Rejection of the King of kings
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Introduction
Introduction
As we look at this text together, we are going to consider it under the title: “Rejection of the King of kings”.
We are going to see how Jesus is utterly rejected by various people, either as groups, or individually.
1) Rejection by the Religious Leaders (v.1)
1) Rejection by the Religious Leaders (v.1)
The first rejection of Jesus that we find is His “Rejection by the Religious Leaders.”
In verse 1 we read:
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
The first thing that we should note from this is that what unfolds here happens very early in the morning - we see this in the beginning of verse 1.
What takes here happens just as the sun was rising.
The word “morning” in this verse refers to the fourth watch of the night, or some time between 3 AM and 6 AM.
You will recall that this mock trial of Jesus has been going on through the night, as Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, and taken to the home of the High Priest.
Mark 14:55-65 told us that tell us that, after Jesus was arrested, He was subjected to a trial before the chief priest.
But there was nothing legitimate about that trial… it was purely for the reason of finding some reason - whatever reason they could find - to put Jesus to death.
Ultimately, during this mock trial Jesus was accused of blasphemy and thus condemned to death.
And then they started spitting on Him; they blindfolded Him and punched Him, and mocked Him by telling Jesus to prophesy and let them know who it was that had hit Him.
And so now, as dawn begins to break, the chief priests convene all the rulers of Israel together in order to “come to a decision” on Jesus.
This early morning meeting was held for just one purpose; these men wanted to add a sense of legitimacy to the illegal decision they had made during the night.
All they’re really trying to do is legitimize the decisions that they had already taken.
The entire trial had begun with them wanting to put Jesus to death.
But here, they reach this decision concerning Jesus… meaning, we’re going to put Him to death!
The problem that they were now faced with was that the Jews were under Roman rule.
And while they did have some measure of freedom to try cases and pronounces sentences on their own people, they were not allowed to hand down the death sentence. That went beyond their powers!
The only person who had the authority to hand down the death sentence was the Roman governor who had been appointed to rule over their district.
And so, what they now do is, they bind Jesus up - probably tied Him with ropes - and they lead him to the person who does have the authority to condemn someone to death.
So they bound Jesus like a common criminal and led Him away to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor.
But the next struggle that they would face would be that they would not be able to condemn Jesus of blasphemy before Pilate, because Pilate wasn’t concerned with their religious beliefs!
To tell Pilate that this Jesus had blasphemed by making Himself equal with God would have done nothing for them - because there was no Roman rule in this regard - there was nothing that would have said that this is a charge worthy of death.
Quite frankly, Pilate wouldn’t have cared.
He would never intervene in a Jewish religious argument.
And so they are thus forced to bring in all sorts of other charges against Jesus, again, making things up, so that there can be some grounds for putting Jesus to death.
According to Luke 23:2...
2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.”
Now, were these the charges that they had found him guilty on as a Jewish council?
Not at all!!
They had found Him guilty of blasphemy.
But now the raise all these other charges against Jesus, all of them designed to rouse the suspicions and concerns of the Roman ruler.
“He is subverting our nation...”
They hoped that this would lead the Roman governor to be concerned that He was a man stirring up trouble, which would create challenges in maintaining peace.
“He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar...”
Obviously if Jesus is seen to be opposing taxes being paid to Caesar, then he will be in trouble.
Now this was clearly not true - Jesus himself had had a trap set for Him when He was asked if taxes should be paid to Caesar, and having taken a coin with Caesar’s inscription on it, He said “Render to Caesar that which is Caesars, and to God, that which is God’s” (Mark 12:17)
Before we look at that final charge that they were bringing against Him, just consider for a moment the motivation behind these leaders.
Nothing other than self-centered pride.
There actions show us that religion is useless, absolutely useless and ineffective in transforming hearts and lives of people.
We can call Christianity a “religion” - and yes, by label this is what it is.
But religion is useless!!
The Jewish religious rulers had a good thing going.
As far as daily life in Israel was concerned, they held all the power over the people.
They were making vast amounts of money through the buying and selling that went on at the Temple.
They were rich.
They were powerful.
They were “good”
They believed that they were right with God.
These men thought they were justified in all their actions.
They believed their religion was enough!
BUT!!!! The Jews rejected Jesus because religion has no room for Jesus Christ.
Their religion (and all other religion) was based in external works.
Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, is always based in faith in what God has done.
Religion seeks to approach God on the basis of what man can do.
Biblical Christianity seeks to approach God on the basis of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
The Gospel is a very clear and straight forward message.
It can be summed up in these verses:
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Have you believed the Gospel message of Christ’s death and resurrection? Are you trusting Jesus and Jesus alone for your soul’s salvation?
