John 18:28-40
Before Pilate
There was a point in Jesus’ ministry when He turned to His disciples and asked, “Who do the people say that I am?” Then He asked them, “Who do you say that I am?” The Jews said Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, claiming to be God when He was just a man. The problem was that Jesus wasn’t lying, He wasn’t just a man, He was and is the God-Man.
But what about you today? Who do you say Jesus is? Who is He really to you? Is He the Christ, the Son of God, your Savior and Lord? Or, are you like the Jews and is He a liar to you?
Jesus is on trial before the Jews, and today we are going to begin looking at His trial before the Romans. And all the while we go through this He is on trial before you. Who do you say that He is? Who is Jesus Christ to you?
Jesus went through 6 trials, but, John does not record all six trials. He records the first one, which took place before Annas, but he only mentions in passing the trials before Caiaphas in verse 24 and the Sanhedrin in verse 28. These are recorded in the other Gospels, and these three were the religious trials before the Jews. In verse 28 John shows Jesus now being brought by the Jews to the Romans. There will be another set of 3 trials. First Pilate, then Herod (not mentioned by John), and then Pilate again. These are the civil trials
Verse 28 says that the Jews brought Jesus to the Roman Governor. That would be Pontius Pilate. The Roman Governor of Judea permanently stayed in Caesarea, which is north of Jerusalem about 50 miles on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. But, during the Passover Feast the Jews could be very rambunctious, and need a little more supervision, for this reason it was customary for Pilate to come down and stay in Jerusalem with extra military detachments. When in Jerusalem, Pilate would take over and stay in one of the palace’s that Herod built. This is the palace that verse 28 is talking about. It is the temporary place where the Roman Governor stayed when he was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.
Religious Hypocrisy (v28)
First of all notice the Religious Hypocrisy in verse 28 (read v28). In order for a Jew to eat the Passover they had to be totally clean – ceremonially. In other words, they could not have violated any of the rituals of God’s law, or the tradition of the elders. The Jews didn’t want to become ceremonially unclean by stepping into a Gentile’s home. To be ceremonially unclean meant to have violated some ritual law, not some moral law.
While they were so concerned about violating a ritual they weren’t the least bit concerned about the illegal murder of their own Messiah they were committing. That’s what hypocrisy does – it makes a person present themselves as religious and concerned about the things of God, but, in reality they only care about their own agenda. They don’t live by God’s rules, instead they live by their own. They know how to present themselves to others to appear religious.
Jesus gave a scathing rebuke of their hypocrisy many times. One instance is in Mark 7:6-9. Religious Hypocrisy is when you know how to talk the talk, but you don’t walk the walk. It is when you know all the right things to say, but, you don’t do the right things. It’s when you are religious on the outside, but, you are repulsive on the inside. It’s when you have rituals but you are not right before God.
Another example is found in Matthew 23. Jesus lambastes the Pharisees with the famous “Woe’s”. Seven times He says, “Woe to you, Pharisees!”, and then He details their hypocrisy and corruption. In six of the seven instances Jesus says “Woe to you”, he calls them hypocrites in the same sentence (v13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29).
One author rails against them and says, “Woe unto you priests, scribes and elders, hypocrites! Can there be any roof so unclean as that of your own breasts? Not Pilate’s walls, but your own hearts, are impure. Is murder your errand, and do you stop at a local infection? God shall smite you, ye white walls! Do you long to be stained with blood – with the blood of God? And do you fear to be defiled with the touch of Pilate’s pavement? Does so small a gnat stick in your throats, while you swallow such a camel of severe wickedness? Go out from Jerusalem, you false believers, if you would not be unclean! Pilate has more cause to fear , lest his walls should be defiled with the presence of of such monsters of iniquity.”
Each of us ought to be very careful not to be hypocrites. Let us not become Christian “Actors”. Psalm 51:6 says, “You desire truth in the inner parts”. Let us be sincere and genuine. Let truth be in our innermost being.
Roman Death (v29-32)
Next we see the Roman Death in verses 29-32 (read passage).
