Christ the Conqueror - Mark 16 - February 21, 2021

These are the Sermon Notes for February 21, 2021. We are meeting at the church with specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Covid-19 plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 16 Christ the Conqueror

Good morning! We have reached the end of the Gospel of Mark! It has been a wonderful journey to walk along with Jesus and His disciples through this Gospel. Mark has painted a vivid and powerful picture of the life and ministry of Jesus on earth.

As I’ve said before, Mark most likely wrote this Gospel as a record of Peter’s perspective of Jesus’ earthly ministry. As such, he is careful to show… How can I put this politely… the humanity and frailty of the disciples.

Here in chapter 16 that humanity is on full display in the midst of history’s greatest event, the resurrection of Jesus. But in the midst of their unbelief Jesus Himself displays, for them and for us, the only solution to the problem of unbelief.

Let’s pray.

I want to take this chapter a chunk at a time instead of reading through the whole thing as they are neatly divided for us and each display the overwhelming problem of unbelief. 

Now before I read the text, I have to remind you that Jesus had told the disciples that He would be killed and raised from the dead at least three times recorded in Mark’s Gospel. In fact, He had told them specifically that He would be killed and IN THREE DAYS he would rise again.

Jesus was crucified Friday and was buried late Friday afternoon. He was in the tomb all day Saturday, and our text picks up after sunset Saturday briefly and into early Sunday morning.

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Now let’s break this down.

Here we have three ladies, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Saturday night, once the Sabbath was over, remember that the Jewish Sabbath went from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday… Saturday night these ladies bought some perfumes and spices to anoint Jesus’ body early the next morning. Then, very early the next morning they set out for the tomb.

This tells me a few things about these ladies.

First, it tells me that these ladies loved Jesus. They wanted to honor Him with this act of love, anointing His body with fragrant oils and spices to mask the odor of decay. They were motivated by a great affection for the Lord Jesus.

Secondly, it tells me that they weren’t great at planning things out. The thought ahead and got the spices after the Sabbath was over Saturday night, but they hadn’t thought ahead to get help to roll away the stone. Mark is the only Gospel writer to point out this fact that they hadn’t thought about the stone.  But God worked it out, He always does.

It would be easy to stop there, to focus on the devotion of these women, to focus on the idea that if we are zealous for God and want to do good for Him that He will roll away the stone, that He will clear the obstacles from in front of us.

But to stop there would be to ignore the third glaring truth of these verses. These loving ladies believed that Jesus was still dead. 

They loved the Lord Jesus, they just didn’t believe what He said.

This is a sermon unto itself! Lots of us say we love the Lord, lots of us are eager to do things for Him, but how many of us are concerned with knowing His Word, and trusting what He said? 

These ladies who are known for their love and devotion displayed the sin of unbelief.

Yet even in their unbelief they had the wonderful privilege of seeing that stone rolled away and got to converse with angels.

4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 

What were their instructions? Go tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.

And of course, like all good faithful, loving, devoted, followers of Jesus, they did exactly as they were instructed, right? Nope.

8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Peter was mentioned here specifically and separate from the disciples not because of his greatness or preeminence among them but because of his failure. He was separated here because he denied the Lord and had yet to be restored, an account you can read in John 21.

Now, you may have a note in your Bible about the verses that follow, and why they are set apart as they are is a fascinating conversation, you can trust that these verses that follow are consistent with the rest of Scripture and are, in fact, canon, they are Scripture, they belong here and you can trust them.

9 [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

This appearance to Mary Magdalene happened right after the group of ladies saw the angel and the empty tomb. She apparently lingered a little longer after the other ladies freaked out and took off.

What’s the most interesting is the reaction to her report of seeing Jesus alive. They wouldn’t believe it. The scholars say that this is most likely because in the First Century the testimony of a woman was not considered valid, and that may very well be the case, but the text literally says that they refused to believe her.

