Who Do You Choose?

Secular -

There was a study that asked the question, “What is the most dangerous group of people on the planet?”

Most people answered: angry sports fans, internet commenters, or political rallies. But the study concluded it’s actually parents on a Little League soccer sideline when the referee makes one bad call.

It’s an odd phenomenon how quickly a room full of logical, polite adults can turn into an angry mob? Put us in a group, throw in a little peer pressure, and suddenly all common sense goes right out the window! We are going to look at an angry mob in our scripture today.

Historical/Cultural Context -

This Gospel is written by Matthew, also known as Levi who was a former tax collector. It was most likely written between AD 50-60. Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish believers—people who knew the Old Testament well. Matthew had one goal: to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Connecting the Old Testament prophecies to the life of Christ, proving that every word God spoke was coming true in Jesus. The key themes of the Gospel include Jesus as King, The Kingdom of Heaven, Fulfillment of Prophecy and discipleship.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 27:15–34 NKJV

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 Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - While the world caves to pressure and compromise, Jesus embraced the full pain of the cross to secure our full forgiveness.

Life Point- Don’t Let the Crowd Dictate Your Convictions.

Exegetical -

Matthew 27:15–25 BSB

Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. So when the crowd had assembled, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.” But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they replied. “What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!” “Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “You bear the responsibility.” All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

Homiletical -

There is a lot going on in this scripture so we are going to break it down a little bit.

Remember last time we were together we talked about Jesus coming before Pilate now we will see what happens next.

So the governor decides, since he find no fault in Jesus to bring him before the crowd of the Jews to see what they would have done with him.

So, as is his custom he brings out a vagabond. An evil man who incites riots. A man who lived by the sword. Remember Jesus said those who live by the sword, die by the sword when Peter lopped off the Roman soldiers ear.

What is interesting is that the name Barabbas translates to “son of the father.” He is known in some translations as Jesus Barabbas.

Barabbas goals were to overthrow the Roman occupation with violence.

Jesus’ goal was to forgive sins through His blood.

These two goals are diametrically opposed to one another.

Remember we said before that the ends don’t always justify the means if we do things contrary to the Word of God.

Barabbas was a false Messiah, a false Christ. Yet the people will choose him over the true Christ.

So Pilate brings them both out and says, which one do you want. Now he is thinking they will take Jesus who is a just man, a righteous man over Barabbas.

But those nasty leaders of Israel stir up the crowd against Jesus.

So Pilate tries to appeal to their moral compass. Asking what shall he do with Jesus the just man. Well the crowd is stirred up and want Jesus crucified.

We see this throughout history. You get one person alone and you can talk sense into them. However, if you get a crowd together you can stir them into a frenzy where no one can talk sense into them.

Don’t be stirred up in any situation by anyone in your life. Go to God in prayer about your situations and study The Word of God. See what God would have you do.

But pastor I don’t want to forgive, they hurt me. God says show forgiveness. That don’t mean be a doormat but it means you forgive on the inside of you.

Vengeance is God’s and He will repay. We have heard that many times, but God I want to take revenge. Well too bad because it aint yours to take.But God you take too long and they could repent and then nothing could happen to them. It don’t matter it aint yours to take!

Let God be God and you just trust God.

He is sitting on the Judgement seat and His wife, who we know was a convert to Judaism at this point from historical accounts, has a dream and tells him to leave Jesus alone because He is righteous.

Speaking of His wife, she came to Judaism and then after Jesus resurrection we know from Historical accounts that she became a Christian.

So now Pilate is seriously trying to persuade them and it just aint happening. He asks why? and “What evil has He done?” But you see he is dealing with a stirred up mob. Mobs don’t care about being persuaded they usually just want evil and destruction. So what do they do? The yell even louder to crucify Him.

There is a Jewish tradition or law that if you find a foreigner dead outside your gates and no one knows who killed him the elders of those places are supposed to take a bowl of water and ceremonially wash their hands before the people, showing that they are clean of this crime.

So, taking a page from the Jews that is what Pilate does. To again show that Jesus is innocent.

So does that make Pilate absolved for his role in this matter? No, of course not. He still hold responsibility before God for allowing this to take place, even though it was God’s ultimate will for Jesus.

The people respond let His blood be on us and our progeny. Folks I am about say something controversial. It is because of what happens here to Jesus that the Jews continue to struggle even to this day. They have had it bad and that hate against them is still under the surface. They have, unfortunately, been hated for various reasons throughout history. I believe that since the crucifixion this is part of the reason why.

What can we learn here?

Don’t let yourself be manipulated whether individually or from within a crowd of people. There are those in power, even to this day, that will try to stir up a crowd so that they can get what they want.

The Jewish leaders got what they wanted, even to their own detriment.

Illustration -

Back in the 1950s, a psychologist named Solomon Asch conducted an experiment on peer pressure. He put a single subject in a room full of actors. He held up a card with one line on it, and another card with three lines of different lengths, and asked the group to identify which lines matched. But Asch secretly instructed all the actors to confidently pick the wrong line.

Roughly 75% of the real subjects went along with the group and gave the wrong answer at least once, even though their own eyes told them it was a lie. Why? Because the pressure of the crowd is heavy. That is exactly what happened in Pilate’s courtyard. The religious leaders seeded the crowd, the pressure mounted, and the people yelled, "Crucify Him!" against all logic. We have to be a people who are grounded in the Word of God, not swayed by the roar of the crowd.

Life Point - The Ripple Effect of Compromise.

