A Choice Must be Made: Christ or Sin
The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewJust as the crowd must make a choice between Jesus and Barabbas so e must make a choice between Jesus and our Barabbas.
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Sacred Text: 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Introduction:
Introduction:
Imagine if you will, you have lived in the same house for 20 or 30 years. Long enough that you can get there with your eyes closed if you had to. Then one day you and your family decide to buy a new house. Now this new house is not far away, actually, you travel the same path every day after work to get home, only when you get to the four-way stop, you now have to take a left instead of a right. One day you are on your way home from work, pull up to your house, walk up to the door and go to unlock it and walk in just like you do every other day. Only this time, your key didn't unlock the door. You knock and no one answers, so you back up a little ways, and notice this isn’t your house anymore. You took a right instead of a left at the four way stop. You went back to your old house. Because it is still like second nature, you haven't broken the repetition of going to your old house yet. In order to break this cycle, you now have to make a conscious decision, every time you come to that stop sign, to go left instead of right. Sin in our lives works much in the same way. Because we have built up these sin habits in our life, we thanklessly choose sin when we should be choosing righteousness. We have to make a conscious decision, every single moment of our day, to choose Jesus over our sin. Because “such were some of you.” Like our sacred text read, we no longer live there in our sin, we have been washed, we moved away. But if we're not careful we will take the right when we should be taking the left. This need to choose righteousness over sin is what we will see in our text today. So let's read the text and see this play out.
READ THE TEXT Mark 15:1–15 “And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.”
Setting and context (15:1a): Jesus tried and Peter denies the Christ.
Setting and context (15:1a): Jesus tried and Peter denies the Christ.
Last week we were reminded of Jesus’ first trial after being arrested in the garden and Peter’s denial of Jesus. Jesus was secretly taken to the High Priest at night, but every accusation being made against Jesus did not add up to one coherent story. You see, before taking Jesus to Pilate to be charged with a capital offense, they needed a serious accusation but, they could not find one. Then they asked Jesus if he was the Messiah and Jesus answered the obvious question with “I am.” This, in the sight of the Priest, was blasphemy and they had their charge against Jesus. Then Peter, as he is approached several times by those watching everything take place, denies Jesus three times; just as Jesus said he would. Now Mark does what he does and sets the scene for us by stating “And as soon as it was morning.” Which means the first trial was done at night when most were sleeping, and because Jesus had gathered such a big following up to this point, everything had to be done in secret or else people would see the attacks of the Pharisees. Also, the Priests had not authority to execute someone, even though blasphemy laws enabled them to stone someone to death, under Roman rule it was the Emperor or governor alone who could decide the fate of the people. So, on the next morning, which would be Friday morning, with a blasphemy charge in hand, they escort Jesus to Pilate, for the second trial.
Trial before Pilate (15:1b-5): Second trial with Pilate.
Trial before Pilate (15:1b-5): Second trial with Pilate.
It is here in the second half of verse 1 through verse 5 we see what this second trial included. Jesus was bound and delivered to Pilate, in hopes that Pilate would simply agree with them, convict Jesus and deliver him over to be killed. Now, Pilate would not care about any religious laws being broken, so the charges against Jesus at this point have no real baring. Instead of Pilate simply accepting the accusations from the Chief Priests, Pilate begins to ask his own questions.
Now Pilate was the governor of Judea from AD 26-37, under the reign of Tiberius Caesar. The governor is much like a governor is today, they oversee the financials, a small military group, or police force as it would be today, and they oversee the judicial responsibilities of the town or region that they govern; they are judges for the people. They typically held “court” for the people first thing in the morning and made their judgement. One of their main responsibilities is to maintain the peace of the town or region in which they oversee, and they do this by shows of force and judicial hearings. Many times they are the judge and jury in all cases. Pilate also hated the Jewish people and often had clashes with them. But the feeling was mutual, as Pilate brought in Roman standards and statues of himself in place of the Jewish standards and placed the statues in and around the temples. But, reportedly the Jewish people did win at least one battle against Pilate in the beginning, as the Jewish people fought back against the statues of Pilate being placed throughout Jerusalem. They pleaded with Pilate for five days and on the fifth day the Roman Guards were ordered to draw their swords in a show of force, but the Jewish people laid on their backs and exposed their necks. Because they would rather be killed then go against their own laws and standards. Pilate removed the statues but continued to enforce Roman rule throughout the territory, only allowing certain rituals, traditions, and feasts to be had.
