I Am Barabbas. and So Are You — Shane Idleman

Jesus Is Led to Pilate

Matthew chapter 27 the title of the message is I am Barabbas and so are you. And that's going to make sense towards once we get to the end of the message. But right now I'm just going to read in Matthew 27.

I can tell you what page it is in my Bible but that might not help most of you. Matthew chapter 27. Now let's set up the the backdrop for a minute. Jesus has been taken. He was in the garden of Gethsemane.

Judas betrayed him with the with the Judas kiss the betrayal the kiss of betrayal. They took Jesus and he asked them why have you come out to get me like a thief and a robber. I was talking with you daily in your temple and why are you here now trying to capture me.

And they captured him. They took him. Of course he could have called down 12 legions of angels and wipe them out but he went according to God's will. So now verse 27 I'm sorry chapter 27 verse 1 says when morning came all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death.

And when they had bound him they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Little background. If you recall from a few weeks ago the the nation of Israel had been conquered by the Romans.

They were under Roman governance. The Roman officials were actually in charge and the Jewish leaders could not put anybody to death that that ability of the death penalty was taken away from the nation of Israel.

So they had to seek out a Roman official. And this really caught my eye this week I shared last night and I a lot of people I think were helped because of it. But it says that Jesus was bound and then led away.

He was bound and led away. And for some reason this week that the thought came to me it kept reoccurring that that's exactly what Satan does to us. He will bind you and then he'll lead you in a direction you don't want to go.

And the definition of bound is a movement. Your movement is restricted and we are led to places we don't want to go. So the first thing Satan wants to do in case you're wondering yes he's after you. He's after you today.

He's after you this week. He's after your family. And he comes in three different ways. The less of the flesh the less the I in the pride of life. So you think you got your last year last mastered in your I mastered.

Where comes the pride of life to take you out those three areas is where he attacks in the in the demonic element here we saw in Jesus's time. Do you realize right. Demons don't die. This these demonic influence that were alive then are just as alive now and working in our culture and in our world and in our church.

Sin’s Bondage and the Threefold Pattern of Temptation

So what the enemy does. He wants to bind you. And what you're bound. You know exactly I'm talking about. You've been there then he leads you in a direction you don't want to go. Why. Because you're bound.

You're caught in sin. And that's the whole point. That's what sin wants to do. And I want to read James. Many of you have heard this verse before. But I want to read James 113 and tied in here let no one say when he is tempted.

I am tempted by God. And this is important. Many people get mad at God to God. Why are you allowing this. Why don't you take this desire away. Why don't you take this addiction away. Why don't you take this from me.

Got. It's your fault. I've heard that before. But James says let no one say when he is tempted I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil. Nor does he himself tempt anyone. Now there's a big difference between a temptation and a testing.

If we had time we could uncover that. But just know that God doesn't put that temptation. He doesn't force you to be tempted. But here's what happens. But each one of us is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

That's why I often say I'm not as worried about the devil's. I'm worried about the devil within because I you know where he's coming. But this one this temptation this desire within is constantly there.

It's constantly pulling us away from God. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and then he's enticed. Then when that desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

So if you're ever wondering where is this sin going to lead that I'm playing with it's going to lead to some type of death. Death spiritually. Death physically. Death is separation. Separation from God.

And the reason many people feel distant. I can name a dozen people my family right now who are very distant from God because they have allowed besetting sin to bind them and trap them and lead them away.

Goodness. What's the answer. Well temptation is a wrong. It's the door. It's whether you walk through that door you enter into temptation or you walk through the exit door and you leave. It's a very interesting concept here.

Each one is tempted when he was drawn away by his own desires and enticed. So I have a desire and I'm enticed in my mind where my mind goes my feet follow. So if I say that's a wrong thought that's a wrong temptation.

I'm closing the door on it and it's not going to lead me astray. I'm walking away from it. Or what. What does it go on to say. But when that desire has conceived that means that there's birth there. I'm thinking of it now I'm going to do it now.

It's conceived. The end result is of that is to bring forth death. So that's how the enemy works. He tries to get you bound in something. You can go from pornography to eating too much. I mean the list is long and extensive.