Exegetical -

Matthew 27:26–28 BSB

So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.

Homiletical -

So Pilate to appease the people… Why was he trying to appease them? Because he would be held accountable before Rome if a riot breaks out. So he fears the repercussions if he acts against the wishes of the mob.

So instead of crucifying Jesus he has Him flogged and then crucified. All in an effort to stave off a riot.

Jon Courson responds to these events like this, “We know from the other Gospels that the scourging Pilate ordered was his attempt to incite some kind of compassion for Jesus in the hearts of the Jews. Scourging was brutal. It was done with a Roman instrument of torture called a “flagellum”—a whip made of twelve or thirteen leather thongs. Lead balls were attached to the ends of these thongs, and pieces of glass and metal were embedded between the lead balls and the handle. The accused would be tied by his wrists and dangled about a foot off the ground, rendering him helpless to protect himself in any way. Then the beating would begin—usually thirty-nine lashes. The first blows would cause welts to form on his shoulders and back. By the seventh or eighth blow, the glass would begin to cut open these large welts, not only reducing the back to the consistency of hamburger, but also exposing the internal organs. At the end of the beating, the accused would be cut down and he would fall to the ground where he would lay in a pool of his own blood.”

“Most men died under the beating of the flagellum. But Jesus, of course, did not die here. Soldiers stood Him up, brought Him out, and presented Him to the crowd. “Behold the Man,” Pilate said (according to John 19:5) as if to say, “Look at this Man. Isn’t this enough?”

The humiliation doesn’t stop there it keeps going as they put a scarlet robe on him after they stripped him bare. This would have caused all those open cuts to dry to the robe as they began to mock Him.

Folks we learn from this passage that we are responsible for our own actions. Your choices have consequences that don’t just effect you. They effect everyone around you, which in turn effects everyone around them.

Pilate’s actions affected Jesus which in turn affected the soldiers choices and it goes on and on. Ultimately it affects what you do with Jesus in your personal life. Will you continue to surrender to Jesus’ will or will you go your own way?

Illustration -

When a dam is cracking under the pressure of a massive flood, you can't fix it with a piece of duct tape to simply "appease" the rushing water. But that’s exactly what Pilate tried to do. He knew Jesus was innocent. But instead of standing firm on justice, he tried a horrific half-measure: "I'll just have Him scourged and maybe the crowd will be satisfied."

But compromise never satisfies the enemy; it only emboldens him. Pilate’s choice to compromise didn't just affect him. It gave a green light to the soldiers’ cruelty, it subjected Jesus to unimaginable physical trauma, and it forever etched Pilate's name in history as a coward. When we compromise our convictions just to keep the peace at work, in our families, or in our communities, it always creates a ripple effect of collateral damage.

Life Point - He Endured the Full Pain for Your Full Pardon.

Exegetical -

Matthew 27:29–34 BSB

And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly. After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him. Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

Homiletical -

These thorns weren’t like our sticky burs around here. No these were very long and very painful. They took those thorns and put it on His head with force, causing great pain and discomfort. Stuck a reed in his hand which was as hard as wood would be and mocked Him.

They mocked the king of the Universe. If they didn’t become Christians later in life I wouldn’t want to be them on Judgement day.

But it gets worse they take the staff and beat him on the head where those nasty long thorns are repeatedly. That is going to hurt. Badly.

So now when they get done with their indignity and mockery, they rip that robe off of Him, which would have reopened His wounded back and caused great pain.

Then they took Him to be crucified.

Jesus, along the way, could no longer carry the cross beam for His crucifixion. I would say not considered most men died because of the lashes they received, whereas Jesus didn’t. He kept on keeping on.

So they conscript a guy who was from North Africa who was a Cyrenian. He carries the cross beam instead of Jesus. We find later in historical accounts that Simon becomes a Christian later in life.

Then they come to Golgotha, which means The Place of the skull. Why? Because the hill looked like a skull.

So then they offer him sour wine. Now sour wine had Myrrh in it. Which would dull the pain and act like a narcotic. Jesus tastes this and refuses it.

A couple of things here:

1) Why would they offer Jesus this mixture?

They weren’t being nice, they probably just didn’t want Him to die too quickly. It wouldn’t be much of a crucifixion if he died too quick.

2) Why would Jesus refuse it?

Because He had to experience the full wrath of God on sin in order to atone for sin.

Which also fulfills a prophecy found in Psalm 69:21

Psalm 69:21 NKJV

They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Jesus did all of this, thinking of you. Thinking of me.

Illustration -

Imagine a house catches on fire in the middle of the night. A father rushes into the blazing home to rescue his child. As he carries the child out, burning debris falls on his back. If someone were to say to that father right before he ran in, "Here, take this medication, it will make you numb and sleepy so you won't feel the burns," he would absolutely refuse. Why? Because being numb would compromise the rescue mission. He needed his full faculties, his full strength, and his full awareness to ensure his child made it out alive. He would rather take the full pain than risk losing the child.

That is what Jesus did at Golgotha. The sour wine would have dulled the agony, but Jesus wasn't there to take the easy way out. He was on a rescue mission for you and me. He refused the numbness so He could drink the full cup of God's wrath. He stayed fully awake to the pain, because He was fully committed to you. Are you fully committed to Him?

Life Principle– The world caves to pressure and compromise, Jesus embraced the full pain of the cross to secure our full forgiveness. The Christian doesn’t cave to the world, but stands in stark contrast to the ways of the world.

Call to Action – altar call….