I would like to preface this article with a disclaimer stating that if you do not follow Jesus yet or do not know the full gospel, please be cautious in your reading. Although the contents of this article are accurate and true, I feel that if it is read by a new believer or nonbeliever, the entire picture of the gospel or what I call “The FULL Gospel” may become confusing or contorted to you.

If this is you, I suggest reading my other article titled “The Full Treatment” or simply researching the gospel either in your bible or through credible online sources.

That being said, this article is for those who know the gospel but struggle to attach true meaning to it. I have spent years of my short time as a believer knowing the gospel, but failing to attach meaning or personal connection to it.

I realized it was important, considering the church told me so, but didn’t feel my inner emotions being tugged at when I heard it or spoke it out. In my vulnerability, you may be thinking “how is this kid a believer if he was never moved by the gospel?” And while I respect your thoughts, because I’ve had similar ones about myself, I want to reinforce that I had always been moved and attached to the affections of the Holy Spirit. It was simply the story of the gospel that failed to bring me to tears for quite some time.

Knowing this, I became frustrated with my apathy and figured the only way I could get closer to Jesus Christ was to know His story more fully so that I would be emotionally and spiritually moved by it.

From then on, I set out on a biblical quest in search of what was missing from the gospel I knew at that point. To be quite honest with you I assumed I would find my answers in looking more deeply into the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, it was in this search that I realized I had failed to look more deeply into Jesus’ death.

It was then that I realized—If we do not understand Jesus’ heart behind why He died for us, we can never fully understand the love that He has for us. Yes, in terms of our salvation there is no replacement or argument against the significance of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. But I believe that this salvation takes a deeper meaning when you are able to see the full picture of His death.

As His story plays out in the book of Matthew, we see everything come to a screeching halt in chapter twenty-seven. Matthew 27:15-26 - “¹⁵Now it was the governor's custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Barabbas. ¹⁷So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?" ¹⁸For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. ¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him." ²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ²¹"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered. ²²"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!" ²³"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" ²⁴When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" ²⁵All the people answered, "His blood is on us and on our children!" ²⁶Then he released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.”

This passage FRUSTRATED me. What on Earth is wrong with these people? Why is no one defending Jesus? He’s perfect and blameless! How could anyone do such a thing! And Jesus? What is he doing?! Why is he not defending himself?! He is the Son of God and ruler of the heavens and the Earth! How does he settle for such an anticlimactic ending to His story? Where are the bells and confetti as he walks off into the sunset?

Then it hit me. This was no ill-fate. There was no error in this election. This was a choice. A choice made by a man of whose will was perfectly and entirely in alignment with that of His Heavenly Father. I realized in that moment that I am Barabbas! I am the thief and murderer to which Jesus said “No! Take me instead.” God saw that if He was to treat me and you like Jesus and gift us with the eternal life that only Jesus deserved, then He must give Jesus the death and suffering that only we deserved.

My encouragement to every one of you is to not buy into the message that the world is giving you. The world will tell you that it is your job to fix the sin that you have committed. They say you must feel shame, you must feel guilt, you must pay for what you did, and then it’s on you to figure out how to “fix” yourself. I battled this for years and let me tell you that it is not worth the smallest amount of your time. There is only one man who can overmatch the depths of sin and hell, and that man is none other than Jesus Christ. We must realize that in order to experience the pleasure that comes from Jesus’ free gift of eternal life, we must understand this deep, unwavering love that only He has for us. Give yourself to him today, he’s been waiting for you for quite some time.