The Certainty of the Cross: Jesus’ Completed Work

Snapshots of Jesus

Praise the Lord. I am Rachel Washira. I’m born again and I’ll be taking you through today’s reading from the book of Luke chapter 22 from verse 66 all the way to Luke 23 from verses 1 to 25. And I’ll give you guys a minute to locate the verses. If you’re using the church, sorry, ESV Bible, it’s on page 830. So Luke, Luke 22. I can still hear papers…sorry. And we will start reading. Let us read together:

When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him.”
But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. (The last verse) He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.” (Luke 22:66-23:25)

And that’s the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Thank you, Rachel. Good morning! (Good morning.) Before we turn to God’s Word, let’s turn to the Lord in prayer.

Our Father, as we gather here yet again this morning, we come as those that are hungry and we desire that you would feed us. We come as those that are thirsty and we long for you to quench our thirst with the truth of your Word. And therefore, as we focus on Jesus, who’s the very truth, we ask that you would satisfy our hearts with good things. Please do this for our good and for your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Now we come this morning to what is I think one of the most heinous, unspeakable accounts in all the Bible and this is the account of Jesus’s trial. Remember we’re still in the hour of darkness in this narrative and therefore the power of darkness is still on display. If you will, the devil is still doing his worst. But the good news here, even before we look at this, is that when it seems like the devil is doing his worst, we said this yesterday, God is usually advancing his best purposes and that will be repeated here.

So, so far, we have seen a few snapshots of who Jesus is. Yesterday we saw him as the Servant who is compliant and as the Shepherd who is deeply concerned for his people. Then we saw him as the Captive who is always sovereign and as the Christ who is sympathetic. Now as we enter this account of the trial of Jesus, Luke’s attention is still fixated on the person of Christ. Remember, this story has only one star. There is only one man worth paying attention to here and it is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

But another thing I would want us to see today is how various people respond to Jesus, because there are a couple of responses here. I don’t know if you’ve caught it yet, but you have noticed or rather you will notice that one of the things we’re doing as we unpack this passion narrative, is we are overlaying the Old Testament on this story and allowing the Old Testament to help us appreciate some of the things that are happening. And so, we’ll keep referring back to the Old Testament because a lot of fulfilment is going on here.

This account of the trial of Jesus is what helps us see the movement of the man that has already said, “Not my will but your will be done.” How does this man then move from the garden to the cross? Now the way that happens is through this series of trials, Jesus will eventually end up on that cross.

If you’re familiar with the other accounts – Matthew, Mark and John – you will notice that there are many details that are contained in those books and they’re not contained in this account by Luke. And the reason the gospel accounts do not read exactly the same is simply because the writer of the gospels had different objectives.

Now it is also important for us to appreciate that in all these four gospels, they focus on the life and the ministry of Jesus. But even though they focus on the life and the ministry of Jesus, they’re not merely historical biographies. Rather, they are theological biographies: they are meant to teach us more than they are meant to inform us. So this is not just just a story; it’s meant to teach us particular things about Jesus Christ.

So Luke continues to take us on this journey and he wants us to see the person of Jesus radiating brightly yet again. But he does an interesting thing today, because the beauty and the brightness of Jesus is set against the dark backdrop of demonic conspiracies and human wickedness.

Now if you think about the account of the trial of Jesus Christ in its fullness, if we put all the accounts together, we know that Jesus was first tried before the high priest Annas and then after that, he was taken before Caiaphas and then after that he was taken before the Sanhedrin and then he appeared before Pilate and then Herod and then back to Pilate. And then it is Pilate who delivered him up to be crucified before the people.

But in the section that Luke writes for us, we are only going to see Jesus before the Sanhedrin, before Pilate and before Herod. As we take this account together, I would want us to see a few things about Jesus, specifically three things about the person of Jesus. And to begin with, I want us to see Jesus as the supreme Son, Jesus as the supreme Son.

Jesus the Supreme Son

Yesterday, we said that Jesus is the one who sovereign, even though we saw him in shackles. There’s a small difference between sovereignty and supremacy. Oftentimes when we use the word “sovereign,” we are wanting to emphasize the idea of power, majesty, but when we use the word “supreme,” we are emphasizing the position. So while sovereignty emphasizes the exercise of power, supremacy emphasizes the exaltedness of Christ, the position of Christ.

