[0:00] We will be right on the brink of the crucifixion. He is being led away. We have not yet come to that point, but we are finding judgment being passed.
[0:12] This morning we see the final judgment of the king in Matthew chapter 27, verses 11 through 26. We will go back and read verses 1 and 2 of the 27th chapter.
[0:24] So if you are physically able and desire to do so, I'm going to ask if you would join with me as we stand together and we read the word of God, we will read verses 1 and 2, and then we will go down to verse 11. If you remember, verses 3 through 10 deals specifically with Judas Iscariot, his brokenheartedness, if you will, his being upset, his remorse, his casting of the coins, and eventually his death by his own hand.
[0:51] But here we're done dealing with Judas. We'll come back to Peter later. Now we're focusing on the final judgment of the king. It says, Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put him to death.
[1:06] That's the Sanhedrin. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him to Pilate the governor. Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned him, saying, Are you the king of the Jews?
[1:21] And Jesus said to him, It is as you say. And while he was being accused by the chief priests and the elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?
[1:33] And he did not answer him with regard to even a single charge. So the governor was quite amazed. Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted.
[1:44] And at that time, they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?
[1:57] For he knew that because of envy, they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message saying, Have nothing to do with that righteous man. For last night, I suffered greatly in a dream because of him.
[2:09] But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them, Which of the two do you want me to release for you? And they said, Barabbas.
[2:21] Pilate said to them, Then what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ? And they all said, Crucify him. And he said, Why? What evil has he done? But they kept shouting all the more, saying, Crucify him.
[2:35] And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, I am innocent of this man's blood. Seat that yourselves. And all the people said, His blood shall be on us and on our children.
[2:49] Then he released Barabbas for them. But after having Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this day.
[3:01] Lord Jesus, we thank you for the opportunity we have of gathering as your people to read your word. We pray, O God, that the word of God would penetrate our hearts and minds, that it would remove every distraction, that it would remove every hindrance.
[3:15] And Lord, that it would come to us with clarity and certainty, that it would speak to us as like never before, and that the truth that it proclaims internally to us will become an external reality as to how we live our lives for your glory.
[3:29] We ask that you would have your way in all things, and we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. Amen. The text tells us of the final judgment of the king.
[3:42] He has now been, by the time we finish with the 26th verse, he has been handed over to be crucified. There are matters still to take place. We will see them shortly as they follow in the gospel of Matthew, mainly the mocking and the ridiculing, the twisting together the crown of thorns, the putting it upon his brow, the pressing it in, the clothing helm and scarlet robes.
[4:02] Those things will take place, but they're taking place on the way to crucifixion. We have come now to the last scene of judgment. Somewhere between verses 14 and 15 is when Christ goes to Herod, just so you need to know chronologically.
[4:20] After verse 14, there are some matters which the religious leaders and the Pharisees share with Herod, which Jesus does not respond to, or not Herod, with Pilate, and they find out that he's from Galilee, and so he sends him to Herod, and he goes to Herod, and Herod longed to hear of Jesus because he wanted to see a miracle being done by him because don't many people want an encounter with Christ, not because of who he is, but because of what he can do.
[4:44] And when he would do no miraculous deed, when he would make no miraculous statement, when he would say nothing in his offense, Herod said, I find no guilt in him, and sends him back to Pilate. One thing you need to know, and it's worth noting, that until that day, Pilate and Herod were at odds with one another.
[4:59] As a matter of fact, they were more than at odds. They just didn't like one another. Herod did not like Pilate at all simply because Pilate had issued the killing and slaying of many people in Herod's jurisdiction that kind of superseded Herod's authority, and therefore it upset Herod.
[5:13] But when Christ was sent from Pilate to Herod, all of a sudden, after Herod sends him back, it says from that day on, they became friends. They were reconciled. Isn't it amazing, when we read scripture, how Christ can reconcile even the greatest of enemies?
[5:26] Not only in Herod and Pilate, but we also see it in the Herodians and the Pharisees who would do nothing with one another, but when it came to Christ, they worked with one another.
[5:38] There seems to always be this reconciliation. Even people in their animosity and hatred towards Christ come together, because make no mistake about it, people who are at odds with one another will often come together to oppose the truth.