And why would they? Not because they just wouldn’t believe her because she was a woman, they obviously didn’t believe Jesus either, He told them that He would rise on the third day and here it was day three! Here’s Mary, whom they all know, reporting to see the risen Lord and they refuse to believe.

Mary wasn’t the only one that they refused to believe.

12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

This account of Jesus on the road to Emmaus is recorded in much greater detail in Luke’s Gospel. 

The women didn’t believe the angels, the disciples didn’t believe Mary, maybe now that there were two males, two official, legal witnesses they’ll believe that the Lord had risen? 

Nope, they didn’t believe them either.

The disciples had nothing, nothing but dashed hopes of the redemption of Israel, they were walled in on every side by barriers of unbelief.

They were afraid. They didn’t understand. They didn’t listen. They didn’t act. All because they didn’t believe.

They were all alone, mourning and weeping, and without Jesus in their unbelief.

Announcements of the angels, of the women, of the two disciples from Emmaus, were not enough to overcome their unbelief.

But do you know what was? Jesus.

14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]

JP Lange wrote, “The circle of disciples becomes a believing church only when Jesus Himself reveals Himself personally in their midst. This, indeed, is the thought underlying the entire Gospel of Mark.”

We just can’t do it without Jesus.

Christ is the conqueror! 

He conquered sin by His death on the cross. He conquered death by rising from the dead. And He conquers unbelief by His presence.

He smashed all the barriers of unbelief that surrounded the disciples when He walked into the room. He commissioned them to no longer be disciples only but to be Apostles, ones who are sent, to preach the Good News to every creature, to the whole world. 

And He promised to be with them, to empower them to cast out demons, to preach in languages they didn’t know before, He promised to protect them from harm, and to heal the sick. 

He promised that these signs would accompany them and confirm their message as they preached the gospel, and He was true to His Word. 

On the Day of Pentecost He sent His Holy Spirit to fill all those who believed so that those who follow Jesus would never be walled in by barriers of unbelief because He will always be present with us by His Holy Spirit.

If you are left wondering, “How do I get that? How do I get in on that?” 

Jesus answered that Himself, 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Faith in Jesus is the only way, faith in Jesus is the only standard by which mankind will be judged. Baptism follows along as an outward sign, but it is only by faith that we can be saved.

And what is faith? FORSAKING ALL I TRUST HIM Amen.

The Last Temptation of the Christ - Mark 15:16-47 - February 14, 2021

These are the Sermon Notes for February 14, 2021. We are meeting at the church with specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Covid-19 plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 15:16-47 The Last Temptation of the Christ

Good morning! We are back in the Gospel of Mark this morning, chapter 15, verses 16-47, page 852 in the pew Bibles.

The other Gospel writers include many words that Jesus spoke from the cross, there are seven last words of Jesus, phrases really, but Mark only records one. That is not to say that the Lord Jesus was inactive, in truth, He was facing His final temptation.

Let’s pray.

Let’s look at our text for this morning, Mark 15:16-47.

Now, you’ll remember from last time that Jesus had been tried before Pilate and though he found no guilt in Him in order to keep the peace he handed Jesus over to be scourged and crucified.

16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. 

21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. 

33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 

40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. 

42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

There’s been a million songs written about this beautiful, tragic event. One that we sing quite often, “How Deep the Father’s Love For Us,” includes a beautiful line, “It was my sin that held Him there, until it was accomplished…” 

It was my sin that held Him there on that cross, and that’s true… kind of. 

More accurately, it was His will that held Him there until it was accomplished, it was His trust in His Father, in the purpose for His suffering that held Him there.

Jesus’ life on earth, like ours, was plagued with temptation, and these last few agonizing hours were no different.

16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. 

The Creator of the universe allowed His creation to mock Him and abuse Him, to dress Him as a king and kneel down in fake homage, to drive thorns into His brow and strike His head with the scepter they made Him.

At any point Jesus could have just said, “Enough!” and been transfigured before their eyes and destroyed them all. But He humbled Himself. He resisted the temptation to show them that he really is the King because that was not why He came.