Now notice a little antagonism between Pilate and the Jews. Pilate asks them what are the charges? By asking this, Pilate formally opens the trial of Jesus. They get a little rude and condescending towards Pilate, “Look Pilate, if he weren’t a criminal we wouldn’t have brought him to you.” What they wanted was for Pilate to just rubber stamp their decision and have Jesus executed. They wanted what they wanted now and they wanted Pilate to give it to them and not ask any questions.
Then Pilate says back to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law”. Now Pilate knows they want to kill Jesus. The only cases that come to him from the Jews are capital cases. Some commentators suggest that Pilate was mocking them for not having the authority to execute anyone and having to ask the Romans to do it for them. “Well why don’t you guys go and execute Him? Oh, that’s right, you can’t. You have to come to me for that because I rule over you.”
The Jews lost the right to execute anyone in 6AD. That was the year that the first Roman Governor was assigned to Judea. The Jews from that point on could not carry out death sentences on their own because the Romans prohibited them from doing so. This was standard policy for the Romans in all the territories they ruled. This was to prevent the people of those territories who may be resentful of Rome’s occupation of them from executing people who were loyal to Rome.
So the Jews for 27 years had not been legally allowed to execute anyone. They had to have the Romans do it for them. Now this is very important. Not because it makes for drama, but, it makes for fulfilled prophecy. Verse 32 says, “This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.”
What does that mean? John is reminding us of what Jesus said earlier on multiple occassions. In 3:14, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up”. Then in 8:28, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be..” And again in 12:32, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” Then John explains in the next verse, “He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” But Jesus wasn’t saying anything new about His death. Psalm 22 predicted long, long ago that He would be crucified when it says, “They have pierced my hands and my feet”. And in Zechariah 12 it says about the Jewish people, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn…”
Jesus’ death was going to happen by being lifted up – by being crucified. Something that was prophecied about a long time ago. This is important when you realize that the Jewish way of executing someone was to thrown them down to the ground and stone them. If the Jews didn’t need the Romans to put Jesus to death He would have been stoned already because stoning was what the Jews did.
But the Scriptures said that Jesus must be crucified. Why? Because it is the most shameful and disgraceful way to die. Roman citizens were not allowed to be crucified. It was reserved for the lowest and most vile criminals. The only way a Roman citizen could be crucified is if he was guilty of high treason against the Emperor. Philippians 2:8 says about Jesus, “Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” The Jews believed that anyone who was crucified was cursed. Dueteronomy 21:23 says, “Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree”.
Jesus Christ died the most shameful, humiliating and disgraceful death by being nailed to a tree. There He was not only cursed but He became the curse of sin for us. Galatians 3:15 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’”
Man you are under a curse if you are not under the blood of Jesus Christ. The curse is on you if you are in your sins. But if you are in Christ then the curse fell on Him for you. Cursed is the one who hung on the cross so that the curse might be lifted from you! Now believe in Him. Now look to Him. Now see Him there lifted up bearing your curse in His own body. Now see that He can lift the curse off you that is on you for your sin.
Royal Kingdom (v33-36)
Next Pilate is going to take Jesus in and talk to Him privately. Unlike Jewish law, Roman law allowed the accused to be questioned. His question, “Are you the king of the Jews” Pilate may have been trying to determine if Jesus was leading a rebellion against the Roman Empire in Judea. Was Jesus a political threat to Rome’s presence in Judea?
Jesus responds by saying “Is that your own idea or did others tell you about me?” In other words, “As governor, have you ever heard that I tried to overthrow the Roman power? Has it ever been reported to you that I proclaimed myself a King who would undermine Caesar’s empire? Is this a charge which you know by personal experience, or is it just what you have heard these Jews saying?”
Jesus has turned down being king already. In 6:15 the Jews wanted to make Him their king when he fed the 5,000 miraculously and He turned them down.
Peter tried to defend Jesus and Jesus rebuked him.
Furthermore, He taught the Jews to pay their taxes. Even though the Jews accused Him in front of Pilate of refusing to pay taxes to Caesar, it is Jesus who said, “Give to God what is God’s and give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”.
