"While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him." But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate *said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all *said, "Crucify Him!" And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!"
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves." And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!" Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad to have you here with us for worship service today. I humbly ask that you would all join me in pray for those pastors we've been working with who are struggling to share the Gospel in their areas. Please pray for the effectiveness of their ministries and that they would remain encouraged in the work God is doing through them in bringing the lost to Christ. As we strive to continue to help provide the resources they need. They are very concerned about the eternal salvation of the people in their nations. I pray we will all be blessed as we study God's Word together.
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad to have you here with us for worship service today. I humbly ask that you would all join me in pray for those pastors we've been working with who are struggling to share the Gospel in their areas. Please pray for the effectiveness of their ministries and that they would remain encouraged in the work God is doing through them in bringing the lost to Christ. As we strive to continue to help provide the resources they need. They are very concerned about the eternal salvation of the people in their nations. I pray we will all be blessed as we study God's Word together.
Preaching has always been central to the ministry, to bring salvation to the redeem the world, to remove the transgressions of those who love and believe in Him. There is a constant call for the Church to reinvent itself to fit the changing the style of the culture, by those who claim that if it doesn’t become culturally relevant, speaking to the diversity of the present age, that the Church may not survive. It is beyond unconscionable to me that the Church which Jesus Christ purchased with His own blood is somehow going to escape His plans and purposes for redemption.
The
responsibility of every faithful pastor is to preach the Word of God,
as He’s revealed it, in it's entirety the with authority the Lord Jesus
Christ has given him. What must occupy the heart of the pastor is the
spiritual well-being of the church, that they be truly converted. His
greatest concern must be that those they shepherd would respond
obediently to the Truth, in repentance, that they live spiritually at
the highest level. There is no excuse for believers in the Church, to be
ignorant of what the Scripture says about sin.
It
doesn’t do any good to say, "I believe there is only one true God , I
prayed a prayer, I was baptized," if it’s not evident, in works that
demonstrate penitence, righteousness, submission, and obedience to the
Word of God. Because it’s not a saving faith, it's a false conversion, a demon like faith.
There has
never been a more appropriate time for self-examination, to take a spiritual
inventory on one’s true condition in the church than right now. The
first mark of an authentic Christian is to recognize their own
overwhelming sinfulness, their own spiritual poverty, there is a
mourning over ones sin that brings about an attitude of penitence for
sins committed. That is evidence that he is one is converted and being
forgiven.
In Matthew
7:21, Jesus tells us "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in
heaven will enter." This is a very straightforward statement from our Lord Jesus Christ. The will of God is not simply to have a passive
faith but to do what is pleasing to Him, and present your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. The will of God is a
transformed life, to love the Father as Christ loved Him, obediently and
doing His will. Any faithful pastor should be concerned with the spiritual condition of churches today.
Matthew
18:15-17, "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private;
if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not
listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of
two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to
listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even
to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
In
1 John, chapter 1, John says "If we walk in the light as He Himself is
in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of
Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we are
deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness." The Word of God not only commands us to deal with the sin in the church, but to deal with it firmly. Sin has caused the heart of man to become defiled, his conscience to become polluted, hardened in impenitence, making him not be saved, but damned.
Let us pray,
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for the clarity of Your Word. You have not left us in doubt about sin or it's damning eternal consequences. Lord, we pray that Your people would be faithful, committed to preaching the Gospel that alone can save them, to overpower the sins that are so popular in this culture. It is unimaginable that church leadership would use Your Word to affirm people in their sin, as if You’re going to give hearty approval to sin rather than condemning it. Thank You for reminding us that Jesus didn’t just die instead of us; but He died in our place, taking the punishment that we deserve. May we who profess His great Name, live in light of this precious gift. All for Your glory.
Father, we thank You for the clarity of Your Word. You have not left us in doubt about sin or it's damning eternal consequences. Lord, we pray that Your people would be faithful, committed to preaching the Gospel that alone can save them, to overpower the sins that are so popular in this culture. It is unimaginable that church leadership would use Your Word to affirm people in their sin, as if You’re going to give hearty approval to sin rather than condemning it. Thank You for reminding us that Jesus didn’t just die instead of us; but He died in our place, taking the punishment that we deserve. May we who profess His great Name, live in light of this precious gift. All for Your glory.