21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

Golgotha was just outside the northern wall of the city, the place of the Skull. You’ve also heard it called “Calvary” which is based on the Latin word for skull. 

Some scholars believe that it was the burial place of Adam which would be fitting though there is little, if any, evidence to support that theory. Other scholars believe that this was, in fact, Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered up his son Isaac until God provided a ram for sacrifice instead. 

Today there are two places that scholars believe could be Golgotha, one is called “Gordon’s Calvary,” which you can still see in Jerusalem today, and is a big rocky knob that does kind of look like a skull. The other is inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchur, which is also believed to house the tomb where Jesus was buried.

Regardless, when Jesus was brought there, already battered and bleeding from the scourging and abuse from the soldiers, unable to carry the beam of His cross, He was offered wine mixed with myrrh, a potion that would dull His senses and lessen His pain, but He refused it.

He resisted the temptation to ease His own suffering and instead faced the cross with all His faculties intact. 

None of the Gospel writers go into great detail about the actual act of crucifixion, Mark least of all.

“And they crucified Him.” The only four words he needed. Mark’s Roman audience would be fully aware of the horrors of crucifixion, it is the most humiliating, painful, and inhumane way to kill a person, where the victim dies of, either slow suffocation and exhaustion, or, as in Jesus case, the victim bleeds to death.

 But in most cases it was a slow death, slow enough for Jesus to continue to face the temptation to make it all stop.

24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. 

“Save yourself, and come down from the cross! Come down now so that we may see and believe!”

Jesus continued to face the temptation to make all of this horror stop, to show them all that He really was the Messiah that they wanted, to show with miraculous power that he didn’t have to be subject to this punishment.

But He resisted that temptation because that is not why He came.

The two men that were crucified on either side of Jesus, in our text were called robbers, just like Barabbas. They were murderers and insurrectionists, and Jesus was given the chief place among them, Barabbas’ place.

33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”

Now the sixth hour was not the same as six o’clock. The Jewish day went from six am to six pm, six am being zero hour making the sixth hour noon. 

We used to sing a song called “Beautiful Scandalous Night” but none of this happened at night, the sky went dark at noon.

Jesus cried out from the darkness the opening words of Psalm 22.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. 

Have you ever wondered why God made the lights go out, why darkness covered the land?

It’s because God said he would, every part of this was planned from the beginning. Amos 8:9-10 says about this day:

“And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.”

36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 

At the last cry of Jesus it was finished, the debt that mankind owed to God for sin was paid, and God Himself tore the veil of the Temple from top to bottom, the way to God was now open wide, there was no longer any need for sacrifices to be offered over and over.

Hebrews 10:19 says, and I’ll close with this,

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Jesus resisted the final temptation to make the suffering stop, to make the mockery end, to come down from the cross and prove that he was Messiah, because that was not why He came.

He came to suffer, he came to be mocked, He came to be crucified, because He is Messiah, the only One who could open the new and living way for us to draw near to God our Father in full assurance of faith through His own flesh.

Amen.

The Great Irony - Mark 15:1-15 - February 7, 2021

These are the Sermon Notes for February 7, 2021. We are meeting at the church with specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Covid-19 plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 15:1-15 The Great Irony

We are nearing the end of Mark’s Gospel, in my Bible there’s only a page and a half left. But what remains is the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry. We are going to look at the first stage of that climax in Mark 15:1-15, page 852 in the pew Bibles, when Jesus was brought before Pilate.

I can’t help but see the great irony in everything that happens in these verses, where Jesus Messiah, the Lord of Glory was condemned to death though He had committed no sin and no violence was in His mouth. Maybe you’ll see it too.

So you’ll remember from last week that Jesus had been brought from the Garden of Gethsemane to an illegal night meeting of the Sanhedrin in the palace of the high priest Caiaphas.