Jesus did not come to save Israel politically by overthrowing the Roman Empire. He came to save the Jews spiritually by overthrowing sin and death and the devil by His death on the cross.
Now, As the Christ, He is the true King of the Jews, but, His kingdom will not be established and He will not function as King of the Jews until His 2nd Advent, when He reigns on the earth for 1000 years.
Notice that Jesus says in verse 36, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Jesus’ point is that His kingdom does not originate from this world, but, from somewhere else. His kingdom is one that will come from heaven and with the authority of heaven. His kingdom will be given to Him by His Father in heaven, not by man (6:15) and not by Satan (Mth 4:1-11).
This kingdom is described in Daniel 7:14, “Christ was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” This kingdom is a forever kingdom. It is an indestructible kingdom.
As a matter of fact, it will destroy the kingdom on the earth that exists before it. This kingdom that Christ sets up will be a kingdom that destroys the kingdom before it. Daniel 2:44-45 says, “....(turn there and read)……”
Daniel’s vision showed the kingdom that would be set up by God and crush all the kingdoms that were in existence on the earth. Then that kingdom, set up by God and not by man, will last forever. This is the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is the kingdom of Psalm 2 when God says, “You will rule the nations with an iron sceptre, you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
Revelation 20 tells us that this kingdom of Christ’s will be on the earth for 1,000 years and it will be established after He returns and ends the 7 year Tribulation on the earth.
Colossians 1:13 says, “For God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves”. This is telling us that we have a new authority – no longer Satan, but Christ. We have a new master, a new rule by which we live by. We have a new citizenship even though we still live in this world that is dominated by Satan, we are citizens and members of a new kingdom that is coming from heaven.
Revelation of Truth (v37-38a)
Pilate was frustrated and cynical in verse 38 when he says, “What is truth?” What Pilate didn’t know was that truth was looking him straight in the eye. Jesus is Revealed Truth. He says in verse 37, “You are right in saying that I am a king. If fact, for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
The reason Jesus came into the world was to testify to the truth. He came to make the truth known. He is the way the TRUTH and the life (14:6). If you know Him then you know the truth and the truth will set you free (8:32). In Him is the truth of God. The truth about man’s sinfulness is told by Jesus. No lie was found in His mouth Isaiah 53 says.
Jesus says to Pilate, “Everyone one the side of truth listens to me.” If a person wants truth they will listen to Jesus Christ. If a person does not want the truth they will not listen to Him. Do you want the truth? If you do then you will listen to Jesus Christ.
Receiving the Wrong Man (v38-40)
I will close with the last couple verses. First of all, Pilate says “I find no basis for a charge against Him”. He says this at least 3 times throughout this trial. Pilate is convinced that Jesus is innocent. So, not wanting to condemn an innocent man and hopefully deflect the Jews, he offers to release to them a prisoner. This was a custom at each Passover where the Governor would let a prisoner go whom the Jews chose. Pilate hoped that if he presented someone who was as bad as Barabbus – a man who was guilty of insurrection and murder – that surely the Jews would rather have Jesus released to them. He was wrong.
The leaders stoked the crowd more and more and they all cried that Barabbas would be released. Pilate’s plan backfired.
The Jews had the choice between the Son of God and a murderer. They had the choice between the innocent One and the one who was guilty. They had a choice between a sinner and the sinless One. They rejected Jesus. They chose Barabbus.
Do you know that that same choice is being made today? Everyone must choose between the sinless One, Jesus Christ, and the sinner. But the sinner today is not Barabbas. People today must choose to accept Jesus Christ or themselves. If a man rejects Jesus Christ, he chooses his own way – he chooses himself over Christ. He chooses the sinner over the sinless One.
Don’t choose condemn the sinless One and free yourself! Choose Christ today! Choose to confess that you are that sinner, that today you are Barabbas and today do not reject Christ but condemn yourself and receive Christ! Believe that He is the sinless One who died for your sins and let Him set you free!
