Mighty gold that God did spend
at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace
was free. Pardon there was multiplied to
me. There my burdened soul found
liberty at Calvary. All right, go back with me to
Matthew 27. Matthew 27, this story of Barabbas
is given in all four Gospels. Could very much be seen here. The first thing that we're going
to see is a terrible story. black picture of man's utter
depravity and wickedness, a natural man's hatred of all that is holy,
just, and good. Now, especially in this story,
we have to be faithful to Scripture. We cannot preach this story as
bad as it was. The half has never been told.
We have never known what we are capable of. And the gospel only really shines
bright. when it's given in light of just
how bad man is. And the most beautiful part of
this story and the glorious part of this story, the glorious,
the wonderful story we're going to see is this substitution. It's the heart. It is the gospel. Christ in our stead. Two men
were before the people. Verse 11 says Jesus stood before
the governor, and later he stood before the whole mob. Thousands
of people were gathered that day. Jesus, the man. Who is sufficient for this? This
man who walked this planet. Holy. Scripture calls him holy,
harmless, separate from sinners, undefiled. Scripture calls him
the altogether lovely one, beautiful, pure, blameless, good, holy, just, kind, merciful in
all his ways, gracious, lovely, loving, perfect in thought, unable
to be bribed, unprejudiced. Surely good people would love
such a good person as this. Well, good people would. Oh, my. The man. His very character. I thought about this. The very
character of the man, Jesus, ought to make people sit up and
take notice. That this is more than just a
man. There's never been a man like this. That man is not capable. With man, this is impossible
to act as he did, to speak. No man spoke like this man. No
man was more kind. No man was more merciful. No
man was more gracious. No man was more compassionate.
No man was more loving. No man was holy as he was. Just, no man more fair, more
righteous in all his ways. No man, there's never been a
man like this. It ought to make us sit up and think, he must
be more than a man. Even Pilate, not written here,
but in another gospel, when he beheld this man, he watched him
carefully for days, and he exclaimed, behold, the man. God had him
write that to show us what a man, what a man. But he's not just
a man. He's the God-man, God that was
manifest in the flesh. Now, we say this all the time,
don't we? We quote that all the time, don't
we? We keep saying that over and over again, don't we? Well, number one, this is our
salvation. that this man was more than just
a man. A mere man can't save me. Salvation
is of the Lord, you see. And we say it because the world,
all they see is a man. That's all they see. And salvation
is to see this one high and lifted up. Christ said, if I be lifted
up, I would draw all men to him. That's salvation, to see him
as he is. All flesh is going to see him
someday, as he is, aren't they? All flesh. Many are going to
be shocked to see that the Jesus they thought was gentle Jesus,
meek and mild, and so forth, and still in their hands to do
as they will. They're going to be shocked to
see that they are in his sovereign hands, always have been, to do
as he will. going to be shocked. They're
going to see him as he is. Omniscient, all-knowing, omnipotent,
all-authority, all-power over all flesh, Christ said. All power
over all flesh. People don't, they just don't,
well, our Lord said they do err not knowing the scripture. omnipresent,
always present, everywhere, sovereign, reigning. This man who stood
before this puppet judge, pilot, is the one that put him there.
Knoweth all authorities of God, the powers that be are ordained
of God, and the one standing to be accused and judged is actually
the judge of the accuser. That this one is truly the governor,
and the profound irony of all this, Scripture says he stood
before the governor. The governor. Now, that man's
reign ended, didn't it? But of his reign, Scripture says,
of Christ's reign, there's no end. the governor of all the
nations of the universe, sovereign, and all that that meant, choosing
whom he will, saving whom he will, doing as he will. Well,
it was this person that the people hated then, who I'm talking about
now, whom the scriptures declare the sovereign Christ, the reigning
Christ. is the one they hated back then.
Notice when Pilate said, what will you do with Jesus? The Christ. Christ, now, the Jews knew back
then that Christ meant God. Sammy, they knew that the Christ
that was coming was going to be the king, the sovereign one,
the reign over them, the rule of them. God. They said it in
Isaiah 25. The people. This is our God.