[5:52] But what we see is the final judgment of the king. And this judgment, my friend, is not judgment upon him, but it is also judgment by him, for this is our judgment, the judgment for our sins.
[6:08] He is absolutely perfect. At none of the trials, at none of the questionings, at none of the examinations, were there any legitimate thoughts found in Christ.
[6:20] Everything was false evidence. Everything was fabricated lies. Everything was fabricated stories. But yet, it is our guilt that he bears.
[6:33] And we stand amazed at this judgment. Some have told me, and I've been told this a couple of times, that I go through my points very quickly. I try to slow down a little bit if I can.
[6:43] I also heard great news this week. It said that if in our bulletins we would just publish that we get done at 1215, that nobody would be surprised when they visit because I get done at 1215.
[6:54] Because then it would just look like I'm on time. And then now also the other benefit to that is if I ever get done before that, you think, well, early. Right? So that's good news there. You understand it. I know all of our home folks get it, and it's fine.
[7:05] We tarry as long as the Lord wants us to tarry. But if I go faster, then I kind of run over things. So I'm trying not to. But when I get real excited, I apologize. I will go ahead and tell you there are four this morning.
[7:16] Okay? I'll go ahead and tell you there are four. But the first thing we see is the silence of the Savior. The first matter we see here is the silence of the Savior. It says that Jesus was brought with all of these charges.
[7:29] Now when the religious leaders and the Jewish individuals and the elders of the Jewish people conferred together, the charge which they presented against him was the charge of blasphemy. They said that he was worthy of death because he claimed to be the Son of God.
[7:42] He was the Son of God. He didn't just claim to be the Son of God. He is the Son of God. He had validated, substantiated that. And all those years, yet they wanted nothing to do with it because external evidence does nothing to penetrate an internal problem, right?
[7:56] And external evidence because even the rich man said, if someone would come back from the dead, then surely my brothers would listen to them. And Jesus says, they have Moses and the prophets.
[8:06] If they won't listen to that, they won't listen to even if a man comes back from the dead because a resurrection won't change a broken heart. A broken heart, not necessarily in sadness, but a broken in sinfulness because it is only truth that will penetrate the heart.
[8:19] And now, although this evidence had been presented, although he had done the supernatural in such a natural way, he had walked across the raging waters, he had calmed the seas, he had turned water into wine, he had multiplied the loaves and the fishes, he had done the supernatural in such a natural way, he had touched the untouchable, he had cured the incurable, he had cleansed the uncleansable, he had done all these things, yet they say when he finally declares to them, I am the son of God, that he is blaspheming.
[8:49] And in that blasphemy, they found a charge that was worthy of death. But the problem is, the Jewish people do not have the authority to kill anyone. The problem is, is that the Jewish people no longer have the authority to bring about corporal punishments because their hands are tied.
[9:08] And a further problem is, is that the Roman people could care less if you said you were the son of God. Because in their paganism, they believed there were many sons, plural, of God's lowercase g, not capital G.
[9:23] So it isn't, that doesn't matter to them. The blasphemy charge has no weight in the Roman court. So they decided that they had to come up with a better charge. Even though the charge against him in the Jewish court was blasphemy, the charge that was brought against him in the Roman court, again, we don't see it in Matthew, you have to read the other gospels to get it, is one of rebellion and claiming to be a king.
[9:46] Now when a man stood up and said he was a king, then all of a sudden Rome took notice because they believed in the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. At all things, maintain the peace.
[9:56] At all costs, maintain the peace. At all costs, make sure that people don't rebel. And the best way to keep the Pax Romana was to put the opposition down and as long as everybody knew there wasn't but one king in the land, then you could do whatever you wanted to do over here.
[10:11] They didn't care about that. You need to pay attention to that because, by the way, we live in a land of the free, but we also live in a land that really loves peace and as long as you don't disturb the peace, they won't disturb you.
[10:24] And that becomes a problem when we start dealing with truth. Because I don't know if you found it. I have found this out. Truth disturbs my peace. When the truth comes into my life, it really disrupts the peace that I thought I had painted.
