LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

Who was Bar Abbas, anyway? (Brendan J., St. Paul, Minnesota)

The Bible doesn’t say a lot about Bar Abbas, also known as Barabbas. We just know he was a zealot who was involved in a plot to overthrow the government, and that he was the prisoner chosen for release during the Passover. Bar Abbas is mentioned in Matthew 27:15-26, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23:18-19, and John 18:40.

Wasn’t it dangerous for Livy to trust and help a man like Bar Abbas? (Holly M., Newark, New Jersey)

Yes! Your parents have no doubt warned you about trusting strangers. Bar Abbas was a stranger and a criminal. But sometimes people do unwise things. Livy had been kidnapped and taken away from her home and her people at a very young age. Her longing to see her family overcame her natural fear of this man.

Livy didn’t know the whole story about Bar Abbas, either. She saw him as a man who was willing to fight for freedom —someone who could help her escape. She didn’t know he was a murderer. Once she recognized the consequences of helping Bar Abbas —that she’d unwittingly played a part in Jesus’ crucifixion —she realized how mistaken she’d been in helping him.

Did Pilate’s wife really dream about Jesus? (Annie Britt P., Oshkosh, Wisconsin)

Yes, she did. In Matthew 27:19, the Bible tells us that Pilate’s wife asked her husband to release Jesus because of a dream she’d had. God has often used dreams to give special messages to people, both believers and nonbelievers. Check out these examples: Jacob (Genesis 28:10-17); Pharaoh (Genesis 37:1-11; Genesis 40–41); King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4); Joseph, husband of Mary (Matthew 1:20; 2:13).

However, we must not assume that our dreams will come true or that they’re special messages from God.

Who were the Celts? How could their weird religious beliefs possibly help Livy understand who Jesus was? (Tristan F., Waukegan, Illinois)

The Celts, called “Gauls” by the Romans, were a group of people who in ancient times inhabited parts of France, Spain, Britain, Ireland, and Asia Minor. They were the ancestors of today’s Irish, Welsh, Bretons, and Scots. The Celts believed in many false gods and practiced many strange religious rites —including human sacrifice.

The Bible tells us that all the world’s people —even unbelievers who’ve never heard of Jesus —have an empty space in their hearts that only the true God can fill. They may not realize it, but everyone is searching for Him (see Ecclesiastes 3:11; Acts 17:24-31; Romans 2:14-15). Their desire to know God sometimes shows up in the religious beliefs they invent for themselves.

For example, the Celts believed in the need for human sacrifice. That concept was, in a way, a little like the Christian concept of a sacrificial Savior. But the Celtic method of finding favor with their gods —killing innocent people —was wrong. Only God could provide a sacrifice for our sins. But because Livy was familiar with the idea of an innocent person as sacrifice, she recognized Jesus as the Savior and the sacrifice her people had been looking for all along —without even knowing it!