So, we can see that there is already some angst between Pilate and the Jewish people, especially the priests who are the ones who always fought against Pilate. So, it is interesting here that Pilate, in verse 2, begins to question Jesus to try and bring an actual offense up. He could have just as easily accepted the Jewish law at this point, and allowed Jesus to be stoned to death for blasphemy, but he didn’t. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent and he did not want innocent blood of Christ on his hands. So, knowing that he is to keep the peace, at any cost, Pilate has to try and find something to charge Jesus with or else he risks the Priests starting a riot. So, Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And in an indirect fashion, Jesus answers “You have said so,” which would be like Jesus answering “Yes, this is true.”
Now, this is the first instance in this text that we see Jesus affirming that he is indeed the King. This is what we call Christology, the doctrine of Christ, as prophet, priest, and king. This is important for us to catch and take note of. Because what we believe about Christ determines the way we live for Christ. If we believe that Christ is truly King, than our lives will reflect that. If you do not believe that Christ is king then what are you even doing? Because, if Christ is not King then none of this even matters. And this was the position that Pilate was in. Pilate did not believe that Christ was a King, so for him none of this even mattered, except that he knew that Jesus was innocent and for some reason his own people wanted him dead.
You see, the only way that Pilate is going to have any leverage to condemn Jesus is if he is presented as another ruler who will revolt against the Romans. Because the accusations from the Chief Priests are not enough to have Jesus killed, so they begin to make political accusations, which means Pilate would have to act in their place. Pilate doesn’t believe that Jesus is truly king, but he needed a legit reason to condemn him. We see this in verse 3 as the Chief Priests continue to make their case accusing Jesus of various things. Look at Luke 23:1–2 (it should be on the screen for you) This is the parallel passage which says “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.”” There was three major political accusations there: 1. That Jesus was misleading the people as a nation, 2. That Jesus forbade the people from giving tribute to Caesar, who in Pilates eyes is the only one to be worshipped, and 3. That Jesus was calling himself a King, another ruler rising up against the Romans. Then Pilate asks in verse 4 of our text, “Have you no answer to make?” But Jesus, knowing what must happen remains silent, leaving Pilate amazed. Why wouldn’t this guy try and defend himself? But, the prophet Isaiah spoke of this by saying in Isaiah 53:7 “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.” So, Jesus remains silent and Pilate’s accusation that Jesus is the king of the Jews is necessary and will be what is used to condemn Jesus.
Tradition/crowds request (15:6-8): The crowds want Jesus crucified.
Tradition/crowds request (15:6-8): The crowds want Jesus crucified.
Now we move into verses 6-8 and we see that it was a tradition for Pilate to release one prisoner for the crowd; whomever they asked for. So, among the prisoners was Barabbas, a known thief and murderer, who was arrested for his activity in an insurrection against the Romans. And as the crowd gathered before Pilate, they began to ask Pilate to continue this tradition of releasing a prisoner for them. Pilate most likely saw this as an opportunity to release an innocent man, because surely the crowd would not want a thief and murderer over this innocent man. Also, if the crowd did choose Barabbas to be freed, the blood was not on his hands for the death of Jesus, it was on the crowds hands.
Now I think it is important to understand this tradition and who exactly this Barabbas is in a little more detail. In my preparation for this sermon, I found that the four gospels here in Scripture are the only real accounts of this sort of tradition even taking place during the Passover. So, this must have been a somewhat new tradition that Pilate had begun doing as a means of pleasing the crowds and keeping them from getting too rowdy out on the streets. But for Barabbas, there is a little bit more detail to his story, not much, but some. The name Barabbas means “the son of Abba” which was a common personal name. All four gospels describe the person Barabbas somewhat differently: Matthew describes him as a notorious prisoner, Mark here describes him as a rebel and an insurrectionist, Luke describes him as someone who took part in an insurrection, and John describes him as a revolutionary. But, no matter how you decide to look at Barabbas, he was someone you most definitely did not want out running the streets, for fear that he may rob or even kill again. He as the worst of the worst and Pilate thought that surely the people did not want him to be released.