[10:39] Because the truth begins to tell me who I am and I don't always like who I am. And the truth begins to tell me where I mess up and maybe you don't mind people telling you where you mess up but it bothers me when people tell me where I mess up and the truth really messes with what I thought was peace.
[10:56] But the reality is the truth also has another name and it is the Prince of Peace because there is no true peace without the truth being revealed to the individual living in a false peace.
[11:06] But see what was going on. Now the charge is brought here of presenting himself as a king and Pilate has to pay attention. And he comes and he asks him one question.
[11:18] He says, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus says, You've said it. That's it. Now in Jewish courts, you need to understand this.
[11:29] You say, Does all this really matter? Well, yes, it matters. If it didn't matter, we wouldn't talk about it but it matters. In the Jewish court, what you said about yourself, your personal defense really carried no weight.
[11:41] One of the sad realities we find is that they bring the charge of blasphemy against Christ based on what he said. Now in the Jewish court, no man could be condemned for his own testimony. It was based upon the testimony of two or more witnesses, not yourself.
[11:54] So you could not condemn yourself. You could not declare this because the best they could do was say you were mad and they could put you out of the court. But they could not bring a sentence of condemnation against you based upon your own testimony in the Jewish court.
[12:08] In the Roman court, personal testimony meant everything. This is why when you open up the book of Acts and Paul has the opportunity to stand before the governor, Felix, and then Paul has the opportunity to stand before the other leaders of Rome, Paul has a lot to say because Paul knows he's not standing in the Jewish court, he's standing in the Roman court.
[12:27] And in the Roman court, you've got an opportunity to testify and they'll listen to your testimony and that's why Paul talks more because, see, you need to know these things because it matters. But what you understand here is Jesus could have testified.
[12:39] Jesus could have declared the truth. Jesus could have declared his righteousness, but he didn't. It says that he remained silent. It says all these charges and all these accusations were brought against him.
[12:56] And yet, Jesus did not answer a word. And it says that Pilate looks at him and said, do you not hear all of these charges?
[13:07] Do you not see the severity of it? Do you not understand what they're talking about? And Jesus said nothing. And the silence was so silent that it says, and Pilate was amazed.
[13:22] Pilate was amazed. Pay attention, by the way, when the Gentiles are amazed throughout the story of the death of the Savior. Pilate is amazed at his silence.
[13:35] The guard standing at the cross is amazed at the way he dies. They're all amazed when the ground is shaken and when the tomb is empty. The guards at the tomb become like dead men because they are amazed.
[13:49] There's some amazing things that take place. But his silence amazes Pilate. You need to pay attention to the silence of the Savior because in his silence he is judging those who are talking.
[14:02] Silence is not always bad. I have to tell myself that. I have a hard time with that. I like to talk in case you've missed that. I don't like what they call awkward silences and I don't like it to be kind of still.
[14:13] I like to fill the void. I'm that guy. But silence can be powerful and here Jesus says nothing. And we know he could have. We know that he could have called out to the Father and had a legion of angels sent to him.
[14:27] We know that he could have declared the truth. Surely he who said let there be light and then there was light could have said something. Surely he who said let the waters be separated and the waters were separated could have said something.
[14:41] Surely he who said all things because the Bible tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us who is Emmanuel which also means that everything God said he actually said it through the Word because you can't say anything without words so everything we find God saying he said it through Jesus and the Bible also tells us Paul says that he is the creator of all things not God the Father but God the Son he is the creator of all things and the sustainer of all things and the Bible says that by him and for him and through him all things were created and exist so surely he who said let there be and it was could have said whatever he wanted to say and it would have been but yet he said nothing because he knew the price for our sins were being judged.
[15:38] The Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews he who for the joy set before him endured the cross. See Jesus was silent because he knew your sins and my sins had to be paid for.
[15:52] His silence shows his willingness to pay the price of redemption. He could have said something but he didn't.
[16:05] He could have but he didn't. You ever met somebody I mean who was somebody in society they held a position somewhere and maybe nobody knew it right?