But he has no new tricks. He will go in an area of weakness that he's already won in an area of your life the last place you were defeated. He's going to try to go into that area. And it's not just physical sin sometimes it's mental.

Have you ever been so angry and envious and jealous that it just eat you up and you critical spirit unteachable attitude. And it's just it's all consuming. The enemy loves. That's where actually where church division comes from.

When a church usually divides I'm not talking about healthy church division where the pastor says I don't really believe this anymore and I'm just gonna give you my opinion. You just run for cover. But I'm talking about most church divisions it shouldn't happen are because the enemy gets in there brings a critical spirit and arrogant spirit and unteachable spirit envious of jealousy.

I'm angry spirit. And we fight and we bicker. We just say well then I'm leaving and with churches split over this so he works in that area is what's not just physical things that we do in the flesh but also our mental capacity.

So be careful there once the enemy binds you he wants to lead you astray. But thank God all you have to say is this is wrong. Lord I'm repenting. I'm turning my life back over to you. But repentance isn't just sincerity.

Anybody can say what I just said and not repent actually happens quite a bit. Lord I can't do this again. You ever say that I can't do this again. A month goes by I can't do this again. Lord help me not.

And you're like it's been a year. What is going on that repentance. See that's just being sincere. Repentance says this is wrong and I'm turning from it. That's actually the definition of repentance is the change of mind that leads to a change of action.

Judas’s Remorse and Peter’s Repentance

So now picking up in verse 3 then Judas his betrayer seeing that he had been condemned. So I guess apparently Judas didn't think Jesus was going to be condemned because once he saw that he was condemned he was remorseful and he actually brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.

And they said what is that to us. You see to it. Then they threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and Jesus I'm sorry. Then Judas threw down the pieces of silver in the temple departed and he went out and he hung himself.

And it's interesting because we have this image of Judas this you know nobody names their son Judas. I've said before and this terrible person which he was. The Bible says it was better for him to never have been born.

But somehow I feel sorry for this guy because he realizes Jesus is condemned. I've betrayed innocent blood and he's trying to give back the money. People say well did he repent we. Well that's up to speculation.

But when the Bible says it's better for him to have never been born he betrayed Christ. I have a feeling he's not in a good spot because he tried to handle this problem also on his own like Peter though we need to run to God's mercy not our own solution.

See that's the difference. Peter denied Christ three times we read about earlier. What did he do. Did he go out and hang himself. No he said I denied the Lord. I'm going to repent and become a strong pillar of the church.

I'm gonna learn from this and God's gonna bless it. Judas on the other hand felt sorry remorseful and went out and hung himself. And you have to be careful because there is a difference between remorse worldly sorrow and genuine repentance.

Sometimes they look the same. How do they look the same. By little water things coming out right here. Goodness gracious. Both have tears. But the remorseful side is sorry I got caught sorry my reputation is on the line.

Sorry. People are gonna think this way about me. And this person is usually remorseful. But they also have a lot of excuses. Well she made me do it or he made me do it. Or mommy keep getting personal.

You know it's excuses. But but but in the remorseful. But they're not repenting. Peter showed genuine repentance. I like what J .I. Packard said about repentance. Repentance is more than just sorrow for the past.

Repentance is a change of mind and a change of heart a new life of denying self and serving the Savior. That's exactly what repentance is now. There's also two kinds of repentance. I might as well touch base on this.

There's repentance where a person if you do not know Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior that God is not Lord of your life. You know about him but you don't know him. The Bible says you must repent. You must repent.

Basically you must see sin as God sees sin. You must see your need for a Savior. And you repent. You acknowledge that God I need you. I'm repenting. I'm changing my heart. I'm changing my mind. And and God somehow through the work of the Holy Spirit the conviction the drawing that new birth takes place.

But then believers are often in a state of repentance. Lord I'm sorry for that. I that's not right. How I treated that person. I need to repent and refocus my mind my thoughts towards your will towards your way.

Because a believer can walk in the wrong direction as well. So it takes repentance to turn us back and to be walking the right path. And you can usually tell if a person is genuinely repentant because the fruit will follow.