We've waited on it. He will come now. They didn't expect him to be
a man. Not like this, anyway. And they hated him. They said,
we will not have this man reign over us. Remember, they said,
you're just a man. You make yourself to be God.
Remember that? Remember, they said, You're not
50 years old yet. Have you seen our father Abraham?
He said, Before Abraham was, I am. And they took up stones. Every one of them got rocks.
We're going to kill him right then and there. No, we will not
have you rain over us. We'll have you heal our bodies.
We'll have you feed our belly. We'll have you do this and that
and the other, but not rain over us. It was that way then, and
it's that way now. And you can preach the good,
kind, gentle Jesus to men today, and they'll love every word of
it. But just don't give us this suffering, Lord. But this is salvation. Isn't
this the message that God used? It was the message at Pentecost,
wasn't it? And it's the message now. It's
the saving message now. Who is this? Just who is this? We can't labor
this point enough. Because of who he is means everything
he said is right. Because of who he is means everything
he did was sexual. Because of who he is, that means
your relationship with him is salvation or damnation. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath
not life. Who is he? Jesus. Jesus. Well, then there's another
fellow, Barabbas. Who is this Brabus fellow, verse
sixteen, he says he's a notable prisoner called Brabus. His name,
I looked it up, it's just the son of a man named Abbas, Mar
Abbas. Brabus, it says, though, was
a notable prisoner. A notable prisoner. We've, in
our history, we've known a few notable Prisoners have the Charles
Manson. The who else. Timothy McVeigh is the notable
one that means notorious. That means everybody knows everybody
takes note. This is the worst fellow of all.
Notable for everybody knew he knew how bad he was notoriously
wicked violence well known for his wicked wickedness a man who
could kill without Just take a life and have no thought whatsoever. There have been many, haven't
there? A man who could take what belonged
to others without any pain or prick of conscience. He was the
people's choice. Amazing, isn't it? I used to
be a preacher. I always use the term so-called
creature. A man many of you older folks
might remember him, named Rex Humbart. I hesitate to use his
name, but he's a notorious, a notable, one of these notable ones. But he got all carried away in
his little sermon one day, and he said, talking about this,
tears running down his face, he said, if I'd have been there,
I'd have stopped it. I'd have been there, I'd have
stopped him. Poor Jesus. No, he wouldn't have, either.
He'd have been careless. If he'd been in religion, he'd
have been careless of the high priest, the one who delivered
him up for money. For money. Judas. The people, verse 17, were offered
a choice. Pilate said unto them, Whom will
ye? Whom will ye that I release unto
you? Barabbas, this notable, this notoriously wicked fellow,
or Jesus, this notable holy man? What will you have? They were offered a choice. Men
like to have a choice, don't they? Men like to have freedom
of will, don't they? All right then, what do you have? Here is holiness personified.
Do you understand this? Yeah, you do. But here's holiness
personified. The only holy man that ever lived,
really, walked this planet. And even his accusers could find
no fault in him. And here is the worst man that
ever lived. What do you take? Who do you
have? The multitude. Roy, there was not one single
dissenting voice. There was not one single person
in the crowd who said, this is not right. To a man, to a woman, to a young
person, they said, verse 22, whither of the two? They said,
Barabbas. Verse 18, we looked at this last week ago or so,
it says they delivered him for envy, meaning they envied his
power, they envied his authority, they envied his everything. He
had all power and authority and they wanted that for themselves.
So, let's get rid of him. Get rid of him. Pilate said,
why? They said, crucify him. Pilate
said, why? What evil has he done? That's just it. Would you go
with me to John 15, John chapter 15. Remember, our Lord said one
time, if you then being evil. Scripture says of the natural
man. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin and the leopard changes spot, neither can you do good,
which are accustomed to doing evil. That's what it says of
the natural man. The new man is a new man, creating
the image of Christ Jesus, just like him. A new creature. A new man is given a new heart.
The heart that's deceitful above all things and desperately wicked,
that hard heart of stone, that's what every man has by nature.