And though they couldn’t find two witnesses whose testimonies against Him agreed they condemned Him for blasphemy. The high priest asked Him if he was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, and Jesus answered, “I am,” and they freaked out.

The next step in their plan would have to wait a little while though because according to the Law they were not supposed to do this sort of thing at night. Fortunately for them, night was almost over as during this farce of a trial the rooster had started to crow.

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. 

6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Let’s pray.

So as soon as it was morning the whole council got together for an official meeting, knowing that their night trial couldn’t be considered official.

I’ve been to a lot of meetings over the years, I’ve been on lots of committees. But what I can tell you for sure is that real work gets done in the post-meeting meeting, the meeting that happens in the parking lot after the official meeting is over.

But in this post-meeting meeting, the work that the Sanhedrin got done was to decide on exactly what charges they would bring against Jesus before Pilate. 

Pilate wouldn’t care anything about charges of blasphemy, or claims of destroying the Temple. The only charge that they could come up with that would concern Pilate is that to be Christ was to be King and to claim to be king was treason.

Now we’ve got to understand that Pilate was a politician, he was no friend of the Jews, and he didn’t care about the truth, all he cared about was peace. He didn’t care about the hippy-dippy kind of peace, not peace and love, more like peace and quiet. As his judgment here in our text proves.

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. 

Jesus’ response to Pilate’s question was not exactly a straight answer but He wasn’t disagreeing with him either. It’s almost as if He said, “If that’s what you want to call it…”

“Are you the King of the Jews?” “If that’s what you want to call it, yeah.”

But John’s Gospel records that Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world, if it were, my servants would be fighting.”

In fact, if this scene wasn’t accomplishing the redemptive plan of God, there’s no way Jesus would just stand there, tied up like a criminal.

This reminds me of the scene in the movie, “The Man of Steel,” where Superman chose to submit himself to the army and they put him in handcuffs so that they would feel safe. But eventually Superman just pops them off like they weren’t even there.

Jesus, who was present at creation, the Word by whom all things were made, who holds the stars in place, and was keeping the atoms and molecules in those ropes that bound Him from flying apart, willingly humbled Himself and stood before an unjust human judge. 

Why? Here’s the irony! 

The Son of God humbly stood before an unjust human judge so that we who believe in Him will be able to boldly stand before the Just Divine Judge.

Christ stood before Pilate in sorrow so that we who believe in Him will be able to stand before God with joy!

Christ was silent before the Sanhedrin so that we who believe in Him can confidently cry, “Abba, Father!”

Christ was silent then so that He could serve as our intercessor now.

6 Now at the feast [Pilate] used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Pilate chose peace over justice. 

He chose what was popular over what was right.

The last thing that Pilate wanted was riot, not because he cared about the safety of the people, he just didn’t want to look bad, he didn’t want to look like he was incapable of keeping the Jews under control.

So the people chose: the life of the innocent was exchanged for the life of the guilty, the Son of God for a notorious criminal, a murderer and insurrectionist.

Barabbas’ sins went unpunished while Jesus would be punished for sins not His own.

The people chose perpetual slavery rather than accept their Redeemer. 

And the One to whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father willingly submitted to the hands of evil men.

The innocent was condemned as guilty, so that, we who are guilty will be declared innocent.

The Jews and Gentiles were united in His condemnation and death just as, through faith in Him, we can be united in His life and glory.

John Calvin wrote, “That the Son of God was reduced so low none can properly remember without the deepest horror, and displeasure with themselves, and detestation of their own crimes. But hence also arises no ordinary ground of confidence; for Christ was sunk into the depths of shame, that he might obtain for us, by his humiliation, an ascent to the heavenly glory: he was reckoned worse than a criminal, that he might admit us to the society of the angels of God.”

And that is the great irony, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This is the gospel, the Good News, that God, in Christ, exchanged the righteous for the unrighteous, the sinless for the sinful. Jesus willingly took our place, the condemnation that we justly deserve for our sin, he bore Himself because he loves us that much.

16For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

Amen.