And that comes into sharp focus here, as we consider the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. It begins in verse 66 of chapter 22.

Now the Sanhedrin or what the ESV calls “the council” was composed of 71 people. It was composed of the elders of the people, the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees. The 71st person was the High Priest. So that makes 71 people. So this is a religious council, but it is also a civil council.

If you think about it in our context, this would be like a combination of the Supreme Court and the Parliament and Senate and perhaps NCCK. So it’s just religious and civil.

Now as we think about the composition of the Sanhedrin, we may very well say that this is a full representation of the entire Jewish nation. This is the House of Representatives, if you will. And as you read this account of the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin, it becomes clear very quickly that Jesus is not being tried; Jesus is being mis-tried. There is a gross miscarriage of justice here. This is a sham trial. Everything that is going on here is so wrong.

For example, you notice that Jesus in this entire account is not allowed legal defense. Jesus is tried at night. The trial is very rushed and even by the time he’s appearing before the Sanhedrin, even though he’s not been proven guilty yet, he’s already bound, he’s beaten and he’s bloodied. You remember the soldiers were beating him. And yet, nobody has proved him guilty yet. So this is a miscarriage of justice.

And as you look at this encounter here, the exchange between Jesus and the council, you realize that they’re not trying him with a view to discharge him after they find out that he’s innocent, these guys have already made up their minds. In verse 2 of chapter 22 we are told that the Chief Priests and the Scribes were seeking how to put him to death. So this is not a real trial because they already decided. Their verdict is rendered. They want Jesus dead.

Now if you’ve read the book of Luke, you know one of the reasons they want Jesus dead is because they were envious of him. But they were not just envious of Jesus, they were deeply offended by Jesus for this simple reason: Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they hoped for. Jesus was not their kind of king.

These religious leaders wanted a king that would have some bit of pull, a king that would come and pat them on their backs as the leaders of the people. They wanted a Messiah that would lead a revolution against Rome. But Jesus shows up and what does Jesus do? Jesus begins talking about another kingdom. And then Jesus, on Palm Sunday, rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. And the whole time Jesus has been preaching, he has been condemning them and he’s been pronouncing wars on them. He’s been rebuking their hypocrisy. He’s been rebuking their inconsistencies. This is not the kind of Messiah they hoped for and for that reason they determined that he must die.

The people seem to like him a bit and that’s the more reason he needs to be gotten rid of. So they are envious and they are offended. And so, in this account, they simply asked Jesus two questions: Verse 66, 67 rather, “Are you the Christ?” Verse 70, “Are you the Son of God?”

Now to the second question, “Are you the Son of God?” Jesus simply says, “You say that I am.” Notice, Jesus does not deny those titles. He doesn’t say, “No, no, no, no, guys. You’ve misunderstood this whole thing. You’re taking those people too seriously!”

No, Jesus doesn’t deny. “You say that I am.”

In fact, Jesus threw in another title for good measure because in verse 69 he says, “From now on, the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” (Luke 22:69) So now Jesus is the Christ, he’s the Son of God and he’s the Son of Man.

This is a religious group so these people hearing Jesus saying that he’s the Son of Man – immediately makes sense to them – they know what Jesus is saying. They would have immediately known that, in saying that he’s the Son of Man who will be exalted at the right hand side of the Majesty on High, Jesus is combining the prophecy of Daniel 7 and Psalm 110:1. In Daniel chapter 7, we see the Son of Man. In Psalm 110 we see God promising his Son to seat him at his right hand and to subdue his enemies.

This is not the first time Jesus is quoting Psalm 110 in a conversation with them. He had had an encounter with them earlier on and in that conversation, he confirmed to them that the Messiah would not just be David’s son, the Messiah would be David’s Lord.

So Jesus is not backing down. He’s doing exactly what they didn’t want him to do. But notice in that trial he refuses to be bullied by them, because in verse 67 he just tells them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. (Luke 22:67-68)

So this council is not a bunch of sincere seekers, it’s not as if they want to know truly if Jesus is these things. This is a bunch of sinister men who hate him and they’ve already decided to kill him. So Jesus says, “There’s no point. If I tell you, you won’t believe. If I ask you, you won’t answer. We’re done.” They could not stand the fact of who Jesus was, and even though all the facts pointed them in that direction, because they were already bent on killing him, it didn’t matter what Jesus said.