Before Pilate
There was a point in Jesus’ ministry when He turned to His disciples and asked, “Who do the people say that I am?” Then He asked them, “Who do you say that I am?” The Jews said Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, claiming to be God when He was just a man. The problem was that Jesus wasn’t lying, He wasn’t just a man, He was and is the God-Man.
But what about you today? Who do you say Jesus is? Who is He really to you? Is He the Christ, the Son of God, your Savior and Lord? Or, are you like the Jews and is He a liar to you?
Jesus is on trial before the Jews, and today we are going to begin looking at His trial before the Romans. And all the while we go through this He is on trial before you. Who do you say that He is? Who is Jesus Christ to you?
Jesus went through 6 trials, but, John does not record all six trials. He records the first one, which took place before Annas, but he only mentions in passing the trials before Caiaphas in verse 24 and the Sanhedrin in verse 28. These are recorded in the other Gospels, and these three were the religious trials before the Jews. In verse 28 John shows Jesus now being brought by the Jews to the Romans. There will be another set of 3 trials. First Pilate, then Herod (not mentioned by John), and then Pilate again. These are the civil trials
Verse 28 says that the Jews brought Jesus to the Roman Governor. That would be Pontius Pilate. The Roman Governor of Judea permanently stayed in Caesarea, which is north of Jerusalem about 50 miles on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. But, during the Passover Feast the Jews could be very rambunctious, and need a little more supervision, for this reason it was customary for Pilate to come down and stay in Jerusalem with extra military detachments. When in Jerusalem, Pilate would take over and stay in one of the palace’s that Herod built. This is the palace that verse 28 is talking about. It is the temporary place where the Roman Governor stayed when he was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.
Religious Hypocrisy (v28)
First of all notice the Religious Hypocrisy in verse 28 (read v28). In order for a Jew to eat the Passover they had to be totally clean – ceremonially. In other words, they could not have violated any of the rituals of God’s law, or the tradition of the elders. The Jews didn’t want to become ceremonially unclean by stepping into a Gentile’s home. To be ceremonially unclean meant to have violated some ritual law, not some moral law.
While they were so concerned about violating a ritual they weren’t the least bit concerned about the illegal murder of their own Messiah they were committing. That’s what hypocrisy does – it makes a person present themselves as religious and concerned about the things of God, but, in reality they only care about their own agenda. They don’t live by God’s rules, instead they live by their own. They know how to present themselves to others to appear religious.
Jesus gave a scathing rebuke of their hypocrisy many times. One instance is in Mark 7:6-9. Religious Hypocrisy is when you know how to talk the talk, but you don’t walk the walk. It is when you know all the right things to say, but, you don’t do the right things. It’s when you are religious on the outside, but, you are repulsive on the inside. It’s when you have rituals but you are not right before God.
Another example is found in Matthew 23. Jesus lambastes the Pharisees with the famous “Woe’s”. Seven times He says, “Woe to you, Pharisees!”, and then He details their hypocrisy and corruption. In six of the seven instances Jesus says “Woe to you”, he calls them hypocrites in the same sentence (v13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29).
One author rails against them and says, “Woe unto you priests, scribes and elders, hypocrites! Can there be any roof so unclean as that of your own breasts? Not Pilate’s walls, but your own hearts, are impure. Is murder your errand, and do you stop at a local infection? God shall smite you, ye white walls! Do you long to be stained with blood – with the blood of God? And do you fear to be defiled with the touch of Pilate’s pavement? Does so small a gnat stick in your throats, while you swallow such a camel of severe wickedness? Go out from Jerusalem, you false believers, if you would not be unclean! Pilate has more cause to fear , lest his walls should be defiled with the presence of of such monsters of iniquity.”
Each of us ought to be very careful not to be hypocrites. Let us not become Christian “Actors”. Psalm 51:6 says, “You desire truth in the inner parts”. Let us be sincere and genuine. Let truth be in our innermost being.
Roman Death (v29-32)
Next we see the Roman Death in verses 29-32 (read passage).
