Grace for a Man like Barabbas

Matthew 27:26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

This story has been on my mind lately. A group of people that prefer to have a murder released to them in exchange to have teacher, the Messiah crucified. 

I realize for a long time I have seen this story as an example of how twisted and lost the people were, that they would be capable of asking for the release of a murder and exchange for Jesus. All the while I held to the knowledge that God is sovereign and this was all part of His plan to redeem His people, I glanced over the idea that maybe this story is also a picture of God's grace as well. 

From the story it appears that that Jesus and Barabbas were in the same place at the same time. Being presented to the people. Pilate, trying to convince them to let this innocent man free, chooses the worst of the criminals that he has available and offers a choice to the people.  

Jesus and Barabbas standing next to each other.  If there was a limit to God's grace - if there was one thing that Christ didn't die for - it would probably be this. Inciting protests and murder, setting the stage for continued violence and tensions between the ruling power and the people. (And although the specifics are different - I wonder if the current tensions in Israel and Jerusalem  may communicate some of the same emotions and tensions that existed then)
Jesus didn't say a word. Being the son of God he had every right to say something. To use this platform, to announce his purpose, to lay out the stipulation and details of the covenant he had come to renew. But he didn't say anything. 

If Barabbas was beyond Jesus' grace I imagine he would have said something. He could have said something like - "Ok, I came to offer grace to all people, but you, you have destroyed the lives and families of hundreds of people, you have disturbed the peace, at least you must realize the gravity of you actions before I extend my grace." or "My grace is for all - except the worst ones."  or even "Pilate - did you really have to go this far to bring out the worst?! I can extend grace to thieves and tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners - but this guy! he has murdered and probably doesn't even regret it!"

But Jesus didn't say anything. Maybe he didn't say anything, because the worst of sinner, the most despicable criminal is still within the limits of God's grace. Everyone, who  still has breath in their lungs is within those limits. Both the thieves on the crosses and the man name Barabbas in Pilate's court were enough for Jesus to go to the cross. 

I find that it is easy for me to say these things, to know in my head that God's grace is for all, no matter to what 'degree' of sinner they are (if there really is such a thing). But when it comes to real life it is much harder to wrestle with. In the past month there has been a string of attacks in Jerusalem carried out by Palestinian extremists.  Recent conversations have been around how sever ought their punishment be or what type of justice is needed. Most often the attacker has been killed so the punishment is against their family, who often celebrate the martyrdom of their family member.  

Justice is needed, if we want a  civil world, we can't just dismiss it  in the name of grace and pretend like it is all OK. But the question remains with me, how ought we act or respond in ways that recognize that the grace we received is also showed to the worst of us.  If we are it image bearers of God, how do we show the God's grace is also to them? We are the messengers of God's grace, simply carriers, we do not have the authority to change or alter the contents of the message we carry. We do not have the authority to place limits on it,  or fences to Barabbas' out. If we start to place limits on grace, we better be careful, because with our tendency to portray our lives better than they really are, likeliness is that the limits we place on it would exclude ourselves. 

I don't have answers yet, but I don't want to fall into the trap of using terms and language that clump all Palestinians or Arabs into the same group as the extremists, and on the hand I don't want to become so skeptical as to avoid the truth. Maybe it is the fine balance of speaking the truth in love and Paul talks about in Ephesians.  I haven't figured it out, and I feel that it may be a lengthy journey,  but by God's grace, may we learn how to show love to the Barabbas's.