My dear friends, I want you to notice that the man on trial before the council is none other than the Christ: He’s the greater than David, he’s the Son of Man, he’s the Son of God and he’s the King of the Jews. All these titles speak of his royalty, they speak of his divinity and they speak of his exalted position, his enthronement.

But here’s the shocker – the leaders of the Jewish people have conspired and schemed this early Friday morning to kill their King. They want to kill their God. The most supposedly devout men in Israel, early in the morning, want to kill God.

Now this is the fulfilment of Psalm 2:2. The Psalmist says,

“The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.” (Psalm 2:2-3)

Let me ask you: is this not what sin is fundamentally? Sin is the rejection of the kingship of God. These people know who this man is but they have decided they don’t want him and they’re going to kill him. As the late Dr R.C Sproul said, “Sin is treason.” This is a bunch of 71 people representing the entire nation and they’ve decided they’re going to overthrow the king and they’re going to kill him.

But even as you think about it, I want you to be scandalized by the insanity of these sinful men, putting their God through a fake trial. The rulers of the people have gathered this morning to judge the God of Israel. Even the High Priest himself has sat to judge the eternal High Priest!

But don’t miss the point because this is what Luke wants us to see: that the man who’s going to hang on that cross on that Good Friday afternoon is none other than the Supreme Son of God. Why does Luke want us to see that? Luke wants us to know that because, we said this yesterday, if Jesus is to pay fully for the sins of mankind, then he must be the kind of sacrifice that is of infinite worth, because he must satisfy the infinite wrath of God.

The only person, the only being that is of infinite worth is God. And so in order for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to suffice, he must be God. And Luke has just proven to us that this is God, this is none other than the Son of God.

Now that gives us hope as we move towards the cross, that at least now we know we have one that is of infinite value. Other pieces have to fall in place but at least that one piece has fallen in place.

But before we move on, I want you to marvel at the humility of the Son of God. Jesus is willing to be put through and to be subjected to this craziness. Remember, Jesus could always have done something, he had the power to do it. But in this moment, Jesus is just going through this trial – this sham trial – with a lot of humility. Paul highlights his humility in Philippians chapter 2: 6- 7 and he says, “Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)

If you remember the context within which Paul writes that to the church at Philippi, he’s urging the saints there to learn humility from Jesus. My dear friends, even the humblest of us here has never gone lower than the Son of God. Only humility would have made Jesus endure this sham trial.

Jesus the Sinless Lamb

But we not only see Jesus here as the supreme Son, the second thing Luke wants us to see is Jesus as the sinless lamb. He’s not just the supreme Son, he’s the sinless lamb. Now you notice even though these people are falsely accusing Jesus, because that is what we told there, and they began to accuse him saying, “We found this man misleading our nation.” (I’m reading verse 2 of chapter 23) In verse 71, they conclude that Jesus is guilty. They say, “Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”” (Luke 22:71) So they proceed.

Question: if Jesus is truly guilty, then why are they accusing him? If you’re in a court of law, if you’re guilty, you only need to present the witness, you don’t need to accuse falsely. So they too know that Jesus is not guilty. That is why, when they get before Pilate, they have to lob accusations at him. Now notice the accusations they lob at him are not of a religious nature, because they know Pilate doesn’t care about their religion, so they go before Pilate and they say “This guy stirs up the people and this guy tells people not to pay taxes.” (See Luke 23:2)

Now, because Pilate was the Prefect of the Roman government, he would have gotten a little bit disturbed by anyone who’s telling people not to pay taxes because that would have gotten him in trouble with the Roman government. So they’re accusing him in this way hoping to get Pilate to their side. And Pilate tries Jesus.

But when Pilate tries Jesus, I want you to notice in verse 4, he confirms that Jesus is actually innocent. 23:4: “Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”” (Luke 23:4)

Number one. Again, verses 13 through 16, “Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him.” (Luke 23:13-14)

And then verse 15 tells us, “Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.” (Luke 23:15)

Pilate is saying and he’s insisting, “Jesus is innocent. I don’t want, I don’t know why you want me to put him to death!” Again, in verse 22, “At that time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death.”” (Luke 23:22)

Thrice Pilate confirms that Jesus is innocent. Even Herod confirms that Jesus is innocent.

I want you to notice what we said yesterday: that there are three wills at play in this story. There is the will of God for his Son to drink the cup, there is the will of Satan to destroy Jesus and there is the will of the people and the leaders to get rid of Jesus. The forces of evil are at play here. Human sin is at play here. But God’s plan is also in motion.