[16:19] Maybe nobody understood exactly who that was. I always find it interesting when the people that are really somebody decide to be silent and let everybody else talk because sometimes their silence speaks more than everybody else's words.
[16:36] Sometimes as the Bible tells us in a multitude of words sin is found. I have to remind myself of that and those who know the most often are the quietest.
[16:48] Christ knew the true price. Everybody else is over here talking and discussing and saying plotting and scheming and Jesus is silent because he knew he had to bear our sins.
[16:59] The second thing we see the first is the silence of the Savior the second thing we see is a substitution for the guilty. A substitution for the guilty. Pilate is here and it says that in the feast he was compelled or he had at least made it a habit to release a prisoner for them.
[17:19] Extra-biblical evidence is not found for this practice but that does not discredit the reality of it taking place because we do find extra-biblical evidence of a similar practice taking place outside of Jerusalem and quite often people who were leaders over others that were not popular leaders at times of great religious festivals or great times of celebration would try to appease the crowd.
[17:43] Now you need to understand who Pilate is. Pilate is probably one of the most hated rulers who ever rules in Jerusalem. He is not well liked, he is not well cared for, we don't find anybody, you know we find the Herodians who are Jewish people who follow Herod, we don't find any people following Pilate, they don't like him at all.
[18:02] He had done a number of things, we don't have time to go into all the historical things that he had done to belittle the Jewish people, to desecrate the temple in their eyes, he had done a number of things to really cause a lot of problems, as a matter of fact the things he had done will eventually come to light, many people believe it holds weight to this passage, that the only reason Pilate had the position he had was because of who his wife was, that's why he probably should listen to his wife, but later on we find out that Pilate gets in trouble with the emperor, he is removed from his position, he is exiled and there are conflicting stories in history, but many stories in history say that Pilate was forced to take his own life because of the way he had treated the Jewish people, so at times to appease them, he would release a prisoner to them, now it says in those days there was a notorious prisoner, Barabbas, Barabbas really is a conjunction of two words and it means son of the father, it means son of the father, isn't it amazing that here we have two people, the son of the father and the son of God, right, there are
[19:10] Jewish historians that tell us that Barabbas is not necessarily his true name, that it is, they didn't have last names or surnames, so this is the way he was identified, Jewish historians say that his name was Yeshua Barabbas, Jesus, so not only do you have two men, you have two men bearing the same name, you have Yeshua Barabbas and Yeshua who is the Christ, you have the son of man and the son of God, it says that Pilate is going to make an appeal here, now he thinks, Pilate at least thinks that he has got it played out just right, surely they won't ask for Barabbas because of who he is and all that he has done, the other gospels tell us that he was in jail for insurrection, murder and thievery, that he was a notorious leader of a band of criminals, it also tells us in one of the other gospel accounts that he was imprisoned with his fellow criminals, that should capture your attention, because do you know that when our Savior is led away there are two others that are led away with him too, because see, someone took their leader's place, all of a sudden
[20:38] Barabbas who is the leader of the whole band of criminals who had committed murder, who is a known guilty individual, is standing juxtaposed or right beside Jesus who is the Christ or the Messiah, and the question is presented to the people, whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is the Christ, and it says, and the religious leaders had stirred the people and stirred the people to say, we want Barabbas, we want Barabbas, Pilate thought, there's no way they're asking for him, everybody knows he's guilty, everybody knows he's committed murder, everybody knows he's a thief, everybody knows that he's a leader, he's not just a guilty man, he's the leader of guilty men, everybody knows about him, surely they'll ask for this one that is only here because they're jealous over him, but they ask for the other, and it tells us, so Pilate released, to them
[21:42] Barabbas, notice the substitution for the guilty man, he who was notoriously guilty is set free while he who is noticeably innocent takes his place, it is the innocent for the guilty, it is the leader of the crimes for the leader of righteousness, righteousness, it is the one that everybody knows who has done wrong for the one who everybody knows who's done no wrong, there is a clear substitution, Jesus takes his place, and I know there's at least one follower of Barabbas who is thankful that Jesus was between them, because one of those thieves on the cross would be with him that day in paradise, see what we have in the judgment of the king is the innocent taking the place of the guilty, we have a divine substitution, not just for
