The Innocent for the Guilty

WELCOME:

Members meeting today!

SCRIPTURE READING:

Psalm 99:1–5 NASB95

The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake! The Lord is great in Zion, And He is exalted above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He. The strength of the King loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God And worship at His footstool; Holy is He.

LET US STAND AND WORSHIP!

“The Goodness of God”

Words and Music by Hillsong’

PRAYER OF PRAISE FOR WHO GOD IS

Lord, thank you for your constancy. For never turning Your back on us, for never getting frustrated with us, for forgiving our sins, for allowing us to be part of Your plan. We ask that You would look down upon this gathering of people and fill our hearts with great joy today as we focus on You. Amen!

“What a beautiful Name”

Words and Music by Hillsong

“What a beautiful Name”

Words and Music by Hillsong

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION TO OPEN OUR HEARTS

Lord, give us ears to hear Your voice and eyes to see Your glory. Would you this morning illuminate Your Word and make it known to us? Help us no to make application to others peoples’ lives, but to apply every Word to our own lives. Amen

SERMON

INTRODUCTION:

Last week we talked about Jesus’ trial before the religious leaders and Peter’s trial before Jesus. That is the first trial of Jesus and now Peter moves to the background and Jesus steps into the courtroom to sit before the governor of Judea.

John arranges this section to look just like a court room case. There are the prosecutors, there is a judge, a defendant, a testimony, and then a verdict. And then the final decision of the courtroom is to punish the innocent and free the guilty.

That sounds an awful lot like the gospel, doesn’t it? That’s the intention of this passage. For us to be able to see another snapshot of the gospel, to see ourselves in this passage, to see the glory of Jesus and behold the gospel.

The irony in this case: The Jews are so careful not to violate their own religious observances while ignoring the major sin in their own hearts

John 18:28 NASB95

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

Explanation:

The Praetorium was the governors headquarter inside of Jerusalem. It was the place where the governor would stay when he came to town. And primarily he would come during festivals like these when the population swelled and visitors came from all over to keep the peace.

The governor had a residence there because Judea was under Roman rule. And Romans were Gentiles which rally bothers the Jews because here are God’s people being ruled by Gentiles whom they considered filthy idol worshipers and one reason they rejected Jesus because they wanted Him to set them free from this Roman rule and make Israel a free nation once again!

These Jews did not enter into the Praetorium because it was a Gentiles dwelling place. And if a were to enter into the house of a Gentile they would become ritually unclean and jot be able to eat the Passover.

Here is the crazy part: there is no law in the OT that forbids Jews from entering into the house of a Gentile and becoming unclean.

However according to Jewish traditions (rules made up by men) they could not enter into a Gentiles house because it was possible that they may come into contact with something that would defile them

Point: The Jews are terribly worried about violating laws that they had created, while completely ignoring the great sin in their heart to put an innocent man to death.

What good will it do for them to take all the precautions to make everything on the outside of their bodies look morally clean while disregarding the sin on the inside?

Ritual purity:

Wash your hands

Take a bath

Do not enter a Gentile’s home or you may become defiled

But if you want to kill and innocent man, by using the most cruel form of capital punishment available, have at it.

Jesus said this of the Pharisees

Matthew 23:24–26 NASB95

“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

See these Jews had it all backwards. Their concern was only about what was on the outside. If they make the outside clean, then that is really all that matters!

They were so spiritually blind could not see the obvious massive sin that was lurking in their heart and driving their entire lives.

Church what a word of caution for us.

To become so focused on the little things in our lives that are trivial compared to the bigger hidden things in our hearts. To make Christianity all about the religious ceremonies: church, giving, while completley ignoring everything in our hearts.

It is in the heart where the gospel must begin. It does not begin with what is on the outside. Let me clean this up in my life and clean that up in my life and I will eventually have it all together and look lime everyone else.

No the gospel must begin in the heart. The very will and desires of man must be changed first, and then real lasting change will come because of that. One must first be transformed in his thinking and be willing to give up his own rights to this life and come under the yoke of Jesus before any real change will take place, and then what is on the outside will become clean.

The prosecutors: The Jews who are seeking the death penalty

John 18:29–32 NASB95

Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.

