"Delivered to be Crucified" Matthew 27a May 18 2025

Jesus: “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Well, that was all they needed!

The high priest tore his clothes and claimed that Jesus uttered blasphemy

And he turned to the chief priests and the council and asked them, “What is your judgment?”

And they answered, “He deserves death”

Then they spit on him and hit him and mocked him

Then we learned about Peter, who followed Jesus at a distance - and denied Jesus three times

And now we come to Chapter 27

Verses 1-2

Matthew 27:1–2 ESV

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.

(Pray...)

Judas “Repents” and Hangs Himself

The narrative takes us again to Judas

This next section, in my translation, the editors put in a little title: “Judas Hangs Himself”

Many of you are at least somewhat familiar with the fact that Judas felt bad for what he did - and went out and hanged himself

People have debated two main questions about Judas -

Did he repent?

Did he go to heaven?

Let me answer the second question, first - it would seem that he is not in heaven

I wouldn’t normally come out and say that except this verse in John

John 17:12 ESV

While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

As with most people, none of us have a perfect idea of who is going to heaven and who is not

Many of you know the story of Jeffrey Dahmer - a serial killer

Over 13 years, he killed 17 people and was finally caught in 1991

The details of his crimes are way too much for me to go into - they were horrific

He was eventually killed by another inmate in late 1994

Before that event, he had been visited multiple times by a pastor - and he eventually professed a faith in Jesus Christ

He was baptized 6 mos before he was murdered in prison

Was that a real faith? I have no idea

Does the Gospel even allow someone who committed such gruesome and horrifying acts - later, turn to Christ and go to heaven after he dies?

Absolutely

We can never know a man’s heart - that’s all between that person and the Lord

The fact that Dahmer killed people doesn’t look too good - but in the long run, I’ll let God judge him

Only God knows what was in his heart - and God is the only one who is authorized to ultimately judge him

Let’s get back to the first question - did Judas repent?

Absolutely! (Some of you might be confused right now)

Seriously, the Bible says he felt bad for what he did

Let’s look at the text

Verse 3 -

Matthew 27:3–5 ESV

Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.

It says right there that he “changed his mind”

A basic definition of repentance is changing your mind

But there is more than one concept of repentance in the Bible

I preach repentance - it’s one of my favorite concepts

True repentance is changing one’s mind, attitude, and actions

It involves a godly sorrow

Let’s look at this verse in 1 Thess

1 Thessalonians 1:9 ESV

...and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God...

Notice - they turned to God, from idols

[Previous slide] Who did Judas turn to when he changed his mind?

Nowhere does it say he turned to the Lord

Judas changed his mind - and turned to the chief priests and elders

My point is that true repentance involves turning to God and trusting in him

That’s true repentance

Here’s another verse in Acts

Acts 3:19 NLT

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

It couldn’t be more clear

Do we need to repent? Yes, Jesus preached repentance

I recently saw a preacher on the internet - “you don’t need to repent...”

Is repentance necessary for true faith? Absolutely

True faith involves repentance - it involves the part where you forsake your old life

It really means - you agree with God that your old life is not the way, only Jesus is the way

You forsake your old life and turn to Jesus and trust him

It means you finally come to the part that you give up - you realize that your way of doing things - your sinful life is not the answer

That Jesus is the answer

It doesn’t mean that your actions are now perfect - it means that you have a new affection for Jesus

You want to obey him - you hate the sin in your life

Let me put it this way

True faith in Jesus always involves repentance

You can’t tell God that you trust him - but that he shouldn’t expect any change out of you

I can’t marry my wife and turn around and tell her, “Look, don’t expect me to change my ways of being single. I’m gonna do whatever I want to do - and go out with who I want to go out.”

Let me put it this way:

True faith in Jesus always involves repentance

But, repentance doesn’t always involve true faith in Jesus

What do I mean?

If you turn away from your old life - you must always turn to the Lord

The world is full of aging rock stars and Hollywood actors -

Who changed their mind on the drugs and alcohol and party life they once lived

They have forsaken that life - and now live a sober life

But that doesn’t mean they’re all Christians!

You can repent of your old party life because you’re sick of that lifestyle - and turn to Buddhism, or New Age, or Scientology

Do you see my point?

Judas apparently repented of what he did - but instead of turning to the Lord - he turned to the chief priests and elders - then he went out and killed himself

I can’t find where he felt bad and turned to the Lord for forgiveness

To me, that doesn’t sound like a true faith in God

The evidence of a true faith in Jesus is what?