In Christ's name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Jesus Before Pilate - Part 2
Let's open your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Matthew chapter twenty-seven. Matthew 27:11-26. I
invite you to follow along with me as I read verses 11 through 26, to refresh the text in our
minds. Let's open our hearts and our minds
to see what the Spirit of God has
to say us today. Then, we look at verses 19-26.
"Now
Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him,
saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "It is as you say." And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate *said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So
when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you
want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over."
While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him." But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate *said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all *said, "Crucify Him!" And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!"
There are many people who look upon the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ as if He was the victim of God's plan of salvation gone wrong, thwarted by the chief priests and the elders. Scripture teaches He was born to die. In Matthew 16, our Lord told His disciples that He would suffer and die in Jerusalem, and then be raised from the dead on the third day. If you will recall, the first two verses of Matthew 26, Jesus specifically foretold His coming imminent death, in which He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion," immediately follow the completion of the Olivet Discourse in chapters 24 and 25. Furthermore, I'd also like you to consider all the failed attempts on His life beginning from the time He was an infant, when Herod sought to kill Him. He came into this world, not only to show us what God is like, but in an act of redemption, reconcile us to God.
Isaiah 53:5, "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed."
Before the foundation of the world, the cross is part of God’s all-encompassing plan of redeeming fallen humanity and thereby to glorify Himself. The question that Pilate presented to the Jews in verse 22, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?," is the same inescapable question that each and every person faces and must decidedly answer even unto this very day. "What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Christ?" The answer to that question determines of every person’s destiny.
We are getting closer to the cross, on which He must die as our substitute for sin, the purpose for which Christ came into the world. And to rise again on the third day, that we who love and believe in Him, might
have eternal life, life with no end, a gift of God that comes only through Jesus Christ our Lord. For the believer, eternal life is not something that starts at the moment they die, but from the moment they exercise faith in Christ.
We've already been through the three phases to the Jewish trial, when Jesus was first taken to Annas, because he was the one in power behind the scene, figuring Annas might come up with something against Him. But, Annas was unable to come up with a legitimate accusation against Him, so he sent Him to Caiaphas. Early Friday morning, there was an illegal mock trial from 1 to 3am, at which time they accused Jesus of blasphemy for saying He was the Christ the Son of God. Which wasn't blasphemy, but the truth. Then they held Him over illegally until dawn in an attempt to legitimize the whole thing, because Jewish law required that a trial had to be during the day and in the Judgment Hall. They had already decided He must die, so they had to take Him to Pilate, because only the Romans had the right of execution. Of course, they could have stoned Him, like they did Stephen, but they wanted Him crucified, unaware that it was God's plan all along.
Roughly 1,000 years before His birth, we see in Psalm 22, "For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots."
So, they took Jesus to Pilate, where.we begin the three phases of the Roman trial. If you remember, Pilate came out, because they wouldn't go into a Gentile structure, as part of their Jewish tradition, believing they would be defiled. They stayed outside, so they might eat the Passover. Pilate asked them, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?" They didn't have one, so they "answered and said to him, "If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you." So Pilate said to
them, "Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law." The
Jews said to him, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death."
They accused Him of being an insurrectionist, cultivating a revolution for the throne of Rome Then, they accused Him of forbidding people to pay taxes to Caesar, they had to come up with something, anything that would involve the Romans. The Romans weren’t going to get involved based on a Jewish religious issue. Pilate went back inside and asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus answered him, "It is as you say." Pilate went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in Him."Of course, they refused to accept the verdict, and they screamed and yelled all the more. Pilate couldn't afford anymore trouble, he'd already had three riots and was reported to Tiberius Caesar for the last one.
Realizing that Jesus was from Galilee, the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover, he sent Him to Herod. Herod Antipas thought the whole thing was ridiculous, he put a gorgeous robe on Him representing a king and made a mockery of Jesus. And he sent Him back to Pilate to deal with again. Allow me to remind you, that through all of this, Jesus said not a word!
In 1 Peter 2, Peter says "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously."
When we look at chapter 23, Luke, the beloved physician and trustworthy historian, gives us a clearer picture of what's going here, without any special embellishments. of the third phase of the Roman trial. "Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him." Let the record stand, Jesus was found not guilty by Pilate nor Herod Antipas. Now Pilate just wants to get rid of all this as easily as possible. He also has to deal with his own conscience and prevent another riot.
