Classic Friday: Jesus and Barabas (Part 1)

The Controversy Over Substitutionary Atonement

Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author, Dr. Mike Abendroth. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures, verse by verse, with No Compromise.

Well there's a controversy in evangelicalism. Did Jesus die for each and every person who was ever born? Or did he just die for the elect? This morning we'll look at the Bible which teaches Jesus died for only one person.

That's right, he died for only one person. You should see your faces. That's a good sign, by the way. In the sense of physical substitution. Today we're going to look at the account of Barabbas. Jesus dying in the place of Barabbas, which then leads us into a great study on substitutionary atonement to see how Jesus died for the sins of his people as we study this topic.

Let's turn our Bibles to Matthew chapter 27 this morning to look at Jesus and Barabbas. The only person that Jesus physically died for in Barabbas' place condemned Jesus stood. Barabbas was let go and Jesus was condemned.

And I think in this passage today you'll be encouraged by the work of the sovereign God orchestrating our salvation. I think you'll like it that you get to be reminded that Jesus died for your sins as your substitute.

And there's nothing like going to a gospel as you watch destiny unfold. Martin Luther said, learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him. Here's the song Luther wants people to sing. Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness.

I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You have become what you were not so that I might become what I was not. First Corinthians is finished. We're soon going to be in Romans.

But for a couple weeks I just want to preach passages that I've just been dying to preach. I can't wait to preach about Jesus and Barabbas and next Sunday is another message that we'll look at that I've just been dying to preach and then we'll be into Romans chapter 1.

Jesus Before Pilate

Let's look at Matthew chapter 27 verses 11 through 26 today as we see Jesus Christ and Barabbas who is a very important New Testament figure. You can look at Matthew, you'll see Barabbas, Mark, Luke and John all contain information about Barabbas.

Not everything in every gospel is in every other gospel. Oh, you'll see the feeding of the 5 ,000. You'll see the resurrection. But the birth of Jesus isn't found in every gospel, yet Barabbas is. If you only were counting up numbers of verses, there are more verses in the Bible about Barabbas than even Judas.

He's an important character and you'll see the truth about Barabbas today contrary to the 1961 film about Barabbas. What's happened so far in Matthew, the first 26 chapters? Well, right around chapter 26, the plot against Jesus is hatched.

Betrayal of Judas to the religious leaders has happened. Christ is celebrating the last Passover which is the first Lord's Supper. He goes to Gethsemane and prays. He's then arrested. He's tried before the Jewish folks and now we come to the Roman trial.

And Matthew 27, 11 says, now Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him, are you the king of the Jews? Jesus said, you have said so. Who is the governor? Well the governor is a man that you know his name.

His name is Pontius Pilate. Now Pontius Pilate according to all sources was not a very kind man. He wasn't a very moral man. He wasn't a man full of integrity. But the New Testament shows him at least early on in this trial as exactly that.

A man who knows truth when he sees it and wants to exonerate the innocent. It's a lot different picture of Pilate found in scripture than in the course of history when he comes into Jerusalem in 26 AD with all the people and his soldiers at nighttime holding up banners with the false image of Tiberius purposely just to rub the Jews the wrong way with idol worship.

This is a lot different picture in the scriptures than Pilate showed himself to be in real life where he took all the special treasury money, the korban, and built a 50 mile aqueduct. This is a lot different Pilate than Jesus talked about in Luke 13 where Pilate mixed the Galilean blood with the sacrifices.

We're going to see a Pilate who's going to see that Jesus is innocent. Everything in this passage is going to tell us Christ is the innocent one. Even a wicked immoral man like Pilate knows better. Pilate is married and his wife is so immoral that a grandfather of the daughter said that I would be wifeless and childless.

He is not a very nice man. But he is the governor and look at verse 11. He asks Jesus, are you the king of the Jews? Pilate is seated at the bema seat in judgment. Jesus is standing there. It's going to be a lot different in the end days where Jesus, seated at the right hand of God, judges and comes in his glory.

Are you the king of the Jews? The emphasis in the original language is on you. One quick look at Jesus will let everyone know, including Pilate, he's not a terrorist. He's not a rebel. He's not a dagger carrying anti-government person.

One quick look at Jesus, you'd know right away he's not revolting against the Romans. He says, are you the king of the Jews? Jews can either mean the way we would think, Jews, all Jewish people, or it can mean people in Judea.

Are you the king of Judea? Which Pilate would be interested in because Pilate was the prefect or the procurator of Judea. I think probably the reference is to Jews in general. You're the king of all the Jews?

And how did Jesus respond? You have said so, the ESV says. Literally, you say. When Judas was asked whether he was the betrayer, Jesus said, you say. When Caiaphas said, Jesus, are you the Christ, Jesus said, you say.

And now Pilate says, are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus says, you say, meaning you already know that or you should know that. You say. Now, how many people have a book that would be entitled Harmony of the Gospels?

Many do.

Some aren't shy. You need to get a book called the Harmony of the Gospels. I use it all the time. Some books I never use. I use this all the time. Harmony of the Gospels. Get the one by Robert Thomas.