Explanation:

First of all we are introduced to Pilate who serves as the judge in this case. He will ultimately be the one who decides the fate of Jesus an d we will see that in chapter 19. But he is also the middle man here who walks back and forth from Jesus to the Jews trying to resolve this case.

Notice the first thing Pilate asks for: “What accusations do you bring against this man”. That is: what has He done that you would bring him into court today? Give me the charges and the laws that He broke.

And their answer is not a specific charge, but that on the basis of their word that this man is an evildoer.

Now that’s not how court rooms operate. There must be charges, accusations, as to the laws he broke, but they have none.

But the point is not that we know what Jesus has done, but thy we see the motives of the prosecutors: “we are not permitted to put anyone to death”

The Jews were not just interested in punishing Jesus. They were not just interested in killing Jesus. They could have done done that themselves. In fact they picked up stones to stone Jesus themselves in John chapter 10.

No they wanted something more than a stoning here. They wanted Jesus executed publicly, shamefully, and to inflict the most amount of torture they could upon Him. That’s why they needed Pilate.

But this was not just as a result of the evil in their hearts, but also the way that God had ordained it:

(v 32) “to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die”

HERE IS THE THING: IT HAD TO BE DEATH ON A CROSS BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GOD SAID IT WOULD BE!

And this prophetic announcement of Jesus dying on a cross does not just begin when Jesus says that’s the way it will be, but it goes all the way back to the book of Exodus in the OT. Let’s look at a few verses that give us specifics about Jesus’ death:

None of the bones of the sacrificial lamb could be broken :

Exodus 12:46 “It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it.

John tells us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And when this Passover Lamb was first instituted, these were the rules. And crucifixion’s primary means of inflicting death was asphyxiation.

The Messiah had to be pierced

Zechariah 12:10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced”

Piercing was very common in Roman executions to confirm one’s death at the end.

The story of the bronze serpent in the wilderness was a pattern or a shadow of things to come

Numbers 21:9 “And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”

John 3:14–15 ““As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”

By including the Romans with the Jews in Jesus death, the world becomes responsible for Jesus’ death.

1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Jesus’ death is not just about the Jews who put Him on the cross, but it was the sin of the whole world that put Jesus on the cross.

Because cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree and Jesus became accursed for us.

Deuteronomy 21:23 “his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God)”

Gal 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—

Application:

Isn’t the Bible simply amazing? There is not another book like it. You will never read anything that will be so beneficial for your life.

If you doubt Jesus is real, read the Bible!

If you lack faith in God, read the Bible!

God does what God says what He says He will do and if we want to know what’s comes, then read the Bible, not the newspaper, not the these guys who claim to know the future, who are modern day prophets…not science. Its what God says that we can bank on!

It’s God that is in control of this world, not man.

The defendant: A King from another kind of kingdom

John 18:33–36 NASB95

Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

Explanation:

Jesus is summoned to the witness stand:

Pilate as the interrogator begins asking Jesus questions and the first one is: “Are you the king of the Jews?” And the reason Pilate is asking this question is because Pilate’s primary concern is for an insurrection to take place, a police to uprising especially during Passover and then he get into more trouble from the Roman emperor.

Jesus’ answer implies a “yes” but then He says, “My kingdom is not of this world”.

What Pilate has in mind is an earthly kingdom with territory and a palace and soldiers and power. The kingdom of God is about the rule of Christ in men’s hearts.

Jesus is not interested in consuming territories and taking over countries like our earthly leaders.

Jesus is interested in spiritually transforming people’s hearts, and changing their ways of thinking and the way that they live.

He is not saying His kingdom is in some distant place in fairy land, for Jesus Himself said in Matthew 12:28 “the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

The Kingdom of God is a Spirtual kingdom led by a Spirtual King that is not visible in terms of worldly things, but is clear when you look at those who are living in it, bc they live according to God’s truth:

John 18:37–38 NASB95

Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”

“Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice”

Now I like the way the NIV words this: “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37, NIV)

See you can know who is in the Kingdom of God because they side with what is true according to God. They not only verbally side, but their lives line up with God’s truth.

