Long ago, in the depths of a Roman dungeon laid a man whose guilt, and resulting captivity and sentence of death pictured the state of those born in Adam - Barabbas, son of a father. He was of his father the devil, the father of all lies and hater of all that is good. Nearby stood the Son of God as a lamb dumb before His shearers. No one spoke a word in His defense, though He stood innocent of any crime. His time of guilt would come later, when the sins of all His elect would be imputed to Him. An angry crowd cried for the innocent blood of Christ while allowing a guilty man to go free. What a picture of substitution! Barabbas was released from all that held him captive. There were no preconditions; the bars of prison were simply swung open, and all his guilt was passed to the One Who alone had always pleased His Father. So, now Barabbas, as a type of the sinner, was granted freedom and liberty from prison only through the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, so also have believers since that day gained true spiritual liberty by the same means. In Christ, a believer is an joint-heir with Christ and can be justly called "a son of the Father."