And Harmony of the Gospels takes Matthew, Mark, and Luke, three books that are very similar and adds John to it and arranges it perfectly so you can see what's going on chronologically. It harmonizes the gospel chronologically.

Because sometimes Matthew, for instance, he'll put chapter 8, 9, and 10 out of chronological.

Order.

Why am I hurrying? You're the second service people. You slept in. You're ready to go. There's no hurry. Second service people aren't coming because you are the second service people. And it puts everything in order and it's helpful to see what happens because every gospel doesn't contain everything.

You need to get the Harmony of the Gospels. Robert Thomas. So let me read you a little bit of the fill-in that Matthew doesn't include, but I want you to know about it. And just listen. So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews?

Jesus answered, Do you say this of your own accord or did others say it to you about me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from this world.

Then Pilate said to him, So you are a king. Jesus answered, You say that I am a king for this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

Pilate said, What is truth? After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, I find no guilt.

In him.

John 18.

Are you the king of the Jews? If Jesus would have said, Yes, with no explanation, then maybe Pilate would have thought insurrectionist, anti-government, trying to go against the king of Rome. If Jesus says, No, I'm not the king.

He really is the king of the Jews. And so he says in a very cryptic way,. You say. Your designation. Verse 12, it says in our text,. But when he was accused by the chief priest and the elders over and over and over and over, that's the original language, he gave no answer.

Jesus really doesn't seem to care about these false teachers. He'll answer Pilate to some degree because Pilate has authority given to him by God as governor. He knows these false teachers are after one thing, execution.

So whatever he says, they'll twist and discombobulate into execution language. Then Pilate said to them, verse 13,. Do you not hear how many things they testify against.

You?

They're saying so many different things. They're making a wide net thrown out against you, hoping one of them will stick or two.

Of them will stick.

He gave them no answer. Not even look at how the text makes sure we understand this. It's not even a single charge so that the governor was greatly amazed. Now if you were in front of a judge and you were going to be executed and they gave a bunch of false accusations, I think you'd probably be like me, talking a lot, trying to defend yourself, very loquacious, very, I didn't do that.

I didn't do that. I deny that.

I wasn't there. Jesus isn't so vocal. And that impressed Pilate. It says, what does the text say? That he was greatly astonished. This is not normal. Jesus isn't normal. This is actually a good kind of amazement.

This is the kind of the amazement in Matthew 8 where Jesus saw the centurion's faith and he was greatly amazed. Harmony of the Gospels fill in, but they were urgent saying he stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Galilee from Judea even to this place.

When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. When he had learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad for he had longed to see him because he had heard about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.

So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.

And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day. For before this, they had been at enmity with each other. Now comes Barabbas, verse 15. You can feel this thing going down the hill quickly with divine orchestration.

Barabbas the Notorious Prisoner

Now at the feast, the governor, keeps being repeated because the people are really the ones in charge, it seems like from the human perspective. Was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.

This was not Pontius Pilate's decision, this was the crowd's decision. By the way, pretty good political ploy. We'll give one of your prisoners back as a show of goodwill. Here's a little amnesty. This was not unknown back in this day and age where someone would be given up to the people and no charges pressed.

Hey, it's Passover after all. Israel, weren't they redeemed out of Egypt? Shouldn't we redeem someone here? Pilate said, you know, it's that time of year, it's a Passover. I'll give you someone whom you select and you know he has to be thinking.

Certainly they're going to pick Jesus, the innocent one. Of course they're going to pick this teacher, this miracle worker. This is a way to get out of my dilemma. Jesus is going to be acquitted. I've got to let somebody go, it might as well be an innocent person.

I don't want to let somebody go who's going to be attacking me and fighting against me. Verse 16, and now onto the stage of scripture, and they had then a notorious, a notorious prisoner called Bar-Rabbi, Bar-Abba, Barabbas.

Now, some texts say notorious, some say notable. It's basically a well-known person. Everybody knew about this person and they knew him for being a insurrectionist, a robber, a crook. There are bad criminals who are well-known.

Jimmy Hoffa was well-known. He was notable, but just in a bad way. Similarly, Barabbas is a bad man. He's in jail. He's on his way to be executed as well. And here's the fascinating fact. Several New Testament manuscripts read this way.

And they had then a notorious prisoner called Jesus Barabbas. Jesus Barabbas. What do you mean Jesus Barabbas? Well, let's think about Barabbas first. Bar-Abba, Simon Bar-Jonah, Simon son of Jonah. Jesus, son of the father.

Lots of times fathers were rabbis called rabbis. This is Barabbas, son of his father who could have been a rabbi, but probably the scholars so hated the word Jesus in there because who wants to associate Jesus Christ with Jesus Barabbas that they took it out?

If you look a little further down in verse 22, it does seem to make sense if you have Jesus Barabbas and Jesus the Christ when Pilate asked the question, what shall I do with Jesus, which is called Christ?

