Classic Friday: Jesus and Barabas (Part 2)

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.

Pilate, Barabbas, and the Crowd’s Choice of Jesus

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's got a dream, back off from this situation, even Procula knew that he was innocent. Verse 20, now the chief priests 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 is 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.

You can just see Pilate with frustration saying, this is murder, you're innocent man here, you're going to murder, and I don't want to be associated with this, I'm washing my hands, which was a biblical custom, started back in Deuteronomy, I don't have anything to do with this, I don't agree with this, it's a gesture to show that you're innocent.

You're going to murder him, I'm not for that. Deuteronomy 21 says, and all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley and testify, our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed.

Sadly though for Pilate, he's not completely guiltless, why? Because he could have still said, release. But it was Pilate who said, crucify. See to it yourselves. The same words that Judas heard from the chief priest, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood and they said, what is that to us?

See to it yourself. Grumacher wrote, to think that Pilate thought that there was any kind of water that could have possibly cleansed his hands from the guilt of the murder of the Lord Jesus. Verse 25, and all the people answered, his blood, his murder be on us and our children.

When was the last time you called down a curse on your children? Now, some people have taken this passage to justify anti-Semitic behavior, of course that would be wrong. Some people can't bear to think these verses are even in the Bible, like Pope Benedict.

This is not historical, he says. It does remind me very much of what Jesus said in Matthew 21 with the parable of the.

The Parable of the Tenants and Judgment on Jerusalem

Tenants.

When the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, this is the heir, come let us kill him and have his inheritance. They took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?

They said to Jesus, he will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits of their seasons. How this played out in history, we can't be for certain.

We can't be certain, but 70 AD certainly was an exclamation point on the judgment of God on Jerusalem. Pilate's title doesn't seem to mean much right now, governor, verse 26, then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him over to be crucified.

Lessons from Barabbas for Sinners and Saints

In light of the passage, let me give you a few exhortations and takeaways. I think I have six. Number one, lessons that we can learn from this passage about Jesus and about Jesus. Number one, don't forget that the world always chooses wrongly.

The world always chooses wrongly. I don't think we should be surprised as we look at politics and morality in the world and somehow want them to act Christianly. This is no Christian nation nor has it ever been, so why would we expect people in our nation to act Christianly if they aren't Christians?

The world always chooses wrongly, bar Abbas instead of Jesus bar Joseph. This is exactly what a person enslaved to sin will do is they'll always pick the wrong way. The world system, they always pick the wrong way.

Garland said, our heroes today have become the Barabbases of the world who take matters into their own hands and dispatch the enemy with brute force or clever trickery. If the vote came today, then Barabbas would likely win again hands down.

You can Google an artist named George Tinworth and in the 1870s, he made a famous terracotta and it pictured this scene in Matthew 27, Jesus going to be crucified, Pilate in the center and Barabbas getting freed.

And underneath Jesus, it's gotten written in the terracotta, the good shepherd. And underneath Barabbas, it says the world's choice. White law said it was popular, but the popular choice is often wrong.

It was frenzied, but when passion rules, judgment dies. It was criminal to prefer a murder over the prince of life. It was foolish to choose an enemy and reject a friend like Jesus. It was fatal in that it guaranteed judgment to the nation.

Number two, if you're not a Christian, you are Barabbas. If you are a Christian, you used to be Barabbas. You can't read this story and say to yourself, yeah, Barabbas is super bad, rebel, condemned death row, but I'm good.

If you're not a Christian, you are on death row just like Barabbas. J .C. Ryle said, let us freely confess that like Barabbas, we deserve death, judgment, and hell. Every person because of Adam's sin, consequently sin nature, is a murderer, thief, criminal, insurrectionist, blasphemer, lawbreaker, and rioter.

And if you're not a Christian, you are on death row. You have no ability to do good spiritually. You're spiritually blind, dead in your trespasses and sins, incapable of pleasing God. S. Lewis Johnson was talking about what do people on death row do?

And if they knew they were going to get hung, they couldn't stop playing with their neck because they were thinking, I'm going to be hung by the neck until dead. And over and over, you would catch them rubbing their necks.

With people who are going to be killed with gas in the gas chamber. What do you think they do when observed? Hold their breath for as long as they can, practicing over and over and over. So when that hissing sound comes, some say that in practice, the eyes of the prisoners almost pop out of their head in anticipation of the fact that it's not long before they must breathe the deadly gas.

Barabbas is a good reminder that this should have been you. And if you're not a Christian, this is you. Number three, you don't have to be ignorant of the Savior like Pilate. You don't have to be ignorant of the one who can really cleanse you like Pilate was ignorant.

There's a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunge beneath that flood, what? Lose all their guilty stains. Pilate didn't know that the one who could cleanse him from his sin was the one in front of him.

Bernard of Clairvaux, in his song, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, wrote, What thou, my Lord, has suffered was all for sinners gain. Mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain. Lo, here I fall, my Savior, tis I deserve thy place.

Look on me with thy favor and grant to me thy grace. The bad news is you are on death row if you're not a Christian. The good news is you don't have to be condemned. You don't have to go to hell. You don't have to be executed spiritually by God.

You don't have to bear your own judgment. You have to pay for your own sins. Ephesians 1 says, In him, Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

Lots of stories written about Barabbas. We don't have any of these even in tradition, but just storied accounts. Oxenham said, I think you could have found Barabbas right around that little hill and thinking about the wonderful turn of circumstances which had led to his freedom.

And as he reflected upon it, he looked and he saw the criminals and he thought of the bonds. He thought of his curse. He thought of the disgrace of dying in this way. There's a savior who breaks the power of canceled sin.