The fruit in their life

If there is no fruit in your life - if you’ve never led a fruitful, faithful life - if you have no desire to lead that sort of life -

Then I’d question if you’re a Christian or not

My sermon is not meant to judge you, or make you feel bad

My sermon is meant for you to examine yourself - and if you have a true faith in Jesus, then there is assurance of your salvation

Jesus Before Pilate

And now we come to the part where Jesus is standing before Pilate, the governor

Pilate: “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus: “You have said so.” The same thing he told the chief priest

He said this to Pilate, but when the chief priests and elders accused him further, he said nothing

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

The narrative of Matthew 27 takes us down some dark corridors, as it takes its eyes off of Jesus

It begins with Pilate

Then it switches to Judas, who hangs himself

Then back to Pilate and the chief priests and elders

As some have suggested, this portion of the narrative has less to do with Jesus on trial than with Pilate, who was in a way, on trial himself

The Jews were seeking to execute Jesus by means of Roman crucifixion - which could be sanctioned only by the governor

This all fell on Pilate

The Jews could bring all the charges they want - but it was Pilate who had to pronounce sentencing

When Jesus claimed to be Messiah - to the Jews, this was blasphemy

The Jews asked Jesus if he was Christ, the Son of God - by giving an affirmative answer, Jesus was blasphemous in their eyes

But Pilate’s question to Jesus was different -

He asked, “Are you the King of the Jews?” To Rome, this was sedition

The Sanhedrin engaged themselves in a bit of a political dance with the Roman empire

To the Jews, Jesus represented a threat to their power

The Jews had already tried to stone him a while back - but now, this was their grand opportunity to have him formally executed by Rome

So they did their best to show that Jesus was a threat to the Roman Empire - which is ridiculous because Jesus never sought that

And really, the Sanhedrin could have cared less about the charge of sedition

They just thought this was a good way to kill Jesus

They were trying to get everyone on their side

Jesus ambiguously answered, “You have said so” when Pilate asked if he was the King of Jews

This could be considered sedition by Rome because Rome could never allow anyone who claimed to be King and possess power on par with Caesar

And then the narrative pauses to tell this story of a criminal called Barabbas

Pilate seems to really be trying to sidestep this issue of crucifying Christ

Especially given the fact that he offers Barabbas as the execution option over this seemingly innocuous Jesus fellow

Verse 18 says that Pilate understood that the Jews were after Jesus based on their envy

And later, his wife tells him to “Have nothing to do with that righteous man” - because she had a disturbing dream

Scholars have suggested that Rome had a tradition, near Jerusalem, that the Roman governor could acquit a criminal

And so, Pilate offers the crowd a choice

By offering Barabbas, Pilate was gambling that they would prefer him, over Jesus and that this would all be settled

Pilate is really reluctant to crucify Jesus

He asks the crowd, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

Who should I set free - the perfect, holy, righteous, Son of God? The Messiah? The Creator of the universe?

Or this no-good criminal, Barabbas?

The contrast between the two is evident - and it is infinite

Let’s continue at verse 20

Notice how the religious leaders influence the crowd in its decision -

Matthew 27:20–23 ESV

Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Any given biblical passage can maintain its integrity and its original meaning - and yet bring out multiple applications

There is an application here that I can never escape

When I read about this story, I see myself in Barabbas

I was a no-good criminal like Barabbas, the rebel - I rebelled against God’s Law

My insurrection was to sin against him - It should have been me up on that cross

My question to you this morning -

Do you see yourself in Barabbas?

Are you aware of your rebellion and insurrection against the one Living God?

Jesus had no business dying on that cross - he should have been released - friends, they should have nailed you and me on that cross

But God had other plans -

Through God’s substitutionary atonement, Jesus took the Father’s wrath for our sins

Even though we were the sinners - we were the ones who deserved death - it was Jesus who took God’s wrath in our place so that we can be made right with the Father

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21

We are saved by grace, through faith

Our faith must be real - and it’s real when we repent of our sins

When we truly repent and when we have a true faith in Jesus -

It becomes evident in the works - and the fruit in our lives

We need to forsake all the things which put Christ on the cross - that’s called repentance

Then we put our faith in Jesus - that means we trust him

But all of this really starts when we recognize our need for Christ

This is what it means to be a Christian

Pilate Delivers Jesus to be Crucified

We end today’s narrative with this - continuing at verse 24

Matthew 27:24–26 ESV

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Close

We have seen a host of players in Matt 27

Pilate

Judas

The chief priests and the elders

Barabbas

All of them have dark stories

All of us have dark pasts

All of these people and all of us are in complete need for Jesus

We are completely hopeless without him

I just read to you where Pilate tried washing his hands of the guilt before leading Jesus to his death

And the people: “Don’t worry - his blood be on us and our children!”

In a sense, his blood is on all of us

Jesus did this because of our sins

But in another sense - it’s his blood that saves us

Our job is to believe in him

To repent of our sinful ways

And place our faith in him

(Pray...)

Communion

(Pick one…)

Matthew 26:26–29 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he com

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