Things like giving, praying, good works, baptism, church attendance, etc., are all good things, but none of them has the power to save the soul.
Religion has the power to make people respectable and decent, but it does not have the power to make anyone right with God.
On the other hand, biblical redemption has the power to make people holy.
It has the power to save the soul, secure the soul and alter one’s eternal destiny.
Seeking God man’s way will always result in eternal damnation in Hell.
Coming to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will always result the soul’s salvation and eternal glory in Heaven!
So, are you saved? Or, are you lost?
2) Rejection by Pilate (v.2-5)
2) Rejection by Pilate (v.2-5)
The Second point that we must consider this morning is Christ’s “Rejection by Pilate.”
We’ve seen his rejection by the religious leaders, and now we must consider his rejection by Pilate.
Now at the end of verse 1 we read that the leaders “handed him over to Pilate” and then brought all sorts of charges against Jesus.
You will recall from Luke 23:2 that we considered two of these charges (He is subverting our nation; He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar…)
And the one that we didn’t consider further was that charge: “…he claims to be Christ, a King.”
But when we arrive at verse 2 of our text, we find Pilate’s question to Jesus:
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
Pilate immediately picks up on this one accusation that the religious leaders bring against Jesus.
The reason is that here may be a true threat to the Roman empire - if Jesus is truly a king, and is acting as a king to the Jews, He may end up subverting the Roman rule.
If Pilate failed to address this issue, then he himself would possibly have been taken to task!
And so Pilate addresses Jesus on this particular accusation: “Are you the King of the Jews” - asked Pilate..
You will recall that when the Jews asked Jesus about His identity as the Son of God and the Messiah, Jesus simply said, “I Am”! (Mark 14:62)
When Pilate asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews, Jesus responds by effectively saying “You say that I am..” (depending on Bible Version)
This statement has three possible interpretations.
“You got it just right! That’s Who I am.”,
“That’s for you to decide.”
“I am the King of the Jews, but I am not a king in any way you would understand.”
This third This latter interpretation is, I think, the correct one. It is confirmed by what John records in John 18:33-36.
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
As Jesus engages in this discussion with Pilate, we find that Pilate is uncertain about why Jesus is being labeled as a King.
And Pilate then asks the question: Am I a Jew??
Clearly, Pilate didn’t know what to think, and he didn’t have an understanding about who Jesus was, or the fact that the Jews were expecting a Messiah to come.
The Jews had every reason to believe that Jesus was Who He claimed to be.
They had the Old Testament with its laws and prophecies that predicted the coming of the Messiah.
Jesus fulfilled every one of them to the letter.
He proved He was their Messiah.
And yet, they were rejecting Him.
Pilate, on the other hand, did not have this information.
He was a Gentile and he did not know Who Jesus was.
He had not seen the miracles, nor had he heard His words.
Before we go deeper into this meeting between Jesus and Pilate, we need to know a little more about this powerful man who allowed Jesus to be crucified.
The Bible and other ancient historical accounts of Pilate’s life and actions paint him as being somewhat incompetent, but also very heavy-handed.
Pilate was the governor of Palestine from 26-36 AD.
According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Pilate was responsible for much of the turmoil in his own life, as he tried to build himself up - and make himself more powerful.
On one occasion, he permitted his soldiers to enter Jerusalem with flags bearing the image of Caesar. This insulted the Jews and nearly led to a bloody rebellion.
On another occasion, he confiscated the “Corban” treasury of the Temple to pay for an aqueduct he was building. The “Corban” treasury was to be used for God’s service alone. Jews who objected to this insult were severely beaten by plain clothed soldiers.
According to Luke 13:1, Pilate killed some Galileans as they offered their sacrifices.
So he was a man who was not afraid to use his power and authority.
He was also a man who was driven to obtain more power.
Eventually Pilate lost his position when he ordered his cavalry to attack some Samaritans who had gathered at Mount Gerizim as part of a religious quest.
Tradition has it that after being deposed as governor, Pilate was exiled to northern Europe, where he committed suicide. When he lost his power, his position and his pride, he had nothing for which to live.
This is the petty, self-centered man Jesus faced in that early morning trial.
Let us then consider this trial of Jesus further.
In verses 3-5 we read:
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Extensive accusations are now being brought against Jesus, due to their hatred towards Him.
And yet through all of these, Jesus once again remains silent, in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7.
As Pilate looks on at Jesus, he is amazed!
Why amazement?
Because when someone was brought to a Roman governor, and asked to be sentenced to death, then the accused would usually do whatever was in their power to stop that death from being carried out.
Being put to death under the Romans was never going to be a pleasant experience.