[22:44] Barabbas, but friend listen to me for you and I, we are notoriously guilty, we are, every one of us, Jesus says, he who has said raka, or you know is angry at his brother has already committed murder, you've committed murder, whoever has coveted anything is guilty of thievery, you've coveted, you have, I know you have, you say you don't know me, yes I do, because I'm just like you, he who has lost his temper or coveted or looked at someone that it should not have looked at has committed adultery, all of these things are worthy of murder, worthy of being killed for your sins, worthy not of murder but of judgment, all of these things are worthy of dying, and what we have is the notoriously innocence given for the known guilty, he took my place because I too am a son of man, I am Barabbas, and I have inherited my father Adam's, which by the way
[23:51] Adam means man, I have inherited his problem, and his problem is a sin problem, and I have a sin problem because I'm the seat of man, you're the seat of man too, we have the substitution of the innocent for the guilty because the crowd cried out, number three, we have the surrender of the powerful, we have the surrender of the powerful, John 19, in John chapter 19 verse 10, Pilate makes this great statement to Jesus, this is where John kind of opens up a little bit that Matthew doesn't record for us, John records for us an interchange between Jesus and Pilate, as a matter of fact it's a couple of them, it's where Jesus said he had come to declare the truth, and Pilate says what is truth, and he walks out, prior to saying that though, Pilate looks at Jesus and says, do you not know that I have the power to condemn you or the power to free you,
[24:56] Pilate speaks of his own power, Pilate says, do you not know that I have the power to do this, and Jesus looks at him and says, you would have no power if it had not been given to you by my father, but he who has handed me over to you is guilty, Jesus declares that Pilate's power is limited, Pilate believes that his power is supreme, Pilate really senses and feels that the life of Christ hangs in his hand, there is one commentator that made the comment that really upset me, I read Bible commentators every now and then, and some of them kind of ruffle my feathers, and I have to put it down, and it's not necessarily wrong, it's just theologically inaccurate, and the statement was, what if Pilate had been bold enough to actually do what he could have done, and the world would have been different, and in my mind I go, yeah the world would have been different, because every one of us would have been without a substitution, and there would have been no atonement, and every man would have had to pay for his own sins, see it's an impossibility for
[25:58] Pilate to be able to hand Jesus and set him free, Pilate does not have the power to do it, because there is a power greater than the power that Pilate thinks he has, that's hard to say with all those Ps, but there is a power that reigns supreme, and it isn't Pilate who holds it, and it's not Caesar either, there's a king who sits on the throne, who uses the world as his footstool, there's a king of kings, and a lord of lords, there's a sovereign who rules over creation, there's a one who has the heart of the king in the palm of his hand, and he turns it however he wants to, there's a one who lets people think they have power, who lets them think they're planning their own way, but he's actually directing their path, see there's a one who thinks that he is strong, but then there is the one who actually is reigning, there's the one who thinks he has the ability, but then there's the one who supersedes that ability, and actually has the sovereignty, sovereignty matters, and there's no way, we don't need to go down the rabbit trails of what ifs, because Pilate never could have, you need to understand that, it could not have taken place, and we don't even want to think about what if, because if Jesus did not die on the cross, then you and I are without hope,
[27:14] I mean that's just the reality, we can't be upset at the Jewish people, we can't be upset at Pilate, we can't be upset at the ones who drive the nails in his wrists and his ankles, we can't be mad at them, we must praise God that he allowed those things to take place, because if it had not happened, we would have no hope, we would have to pay the price of our own sins, but Pilate thinks he has power, and Pilate is standing in this false sense of ability, and Jesus reminds him he really doesn't, which is even more amazing when we read verse 24, because see in the chamber, Pilate has said, do you not know I have the power to free you or the power to kill you, Jesus says you don't have any power, now they come back outside the chamber, you don't see it in Matthew, you see it in John, he comes back outside to where the judgment seat there at the praetorium, at the place of judgment, at the pavement, and it says in verse 24, look at this, when Pilate saw that he could accomplish nothing, when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, have you ever thought you were strong enough or able enough to do something and in reality you realize you were accomplishing nothing?