Pilate appeases the crowd (15:9-14): Pilate answered the crowd.
Pilate appeases the crowd (15:9-14): Pilate answered the crowd.
Then in verses 9-14 we see this appeasement of the crowds take place. Now Pilate, keeping with the tradition of releasing a prisoner every Passover, brings Jesus and Barabbas up before the people. He precedes to ask them if they would like the “King of the Jews” to be released, or Barabbas.
I think it is interesting here because the text says that Pilate “perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.” If you remember, throughout Marks gospel, Jesus’s popularity was a big deal and Jesus often told people not tell anyone about what he was doing, but normally they ran off and told everyone they could. Massive crowds began to form and follow Jesus. Also, I want us to look at John’s gospel for a second (it should be on the screen for you) John 12:16–19 it says “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”” This took place just after the triumphal entry. You see the Pharisees were the rule makers, basically second in command to the Romans, then Jesus comes on the scene and begins to do all of these miracles, even raising Lazarus from dead. The Pharisees are indeed jealous of the popularity Jesus is gaining and they fear that their rule is over if this man continues to live and teach. This also helps to show that Christ was King all along and the people could sense it. The people knew that Jesus was different. And so the Pharisees, have set a plot to kill the very one that is taking everything away from them. Even worse, it is noticeable as to what they are doing, because as we see here in our text, even Pilate perceived their jealousy.
In verse 11 we get the chief priests response. While Pilate perceived their jealousy, the chief priests actually reveal their jealousy, in responding by inciting violence against Jesus. The chief priests feared that the people would side with this Jesus, that they had been following around, and so they resort to trying to rile the crowd up.
The chief priests knew that Pilate didn’t want another insurrection, especially during a holy feast when there would be so many people around, so they begin to cause an uproar and get the people to turn on Christ. How easily they turned! It didn't take much and the crowd completely turned on Jesus asking for Barabbas, a thief and a murderer, to be released back to them. These are people that had been following Jesus. They knew him, and they knew about the things he had been doing.
Now in verses 12-13 Pilate asks the question “What shall I do with this King of the Jews then?” Notice how Pilate keeps reiterating the kingship of Jesus. And the crowd responds by chanting “Crucify him!”
What does it mean to be crucified? We will hear more in two weeks about the crucifixion but I want to give a quick detail of the act of crucifixion as we begin to think about the cross.
The Greeks and Romans usually resorted to the cross in cases of slaves and foreigners, greatly breaking laws. It was such a humiliating death. And the natural born citizens didn’t have to worry about being crucified. The crucifixions also had to be approved of by the Roman emperor and as time went on the Romans used the crucifixion as a way to deter people from acting dumb. As it became more common, often times they would line the road with the crosses for everyone to see, and be reminded of what can happen. The act of crucifixion was abolished after Constantine was converted to Christianity. It is also important to understand that according to Jewish law, whomever was hung on a “tree (a cross at this point)” was cursed and had to be buried the very same day, which is most likely why Joseph wanted the body of Jesus that day. Listen to Deuteronomy 21:22–23 (should be on the screen for you) ““And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.” Anyone condemned and hung on a cross was first beaten with whips that had small bones or metal that would rip the flesh open and cause the blood to start flowing from the persons body. This was so bad that you would often be able to see the bones of the person being beaten. They would then be tied to the crossbar portion of the cross and have a tablet hung from there necks and forced to walk to the place where they would be hung as a way to shame them in front of everyone. I could go on with details about the cross and the act of crucifixion but I hope you get the point. It was the most painful and humiliating way for anyone to die. But, this is what the people wanted and Jesus did not fight it.
In verse 14 Pilate asks a second time, “Why? What evil has he done?” But the people shouted even louder to have him crucified. Not only did they want Barabbas over Christ but, they even doubled down on their denial and shouts to have him killed.
Jesus handed over to be crucified (15:15): Barabbas released and Jesus is delivered over to be crucified.
Jesus handed over to be crucified (15:15): Barabbas released and Jesus is delivered over to be crucified.