Now notice a little antagonism between Pilate and the Jews. Pilate asks them what are the charges? By asking this, Pilate formally opens the trial of Jesus. They get a little rude and condescending towards Pilate, “Look Pilate, if he weren’t a criminal we wouldn’t have brought him to you.” What they wanted was for Pilate to just rubber stamp their decision and have Jesus executed. They wanted what they wanted now and they wanted Pilate to give it to them and not ask any questions.
Then Pilate says back to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law”. Now Pilate knows they want to kill Jesus. The only cases that come to him from the Jews are capital cases. Some commentators suggest that Pilate was mocking them for not having the authority to execute anyone and having to ask the Romans to do it for them. “Well why don’t you guys go and execute Him? Oh, that’s right, you can’t. You have to come to me for that because I rule over you.”
The Jews lost the right to execute anyone in 6AD. That was the year that the first Roman Governor was assigned to Judea. The Jews from that point on could not carry out death sentences on their own because the Romans prohibited them from doing so. This was standard policy for the Romans in all the territories they ruled. This was to prevent the people of those territories who may be resentful of Rome’s occupation of them from executing people who were loyal to Rome.
So the Jews for 27 years had not been legally allowed to execute anyone. They had to have the Romans do it for them. Now this is very important. Not because it makes for drama, but, it makes for fulfilled prophecy. Verse 32 says, “This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.”
What does that mean? John is reminding us of what Jesus said earlier on multiple occassions. In 3:14, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up”. Then in 8:28, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be..” And again in 12:32, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” Then John explains in the next verse, “He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” But Jesus wasn’t saying anything new about His death. Psalm 22 predicted long, long ago that He would be crucified when it says, “They have pierced my hands and my feet”. And in Zechariah 12 it says about the Jewish people, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn…”
Jesus’ death was going to happen by being lifted up – by being crucified. Something that was prophecied about a long time ago. This is important when you realize that the Jewish way of executing someone was to thrown them down to the ground and stone them. If the Jews didn’t need the Romans to put Jesus to death He would have been stoned already because stoning was what the Jews did.
But the Scriptures said that Jesus must be crucified. Why? Because it is the most shameful and disgraceful way to die. Roman citizens were not allowed to be crucified. It was reserved for the lowest and most vile criminals. The only way a Roman citizen could be crucified is if he was guilty of high treason against the Emperor. Philippians 2:8 says about Jesus, “Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” The Jews believed that anyone who was crucified was cursed. Dueteronomy 21:23 says, “Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree”.
Jesus Christ died the most shameful, humiliating and disgraceful death by being nailed to a tree. There He was not only cursed but He became the curse of sin for us. Galatians 3:15 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’”
Man you are under a curse if you are not under the blood of Jesus Christ. The curse is on you if you are in your sins. But if you are in Christ then the curse fell on Him for you. Cursed is the one who hung on the cross so that the curse might be lifted from you! Now believe in Him. Now look to Him. Now see Him there lifted up bearing your curse in His own body. Now see that He can lift the curse off you that is on you for your sin.
Royal Kingdom (v33-36)
Next Pilate is going to take Jesus in and talk to Him privately. Unlike Jewish law, Roman law allowed the accused to be questioned. His question, “Are you the king of the Jews” Pilate may have been trying to determine if Jesus was leading a rebellion against the Roman Empire in Judea. Was Jesus a political threat to Rome’s presence in Judea?
Jesus responds by saying “Is that your own idea or did others tell you about me?” In other words, “As governor, have you ever heard that I tried to overthrow the Roman power? Has it ever been reported to you that I proclaimed myself a King who would undermine Caesar’s empire? Is this a charge which you know by personal experience, or is it just what you have heard these Jews saying?”
Jesus has turned down being king already. In 6:15 the Jews wanted to make Him their king when he fed the 5,000 miraculously and He turned them down.
Peter tried to defend Jesus and Jesus rebuked him.
Furthermore, He taught the Jews to pay their taxes. Even though the Jews accused Him in front of Pilate of refusing to pay taxes to Caesar, it is Jesus who said, “Give to God what is God’s and give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”.