At some point there will be fruit. This person will tell you everything you want to hear everything you want to hear this person tell you. But then about three days you'll get a call from this person's spouse saying nothing has changed.

Nothing has changed. They're back to their old ways. Nothing has changed. They just told you what you want to hear. They were sorry because they got in trouble. You see the difference. Repentance wants to fix what they broke.

A repentant person want wants to renew what they broke down. A person who truly repents wants to restore that broken relationship to God or other. So it's a very important piece here that Judas he was obviously remorseful.

He saw that Jesus would be condemned. Maybe he didn't think Jesus would be condemned. Maybe he thought I'll take 30 pieces of silver. They'll take Jesus and Jesus will just vanish. But now he understands that that's not happening.

You know I just I'm reading a book I want to share with you if you if you have read this before it you might want to read again. It's called finishing strong by Steve Farrar. It's a men's book about finishing strong.

Because most people who start out in ministry don't end in ministry. Most people start out strong in their faith don't end up strong in their faith. Why. Because a yearly battle. And finishing strong is very important.

So I just want to encourage you in that area as well to finishing strong is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your family. Look at Judas versus Peter. Look at how they're looked at now. Judas versus versus what Peter did.

So finish strong. The enemy's gonna come. He's gonna try to knock you off track. Yes it's it's very important to finish. Or to start. Well please start. Well. But the whole point is to finish strong. I think it's like one out of ten pastors who get involved in ministry in their twenties do not end up in the ministry in their sixties.

When they retire only one out of ten does nine of them fall by the wayside. That book explains why. And it's also a great resource for men for six. But the chief priest took the silver pieces and said it's not lawful to put them into the treasury because they are the price of blood.

The Danger of Justifying Sin

And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called to fill the blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet saying.

And they took 30 pieces of silver the value of him who is priced whom they of the children of Israel price and gave them for the potter's field as the Lord directed me. And I thought it was interesting.

Just a side note it's it's not a real revel relevant thing. But it wasn't the Bible says spoken by the prophet. Jeremiah was actually spoken by Zachariah the prophet if you look at that. But why did the Bible mentioned Jeremiah.

Well that could take a little while to unpack. But there's some people that feel that the Bible often describes often go after. They would mention the major prophet or they'd say the prophet Isaiah meaning all of the prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel and Daniel were the four major prophets.

Or if you look at the Greek prefix for the word Zechariah believe it's Z-O-E, Jeremiah is I-O-U. So there might be in the transcribing a little variance there where they described in translated correctly.

But in your Bible this passage is actually not Jeremiah. It's from Zachariah the potter's field. So if you want more information on that let me know we can email that to you. We've got videos on that different things.

But what I want to really point out from this is it's not lawful they said to put the money back into the treasury. It's a price of blood. So it was okay to take it out of the treasury to pay Judas to betray Jesus.

But we can't put it back into the treasury. Isn't that wasn't that weird to you too. I don't know maybe it's just me. But they can use it to betray Jesus but they can't put it back in. Here's one of the reasons why justifying sin is a very slippery slope.

Be careful. Do you know what a slippery slope is sometime go outside on your back if you have a sloping backyard and put down a trash bag and put water on it and try to stand on that slippery slope. That's what happens when we try to justify sin.

And and we all have done it in the past and we should repent if we continue to do that. But justifying sin is a slippery slope. They pick and they choose what they wanted to believe. They pick and they choose what they thought was right.

And we do that. We justify. And here's how that usually starts. Yeah but yeah but I know what the Bible says. But and I know I need to work on that. But I know I've got this but and and but yeah I do that but this.

And we justify this. But we won't justify that. And some of the people who are the hardest hardest on judging people are often compromising in other areas. They'll tell their tax account. Yeah I had 55 ,000 miles of write-offs.

Really how about 5 ,000. Or they'll you know they'll they'll occur. They'll kind of justify all this stuff. But they'll be the hardest in this other area. And a lot of times you find where it comes out later where somebody's caught in sexual sin and you go oh my goodness how did that happen.

These were the most you know godly people I knew. Well were they or they were most judgmental and harsh. And just all the Word of God in the Word of God. But they're justifying. But over here they're not keeping this area in check.