Interestingly, as this entire drama unfolds, Jesus remains silent. Now to say Jesus remains silent is not to say that he’s entirely speechless. I know he remains silent, not just because of what I’m observing, but because I can see the fulfilment of Isaiah 53:7 here. We are told.
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

The cross is the place of his slaughter. Jesus will get to the cross. When Herod attempts to question him in verse 9 we are told that Jesus remained silent. Jesus does not want to defend himself. Jesus is not protesting. His silence is intentional. In the face of this gross injustice, in the face of this sham trial, Jesus chooses not to protest.

Now Jesus is not just innocent in that he is guiltless, Jesus is sinless and Peter is the one who helps us appreciate that fact. In First Peter chapter 2:23, as Peter is referring and alluding to this account, he says,
“He committed no sin, and no deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:22-23)

In verse 11 we are told, “And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. (Luke 23:11)

In the face of this contempt and mockery, Jesus is not responding. Jesus is innocent. He has not done anything wrong. But he does not do anything wrong, so he’s sinless. But Jesus is not sinless in this account because he’s being stubborn. Jesus is, I mean, silent. Jesus is silent because he trusts the plan of his Father. This is, this is an expression of his naked trust in the plan of his Father to save humanity through his death. Remember in the garden he said, “Not my will but yours be done.” So he’s resting in that and he’s trusting that his Father is in control and he’s going to be the willing sacrifice that he knows his Father wants him to be.

As you consider what is happening here, it is possible for you to begin feeling angry and feeling, “This is so bad! Why are they not releasing him? If he’s innocent, if he’s guiltless, they should let him go!”

But they can’t let him go because if they let him go at this point, then we don’t have good news for the world. And so the good news in this text is that the lamb has been confirmed as sinless. God is moving these pieces so intentionally. Remember, the sacrifice on Golgotha has to be of infinite value. We have already seen that this is the Son of God, the Supreme Son of God. Now the second piece is in place: he’s not just supreme, he’s now sinless. Jesus had to be sinless in order to save us.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:18 to 19, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, (then he says) but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

What these trials are doing they are confirming to the whole world that the lamb that will die at Calvary is without blemish and spot, even heathens like Pilate confirm it. The Sanhedrin knows it, Herod knows it. Everybody knows that this guy is without blemish. Two pieces in place: a sacrifice of infinite worth; a sacrifice that is without blemish or spot.

Jesus the Scorned Son

We are now one step to the cross and therefore we come to the third point. We have seen Jesus as the Supreme Son, as the Sinless Lamb, now I want you to see Jesus as the scorned as the Scorned Son. Now this word “to scorn” simply means to reject something with contempt. it is stronger than merely rejecting. If you have had the privilege of feeding a child you know that sometimes kids do more than rejecting food, they spit it out and they make a face – they scorn.

In this story beginning in verse 18, Jesus is not just being rejected; Jesus is being scorned. In Isaiah 53:3 we are told,

“He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” (Isaiah 53:3)

Luke wants to paint for us the picture of the universal rejection of Christ. Dear friends, in order for Jesus to die, Jesus has to be rejected. How else are they going to justify the murder? And Isaiah tells us here that he was rejected, notice, by mankind, mankind. He was rejected by the human race.

So the Jewish leaders on behalf of the people rejected Jesus because he wasn’t their kind of King. Herod, the king of the people, rejected Jesus for a very flimsy reason, by the way. As you read the interaction of Jesus and Herod, Herod was excited to see him and Herod asked him to perform a sign and Jesus refused. And because Jesus refused, Herod was hacked and that is why the soldiers began mocking him. Herod wanted a bit of entertainment. He had heard that Jesus is a miracle worker and he tells him, “See, you do one for me.” And then he refuses and because Jesus doesn’t entertain him, he hands him over to the soldiers to mock him.

As King, Pilate has rejected Jesus, not because Jesus is guilty in any way, but because Pilate wants to please the masses and he doesn’t want to lose political clout and because he can’t stand to be disliked by the people. In order to score a few political points, he just hands Jesus over to their will. That was the last statement there.

So Herod is the man who sadly chose convenience over conscience. He knows the truth but he won’t do the right thing because he can’t give up his position and his prestige and his popularity.