If it was just Jesus Christ, well, what will I do with Jesus? But here, Jesus Barabbas. Which Jesus goes free? Jesus, son of the father. And could it be that he, Jesus Barabbas, had a father who was a rabbi who taught him Jewish things, taught him to love Israel and the glory of Israel?

And so when the Roman occupation comes, he hates that with a nationalistic fervor. And so this man, Barabbas, what we do know for sure, whether his first name was Jesus or not, he was notorious. And everyone knew about him and he was notable.

And maybe he had the kind of background where people would say, Robin Hood, yeah. Get rid of these Roman people, these horrible occupiers. We're freedom fighters. He's the top dog gorilla. He's a zealot against Rome.

He's a patriot. John says he was a robber. And I think Matthew's painting a picture. Barabbas super wicked, Jesus completely innocent. Peter preaches in Acts chapter 3, but you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.

And you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. He was not just, Barabbas was not just an insurrectionist, a bad guy, a malefactor, he was a robber who was a murderer.

And now he's going to be crucified. He's going to be killed. Harmony of the Gospel says Pilate then called together the chief priest and rulers and the people and said to them, you brought me this man as one who was misleading the people.

After examining him before you, behold I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.

I will therefore punish him and release him, Luke 23. Matthew 27, 17, notice your text. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, whom do you want me to release for you? Some manuscripts, Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ.

Which Jesus do you want? You want the Messiah, you want the son of the father, son of the rabbi. Which Jesus do you want? Verse 18, Pilate was smart. He was politically astute. He knew, verse 18, that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.

The popularity of Jesus, the healing of Jesus, the teaching of Jesus. People are following Jesus and not the scribes and the Pharisees and the lawyers. They delivered him up out of envy. He could see that, Pilate could, and then the plot thickens.

Insert scary music here. Verse 19, besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him. Must have been a big deal to interrupt him on the judgment seat. Have nothing to do with that righteous man.

For I've suffered much because of him today in a dream. That righteous man, used in 1 John chapter 2 verse 1. Jesus Christ, the righteous. Used in Acts chapter 7, the coming of the righteous one. A unregenerate, sinful, Gentile woman knows that Jesus is innocent, and she's got to give that information to Pilate.

She's thinking about this dream, and of course, they attributed a lot to dreams back in those days, especially the pagans. I've got to get this information to Pilate. Tradition gives her a name, Procula or Procula.

Sometimes with one L, sometimes with two. She had this dream, it occurred today. She maybe took a nap, got up, got to tell her husband at work. Frank Morrison said of this lady, it was she who stiffened the Roman instinct for justice in Pilate at a moment when he was tempted for personal considerations to humor the prejudices of the Jewish Camarilla and commit Jesus on their recommendation alone.

No wonder Pilate's dragging his feet. The guy's innocent, Herod finds him innocent. His wife got a dream back off from this situation. Even Procula knew that he was innocent. Verse 20, now the chief priest and the elders persuaded the crowd, manipulates these in the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

Probably not the same crowd that had been impressed with Jesus' miracles and seen him in the temple. They now are stirred up, Mark chapter 15 says, and they want to pick a hardened criminal who's convicted rightly of murder.

Verse 21, it's the people's choice. Governor again said to them, the governor, the people are really governing, you can tell. But here the governor again said to them, which of the two do you want me to release for you?

And they said, Bar Abba, Barabbas. Harmony, the gospel fill in. Therefore they cried out again saying, not this man but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him and the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.

They came up to him saying, hail king of the Jews, struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, see, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.

So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, behold, the man. Verse 22 in your text, take a look at Matthew 27. Pilate said to them, then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?

You obviously want me to let go Jesus who's called Barabbas and you want me to do what with Jesus who's called Christ again? And they all said, using a word that Matthew brings to light six times in this chapter, let him be crucified, crucified, crucified, crucified, crucified, and crucified, Jesus the Messiah, crucify him.

Notice the text, they all say, no dissenting voices, unanimous, all for one and one for all, Jesus the Messiah, kill him. Verse 23, I mean, Pilate is trying, it seems. What evil has he done? But they shouted all the more, drowning out Pilate's feeble attempt, let him be crucified.

We are pro-Barabbas, we are anti-Jesus. Harmony of the Gospel fill in from John 19, when the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.

Jews answered him, saying, we have a law, and according to that law, he ought to die because he has made himself the son of God. When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered the headquarters again and said to Jesus, where are you from?

Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, will you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? Jesus answered him, you would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.

Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. From then on, Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, if you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.

So when Pilate heard these words, he brought out Jesus and sat down on the judgment seat in a place called the Stone Pavement in Aramaic, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation of Passover. It was about the sixth hour.

He said to the Jews, behold your king. They cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your king? The chief priest answered, we have no king but Caesar.

Verse 24, so when Pilate saw that he was beginning, do you see in Matthew 27, 24, that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water, washed his hands before the crowd saying, I am innocent of this man's blood, see to it yourself.

Closing Ministry Notes and Station Identification

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 8 .30 and 11 a .m. and Sunday evenings at 6 p .m. We're located on Route 110 in West Boylston, Massachusetts. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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