Open your Bibles to Luke chapter
23. The book of Luke chapter 23. Our Lord Jesus has been arrested He's been accused of, and in
the minds of the chief priests and elders, he's been found guilty
of blasphemy. They deliver him, therefore,
to the Roman governor, a man by the name of Pontius Pilate. And after an examination of Jesus
of Nazareth by Pontius Pilate and also by King Herod, they said, we find no fault in
this man touching the things that you accuse him. this man, Pilate, he said, I'll
just whip him, I'll have him whipped, I'll have him beaten
and release him. It was a custom at that time
in the year for the Roman governor, out of goodwill toward the Jewish
people, to release a notable prisoner. And this man, Pilate, he thought
he would use this opportunity to release Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I'll release him. And
they said, no, don't release Jesus. Release Barabbas. Barabbas was a murderer. That's what the scripture says.
Our Lord Jesus had done nothing worthy of death. That's what
the governor said. He's done nothing worthy of death. Then there's that man Barabbas.
He was guilty of sedition and he was a murderer. And all
the people said, release Barabbas. Let him go. As an indication of your good
will toward Israel, release Barabbas. He said, well, I'd rather release
Jesus of Nazareth. He's done nothing worthy of death.
And they insisted. They said, no. Release Barabbas. Well, then he said, what then
shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ? And they said,
crucify him. So they released Barabbas. The order came from the governor,
unlock the jail cell, let him go. I've often thought about Barabbas. There's no indication in the
Bible that he knew anything about the gospel. There's no indication in the
scriptures that he became a believer. But I've often thought as Barabbas
left, as he walked away having received an absolute full pardon,
you're released, you're absolutely free. I wonder if he didn't look back
upon Golgotha's brow and see that man dying on the middle
cross, and if he didn't say something like this, I should have been
crucified, but I'm going free. That man's dying in my place.
Now, I don't think he knew anything about the doctrine of substitution.
There's no indication of that. I don't think he knew anything
about salvation by grace. There's no indication of that.
But I do know this. Jesus of Nazareth died in his
place. Literally. Isn't that right?
He died in his place. If it hadn't been for Jesus of
Nazareth, Barabbas would have been a goner. It would have been
lights out for Barabbas. He goes away scot-free. Was he
guilty? Absolutely. Absolutely guilty. Seditionist and a murderer. But he walks away, all charges
dropped. And isn't it true that all of
those in whose stead Christ died were the Barabbases? We're the guilty ones, there's
no question about it. We're guilty of raising our arms
in rebellion against a holy God. We're guilty of the murder of
the Lord Jesus. We're guilty of all manner of
evil and wickedness and sinfulness. The Bible says all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. And yet this God-man, he takes
our place. And we walk away scot-free. And we look back on Golgotha's
breath. We say as the people of God,
as the redeemed ones, as the reconciled ones, We say as those
who have been ransomed from going down to the pit, we say with
great thanksgiving in our hearts and with worship toward the King,
He took my place. He died my death. I should have been crucified.
I should have suffered. I should have died. I deserve
it. This man, he done nothing amiss. But he took my place. He took my debt. He took all
my transgressions. Scripture says in Isaiah 53,
all we like sheep have gone astray. We turn, every one of us, to
our own way. What did God do? He took all
of our iniquities and He made them to meet on His Son, the
Lamb of God. And He bore our sins away by
His death. Barabbas is released. Our Lord Jesus, it says in verse
25 of Luke 23, He delivered Jesus to their will. To their will. Here is man's will, active. Here is the awfulness of man's
will. Here is the depravity of man's
will. One who was absolutely good in
every sense of the word. One who went about doing good
things for people. One who healed the sick and raised
the dead. One to whom the little children
could come to Him and He would lift them up in His arms. He
would set them in His lap. This is a good man. This is a
man who's done nothing amiss. Even the Roman governor said
that. I've examined him. I find absolutely
no fault in Jesus of Nazareth. But man's will ever, ever against
God, ever set against God, ever set against the Lord Jesus, man's
will, man gets his will, man has his way, and Jesus is delivered to them. You
better hope that God overcomes your will. I know we're We're
covered over with preaching about man's free will. Man's got a
free will. You can do what you want to do.
What will you do with Jesus? If God leaves you to your depraved
will, if God doesn't intervene, If God doesn't interrupt you
in your rebellion against Him, your will will lead to your everlasting
demise. Your will. He delivered Jesus to their will. Our Lord Jesus said in John chapter
5, and ye will not come to me that you might have life. Life's
in me, the Savior said. Forgiveness is in me. Righteousness
is in me. And you won't come to me. Oh,
you'll run to your rituals. Oh, you'll run to your gods.
and to your idols, and to your works, and to your labor, and
to your obedience to the ordinances, but you won't come to me that
you might have life. And life is only in Christ Jesus. And that's the one we won't come
to. We just will not come to Him. Thank God He overcomes our
will. that our will doesn't have the
final word. He makes us alive. He gives us
a new heart. And with the new heart comes
a new will. As it says in Psalm 110 verse
3, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. willing
to be saved by grace, willing to be saved by the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ, willing to be saved by this despised man
of Galilee, willing to be saved the way in which God is exalted
and man is abased, willing to be saved God's way. God makes
us willing. Thank the Lord He does that.