But in verse 18, now Luke tells us that Jesus was rejected by more than those people – Jesus was rejected by common people in the streets. Because verse 18 tells us, “But, “They all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas.”” (Luke 23:18)

Now when he says “they cried,” Luke is telling us this was an uproar, this was like a riot. Given the events of the last few weeks in this country, Kenyans understand what a riot is. So these people are rioting. They are baying for the blood of Jesus.

But I want you to notice Jesus is not just rejected by them, he’s scorned by them. And in what way is Jesus scorned and despised by them? Did you notice they don’t say, “Away with Jesus,” they say, “Away with this man. Release to us Barabbas.”

Have you ever noticed that if you want to know a woman despises another woman, when they’re talking about that other woman, they don’t refer to them by name. They literally say something, “Huyo Mwanamke.” (That woman)

Like politicians also do this a lot. When a politician is talking about another politician that they don’t like much, they usually say something like, “Huyo Jama.” (That group) And when they don’t say something like that, they usually rename them. So instead of calling them by their name, they’ll say “Huyo Gangaa.” (That crazy) Or…

It’s a very subtle, it’s a very subtle thing, but if you look at your life, you might see that when you, when you have this person you really despise, it becomes very difficult to refer to them by name.

This is what they’re doing. Do you think these people didn’t know that this was Jesus? Jesus was a sensation in Israel! These people had eaten his bread, he had healed their sick, he had raised their dead. Could it be that Barabas was more popular than Jesus? But they say, “Away with that man.” That little detail there shows us that they are despising this man. For whatever reason, they despise him and they would rather have their Barabas.

So this was a very fickle crowd, but it shows us that the rejection of Jesus was universal and it was large scale. Jesus Christ was rejected across the board. He was rejected by the highest people and by the lowest people. He was rejected by religious authorities and civil authorities. Jesus was rejected all over the place. But we thank God because now we are closer to the cross.

But before we get to that place, I want you to notice something here: if you’re keen, you will notice that these people reject Jesus because Jesus is a threat to something they all loved. The religious leaders rejected Jesus because they loved their corruption and because Jesus is calling them out, they don’t want him. Herod loved his fun, he loved entertainment. Because Jesus won’t yield, he might as well die. Pilate loved his position and prestige. He loved his popularity and because Jesus is an apparent threat to that, he rejects him.

But as I read this account, I wasn’t able to exactly determine why the crowd rejected Jesus, because we are not told. In verses 22 to 23 at that time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.” (Luke 23:22-23)

They don’t give a reason, they just say, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” And so this is my guess, tell me what you think about it. Could it be that the reason Luke doesn’t tell us why the crowd specifically rejected Jesus is simply because there were as many reasons for rejecting Jesus in that crowd as there were people in that crowd? It is almost as if everybody in that crowd had their reason to reject Jesus. So Luke doesn’t tell us why. They just say, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” But this is what I know: whatever that reason was, it was a selfish, self-serving reason. It was a similar reason to that of Herod or Pilate or the Sanhedrin.

Let me ask you at this point, what is it in your life that you love so much that you would be willing to say of Jesus, “away with this man,” than lose it. What is it?

You see, whatever it is, that that thing would be in your life, or whoever that person would be in your life that would make you say, “away with this man, give me this,” that thing is called an idol. That sin is called the sin of idolatry. It is the sin of choosing something or someone over Christ. And that sin of idolatry is what makes the human race guilty before God.

So listen, you don’t have to have been in Jerusalem on this day because what we are seeing in this story is the story of everybody seated here. Every day we are choosing something or someone over Jesus, the one who is of infinite worth.

Jesus and Barabas: the Switch

But I want you to notice there’s a twist in this story, a very interesting twist, as we come to the end. The Holy Spirit inspired this. I have enjoyed reading this, because right at the center of this final rejection is a man called Barabas, and I want you to notice a few things, a few details about Barabas as contrasted with Christ.

First of all, the people choose Barabas and they reject Christ. And the contrast between Barabas and Christ couldn’t be more striking because Barabas is truly guilty. We are told in verse 19 that this man had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Truly guilty. But Pilate and Herod and the Sanhedrin know that Jesus is truly innocent. He’s truly sinless.

Notice, Barabas is a murderer. He had literally taken away people’s lives. But you know the story of Jesus: Jesus gave people life. He raised the dead. He didn’t kill people, he raised the people that had been killed or the people that had died.

