You know, this is something that
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that all of our speakers here
this weekend are faithful, gifted pastors, gifted men. But I have
a very personal connection with Brother Todd, our next speaker,
pastor of Todd's Road Grace Church in Lexington. Todd is the pastor
of my two daughters and now my two sons. And I can't tell you
how often I hear this statement. on the telephone from one of
them, you've got to hear the message Todd preached today.
And today I get to, and I'm looking forward to it. So Todd, you come
preach to us. We turn to Luke chapter 23. Verse 16, Luke chapter 23. This is Pilate speaking. And he says, I will therefore
chastise him, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, and release
him. For of necessity he must release
one unto them at the feast. And they cried out all at once,
away with this man and release unto us Barabbas, who for a certain
sedition made in the city and for murder was cast into the
prison. Very few of the events surrounding
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Very few of those events are
recorded in all four gospels. Barabbas was. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
All tell us of this man Barabbas. And the Lord obviously, put Barabbas
at this time to teach us what was really going on in the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can understand what was taking
place by seeing what took place with this man named Barabbas. Now we know of one man That Christ
literally took his place, don't we? He took the place of this man
called Barabbas. Barabbas did not ask him to. This was done without Barabbas
knowledge of it. But he found out it happened. You know when the Lord saved
somebody, you know what they find out? They find out the Lord saved
them. They find out the Lord took their
place. You know when I hear people say,
I got saved, I just cringe when I hear something like that. I
got saved. I found out the Lord saved me. On a Friday morning, three men
were scheduled to be crucified by the Roman government. Crucifixion,
a death reserved for the vilest of criminals. Two of the names
of the men that were scheduled to be crucified, we don't know.
We know they were both thieves. But the middle cross was reserved
for a man by the name of Barabbas. Barabbas was a wicked man. No
question about that. Matthew's account tells us he
was a notable prisoner, notorious, public enemy number one. John
tells us he was a robber. Now that means much more than
a petty thief. He was one who plundered by violence. He was one of the type of people
who would do home invasion, knock your door down and hurt you and
take what was yours. He was a notorious criminal. In the passage I just read, it
says for certain sedition and murder, he was cast into the
prison. He was a man who stirred up rebellion
and he was a murderer, a menace to society. Would you want this
man released and put out on the streets? No. We're all safer with him behind
bars. That's where we want him. Barabbas. Barabbas means son of the father. Barabbas is a great type of the
son of the father and sons of the father, as we shall see. Now, while Barabbas was laying
in bed on the floor, I'd say, that Thursday night in prison,
I doubt that he got much sleep that night. He knew that the
next day he was going to be nailed to a cross. Now what was going
on through his mind? Was it bitterness over the events
that brought him to this place and looking at the life and all
the things that had happened to him that arranged all this? Was it just hardness? Was it
fear, scared to death of the pain that was getting ready to
take place? Mark's account tells us he was
bound. waiting for the soldiers. He had no idea. Perhaps he'd
never heard of Jesus of Nazareth, but while he was in prison, something
else was taking place that he didn't know anything about. Turn
with me for a moment to Matthew chapter 27. Verse 15. Now at
the feast, Matthew 27, 15. Now at the feast,
the governor was want to release unto them, unto the people, a
prisoner whom they would. Now this was not prescribed in
the law. This was the feast of the Passover
he was talking about, but the Roman government, in order to
placate them and to make them feel better about their situation
on the Passover, their big feast day, he would let them have any
prisoner they wanted to be brought out of prison. And I guess they
thought this was a great privilege to be able to do that. And there
might be somebody in prison they wanted out. Now, there was one
prisoner he knew they wouldn't want out. Barabbas. Nobody wanted him out on the
streets. He was a murderer. And he thought the reason he
brought up Barabbas is he thought surely they'll say release Christ
and keep Barabbas in prison. I mean, this guy is a monster.
But so that's what he was thinking. I have no doubt when he suggested
the release of Barabbas. Now, Pilate was a savvy politician
and he knew everything that was going on. And as a matter of
fact, the scripture says he knew that for envy they had delivered
him. He knew what was going on, but
he wanted, he wanted Christ released. He thought he was an innocent
man and he did not want this to happen. So he suggests Barabbas.