I'm so thankful God didn't leave me to my will, to my way, to
my thoughts, to my inclinations, to my desires. No, God came and
interrupted my fatal, fatal journey toward the pit. And He said,
that's far enough right there. And He made me alive by His Spirit. He sent me the gospel. That gospel
is indeed the very power of God unto salvation. It became a quickening
word to me, to me. And He turned me around. That's
what God does. He turns us around, doesn't He?
We're just going this way, we're in a mad dash toward hell and
don't even know it. And God the Spirit, He comes
and He deals with us in grace and He turns us right around.
And now we're headed to the promised land by God's grace. He delivered Jesus to their will
in verse 26 says, and as they led him away, led him away from where? Out
of the city. Led him away to die. The scripture says in Hebrews
13 verse 12, Wherefore, Jesus also, that He might sanctify
the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate, without
the city, outside the city. They take Him away. They led
Him away. They lead Him. And yet, really,
He's leading them. Isn't that right? He's really
leading them. Because He is in control of this. This didn't happen because of
their will. Not ultimately. Oh, I know it
was their will. That they take Jesus of Nazareth
and see Him nailed to a cross. But there's another will at work. There's always another will at
work. That's the will of God. God's
will is always active. God's will is never passive. God's will is never subjected
to man's will. It's always man's will is subjected
to God's will. It's the divine will that's at
work here. He is led to the cross. He's
led out of the city by God's determinate counsel and purpose
of grace. They laid him away. They laid
hold of one, he's called Simon. He's a Cyrenian coming out of
the country. And on him they laid the cross
that he might bear it after Jesus. Perhaps they thought, I suspect
that they thought, well he's been beaten so bad, we don't want him to die en route
to the cross. So we'll get somebody to carry
the cross for him. But it never says he stumbled
beneath the load of the cross. It never says the cross was too
heavy for him. Don't, it's like I said this
morning, don't read into the scriptures what's not there. I've heard men say he stumbled
beneath the weight of the cross, he just couldn't take it anymore.
And they said, well, take it off of him and put it on Simon.
Doesn't say that. Doesn't say that. He bore it after Jesus. Look
at verse 27. They followed him. A great company
of people. Some were mocking. Some were
weeping. Some were full of joy. Some were
broken hearted. I'd say you'd have to be mighty
calloused to see a man who's all bloodied and beaten, walking toward his death, toward
the place of execution. You see his blood dripping from
him. You see his back so lacerated
that bones are exposed. You know that this man did so
many good things in his life. You have to be mighty hard-hearted
not to feel some grief here. And amongst this great company
of people, there were women which also bewailed and lamented Him. Two different words, bewailed.
You know what that means? A beat on their breast. This is so bad, this is so sorrowful. And lamented. They lamented. That's to cry out loud. They just openly wept. But Jesus, verse 28, He turned toward them, which
He could not have done if He had been carried on the cross.
He arranged all of this. He could not have turned toward
them had He been carried on the cross, but He turned toward them
and He said, daughters of Jerusalem, by the way, I've searched the scriptures
and I've I haven't found, right here in the New Testament, I've
not found any woman that was vocally opposed to Him. Think
about that. It's the men. It's the men. He says, daughters of Jerusalem,
in His hour of great trial, heading to the cross, Ready to die. Ready to bear our
blame. Ready to bear our shame. His thoughts are not for Himself,
but for them. That's just like our Savior,
isn't it? To be concerned about others. He's always been concerned
for His children since before the world began. He turned unto
them and said, daughters of Jerusalem, Weep not for me. Literally, stop crying. Dry up
your tears. I'm willing to suffer and die.
I came into this world for this. Stop crying. I don't fear death,
which is the king of terrors. Stop crying. Don't waste your
tears on me. I don't need them. I'm not the victim here. I'm
the one who's going to where I'll save my people from their
sins. Don't weep for me. These folks
are not in charge. I am. Don't weep for me. I am
the king, I'm the sovereign. All that's going on here is because
I appointed it before the world began to save my people from
their sins by my substitutionary death on the cross. Don't weep
for me. I go to do the work the Father
gave me to do. I go to finish that work. I'm
going to lay down my life for the sheep. I'm going to save
my people. I'm going to redeem my people.
