilate and Herod, who represent political maneuvering and missed opportunities to heed God’s message, respectively. Pastor Stevens then shifts to spiritual bondage, using Barabbas, who was “bound” for insurrection and murder, as an analogy for humanity trapped by sin and its wages, death. Stevens contrasts the futility of fighting for one’s own kingdom (as Barabbas did) with the freedom and newness of life offered by Jesus, emphasizing that Christ willingly died for us while we were yet sinners, thereby conquering the bondage that binds humanity.