So one thing I glean from this is don't justify sin. Don't justify wrong behavior. Take it before God and let God change that and work that in you. So here's today's self-examination. Paul asked the Galatian church.

A Little Leaven and a Hardened Heart

You ran well. You ran well church in Galatia who hindered you from obeying the truth. This persuasion does not come from him who calls you a little leaven leavens the whole lump. So Paul was saying what happened church.

You're running so well. But you allowed a little sin to come in and that little please understand the sin does not stay static. It does not just stay still. It either grows in your life and in my life or it withers and dies.

And it all depends on whether you're feeding or starving it. And that's a big lie. We think well I can just hold this. I mean I hear people say they will say it's my one little vice. You know one little vice.

I've heard Christian couples try to excuse pornography in their marriage husband and wife. And it's like hello. I didn't get too many amends in there. I hope this doesn't happen here my goodness. But we try to we try to we try to you know that hide certain sins and it grows and it grows.

And I like what David Wilkerson wrote. He's asking what in your life. And this is a good look at your life. I looked at mine yesterday. What in your life. Is there anything in your life that's keeping you from going on in the full blessing of Christ.

You were doing so well at one time especially as we get older. I'm talking now even to the 40 and up crowd or 50 and up crowd. You were doing so well. At what time. What happened. What hindered you. What has stopped you.

You were on fire for God. You're witnessing. You're reading your Bible. Something is stopping that something is is in there and it's an infiltrating your life. You were doing so well. I know you to be a praying people laboring.

But something is wrong. I don't see you growing anymore. Instead you've gone back to rely on your flesh. I don't sense the sweet aroma of Christ. You want to add something is hindering you. What could have persuaded you to settle in this condition.

And he continues whatever it is I tell you it's not of God. I know so many Christians today who once were mightily used of God. These people were devoted they were praying they were believing Saints. But then something happened to them that somehow caused them to be hindered from experiencing the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

Often that hindering leaven was a single besetting sin to all such people. Paul says what happened. What's hindering the flow of Christ in your life. What. Leaven has crept in a little leaven leavens a whole lump.

And sometimes we can excuse things by saying well I'm not caught in all those bad things Shane. But we have a very critical heart and a heart that should be loving and teachable and broken and fill of joy has now hardened.

And there's a hardness about us. There's there's not a love for Christ. There's not a love for others. And we need to see that we need to see Lord. I become hard I become cold I become calloused. I don't like what's happening in my life.

And I don't like other believers. And I what. But what. Paul's asking where did that go. Where did that go. That's not Christ. So something is crept in. You have to be careful because the enemy I don't know about you.

Maybe it's just me. But he loves to just plant all this dissension in my mind. All this complaining and bickering and anger take. Where's this coming from it. And this situation this situation. A critical spirit.

And being angry and upset and and and God says no break break before me. Humble yourself before me. Because a critical attitude a prideful arrogant attitude is just as dangerous as the man or the woman who looks at something they shouldn't on the Internet.

It's just as dangerous. Actually rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. And if we know our hearts not right before God if we've grown cold and callous we need to repent this morning because that's a deadly sin.

Well Shane how do I know. Well how many times I said this. Ask your spouse. Ask others. I mean as Christians we we should be the most loving forgiving understanding gracious people on the planet. But why is it often the opposite.

We walk around angry and critical and judgmental. It reminds me like of a contractor going through his home that he built spec home before he sells it and he's picking apart everything. Is he that stucco up there.

You see that paint job right there. You see the lighting fixture. You see the concrete work. Is he the foundation. You see the sink. Blah blah blah blah blah. And that's how we come into church sometimes critical and judgmental when we should be joy filled.

And as I'm preaching to you I can be sitting right there because that happens to me just as easy as it happens to you. Why. Because those thoughts come in. Right there's a there's that person again. They don't like me.

No no no here we go and we start getting these these. I mean we this morning. I mean not this morning. The thing was the other morning. God just really rock my world. When you look at what's going on the news.