But Christ remains absolutely silent, not answering any of the charges.
Now the other Gospel accounts go on to outline various other events that take place during the course of this trial of Jesus before Pilate.
They record that Pilate and Jesus had various other discussions between them.
Matthew’s account reveals that Pilate was warned by his wife not to have anything to do with Jesus.
The other accounts say that when Pilate heard that Jesus was a Galilean, he tried sending Jesus off to Herod so that Herod could be the presiding judge, but that Herod then sent Jesus back.
I say this just so that we understand that this entire trial was somewhat of a process.
It wasn’t merely a few words passed between the two, and then the trial was over.
Mark’s version is somewhat more condensed.
But notice what Mark does go on to record here, from verse 6...
6 Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
There is a custom in operation, where at the Passover, the Jewish people could come to the Roman governor, and ask for a prisoner to be released - to receive amnesty essentially.
And so the crowds would be the ones who determined who it was that they wanted to be released to them.
In this case, the crowds approach Pilate, and he sees this as an opportunity to get Jesus out of his face, and away from him, without having to condemn Jesus.
Read with me verses 9-11...
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
Notice here that Pilate is aware of the reason that the chief priests are handing Jesus over to him.
This man has enough perception to realise that these religious leaders are just envious of Jesus.
One must marvel that those trained in the law of God were so blinded to their own envy!!
The problem is, however, that Pilate would eventually ignore what he knew to be the truth.
He ignored a clear warning from his wife
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
Pilate ignored the fact that the Jews were lying and just wanted Jesus dead for their own purposes.
Pilate ignore the truth because he wanted to hold on to his position with Rome and his power over the people.
Pilate was a weak, cowardly man who was more concerned with maintaining his position and his power than he was with knowing the truth.
He was more concerned with keeping the Jews happy than he was in protecting an innocent man.
Pilate was a coward who placed his position, his prosperity, his pride and his person before his soul.
Pilate could have been saved - the Saviour of the world was there right before Him - but he was too much of a coward to bow before Jesus and believe in Him for salvation.
Pilate rejected Jesus because cowardice has no room for Christ.
Sadly, there are many people like Pilate in our world today.
Not too many possess the position or power that Pilate enjoyed, but many are confronted with the truth of Who Jesus Christ is.
Many are confronted with the sure knowledge that He is the only way to get to Heaven, John 14:6; Acts 4:12.
They come face to face with the truth, but they are too afraid to commit to a life of following Jesus.
Instead, they cling to their sins, their empty lives and ultimately their tragic eternities.
Some reject Jesus because they are afraid they cannot live for Him.
Some reject Jesus because they are afraid of what others will say about them.
Some reject Jesus because they love their sin more than they love the truth.
At the end of the day, all those who reject Jesus do so for the very same reasons Pilate rejected Him.
They reject Jesus because they are afraid!
Afraid to lose something that they hold more dear to their hearts than honouring God!
There are plenty of folk who claim to love Jesus, but they really are just like Pilate, they live to please themselves.
They live by their own rules; they do as they please; they serve God when it fits within their schedule.
For the most part, they are no different than the world around them.
Church, the Bible, prayer, witnessing, giving, are all things other people do.
They are spiritual takers and they give little to nothing back to the Lord they claim to serve.
They are the cowards.
They are the empty pretenders.
They are the people who, like Pilate, will walk away from the truth and drop off into a Christless eternity.
Ultimately, Pilate rejected Jesus, and allowed Jesus to be handed over to be crucified because he wanted to maintain peace, and he wanted to maintain his position of power.
He may have tried to wash his hands of the guilt, but even he had already said to Jesus: Don’t you realise that I have the power to save you, or to put you to death?
At the end, Pilate decided that he would rather have Jesus die.
3) Rejection by the People (v.6-15)
3) Rejection by the People (v.6-15)
Well this leaves us with the third rejection of Jesus, and that is the “Rejection by the People.”
Pilate has examined Jesus and is convinced that He is innocent.
So, Pilate makes the effort to try and free Jesus by offering Him up to be released, as is the custom.
And in verse 7 we read of the prisoner named Barabbas who was in prison as a political prisoner.
He had been arrested for “insurrection” and “murder”.
Barabbas was a revolutionary.
He was trying to over throw the Roman government.
He has been caught and now he was headed for death on a Roman cross.
We must understand that a number of these insurrectionists would arise and try to overthrow the government.
Pilate offers the crowd a choice between Jesus Christ and Barabbas, vv. 8-10.
And he believes that the people will choose the peace-loving Jesus over the violent Barabbas.
He believes the people will choose the One Who had ever done good and right over the one who had only done evil.
Pilate was wrong!