Don't weep for me. Don't weep for me. He knew the
pain and the agony that awaited him. And he also knew it wouldn't
last long. He knew death couldn't hold him
for very long. He would be raised and exalted.
It was for this reason that He came into the world. He came
to give His life a ransom for many. Don't weep for me! That's what He said. Our Lord Jesus did not then,
nor does He now need your pity. He's the Sovereign. He's not
poor little Jesus. He wasn't poor Jesus then. He's
not poor Jesus now. He's the King of kings and the
Lord of lords who exercises His sovereign will over all things. Don't weep for me, He says. Don't
weep for me. You weep for yourselves. Oh, our Savior knew that according
to God's eternal purpose, He would providentially bring to
pass the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Just a few years. The city would be devastated. He said, weep for yourself, weep
for your children. For behold, the days are coming,
in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren and the
wombs that never barren, the paps which never gave suck. Then
they shall begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to
the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in
a green tree, What should be done in the dry? Who is the green tree? He is. He is the only green tree. He is full of life. The sap of
divinity is in Him. That very sap of divine life
is in Him. This is the spotless Lamb of
God. Right here is His qualification
to give His life as a ransom for us. He's the spotless, sinless,
blameless Lamb of God. He's without blemish. He's the
green tree. He's full of life. He's full
of holiness. He is holiness. He is righteousness. But look what's going to happen
to Him. He's going to die. If these things happen to the
green tree, what's going to be done to the
dry? You know who the dry are? Those
without Christ. They're dry. But you have no
life. Here's the Lamb of God. God's
own Son. He dies for sins that are not
His own except by imputation, charged to Him. But He didn't
commit these sins. And yet He did become guilty
by imputation. If this happens to Him, if He
must die, if this one who is the green tree, if this one who
is life, He's the way, He's the truth, He's the life. If these
things, if death must be dealt to Him, what is going to happen
to the dry? If you die without Him, you dry. You'd just be tender for the
fire. Oh my. Oh God, don't let that happen
to anybody here. To my family members and my friends,
if it please you, Lord, according to your free grace, don't let
us be dry trees. I know that's what we are by
nature. You know what we're fit for? Just to be burned. That's so it, just to be burned. Lord, don't let that happen.
Oh God, be merciful. Be merciful to my children. Be
merciful to my grandchildren. Be merciful to my friends. Be
merciful to the people to whom I minister, to whom I preach. We're all dry trees. And the only way we're going
to live is if He passes our way with the gospel of His grace.
And He says, it's the time of love. And I say unto you, live. That's when we'll live. We won't
be dry trees anymore. He puts His life in us. He is
our life. Isn't that what the scripture
says? Christ, who is our life, shall someday appear. He says, it says in verse 32, and there were also two other
malefactors, evildoers, led with him to be put to death. Do we not read of these malefactors? Do we not read of our Savior
in Isaiah 53? He was numbered with the transgressors. numbered with the transgressors,
made his grave with the rich. And when they were come to the
place, come to the place, not just any old place, the place. This is the place marked out
from old eternity. This is the place. This is where
it's all going to be taken care of, the place. This is where
our sins are going to be put away. This is the place where
righteousness is going to be brought in. This is the place
where we're going to be redeemed by the blood of the Savior that
came to the place. When they were coming to the
place which is called Calvary, There they crucified him, and
the malefactors, one on the right hand, the other on the left. You read over these verses that
I've just tried to summarize for you. You draw this conclusion,
our Lord is on the road to Calvary. Then he finally arrives at his
destination. He's on the road to Calvary. Nobody could stop Him. Nobody
could hinder Him. He won't be turned away from
going to the place of His death. You see, our Lord came into this
world with His eye always upon Calvary. And as a result of Calvary,
there would be the crown that would be given to him. Look over
at chapter 24 of Luke. Our Lord, this is after His resurrection,
He's talking to His disciples on the road to Emmaus. Chapter
24, verse 25. And then He said unto them, O
fools, slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken." You know, this verse often rebukes me. Oh, fool and slow of heart to
believe. You know, we ought to be quick
to believe, shouldn't we? We ought to be quick to believe
all that God says in His book. And a good bit of the time we
find, really, we're fools. We're so foolish. You know what
the most foolish thing in the world is? Not to believe God. That's the most foolish thing
in the world. You ever heard the expression, I know you have
words as good as gold? Well, God's worth better than
gold. The Word of God, the Word of the Everlasting One, the Word
of Jehovah, the Word of the Great I Am. If He says something, you
know He's going to stand behind it. He says, Heaven and Earth
will pass away. My Word will never pass away.