Now back to Matthew, verse 19, "While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him." Here's Pilate is sitting outside on the official judgement seat and a desperate message comes from his wife, she had a dream because of Him and tells him to have nothing to do with that righteous Man. She must have heard about Jesus, everybody knew about Him. He'd been healing the sick and the lame all over the place, He raised Lazarus from the dead, He cleansed the temple.When He came into Jerusalem, people hailed as Messiah. Even Pilate's wife, a pagan, was convinced that Jesus was a righteous man. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. Herod knew He was innocent. Luke tells us Pilate addressed them again, but they kept on calling out, saying, "Crucify, crucify Him!" John tells us Pilate wanted to set Him free, and tried to appease the blood-thirsty cries of the masses. He asked them the third time, "Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt demanding death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him." And they just cried out the more saying, "Let Him be crucified."
Verse 20, "But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death." Pilate having done everything possible to get out of this mess, he's making a contrast using Barabbas, the most wanted man in Israel.
Verse 21, "But the governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate knew Jesus wasn’t guilty, imagine the shocked look on his face when he realized that it was Barabbas whom they wanted released.
Then, the infamous question in verse 22, "Pilate *said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all *said, "Crucify Him!" Pilate’s effort failed again. So, in verse 23, "he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!"
Verse 24, "When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves." Pilate was conflicted yet he lacked the courage and conviction to do the right thing, so to signify that he was innocent of Jesus’ blood, so he ceremonially washed his hands in front of the crowd. Washing his hands couldn’t help him, but Jesus could have. He was still guilty of his sin.
Verse 25, "And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!" Amazing, they said that the blood of their own Messiah would be accounted to all of Israel. This does not reflect the mind of every Jewish person in Israel or even in that crowd, Christ had many faithful followers, but it certainly was the predominate cry of those present that day. They wanted Him crucified, their voices prevailed, Pilate gave in to the demands of the chief priests and crowds.
That brings us to verse 26, "Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified." He scourged Him, fastening Him to a low post, thus bending the back so as to stretch the skin. The Roman soldiers repeatedly struck His back with full force, using that wooden handled whip with leather thongs of various lengths with sharp pieces of bones to cut deep into the skin and bits of lead to lacerate the underlying skeletal muscles to produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh, to the point where arteries and veins were exposed. An act of unspeakable inhumane cruelty. It still wasn't enough to quench their thirst for blood. By the way, the Jews always gave 40 lashes, we have no idea how many the Romans gave. We do know that He was beaten so weak, that He couldn’t carry His own cross. Let that image be etched in your soul, the next time you casually think about the price paid for your sin!
The severity of the scourging was typically determined by how quickly the criminal confessed, Jesus never confessed any wrongdoing, because He was innocent, yet He received the most severe scourging ever. Our sins that did that to Him, the tremendous price Jesus paid in order to give us grace. They cried "His blood be on us," God will not tolerate blood not reciprocated, that's why He instituted capital punishment. A life must be given a life.
In Closing..
How tragic, the self-proclaimed experts in interpreting and understanding the Old Testament Scripture, blinded by their own sin, they couldn't recognize the Son of God, the only truly righteous person that ever lived, Who was right before their eyes. It's the same story today, many trapped in sin, refuse to see the Truth about Christ, even those within the church deny the authority of His teaching, manipulating His Words to say things He never said to affirm their sin, storing up wrath for themselves in the day of judgement. Those deceived by false religion deny His deity, His resurrection, calling Him a good man, a prophet, but nothing more. There are varying degrees of rejection of Christ.
It’s no surprise, false religion subjugates everybody to believe in a religion that has absolutely nothing to do with the True Living God but is seduced by Satan, whether it's progression the to godhood of Mormonism, the nirvana of Buddhism, the paradise of Islam, or the reincarnation of Hinduism or the eclectic and unsystematic structure of love and light offered by the New Age religious movement or the heresy of Roman Catholicism. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is absolutely exclusive. It does not accommodate any other religion, it replaces the old covenant Judaism with the new covenant. Many Jews today, still find it very difficult to make the transition, to let go of old patterns and they are caught somewhere in between.
God called Him His beloved Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. They hated Him and called Him a criminal, cried for His blood. Those of us who love and adore Him, call Him the King of kings, our Lord and Savior.
The question before you today is, what are you going to do with Jesus Christ? Prayerfully consider the options, there's only two. Your choice will determine your eternal destiny.Will you reject Him, standing with those who called for His crucifixion? Or will you be a believer, receive Jesus Christ, accepting His forgiveness of sin and offer of salvation.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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