But God Almighty in Ezekiel 36 says, a new heart I will give
him, a heart of flesh. I'll take away that stony heart,
give him a heart of flesh. They'll love me. But the natural
man, that's who we're talking about, the natural man. Our Lord
said this in John 15, verse 22 and following. He said, if I
had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin. But now they have no cloak. No
excuse, no covering. See, what the Lord, what the
Scriptures does, the Word, the Word written and the Word incarnate,
what the Word does is exposes us. The first thing it does,
exposes our evil. A right man is not born good,
but evil. And our Lord went on to say in
John 15, he said, he that hateth me, hateth my father also. Verse
24, if I had not done among them the works which none other man
did, they had not had sin. But now they've both seen and
hated both me and my father. In the name of God, they do what
they do and say what they say, but they don't know God. Our
Lord said, if God were your father, you'd love me. He'd hear me. He'd believe me. He'd bow to
me. But he's not. He's not the father of all men.
He's our father by adoption. So Pilate, back in our text,
Pilate said, why, what evil hath he done? That's not it. The evil's
not in him. It's in them. It's in us by nature. By nature. What evil? Crucify. Do we understand I hope somebody
heard on the radio if not my. I know you'll hear that we understand
that these people. Who were there this day with
the most orthodox they were orthodox Jews they were religious people.
Barnard used to call it a Sunday go to meet and lynch mob. Sabbath
day keeping much they all were very. Very zealous about keeping
the law. I mean the Bible. very moral, very upright. And yet when true holiness walked
this planet, these good, moral, upright, Bible-believing, Sabbath-keeping,
law-keeping people, the utter rebellion and sin came out in
them to the most horrible degree. And they said about God and holiness,
kill him, just kill him, let him die the death of the worst
criminal on earth. I cannot preach this like it
is. And this is the thing, whenever
God begins to deal with any son of Adam, the first thing he shows
them is their utter depravity. Lord, if you don't save me, I'm
going to perish. Lord, I'm such a sinful man. Peter, that's the
first thing that the Lord showed him. He said, depart from me,
Lord, I'm a sinful man. Isn't it? No, Peter, that's why
I came. I'm not going to depart from
you, and you're not going to depart from me. I came to save
you. I came to be your substitute. I came to redeem. I came for
the likes of you. Me, I'm the worst. That's exactly
who I came for. But I'm the chief of sinners.
Yeah, and you're a pattern, Paul. It's all of who God saves. God didn't come to call the righteous,
Christ said. This is a gospel for sinners.
I'm talking hell-bound, hell-deserving sinners. Romans 7 sinners. Those who do evil, they would
not. That's what they do. The good
they would, that's what they can't do. Oh, woe is me! I'm undone. Isaiah, six sinners. Romans 7, who shall deliver me?
Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me? The very next
chapter tells us. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. He's come to deliver us from
what? Sin. And the multitude, oh, I was
stricken with this. Sherry, you're an astute hearer. Take good notes in all this.
As we go through this, we ought to be reminded of Isaiah 53.
Isaiah 53 is in detail all that they did to Christ. Psalm 22.
But Isaiah 53 says, He is despised and rejected of men. Every one
of them. It says, all we like sheep have
gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. We hid, as it were, our faces
from him. There was a time when every believer in here rejected,
thumbs down, the truth. Was not interested in God, not
interested in Christ. Like Barabbas. Like Barabbas. Our Lord, look at this. He exposes
man. In verse 24, it says, Pilate
saw he could prevail nothing, rather a tumult was made. He
took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying,
I am innocent of the blood of this just person. I'm innocent. This man is just. I'm the judge,
and he's just, but I'll kill it. Is he innocent? Is anybody innocent? Can a person
be indifferent to this message? No. Up there in verse nineteen,
it says his wife sent word to him, have nothing to do with
this just man. The just one. Keep saying this.
The just one. She said, have nothing to do.
I've suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
You know, men and women and even young people have a conscience
What is that conscience? What is it? What does the scripture
say? It's the law of God written on the heart. And their conscience
smites them. We better hope our conscience
is never silent or silent. Conscience smite men and women.