Barabas is a true insurrectionist but Jesus is being accused of being an insurrectionist. Did you see it there in verse 5? “He stirs up the whole people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” (Luke 23:5) This guy is an insurrectionist, so a true insurrectionist and an accused insurrectionist.

Lastly, Barabas has been convicted rightly. At this point, Barabas is in prison. Him, he had gone through a proper trial, he had been convicted, he’s waiting for death. Jesus has gone through a sham trial and guess who is going to die; Jesus is going to die.

Now the Holy Spirit inspired this to the detail because even the very name of Barabas is interesting because you can hear it in Aramaic “Bar Abas” – the son of the father. So the son of the father, whoever his father was, who should have been convicted, is suddenly being released out of prison, so that the Son of the Father – our Lord Jesus – can die in his place.

And we might even go as far as saying what we see in this story is the story of everybody seated here, because what happens on Calvary is the Son of God laying down his life for the sons of men.

Think about it like this: Barabas is the son of Adam, because whoever Barabas’ father was, he was a sinner, right? But Jesus is the Son of the Father, the perfect one who has no sin. So in a real sense, the Son of the Father dies in the place of the son of the father, namely Adam. And that includes not just Barabas, but all of us.

Doesn’t the Psalmist say that we were all conceived in iniquity? (Psalm 51:5) Doesn’t Paul say that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? (Romans 3:23) Doesn’t Paul say that there is none righteous, none, not even one? (Romans 3:10) We are all sinners in our first father, Adam. I want you to see Jesus in this ultimate switch taking the place of the son of the sinful father.

See, Jesus was rejected on this day by the whole world. He was rejected by mankind. If this event were to be replayed, Jesus would be rejected again. But Jesus was rejected by the world and he’ll be forsaken on the cross by his Father, so that sons of Adam – like all of us here – might be accepted by the one person who truly matters.

What does it matter if this crowd rejected Jesus? Jesus has been accepted by the one that matters the most. But Jesus was rejected on this day that we might be accepted by the one who should never have accepted us, because we are like Barabas, we are sons and daughters of sinful fathers.

Consider the Switch for Yourself

But as it close my friends, I want you to notice that it is this wonderful exchange that happens here, because this is a very good illustration. This is a very good picture of what is going to happen on the cross. On the cross, Jesus will die as a substitute, so the switch has already happened. The one that is guilty has gone – the one that is innocent remains. The one that is innocent will die in the place of the one that was guilty.

This is why we sing this song: “My Lord, what love is this that pays so dearly, that I the guilty one may go free?” See, Jesus takes our place, friends. We have sung this many times now in this conference. And a Jesus like this deserves and demands our deepest love and our highest praise.

Now, if you’re not a Christian, you need to realize that by the testimony of Scripture right now, you sit under the condemnation of God. Right now, you sit the way Barabas sat in that prison cell, waiting for his day. Barabas knew that he was going to die by crucifixion until this man called Jesus showed up. I don’t know if Barabas believed in Jesus. Movies have been done to that effect. Who knows? But I don’t know what Barabas was thinking in that moment as he heard the prison warden coming with his keys jingling to his prison cell and he had heard the roar of the crowd, “Released to us Barabas! Released to us Barabas!” He had no idea why he was being released, except that he could tell there was a guy that was supposed to be done away with.

But you and I are not like Barabas – we know. We know who it is that takes that place. You know who it is that takes the place of guilty sinners, condemned sinners like you. And I want you to know that you don’t have to live with a fear of condemnation, with a fear of facing the wrath of God on your last day, because today, this switch can happen. Jesus is going to die in the next passage and Jesus is going to die for people like you. The righteous Son of God takes the place of sinners like you and all you need to do is to believe and receive that by faith and you can walk out of this auditorium today free and forgiven, not afraid of death.

So, wouldn’t you trust in Jesus? Don’t you realize that Jesus is the only one who offers you nothing the world can offer you? He offers you what nobody else can offer you. He takes your place, that you might go free. Come to Jesus. Please do not allow this conference to pass you by. See what Jesus has done for you. And my dear Christian friends, see what Jesus has done for us.

Father, we thank you that this Supreme Son, this Sinless Son, this Scorned Son took our place on this day and we sit here as those who are no longer under your condemnation. Please help us to walk in the freedom that this message brings. Thank you Lord for having mercy on us. Blessed be your name. In Jesus’ name we pray.