You look at Afghanistan or Pakistan or Iraq or Iran. You look at the conditions people are living in. And I can go to my wall and punch in a number that keeps my house at 80 degrees. I can go put a little turn a little knob in my garage.

It'll keep my water. I've got some cushion underneath my carpet. Look at this church we're sitting in. Look at it if we just if you if you stop and you think how blessed you are how blessed we are. Why are we not more joyful and happy.

And God thank you. Thank you for everything you've done. Instead of complaining and bickering that's the heart of Christ. Is that we come together. Why is unity so important. Because that's what keeps the church together.

See if I get 10 or 12 or 15 of us to pray together. That's unity. One puts a thousand to flight but to 10 ,000 to flight their strength. When we come together we're not concerned about all these little things but we're concerned for the cause of Christ.

I just look just just even if you don't live in a big home look at look at your house. I've got I've got a timer that turns water on to water the green grass. You realize right that that's not ninety-nine percent of the world does not have sprinklers and grass to go play on.

Do you realize that there's not a lawnmower guy that comes over most of mine. There's not the two cars. And I mean we just were so blessed. And here's the problem. The more blessed you get the more prideful you can get the more arrogant you can get.

You think it's my right. It's my right. I'm American having read the Constitution. Why read this this. This proceeds the Constitution. Does it not as as patriotic as I am. I love our country. That's why that is on that side and the cross of Christ is on that side.

Anybody who knows their flag knows the flag should be on the right side. But we say that Christ takes preeminence over the flag. And we acknowledge that God is higher than patriotism. I love our country.

I love our soldiers. I love everything about America. I love that God has blessed us. But our blessing has become our curse when we think it's our right. Do you know the Bible talks about suffering for Christ.

It does. Yeah. It talks about being suffering for God and putting down our rights. And that's what happens. We can become so prideful and so arrogant that God can't work. And God can't move. And people ask me weekly almost that Shane.

Why aren't we seeing God move in America. Why aren't we seeing the church is broken before him. Why are we. We're so in a hurry. We're not worship nights prayer nights. They're. They're like their old news or just.

Jesus’s Silence Before Pilate

And I don't have an answer other than hearts have grown hard. Because when a heart is soft and God is working in a heart you can't keep that person away from God. Verse 11. Now Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him saying are you the king of the Jews.

Jesus said to him it is as you say. And while he was being accused by the chief priests and elders answered nothing. Then pilot said to him do you not hear how many things they testify against you. But he answered him not one word.

So the governor marveled greatly. Now you have to understand the setting. This is amazing. Pontius Pilate is the person who can execute the person or let them go. So anybody in front of this executioner is going to be pleading their case like there's no tomorrow.

They're not their line to this please. I've got family I've got friends and he so he's never had anybody stand before him. Silent. Don't you want to answer anything they say against you know because I was born to die.

And later we'll read the Pontius Pilate says answer me because I can I can take your life. I can set you free. And Jesus says you would have no power over me at all unless it was given to you from my father above.

So you better just stop this impression of Jesus as this week. Passive carpenter. No man in this room could stand before their executioner and say that because we all know we'd be doing right. We'd be on our knees crying let me go.

I have kids. I have a family. No it's not true. They're being mean to me. Please please Pontius Pilate and Jesus just stands there beaten. So Pontius Pilate is marveling. He's he's. I've never even seen this before.

Why. Because you have total meekness in Christ. You know what the difference between meekness and weakness is. This is important because all of us in here need meekness. Meekness is not being a doormat.

The meekness is strength under control. It's like a little twelve-year-old picking on Mike Tyson. Right. Remember that guy. He's not gonna win but using that strength under control. Or you've got to use example before you got a big Dodge Hemi motor.

You guys 560 horsepower. Strength under control. It's under your control. It's not just running crazy. That's what meekness is. Jesus could have wiped out that entire army. He could have evaporated Pontius Pilate.

Barabbas or Jesus: The Crowd’s Choice

Right dust. He could have said let's start over and bye. Bye humanity. So that's meekness. That's having the strength but holding that strength in first 15. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.

And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Brabus. Therefore when they had gathered together Pilate said to them who do you want me to release to you Brabus. Or Jesus who is called the Christ.