Matthew Henry said this, man's conscience is strong, but his
corruptions are stronger. Much stronger. See, somebody's
got to conquer that corruption. Somebody's got to overcome the
evil one, doesn't he? Somebody's got to wrestle this
old Jacob down to the ground, doesn't he, John? Get him down
in the ground and put his hell-bound, unbended knee in the dirt and
put his obstinate hard head, bow his stiff neck and hard heart
and put him down. Is that too rough? Oh, Jacob
was so glad somebody grabbed hold of him. Paul said, I was
apprehended. Aren't you glad? Huh? I was apprehended. A stronger
than I. Oh, I'm so glad somebody stronger
than me got me down. Because if I, he that is amazed
will be exalted. Too hard? No. Old Brother Barnard
used to say this, too. He is first your Lord before
he's your Savior. He's no man's Savior whom he's
not first their Lord. Well, the multitude. Isaiah 53.
Oh, my. It says he was despised and rejected, and every
one of them, and all we did too, you know, how many years did
you spend and didn't give God a thought? Huh? How many? You know, to ignore somebody
is to say the same, it's the same as saying I don't care if
you're alive, isn't it? It's a very rude thing to ignore
somebody, not acknowledge that they're there, a non-person. That's what it is to ignore God
and Christ, isn't it? The one who feeds us, the one
who clothes us, the one whose breath we breathe. We're all
squatters on God's earth, trespassers on God's earth, lived many, many
years and never given God a thought, never even asked him permission
to breathe his air, never given him one word of thanks, huh?
I'm being faithful to this. All of them, all of them, all
we like sheep have gone astray. John, how many years did you
spend in religion before the sovereign Christ made himself
known to you? What if he left you to yourself? Oh, my. And we suffer fools gladly. We
choose wicked men and women. Our will chooses that which is
a robber and a thief. As we noted in the message this
morning, the pulpits are full of thieves and robbers. Isn't
that what the Lord said about when he came into the temple?
He said, you've made my house a den of thieves. Stolen my glory. Come in your own name. Doing
what you do for money. God ought to wipe the whole bunch
out, shouldn't he? Who's he saved here this day? This day? Got all these good moral upright
people, you know, on this day, at this particular time, who
does he say, who does he come to be a substitute for, to take
the place of, the redeemer of? A most notable man, a prisoner. Here is the glorious picture
of salvation, of substitution. Substitution is the gospel. Substitution
is the gospel. Here in this story, in the providence
of God, according to God's predetermined will and counsel. See, God works all things after
the counsel of his own will, Ephesians 1 says. A counsel,
that is a meeting that took place before the world began. God Almighty
was there. I'm talking Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. These three are one. Here, O
Israel, the Lord our God is one, but these three are one." And
they met together in this council, this meeting, and they predetermined
all things, predestinated. If he's God, it must be so, right? If he's God, he doesn't make
plans and they don't come to pass. That's not a God. They asked David, said, what
about your God? He said, I'll tell you about my God. My God
is in the heavens and he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. You see, my God is God. Your
God wants to be and can't unless you let him. But he still won't
be, even if you do. My God is. And my salvation is
he let me know that. He revealed himself to me. He
chose me that I might know and understand that he's God. That's
where it all starts. It's all our comfort, our hope,
our peace, our salvation. Who is this man? God. Come to do his perfect will. He said, And the volume of the
book it is written of me, lo, I come to do thy will. And he said, This is the will
of him which hath sent me, that every one who seeth the Son shall
raise him up, every single one. Roy, he didn't come to try to
do anything. He didn't come to make an attempt
at anything. He didn't come to make a down payment on redemption.
He came to fulfill that eternal counsel held before the world
began. And every person that God Almighty
chose in that counsel, every single human being God determined
to save, will be saved. Their names were put in the Lamb's
Book of Life. Why is it called the Lamb's Book?
He's the one that gives life. As the Father quickeneth whom
he will, even so the Son hath this power to quicken whom he
will." That means give life. And he gave these to his son
in this council to come down and redeem them. Pay the price
for their sin, which is death. The wages of sin is death. to
do for them what they could not do, what God demanded of them.
Just do and live. They can't. They've all broken
it terribly, and they've got to die. Christ did, so they live. He died that they might live.