[28:34] Pilate who was supposed to be reigning and ruling and all of a sudden is just doing nothing. When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, friend listen to me, he wanted to set him free, he longed to set him free, his wife told him to set him free, but he couldn't set him free, and he couldn't set him free not because of the power of the Jewish people, but because of the purpose and plan of the father.
[29:02] Isaiah 53 says that God was pleased to offer up his son, for our retribution. And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd saying I am innocent of this man's blood, see to that yourselves, that is just a vain attempt to shed oneself of personal responsibility.
[29:28] That means nothing. Now we can backtrack here a little bit and there is some application that we need to find in the life of Pilate. The power you have to accomplish anything today is based upon what you did yesterday.
[29:43] See, the way Pilate led the Jewish people the days prior to this had put himself in such a position that the worst thing that could have happened was a revolt. Because if a revolt came about, then Caesar was going to hear about it.
[29:59] And all Pilate needed was one more revolt to take place before he was disposed from his throne. All that had to take place was one more uprising.
[30:10] He was treading what we would say on thin ice. Because of what he had done yesterday, it affected what he had the power to do today. Now ultimately, it's in the sovereign hand of God.
[30:25] But practically, his power was limited because of his prior choices. Ultimately, my life and your life is in the sovereign hand of God. But the power we have today to do things for the kingdom of God is based upon how we lived yesterday.
[30:41] Do you understand that? The choices we made yesterday, because the Bible says God will not be mocked. We cannot sin and get away with it.
[30:52] Paul says we cannot use grace and mercy as a crutch, even as the people of God. Peter says it is time for judgment to begin at the house of God.
[31:04] And if we are scarcely saved, where were the sinner and the ungodly up here? See, the power we have in the kingdom today is based entirely on how we have lived in our yesterdays.
[31:21] There's always restoration. There's always forgiveness. There's always mercy. But friend, read your church history, even in restoration in the kingdom.
[31:33] I'm not talking about eternal security. I'm not talking about your eternal security. Okay? I'm not saying that you did something yesterday that's going to mess up your eternal security in heaven. What I'm saying is that it will affect our temporal availability today.
[31:49] There are many, many, many people, multitudes of people throughout church history who are redeemed, who are forgiven, who are now in eternity with the Savior. But their time on earth was not as profitable because of the decisions they made.
[32:07] And there are always, always consequences for sin. There was a day when we were on a mission trip one time.
[32:17] We took a group on a mission trip. We were kind of in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. I didn't have the chance to stay.
[32:30] I had led the trip there, the individuals there. We were camping at a KOA campground and my family and I had to leave because we had to go to the Southern Baptist Convention so we left some back. And when we left some back, that group decided that they were going to go out on the street one night and hang out where there was some notorious people who didn't have much to go on.
[32:52] And they were buying pizza and feeding pizza and some of them started testifying to me later about it. And they said, Brother, we met an individual. We met an individual.
[33:03] He's just probably the bum of all bums. Sitting there and we sat down and had a pizza with him. He said, you know, he shared his testimony with us. He said, really had testimony? He said, yeah. He said, he was a youth pastor of a large church, own staff youth pastor.
[33:18] Made a bad decision here, lost that. Made a bad decision here, lost that. He'd been his effective youth pastor and was being used of God do mighty things and started making small decisions and small decisions and small decisions.
[33:31] Next thing you know, his wife had left him. Next thing you know, he lost everything. He lost his job at the church. And he began to lose all hope. And now he's living on the streets, feeding his needs through alcohol and other substances.
[33:48] Now, am I doubting that man's eternal security? Hey, I believe the scripture tells me, I really believe it with all my heart and all my mind, that if you're in the hand of the Savior, there's nothing that can take you out of the hand of the Savior.
[34:00] Neither height nor death, nor powers, nor principalities, nor spiritual forces of the world. And those are spiritual forces. Those are darknesses. I believe that Paul testifies in Romans chapter 8 that nothing can take you out of the hand of the Savior.
