We know precious little of the man called Barabbas, a contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth. He is variously described in the historical record as thief, murderer, rebel, and notable Roman prisoner. His release by the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate was part of the supernal plan for the Christ to offer himself as the ultimate blood sacrifice, but it's doubtful Barabbas understood any of that at the time. Many have wondered what became of him, or rather, who he became after that fateful day. Someday we will know the answer, but in the meantime we can imagine that, like all of us, he too sought a path of personal redemption, imperfectly.

Call Me Barabbas looks at the journey of both Paul Derry and R.C. Sproul Jr. R.C. Sproul told Paul, "You and I know that Jesus came to save sinners. The people in the world you came from know they are sinners but need to learn Jesus saves. The people in the world I came from (Reformed evangelicals) know Jesus saves, but need to learn they are sinners." Thus, the concept of Call Me Barabbas was born and turned into this book of two drastically different lives that share one major similarity - the grace and mercy of Christ Jesus. Table of Contents: Forward (written by Burl Cain) Preface (written by Paul Derry and R.C. Sproul Jr.) Chapter 1. The Theological Foundation (written by R.C. Sproul Jr.) Chapter 2. The Story of Barabbas (written by R.C. Sproul Jr.) Chapter 3. The Making of a Barabbas (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 4. Breaking Barabbas (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 5. Braking Barabbas (written by R.C. Sproul Jr.) Chapter 6. Barabbas and Judas’s Kiss (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 7. Brides of Barabbas (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 8. Barabbas Betrayed (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 9. Barabbas Betrays (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 10. Barabbas Betrays Again (written by R.C. Sproul Jr.) Chapter 11. Barabbas, Come Forth (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 12. Barabbas Reborn (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 13. Barabbas Released (written by Paul Derry) Chapter 14. Barabbas Beset (written by R.C . Sproul Jr.) Chapter 15. Beside Barabbas (written by R.C . Sproul Jr.) Chapter 16. Barabbas All (written by R.C . Sproul Jr.) Chapter 17. Barabbas, Lazarus, and Us (written by R.C . Sproul Jr.) Chapter 18. Be Barabbas (written by R.C . Sproul Jr.)

Barabbas is the acquitted; the man whose life was exchanged for that of Jesus of Nazareth, crucified upon the hill of Golgotha. Barabbas is a man condemned to have no god. "Christos Iesus" is carved on the disk suspended from his neck, but he cannot affirm his faith. He cannot pray. He can only say, "I want to believe." Translated from the Swedish by Alan Blair

There were two men called Barabbas, both of them called Jesus Barabbas. They crucified the wrong one - but what about the one that got away? This book tells you. Jerusalem AD 33 was a city in uproar, the authorities were struggling to keep the peace. An unusually candid view of the infighting that followed the death of Jesus, as seen by a lucky but unrepentant eye witness. An account which might help answer some of the New Testament's more puzzling questions. WHY are the gospel accounts of Jesus' trial almost certainly untrue? Why if Mary Magdalen was so central to Jesus' life does she abruptly vanish from the story? WHY if Paul was such a misogynist were so many early churches led by women? WHY do the disciples seem to have rejected Jesus' nominated successor? One highly unlikely source might just have the most likely answers. In the words of Barabbas the robber - "I was there, and I saw, and I remember." A plausible and fascinating suggestion of what might have happened. Why has no one written this story before?

Combining New Testament study with the terseness of thriller writing, Theissen conveys the Gospel story in the imaginative prose of a novel. This is a story of our times, or how the gospels might have turned out if they were written by John Le Carre: racy, readable and full of incident.

Profiles Jesus Christ as the human face of God, taking into the account the multiple ways his life has been viewed and retold, and dramatizing the transformation from a man to a myth.