A new lease on life. What happened with Barabbas, however, was not just an isolated event in passing. The story of Barabbas is significant because he was a type of all humanity. All of us have sinned. The term hate here means hatred , but it is also used elsewhere of loving less by comparison .
Partiality is the spirit of murder.
If any of us have ever hated someone else or shown partiality, then we have participated in the spirit of murder spoken of here in John. Barabbas, of course, was a murderer in literal fact. Barabbas was also guilty of sedition and being involved with insurrection. So, Barabbas was a type of all humanity and each of us individually. Now Barabbas was set free in exchange for the person of Christ.