These are the people who “listen to Jesus”

Obedience to Jesus is a mark of people who live in the kingdom of God.

If you are here today and you wonder what kingdom you are a part of, what you do and what you believe and how you live will show you.

If you side with God’s truth and listen to Jesus you are in the Kingdom of God and if you side with the world’s system of how to live this life you are outside the Kingdom of God

The verdict: the innocent punished and the guilty set free

John 18:38–40 (NASB95)

And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him. “But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.

Explanation:

Pilate now knows that Jesus is not guilty. So he heads back out to the Jews to try to mitigate the whole thing and possible get Jesus off the hook by taking two prisoners and bringing them out and presenting them to the people and offering a pardon to one of them.

First there is Jesus, the one currently on trial. His prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Pilate has interrogated Him and cannot find any guilt in Him. Not guilty of any crime according to the judge, certainly not guilty of anything deserving death like a Roman crucifixion.

And then we have Barabbas. And Barabbas is a well known criminal. Obviously he has been in trouble a lot. John says here that Barabbas is a robber. Matthew says he is a notorious prisoner. Peter says in the book of Acts he was a murderer! Are they all confused? No I’d say Barabbas has done all of that and probably more!

This is the guy whose mugshot keeps popping up on social media and the whole town says “there he goes again”. What has he done this time. They need to throw him under the jail! Why dot hey keep letting him out. And you read 300 comments under the post like that.

Now Pilate has a great plan, because you have Jesus who has helped people for three years, taught truth, demonstrated love, compassion, done many great things form the people.

And then you have Barabbas who is a menace to society whom no one likes.

And you would think surely they will choose to let Jesus go and not a let a criminal go free and roam the streets again….BUT no they choose Barabbas to be set free

They choose to prosecute the innocent and let the guilty go free

This is another snap-shop of the gospel

We are the guilty man: Barabbas, standing before the judge who knows all of our crimes, all of our rebellion, and absolutely deserve the punishment for our deeds.

But standing there next to us is Jesus who is the innocent man who has done no wrong. The only One who lived a perfect, sinless life.

And one of these must be punished because sitting in front of the judge is a list of charges a mile and half long. And in the Most High court room justice must be served! A righteous Judge cannot just overlook crime that has been commited.

But why the death penalty? Why such a cruel punishment?

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death”

The great news of the gospel is that the innocent takes the punishment for the guilty. That’s what Jesus did for us.

Bridge:

The gospel is more than just a fairy tale that the Son of God died for our sins. It has a reason behind why Jesus had to die…. It makes sense!

That is because salvation is a legal issue. Just as one goes into a court room before the world’s judges when he breaks the law, so all of humanity will stand before the Judge of the World because he has broken God’s law.

Revelation 20:11–12 NASB95

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

How will God judge the earth?

He will judge us according to what we have done in this life according to His Laws not our own.

Who then will ever be able to stand before this Judge and say i have broken none of your Laws God!

NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON

Thats why the substitutionary atonement of Jesus is necessary for us to saved.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB95

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

CONCLUSION:

Now I want to circle back around to the first point in this message and close with it.

Remember the Jews who brought Jesus to Pilate. They were so worried about becoming ritually unclean by entering the house of a Gentile yet at the same time completely unbothered by the massive sin in their heart of plotting Jesus’ death.

They were blind to their sin..

And that is where the gospel must begin with us. If we do not see our own sin for what it really is, if we do not see ourselves as Barabbas, the notorious criminal who has commited every crime in the book and is awaiting judgement then we will never truly see the need to come to Jesus and be saved.

Most of the world will not be save because the world does not see what they need to be saved from. They cannot see their sin. They cannot see their transgressions. They cannot see the righteousness of Jesus in contrast to their sinfulness. They cannot see the judgment that will put the fear of God in us.

But if you can see your sin problem, then you can see your need of a Savior.

Jesus said this: John 3:17 ““For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

~PRAYER~

Business Meeting

Opening Prayer

Reading of last months minutes

Any Questions?

Vote to approve last months minutes

Treasurers Report

Any Questions?

Vote to approve the treasurers report

Unfinished Business

?

New Business

Vote in new members

Any other new business?

Meeting adjourned