Substitution. Substitution. And every single
one of them, he said, I, my sheep, I come to, I left the ninety
and nine to go after the one. And he finds them, where he puts
them, and on this particular day, one of them was waiting
in an old, dark, damp jail cell. He's named Barabbas, a notable
fellow. Oh, I love this story. I can
say with absolute confidence, based on the Scripture, that
Barabbas was a saved man. Oh, yeah. Everyone for whom Christ
died is saved. He was a substitute for this
man. God Almighty determined purpose for this certain man
to be in jail at a certain time in order to release him. He only
saved prisoners, you know that? He only saved sinners, you know
that? You know that. And this man was saved for one
reason. This man went scot-free for one reason, one reason only. After it was over, he knew it.
Everybody knew it. Why are you going free? Because
that man died for me. That's why. Picture of salvation. Somebody
took his place, and God Almighty has an elect chosen by him, and
when he chose him, even while we were yet sinners, every one
of them were thieves and murderers, adulterers, guilty, held captive
by sin, Satan, and the world. All of them rebels. Yes, rebels,
guilty of insurrection against the king. We already said that.
With squatters on God's earth, not giving them a thought. How
long would you put up with somebody pitching a tent on your property,
Charles Roth? How long would you put up with somebody just
raping your land? Huh? How long would you put up
with somebody eating all your food, drinking all your water,
and then your son come along and they kill him? So you have
no right here. Kill you. How long would you
put up? Would you do anything for people like that? Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, rebels, that we should be called—oh,
Barabbas could quote this, couldn't he? The thief on the cross could
quote this, couldn't he? Behold! That's his favorite verse,
the thief on the cross, his favorite verse. Oh, heaven and earth, behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon this rebel
that I should be called. Now I'm sitting...Mephibosheth
could...that's his favorite verse, wasn't it? Oh, I'm sitting at
the table with the king. All my brothers are dead. All
of them have been hung up, taking their heads off. All Mephibosheth's
brothers died, had their heads hung up. Not Mephibosheth. Why? A covenant. Are you hearing
me? A council, a covenant. For Christ's sake. God's not
going to take our head because He took my head. Christ's in
my stand. Substitution. A doctrine. I wish
I could preach this like it's a person that took my place. Go down to death row like this
fella, and here's some of the worst fella of all. And go down
there, he's about to go into the gas chamber, the gallows,
and tell him, hold it, stop. Tell Ed Kushner, stay your hand,
stop. Why? Somebody's going to take
his place. Only the heart is dark. Oh, my. That's what this is. Person taking
the place of worthless man. See why we have to paint the
picture as black as it can be? And we can't. We can't. We can't. Nobody has. Has never
been told. God Almighty. Oh, he sent his
altogether lovely son. Go back to... I'm out of time. Go to Isaiah 53 in closing, OK? Let's read this in closing. This
is it. In our behalf. Verse 10, it says,
It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his day, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. What's that
pleasure? To make an Oberabbas his people. He shall see of the
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." Substitution? Satisfaction. By his knowledge,
not ours, his, shall my righteous servant justify many. He shall bear their iniquity. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoiled with
the strong. He hath poured out his soul unto
death. He was numbered with the transgressors.
He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. O Barabbas, it says that Pilate... See, the law demanded this. The
law demanded it. It said, we have a law that such
and such can go free, but one has to be held. Somebody's got
to suffer the penalty. We have a law. Whom will it be? Well, the people said that they
did what God determined before it would be done. It pleased
the Lord to Brutus. God said, deliver him from going
down into the pit of Barabbas. I found a ransom. take him he despaired not his
own son the law says for rabbits must go free. And that man walks
out. No claims on the law no claim.
His record is absolved. He'll never have to face any
crimes he's ever done. You'd think he's a changed man.
Come on now. What kind of Savior is Jesus
Christ if he doesn't? Huh? He ain't no Savior at all.
He's not a Savior in head and doctrine. He gives you a new
heart, a new life. Walk by faith. An old Barabbas
walked out of there. If he didn't know, somebody told
him, you're going out of here because look, look, look right
there on that central cross hanging right there. That man is dying
in your stead. And John, when he looked, he
would say, to see why. Yeah, for God's sake. Amber Abbas is in here. Look,
B.C. Substitute, okay. Okay.