Pilate took a chance to try and get off the hook, by not having to put Jesus (who he knew was innocent!) to death.
But what we find is that the Jewish leaders then began to stir up the crowds.
It’s the religious leaders again who stir up the crowds and cause them to choose Barabbas, a murderer, over Jesus.
Pilate is obviously deeply concerned now about what is unfolding, and so he asks them in verse 12...
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
The response from the crowds is not what Pilate hopes for or expects.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
The crowds are dead set against Jesus.
They want nothing less that Jesus’ crucifixion.
Now we need to ask: Was this the same crowd who had been shouting praises to Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey?
This is actually unlikely.
Remember that the religious leaders themselves had gone about what they were doing in the dark, in the night.
Why was this?
Because they were afraid of the crowds.
They had failed to arrest Jesus in the temple courts because of a fear of the crowds, and that by arresting Jesus they would have a rebellion on their hands.
So this crowd that is here shouting that Jesus should be crucified is in all likelihood a different crowd, and probably one that had come with the intention of having someone like Barabbas released.
As a revolutionary, who was trying to defeat Rome, Barabbas was probably a popular figure with the common man. He was like a folk hero to these people.
Whoever the people in this crowd were, it is very evident that they had no care for Jesus, the Son of God.
They did not believe in Jesus.
He did not seem like the kind of Messiah they were looking for.
Barabbas, on the other hand, was more of what they thought a Messiah should be.
It is commonly believed, based on history, that Barabbas’ full name was “Jesus Bar-Abbas”.
This name means “Jesus the Son of the Fathers”.
On this day the crowds had a choice between “Jesus the Son of the Fathers” or “Jesus the Son of God”.
They chose to have the Son of God crucified!
The crowd’s choice is ironic.
Jesus, who had no interest in rebellion or causing social upheaval, will be crucified between two insurrectionists - those who caused such chaos.
Barabbas, an insurrectionist guilty of murder, will go free because Jesus has taken his place on the cross intended for him.
The crowd chooses the one who takes the lives of others to achieve his own selfish ends and condemns the one who gives his life for others in obedience to God.
The chief priests fear Jesus because he is a threat to the temple, their power base.
In turn, they urge the release of one whose violent ways will eventually rain down terror and destruction on the land.
The sad reality is that the violence of renegades like Barabbas continued to spiral until it eventually erupted in war against Rome.
The outcome was inevitable: Rome destroyed Jerusalem, its temple, and most of the inhabitants in a brutal siege.
Application and Conclusion
Application and Conclusion
Let us consider some points of application for us today.
The first point: Christ died for us.
He surrendered everything for the sake of obedience to the Father, so that we could have the forgiveness of the Father.
Christ owned everything.
Christ had authority and power over even those who were surrounding Him that day.
Christ lived in obedience to the Father’s will, so that we could receive life.
All that we’ve looked at today, and over the past couple of weeks, and what we’ll again at its climax next week, was done for you and I, so that we might receive life.
Have you received this life from Jesus Christ?
The second point of application that we should consider from this event is that once we have submitted to Jesus, we need to resolutely follow Him.
The Christian life is not about a once-off experience, where we ask Jesus into our hearts.
It’s about a life lived entirely for Him, in submission to His will, because we recognise that He is our King!
It is people without this true devotion to Jesus Christ as LORD who will usually end up following the crowd, and going along with the flow.
In this account, Pilate neglected his responsibility, and gave in to the injustice that the crowd sought, refusing to risk anything for another.
He is the kind of leader who forever lives with his finger in the wind to see which way it is blowing, and does something for others as long as it costs him nothing.
He does not truly want truth or justice.
He simply wants to satisfy and appease the crowd, even when he knows that their intentions are less than honorable.
Let us ask ourselves the question today, if we are those tempted to go along with the crowd, simply to protect ourselves.
We live in a society that is quickly losing any sense of moral standards according to God’s word.
The church itself has in many cases begun to turn away from the clear teachings of Scripture, because the crowds are making too much noise, and things are becoming a little uncomfortable.
Let me ask us as a church today, are we’re prepared to stand against the crowd for that which is morally pure and right?
Are we prepared to take a stand for the truth of the Gospel, and for what it means to serve Christ.
Friends, let us fix our eyes on Jesus as we go out into the week ahead.
It was Jesus who stood alone, condemned by all, rejected by all.
It was Jesus who was condemned to death, while Barabbas was set free, as unjust as that was.
And friends, it is us who were set free, as Jesus stood there condemned and rejected.
He took our place in going through this suffering that He was about to endure.
Here was the great injustice, that He should be condemned, so that we could be set free.
And now friends, we are not set free to live as we please.
18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.