Not my promises. Old fools, and slow of heart
to believe. I say, Lord, that's me. Don't
condemn the fools, Lord. I'm one of them. I'm one of them. Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. I want to believe more. No fools
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and then to enter
into His glory. Ought not Christ, notice, ought
not Christ to have suffered these things? He had to suffer these
things. This was His destiny. I heard
people throw that expression around. Well, that's His destiny. Well, everybody's got destiny.
Whether you acknowledge it or not, God's predestinated all
things and your destiny has been marked out. This was His destiny.
He was destined to die. and destined to rise again, and
destined to take His seat in the heavenlies at the right hand
of the Father, because He finished the work that God gave Him to
do. He saved His people from our sins. He's exalted God. He's magnified God's law and
made it honorable. He's satisfied divine justice. He's the great sin offering,
the substitute for His people. He suffered, He bled, He died.
He's been exalted. Exalted. This had to happen. It says in Isaiah chapter 50 verse
7 of the Savior, I have set my face like a flint, and I know
I shall not be ashamed. Nobody could stop Him from dying
in our rooms, dead in place. This had to be. Our Lord, our
Lord has always been on the road to Calvary. From old eternity
He was on the road to Calvary. Back yonder in old eternity in
the covenant of grace, our Lord received His chosen people as
a gift from the Father. It was ordained He would save
His people from their sins. He began right then and there,
if I may put it that way, He began the road to Calvary. Right after the fall, in Genesis
chapter 3, He appeared to Adam and Eve and He declared His coming. He said the seed of the woman
would bruise the head that is the empire, the power and the
authority of the serpent. Then he taught them the gospel
by killing innocent animals in their stead. And even then, he
was on the road to Calvary. When He led Israel out of Egypt
and through the wilderness, He was to them a pillar of fire
by night and a pillar of cloud by day. And all along, He was
on His road to Calvary. Throughout the Old Testament,
He appeared to various individuals. He appeared to Abraham. He appeared
to Jacob. He appeared to David. He appeared
to Nicodemus. He appeared with Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego in the fire. And you know what? He's on the
road to Calvary. That's where he's going. He was born of a virgin in a
manger. You know why? He's on the road
to Calvary. The angels, they sang praises
to Him. The shepherds rejoiced at His
coming. Joseph and Mary were thankful
when they took Him to the temple to do with Him according to the
law. Simeon and Anna and others who
looked for redemption in Jerusalem, they all blessed the name of
God that Messiah had come. And even then, He was on the
road to Calvary. when he was 12 years old. They
took him to the temple in Jerusalem. Later, Joseph and Mary, after
they had left and gone back to the house, gone home, they missed
him, realized he wasn't with them. They go back after him. And he said to them, wished you
not that I must be about my father's business. He is on the road to
Calvary. When he was baptized by John
the Baptist, John forbade him, you know, the Savior said, baptize
me and John the Baptist forbade him and he said, I have need
be baptized of you. Our Lord Jesus said, thus it
becometh us to fulfill all righteousness
now. He was on the road to Calvary. He stopped by Jacob's well and
revealed himself to a Samaritan woman as he was on the road to
Calvary. When he revealed his glory to
Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration and
spoke with Moses and Elijah about the death that he would accomplish
in Jerusalem, he was on the road to Calvary. When Simon Peter tried to talk
him out of going to Jerusalem, because Simon feared the multitudes
would take his master, our Lord then was on the road to Calvary.
He said to Simon, get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offense
unto me. Thou savorest not the things
that be of God, but the things that be of man. when he healed blind Bartimaeus
outside Jericho, and then went through Jericho and saved another
one of the children of Abraham, a man by the name of Zacchaeus.
Our Lord was on the road to Calvary when Judas the betrayer sold
him for 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests. He was on
the road to Calvary. from old eternity. This is where
He's been heading. It wasn't man's doings. This
is God's doing. God brought this to pass. Let
me give you one more reference. Turn over to Acts chapter 4.
Look at Acts chapter 4. I'm saying from Old Eternity,
every step which the Lord took, the Lord Jesus, every step that
He took was leading Him to Calvary. And in time, He arrived. God purposed it. The Scriptures
had declared it. The Savior had been directing
His every move to arrive at this destination, Calvary. Acts chapter 4. Verse 26, the kings of the earth,
this is a quote out of Psalm 2. Acts 4 verse 26, the kings
of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together
against the Lord and against His Christ. For of a truth against
thy holy child Jesus whom thou hast anointed, and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
be done." It's all arranged beforehand. And I'm thankful everything has
been arranged beforehand, aren't you? That gives me great peace
and joy. Everything has been arranged.
And our Lord, He died by divine design to save His people from their
sins. And we rejoice that He did. And
we rejoice that He called us dead trees, dried up trees. He planted us in His garden.
He fills us with life. And in Christ Jesus we have life
more abundantly. And we bless him for it. Let's
sing a closing song.