For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy. The religious leaders held Jesus over handed Jesus over because of envy. Do you know what envy is. It's terrible. It's deadly. Run for cover and repent if there's some of that growing in your heart because it doesn't just stay a little nice little baby it grows and has fangs and teeth.

The green envy. Right. It's just terrible because it's just wanting what somebody else has. They lost all their followers to Jesus. This man spoke like no other man. He taught like no other man. They said who is this doing all these miracles.

They were losing some of the religious leaders from Nicodemus to Joseph of Arimathea there all these people are going after Jesus and they were envious. Same thing happens today. The devil will use envy every chance he gets every chance he gets.

So be careful there as well. For he knew they handed him over because of envy while he was sitting on the judgment seat. So here you have Pilate sitting on the judgment seat. Jesus is not answering him anything.

So he's sitting there going. What is wrong with this guy now to top it off. His wife comes running to him and says this do not have anything to do with this just man. For I had suffered many things today in a dream because of him.

And for the wife to go during this mock trial and stop what's happening. Or go and call for Pontius Pilate and tell him this is unheard of. He's he's probably facing now this major decision of he's a just man.

They handed him over for envy and now my wife is telling me she had a dream not to hurt this just man. So that's an incredible setting very difficult to make a right decision. And I'm just for a minute I want to talk about this area of dreams.

Dreams, Visions, and Testing Everything by Scripture

Let's just say dreams. Be careful because I've seen people have dreams and get weird. Okay. So be careful. However I'm not one of those people who say no no. God will never use a dream because I can take you to Genesis or God led Abraham.

I can take you to Moses I can take you to David. And then when we get the New Testament how about Joseph being warned in a dream to take Jesus away. How about the wise men being warned not to go back to Herod.

How about Peter having a dream about what is unclean and clean. So there's some scriptural evidence there for people having dreams now this will take a whole sermon to unpack but let me say this just be very careful.

The dream would never be in my opinion something that you would just act upon on its own much like a word of wisdom. Or somebody gives you some some advice like hey I'm really feel God's leading this.

It always confirms scripture. So if I have a dream of myself preaching in Illinois I'm not going to move to Illinois right. Also what you look for is a continual pattern like Daniel when he was or Joseph also see there's lots of dreams in the Bible you think of they call for Daniel.

They call for Joseph because the Pharaoh and that other king were having dreams. They've had it twice in different so you look for consistency. Sometimes I'm having the same dream and a lot of times I've noticed God will use it for warning.

He'll warn or he'll confirm certain things. Interesting thing my wife remember I have actually my journal I dream this is probably 2001. Don't worry I'm not getting into weird land here but I was I kept having these dreams where I don't know why but I and I still picture I can I know where that when I see that building I thought I saw the building.

I'm not sure if it is yet time will tell but I would walk out the right side this curtain I can move this curtain there be just a sea of people and I'm gonna speak to these people. You have to remember this is 2001 or so.

I'm never I'm not a public speaker back then I'm like what is that all about. That is just weird. I wake up in a couple days later and the same kind of you don't happen. So I'm reading at this time now Billy Graham's biography.

It's a big thick book and I get to the point point the part in there were talks about Billy Graham would have dreams and he would see these these these areas are these groups of people that he would actually speak to and hasn't spoke to them yet.

So I just confirmed it because I'm praying this time Lord you want me to go into health and fitness. You want me to do this so I use it. That was a great confirmation for me to be okay. God's calling me to speak to people.

It was a very confirms so much and it just put so many things to rest especially I read in his book. Does that make sense those kind of things that go that's a confirmation of what's going on. Or you know if you have this dream of I mean there's times if you read about the mission feel I've got books if you're interested where people have dreams about not going to a certain village and it would be none it be reoccurring and they just I can't do that God and God would warn them and something would happen.

So he can use and work in dreams but just be careful because on the way here's a here's a here's a another illustration of going back or different sides but on this side you have this group that doesn't believe in dreams at all.

I mean it would just what I just mentioned be like and I don't think so like doesn't happen today. The gifts of the Spirit don't happen today. None of that stuff happens today. All we have is the Word of God we worship the Father the Son and the Word of God.