Lastly in verse 15, most likely in fear of another insurrection, Pilate hands over Barabbas to be freed and Jesus to be killed. It is a double win in his book. The crowds are satisfied and he gains ground with the religious elite for helping them out. Listen, Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen, Jesus knew how painful this was going to be, and yet Jesus went willingly. Listen to Romans 5:6–8 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” For you and me, Jesus went willingly to the cross and endured far more than we could ever imagine. And how easy it is for us to forget this. How easy it is for us to deny this in front of others for the sake of fitting in. How easy it is for us to chose our sin over Jesus. Just like the crowd that turned on Jesus, we turn on Jesus, every time we deny him in front of the world, in front of the culture, in front of our friends, and in front of our family. Every time we chose that thing, we deny our King.
So, a question I want us to stop and think about is, how often are we like the people in this crowd? How often do we compromise with the world for the sake of a few not turning against us? How often are we choosing Barabbas over Jesus? Whether it is addiction, money, power, job, or even family members. How often are you choosing that thing, over choosing Jesus? Going right instead of going left. Some of you have heard my story. I started drinking at a very young age, went into the Army trying to stay out of trouble and came home with a drug addiction, I was self medicating myself. I worked for a guy that was a leader in his church, and he was always trying to preach the gospel to me. All he wanted was for me to choose Jesus. But I kept on choosing Barabbas. And there are times that I still do. We all do. But listen, you don’t have to choose sin anymore. If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, empowering you to live every moment in opposition to this evil culture, emulating, the best that you can, your Lord and Savior. If the crucified Christ is to be our confession, then we will live in a way that proves it to be so. If the crucified Christ is to be our confession, then we have a solid foundation to stand on. If we are going to say that Christ is our all, then we must live lives that show that Christ is our all, and it is Christ who makes this all possible. Because we cannot do it on our own. But, how easily we turn on Him. Just like the people in the crowd.
The same thing is put before you, and every unregenerate man will make the same choice that the Jews did. Only men renewed by grace will act on the contrary principle. This day I put before you Christ Jesus or your sins. The reason why many come not to Christ is because they cannot give up their lusts, their pleasures, their profits. Sin is Barabbas. Sin is a thief. It will rob your soul of its life. It will rob God of his glory. Sin is a murderer. It stabbed our father, Adam. It slew our purity. Sin is a traitor. It rebels against the king of heaven and earth.
Charles Spurgeon
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
The band can come up.
Listen, this is one of those passages that are hard to preach. Not because it is heavy on application but because there is not this simple cut and dry, “don’t do this do that,” sort of simple meaning to the text. It is very detail oriented. But if we are like anyone in this text, we are like those in the crowd begging for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be sent to the cross. That is the hardest part of this text to accept. But here is the thing, remember the sacred text from this morning, “and such were some of you.” Yes we are sinners, “but such were some of you.” Because of Christ, we have been washed, made clean by the blood of Christ. We have been given life. We must chose this day who we will serve. Will we be found with King Jesus, or will we be found with the crowd, chanting “crucify him!” Jesus Christ, rejected by man and pierced for their transgressions, cursed. And, “All we like sheep have gone astray,” we have chosen our own way. Yet, Christ still went willingly to that cross. Dying the death that we deserve, but He rose victoriously, defeating sin and death and now sits at the right hand of the Father in glory. But we are still living in this sinful world until that day when He comes back to take us all home. Listen, Jesus suffered a real death for you and me. Do we truly believe this? If you are a Christian, you have the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of you. You are a part of Christ and he is a part of you. Do you believe this? Do you live as if this is true? Paul pleads with us in Romans 10:9 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Make this crucified Christ your confession, repent of your sins, and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. He will save you. I will be in the back if anyone needs to talk or just needs some prayer.
Let’s pray.
PRAYER: God, as we think about the cross and you giving up your only Son to die in our place, I pray that you soften our hearts and help us to truly believe this today and every other day. Let Christ crucified be our confession and help us live holy lives that are pleasing and acceptable to you. Forsaking sin, choosing Christ over anything this world tries to offer us. God we thank you and love you, I pray all of these things in your Son’s name. Amen.