[34:12] But I also believe that decisions you make while you're in the hand of the Savior can absolutely destroy your effectiveness today. the greatest hindrance that Satan can ever do to the church is render us ineffective in the society we live in.
[34:29] He can't touch us eternally, but he can mess us up temporarily. Temporarily. He can render us useless because our yesterdays always affect the power we have today.
[34:44] So what do we do? We fall on our faces and say, Lord, have mercy and forgiveness and cry out to the Savior who is the Redeemer and Restorer of all things. And we say, God, make us stronger today than we were yesterday.
[34:57] And use us a little bit more today than you did yesterday. Use us a little bit more tomorrow than you did today. And may we never think we have power because Paul says, he who thinks he stands, let him take care lest he fall.
[35:12] Let's not be like Pilate in the back room thinking we have power and walk out in the front room and realize we're useless.
[35:23] Or we'll be like him and we see the surrender of the powerful. Fourth and finally, and I promise you I will be through. We see the scourging of our price.
[35:36] The scourging of our price. This is one of those verses that we tend to read by it and read through it because it comes and goes so quickly and we're trying to get to the rest of the story.
[35:49] It says in verse 26, then he released Barabbas for them. And here it is. But after having Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
[36:04] After having Jesus scourged. Please, oh please, don't read through that quickly. Please don't look over it.
[36:18] Isaiah says in Isaiah 52, as it's leading up to that great prophetic chapter of 53 and 54 where it speaks of his crucifixion. Isaiah says in the 52nd chapter, this great prophecy, that he would be marred beyond recognition.
[36:37] That man would not notice him or look upon him. You know, crucifixion is a brutal way to die. But it's not necessarily gruesome.
[36:51] You just have three penetrating marks. One in your wrist and one between the bones of the ankles. You die by suffocation in crucifixion.
[37:01] It's gruesome. It's horrendous in that it could take days to expedite the process. They would break your legs if they needed to. And the reason they'd have to break your legs is because you would push up.
[37:14] And that's the only way if your arms were out like this, you push up, you would relieve the pressure on your lungs and you would actually be able to take in some breath. But it's when your legs got weak and you could no longer push up. Sometimes the Romans, to extend it, would put a little seat behind you on a slope just so you'd have to be there longer.
[37:28] It's a brutal way to die because it's suffocation. But it's not necessarily one that would mar you beyond recognition. But the scourging would. The scourging would.
[37:44] The Jewish people had a limit to the amount of stripes that an individual could take. Romans had no such limit. The Jewish people would use a rod. The Romans would use a leather whip implanted with bone fragments and shards.
[38:03] It's hard to think about. It's harder to imagine. But the reality is, is that's my scourging. That's what I deserve. My sins have marred me beyond recognition of the way God created me.
[38:23] This isn't what God created. When he looked upon man, he said, it is very good. What I have done with what is very good is horrendously bad.
[38:36] This is my scourging. And that's my Savior tied to that post taking my scourging. That's my Savior strapped to that post, bent over, taking the brutality that is for me.
[38:52] So why would I be reserved in what I do for him? This is the scourging in our place.
[39:06] This is the whipping we deserve. This is the marring that should have been ours, but it's not. This is something that the multitude of us, Lord being gracious and merciful to us, would never experience.
[39:27] That other believers around the world have experienced. And yet, the model they follow is Christ. Because he did it for me, and he did it for you.
[39:41] The only lingering question is, why do we live the way we do in light of what he did?
[39:52] This is the final judgment of the king. And really, it's not a judgment against the king. It's the king's judgment against our sins.
[40:03] This is what we deserve. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you. All we can do is thank you.
[40:17] We stand amazed at the reality that you endured for our sins, at the penalty and the price that was paid, so that we would have the freedoms and the opportunities we do.
[40:31] Lord, we pray that our lives would be affected by it, that our days would be directed by it. Lord, our hearts would be shaped by it.
[40:44] And may you be glorified in it. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Amen.
[41:34] Amen. Amen.
[42:34] Amen. Amen.
[43:34] Amen. Amen.
[44:34] Amen. Amen.
[45:34] Amen. Amen.
[46:34] Amen. Amen.
[47:34] Amen. Amen.
[48:05] Amen.