Now let's go on reading. Today, verse 16, they had a notable,
a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they were gathered
together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto
you, Barabbas or Jesus, which is called Christ? Now, like I
said, I know he thought they're going to ask for Christ to be
released. I can get him out of this because I'm putting up the
worst person we have. And surely they'll say, let Christ
be released. For he knew that for envy they
had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment
seat, his wife said unto him, sent unto him saying, have thou
nothing to do with this just man? For I have suffered many
things this day in a dream because of him. Now, can you imagine
how uncomfortable that made Pilate feel? But the chief priests and
the elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas
and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said
unto them, Whither of the twain will ye that I release unto you?
They said, Barabbas. Pilate said unto them, What shall
I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? They all say unto
him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what
evil hath he done? But they cried out the more,
saying, Let him be crucified. Pilate saw that he could prevail
nothing. but that rather a tumult was made. There was going to
be a riot on his hands. He took water and washed his hands before
the multitude saying, I'm innocent of the blood of this just person.
See ye to it. Then answered all the people
and said, his blood be on us and our children. May his blood be upon me and
my children. A request. Then released he Barabbas
unto them. And when he had scourged Jesus,
he delivered him to be crucified. Now this was going on without
the knowledge of Barabbas in the prison center. And I can
picture him laying there and hearing the guards coming and
a sense of dread comes over him as to what is getting ready to
take place. And the guards open the door and say, you've been
set free. You're free to go. You're released. I have four points to this message. Sovereignty. sin, substitution,
salvation. All those are seen in the story
of Barabbas. This is a true story and God
puts it here so we will understand the cause. Barabbas set free. Now would you turn back to Luke
chapter 23. Luke chapter 23. Look at verse 17. For of necessity. And that's a strong word, isn't
it? For of necessity, he must. release one unto them at the
feast." Now, this was not prescribed in the law. There wasn't anything
in the Pentateuch about this, nothing in the Old Testament
about this, but yet it says, of necessity, he must release
one at the feast. Well, did the law say he had
to do that? Why was it necessary? I can answer
that question. It was necessary because it was
the will of God. was necessary because it was
the will of God. You see, the cross of Christ
was the will of God. Listen to this statement. It's
the fall of our first parents in the garden. The cross was not for God to
clean up the mess. of the fall of our first parents
in the garden. The fall of man was for the cross. Think about that. The purpose
of the fall of man, I think of God saying to Adam in the day
you eat thereof, you shall surely die. He didn't say if you eat,
he said when you do, you shall surely die. Now the purpose of
the death of Adam and the fall of Adam and the sin and everything
was for the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the reason
behind all God does. Christ is the lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. Now, the reason this must happen
is because the cross must happen. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ,
what he did on Calvary Street. Let me say three or four things
about it before I go on. It is The event. Of history. It's the most important thing
has already taken place. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's the focal point of history. Nothing. Can even be compared
to the importance of the cross. The cross of our Lord being sent
to that cross. It's the most evil thing to ever
take place. Where men? nailed God in Christ,
God, the God man to the tree because I hated him. It's the
most evil event to ever take place, isn't it? Has there been
anything as bad as that? And yet it's the most glorious
thing to ever take place. It's the most God like thing
God ever did. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The cross of Christ is the subject of the eternities. Before time
began, He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
In eternity, what is the theme? Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. The cross is the reason behind
all that God That's why it was a necessity
that one get released. It was God's purpose. God is sovereign. He doeth according
to his will in the armies of heaven and among the heavens
to the earth. None could stay his hand or saying
to him, what do us now? When Peter begins that glorious
message on Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost, he begins
with this. Him being delivered by the determined
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and with
wicked hands have crucified and slain. I mean, that's right at
the beginning. We don't apologize for that. We glory in it. This
is our God. I love it when he says, when
the early church said both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles
and the people of Israel. Who's that? Cover everybody.
Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the people of Israel were
gathered together. Who gathered them together? God
did. For what reason? To do whatsoever thy hand and
thy counsel determined before to be done. The necessity arose because of
the absolute sovereignty of God who has complete control over
the free and uncoerced actions of men. My second point, sin. No doubt that Brabus was a wicked
man and he had committed many crimes. But did you know that
while sin is seen in Brabus, It's seen more clearly in the
will of the people. Travis was a bad man. Everybody
agrees with that. He's a murderer. He's a wicked
man. He was a notorious criminal. He was bad news. He needed to
be in prison. No doubt he was a sinner. But
you know, you don't really see the reality of sin there. Where
you see the reality of sin is in the fact that the people desire
the rabbis over the blood. Verse 20 of Luke 23. Pilate therefore, willing to
release Jesus, spake again to them, but they cried, saying,
Crucify him, crucify him. And he said to them the third
time, Why? What evil hath he done? I found no cause of death
in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go. And they
were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of
the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that
it should be as they required. And he released unto them him
that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they
had desired. But he delivered Jesus to their
will. We talked about the will being
the weakest part of us. It's true. You know what else
it is? It's the most evil part of us. It's the most evil. part of us. We will not have
this man to reign over us. You will not come to me that
you might have life. Oh, the wickedness, the depravity
of man is seen in their will. This will that's controlled by
an evil nature that requires nothing less than the death of
the Son of God dissatisfies lust. Now, People talk about free will. There's no such thing. I mean,
it's an absurdity. Your will is controlled by your
nature. Even God doesn't have a free will. He can't sin. He
can't lie. His will is controlled by his
holy nature. What is the most evil part of
man? My will. The will shows what we really
are. Everything else is a cover-up. What you desire, that's what
you really are. And man's will is shown to be
what it is, and it shows the complete depravity of man. But what I love thinking about
is while men, we see the wicked evilness
of men, we also see the will of God at work controlling all
the wicked actions of men to bring about the most glorious
thing to ever take place, the cross. of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the third point is substitution. Sovereignty. This was God's will
taking place. Sin. We see the sin of men in
desiring Barabbas over the Son of God. Let me let me make one
comment about this. People don't realize how much
they hate the Son of God until they hear the gospel. It's when
you hear the truth. I mean, you're fine with Christ
until you find out who he is. And that's when people when people
hear of a of a savior where salvation is in his hand. It's up to him
as to whether or not you're going to be saved or whether you're
going to be cast away. It's totally in his hands. People say, we won't have that.
We'll not have this man reign over us. You don't have any choice.
You don't have any choice. But that's when people find out.
That's when their will They like a Jesus they can control and
keep in their back pocket and get him out whenever they want
and use him to bless them and all that kind of stuff. But I
mean the sovereign savior. That's where men say we'll not
have this man reign over us. But understand this. Substitution. Now, Erbil Barabbas is in prison. They open up the door and they
say you're set free. Don't you reckon he asked why?
You know he did. Well, this is the best thing
I've ever heard. Why? Jesus of Nazareth has taken your
place. You're the one released. He is
taking your place. Substitution. Now here's what
took place. Stay with me. Here's what took
place. Guilty was set free. and the innocent was condemned. Now hold on, somebody's thinking,
where are you going with this? Guilty, Barabbas was set free. The innocent, the Lord Jesus
Christ, was condemned. What a horrible thing when the
guilty are set free. Ask the victims' relatives, the
people Barabbas murdered, ask them how they feel about him
being set free. What if somebody killed your child and all of
a sudden they were set free? What a horrible thing when the
guilty are set free. What a horrible thing when the
innocent are condemned. Notice that this is a very sobering
thought that right now while you're sitting here, there's
somebody sitting in prison that did not do the crimes they were
committed and they're there. What a horrible, horrible thing.
How many times have people who Maybe we were executed knowing
that very second when they were executed, I'm not guilty of this
crime. That's a horrible thing, isn't
it? When the guilty are set free and the innocent are condemned. Turn with me for a moment to
Proverbs chapter 17. Verse 15. He that justifieth the wicked. That's the guilty being set free. He that justifieth the wicked
and he that condemneth the just. Even they both are an abomination
to the Lord. Now this was said by the one
who said, I will by no means, under no circumstances, will
I clear the guilty. Aren't you glad God's like that?