Substitutionary Atonement and the Call to Believe

Number four, the gospel shines brightest in the midst of the worst depravity. Be hopeful because the gospel shines brightest in the midst of the most horrific depravity. I quoted J .C. Ryle before, but I didn't give you the whole quote.

I said, let us freely confess that like Barabbas, we deserve death, judgment, and hell. But it goes on to say, but let us cling firmly to the glorious truth that a sinless savior has suffered in our stead and that believing in him, the guilty may go free.

We testify that the father has sent the son to be the savior of the world. First John chapter four. Oxenham pictures Barabbas in his cell looking out and seeing in the far distance, a hill with three crosses erected, watching with a kind of terrible interest.

And he sees the one and the second and the other. And knowing that he has some friends who are also taken with him. Barabbas hears the sound of men coming towards the cells. He hears the tramp of feet.

He hears the doors open and they come closer and closer. And then finally he hears a key. Here's the key great in the lock. And he hears a cell open and he hears the men say, come on with us. And then he hears the same thing again.

He hears the key and looks out again afterward and he sees the second cross occupied. And then he hears the steps for the third time and they come closer and closer. And finally he hears the key in the lock of his own cell and the door is flung open.

And he hears the words, Barabbas, you're free. Barabbas, you're free. Number five, substitutionary atonement should give your heart cheer. Substitutionary atonement should give your heart cheer. That's what this is all about.

It all points to Jesus dying in the place of sinners. Jesus taking our place. Charges against us he bore. We stand in front of the judgment seat of Christ. As friends now because he died for our sins.

Spurgeon says, if he had said in the infinite sovereignty of his absolute will, I have no substitute, each man shall suffer for himself. But here we have a substitute and Barabbas is perfect. Jesus physically dies for Barabbas in his place.

But for all those in Christ, even though we had natures like Barabbas, and even though we deserved wrath and condemnation, Jesus took our place. We go free. An innocent man dies. If Jesus isn't your substitute, then all the other accolades and attributes and names of Jesus basically mean nothing.

No wonder people are attacking the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. You might not know it, beloved, but behind the scenes, people can't stand substitutionary atonement because they think it's bloody.

They don't think it's loving. They want a therapeutic kind nurturer. Some ladies are even saying in conferences like the reimagining conference, by the way, just note to self, if you ever want to pay money to go to a conference called reimagining God, you might want to just save your money on that one.

One lady said, we don't at this conference, we don't need guys hanging on crosses with blood dripping and all that weird stuff. Give us Jesus the nurturer. Of course, Jesus is an example of love. Of course, it was condescending love at Calvary.

But if you take away the center, the hub, Jesus dying in our place, Jesus bearing our sins, move to some therapeutic world, you lose the gospel. Spurgeon said, if ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits shall be full of modern thought and the old doctrine of a substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then there will remain no word of comfort for the guilty, our hope for the despairing.

When revivalist Sam Jones said, God never threw a javelin into the heart of his son, you think of Barabbas.

Jesus, number six, two more.

Number six, your lone responsibility is to believe. If you're not a Christian and you've heard the claims of Jesus in his word, you know you're sinful and depraved and can't save yourself. You realize that Jesus died on the cross.

God vindicated that death by raising from the dead. What's your response? What was Barabbas's response? The door opens. He thinks he's going to go get executed and he's told you're free. What was Barabbas's responsibility?

To believe it.

Now, Barabbas could have said a lot of things and we could probably play this up fairly well. He could have said, well, I can't go until I make myself a little bit better. I'm not quite worthy yet. I haven't become quite religious enough.

I haven't prayed enough. I haven't been baptized enough. Barabbas, you're free.

Believe it.

Today in our society, you tell someone about sin and the Savior. If they're not careful and if they think humanly, they default to, what would a Jew who died 2 ,000 years ago that I've never even met, how could he affect my eternal destiny?

A nondescript Jew dying on a nondescript hill in a nondescript part of Palestine and what I believe about him determines my eternal salvation. First Corinthians chapter 1 says people think that's foolishness.

But the right response, the spirit-driven response is, I believe it. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

I'll believe it.

I'm not worthy enough to become a Christian. You don't know how many sins I committed. Well, the answer is Christ's grace is greater than all your sin.

Believe.

Act 1631, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. John 3, he who believes in him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already. He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life.

But the wrath of God abides on him. And finally, number seven, I want you to be thrilled with the eternal plan of God, how he saves sinners. This is not an accident. Jesus did not get caught up. God is superintending all these things.

And in eternity past, in the sovereign plan of God, God voted for Barabbas to be released. He voted that Jesus Barabbas would be released. If Jesus was with the crowd voting who should be released, Jesus would vote Barabbas.

All these things controlled by God predicted in Isaiah 53. It pleased the Lord to crush him. Who would imagine that God would ever say, release Barabbas. And the same God who looks at his people in Christ and says to us,.

You're released.

You're free. You're free.

Let's pray. Father, with the hymn we sing, O Father, you are sovereign. Every decision you superintended, you overruled, you caused, you permitted, you allowed, you ordained. Because there was a time that you had determined when your son would be sent in this world.

And there was a perfect time, even at Passover time, where your son would die on behalf of all those that you had given to him. Father, I pray for this church today. I pray that you would give us thankful hearts, joy-filled hearts.

Maybe some here have been in literal prison. Many haven't. But if anybody has been in prison, rightly convicted for crimes deserving death, and then been given a free pass to walk out the door, never to have those things hung over their head again, it's been us spiritually.

Thank you for seeing us, not as those condemned and rebellious and blasphemous, but you see us in Christ, cloaked with his righteousness. You see us and love us as much as you love your son. You made us free, free indeed, because of Jesus and his great work on the cross.

We just thank you today that we can trust in the risen savior. Father, I don't know if we'll ever see Barabbas in heaven or not, but it'd be more amazing that we're there because of your love towards us.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

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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