Jesus did not come to save Israel politically by overthrowing the Roman Empire. He came to save the Jews spiritually by overthrowing sin and death and the devil by His death on the cross.
Now, As the Christ, He is the true King of the Jews, but, His kingdom will not be established and He will not function as King of the Jews until His 2nd Advent, when He reigns on the earth for 1000 years.
Notice that Jesus says in verse 36, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Jesus’ point is that His kingdom does not originate from this world, but, from somewhere else. His kingdom is one that will come from heaven and with the authority of heaven. His kingdom will be given to Him by His Father in heaven, not by man (6:15) and not by Satan (Mth 4:1-11).
This kingdom is described in Daniel 7:14, “Christ was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” This kingdom is a forever kingdom. It is an indestructible kingdom.
As a matter of fact, it will destroy the kingdom on the earth that exists before it. This kingdom that Christ sets up will be a kingdom that destroys the kingdom before it. Daniel 2:44-45 says, “....(turn there and read)……”
Daniel’s vision showed the kingdom that would be set up by God and crush all the kingdoms that were in existence on the earth. Then that kingdom, set up by God and not by man, will last forever. This is the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is the kingdom of Psalm 2 when God says, “You will rule the nations with an iron sceptre, you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
Revelation 20 tells us that this kingdom of Christ’s will be on the earth for 1,000 years and it will be established after He returns and ends the 7 year Tribulation on the earth.
Colossians 1:13 says, “For God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves”. This is telling us that we have a new authority – no longer Satan, but Christ. We have a new master, a new rule by which we live by. We have a new citizenship even though we still live in this world that is dominated by Satan, we are citizens and members of a new kingdom that is coming from heaven.
Revelation of Truth (v37-38a)
Pilate was frustrated and cynical in verse 38 when he says, “What is truth?” What Pilate didn’t know was that truth was looking him straight in the eye. Jesus is Revealed Truth. He says in verse 37, “You are right in saying that I am a king. If fact, for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
The reason Jesus came into the world was to testify to the truth. He came to make the truth known. He is the way the TRUTH and the life (14:6). If you know Him then you know the truth and the truth will set you free (8:32). In Him is the truth of God. The truth about man’s sinfulness is told by Jesus. No lie was found in His mouth Isaiah 53 says.
Jesus says to Pilate, “Everyone one the side of truth listens to me.” If a person wants truth they will listen to Jesus Christ. If a person does not want the truth they will not listen to Him. Do you want the truth? If you do then you will listen to Jesus Christ.
Receiving the Wrong Man (v38-40)
I will close with the last couple verses. First of all, Pilate says “I find no basis for a charge against Him”. He says this at least 3 times throughout this trial. Pilate is convinced that Jesus is innocent. So, not wanting to condemn an innocent man and hopefully deflect the Jews, he offers to release to them a prisoner. This was a custom at each Passover where the Governor would let a prisoner go whom the Jews chose. Pilate hoped that if he presented someone who was as bad as Barabbus – a man who was guilty of insurrection and murder – that surely the Jews would rather have Jesus released to them. He was wrong.
The leaders stoked the crowd more and more and they all cried that Barabbas would be released. Pilate’s plan backfired.
The Jews had the choice between the Son of God and a murderer. They had the choice between the innocent One and the one who was guilty. They had a choice between a sinner and the sinless One. They rejected Jesus. They chose Barabbus.
Do you know that that same choice is being made today? Everyone must choose between the sinless One, Jesus Christ, and the sinner. But the sinner today is not Barabbas. People today must choose to accept Jesus Christ or themselves. If a man rejects Jesus Christ, he chooses his own way – he chooses himself over Christ. He chooses the sinner over the sinless One.
Don’t choose condemn the sinless One and free yourself! Choose Christ today! Choose to confess that you are that sinner, that today you are Barabbas and today do not reject Christ but condemn yourself and receive Christ! Believe that He is the sinless One who died for your sins and let Him set you free!
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