Now here's the glory of the gospel. God has made a way to be just
and to by no means clear the guilty and yet justify somebody
like me. that I'm filled with sin and
guilt. That that is the glory. That
is the glory of the gospel. Have God has made a way to be
just and yet justify those Christ died for. For he had made him
to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him. Now, somebody may be thinking,
how can that be? How can it be right? How can it be fair for
God to place our sin on Christ and him to give the righteousness
of Christ to us? How can that be fair? How can
it be just? How can it be right? Because
God did it. No other reason is needed. If God did it, it's right. He doesn't do it because it's
right. It's right because he does it. If God did it, it's right. You know, Christ did all this
willingly. This wasn't pushed on him. He
did all this willingly. He said, no man takes my life.
I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it up. This
commandment have I received of my father. What he did, everything
he did was willing. He did it because he wanted to.
I love it when they came to arrest him and they said, whom seek
ye? And they said, they said, Jesus
of Nazareth, I am. And they went backwards by almighty
power. The Lord was letting them know
at this time, I'm not a victim. This is my will being done. You're
in my hands. Everything he was doing, he was
doing willingly. So we can't say. this was a bad
thing. You know, somebody wrote a book
once. You might remember about 20 years
ago when bad things happen to good people. This is the only
time that ever took place. And it happened because he willed
it. You see, the Lord Jesus loves
his bride. My wife right now, you know,
she's she's sick. I mean, she's she's got a fever. She's got, you know, if I could,
I'd pick her sickness. If I could, I would, but I can't. He loves his bride. And you know, this is a reminder
to us that we're saved the same way we were lost. You know, I
was lost? I was lost by what somebody else did. I was in him. I'm guilty of a sin, but I was
lost by what somebody else did. I've lost twice every boy. And
beloved, I'm saved by what somebody else did. All together. On the cross, the guilty was condemned. And the innocent were set free. poor publican in the back of
the temple, beaten on his breast. God, be merciful to me, thee
sinner. What did the Lord say about that
man? He said, I say unto you, that man who by his own admission
was guilty before God, that man went down to his house justified
rather than the other. You know what that means? It means he wasn't guilty. It
means he never sinned. means he was innocent. That is
the glory of the substitutionary death of Christ. When you see me, if you outlive
me, and you see me laying in a coffin, dead, remember this. This is the one thing I'd like
you to remember about me. The only reason he's in heaven because
Christ died for him. Period. That's the one singular
only reason. Last point of salvation. There
was one reason why Barabbas was set free. Now understand this,
there's one reason why Barabbas was set free. It wasn't because
he was sorry. It wasn't because he made restitution.
It wasn't because he promised to straighten up his act and
never do any of those things again. It wasn't because he asked
Christ to take his place. There's one reason why he was
set free. Christ took his place. That's it. Notice in Luke chapter 23. Verse 25. And he released. Unto them him that for sedition
and murder was cast into prison. He was released. That word released. Is a description
of God's salvation. It's translated by these words
in the New Testament. Loose. Dismiss. Case dismissed. Depart, forgive,
go, set at liberty, send away, put away. That's what Christ
did with my sins. He put them away so they are
no more. Even the sins that I commit every day They're gone. They're separated from me as
far as the East is from the West, because Christ died for me. Now, the Lord did not take everybody's
place. I would be wrong if I would look
at this group of people and say, I promise you, Christ died for
you. I would just be so wrong in doing
something like that. Well, who did he die for? How
can I know if I'm somebody he died for? And that's what I'm
mainly interested in. I'm interested in you, but I'm
more interested in me. If I had access to the Lamb's Book of
Life, I know which name I'd be looking at first. And it wouldn't
be yours. I'd look for you after me. But
the point is, how can I know that Christ died for me? Do you believe it's the Son of
God? I'm not asking you if you believe
you're saved, or if you believe you're one of the elect, or if
you believe that Christ died for you, or if you have been
born again. I'm not asking any of those things.
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal, uncreated Son
of God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity? Now, you
remember that Ethiopian eunuch. After he heard Philip preach
the gospel to him, he said, see, here's water. What hinders me
from being baptized? If there's a reason I shouldn't
be, I want to know what hinders me. Job said, if you believe
with all your heart, you may. And he said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Christ died for that man. He
died for everybody who believes that.