Each of the gospels, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John told the story inspired of the spirit
of God from each one's own viewpoint and understanding.
And I'm interested this morning in how things must have looked
through the eyes of this man Barabbas introduced to us in
verse seven. He is in a position to give us
a glimpse of the gospel that no other individual was in the
position to give. So I'm calling this message,
The Gospel According to Barabbas. We have Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John. Let's find out here about the
gospel according to Barabbas. Now, first, I suppose most every
one of us here this morning have seen or read what is called a
gospel track, usually a little folded piece of paper with some
sort of a catchy title and normally three or four points or thoughts
that supposedly present the gospel. And I'm certainly not being critical
of the gospel in print. Don't think that, oh no. But
if Barabbas had picked up the average or even most so-called
gospel tracts, he would have read it and said, this is nothing
like the picture I see. And this is of no value to me.
Many times the first thing a tract will say is you are a sinner. Well, Barabbas knew that. You know that. He didn't need
anybody to tell him that. He knew it. Everybody else knew
it. And we can see that really in
his name, Barabbas. Let's study his name a minute.
Barabbas, the prefix bar means son of. We find that numerous
times In the new Testament, Jesus called Peter, Simon bar Jonah,
that is son of Jonah Bartimaeus son of Timaeus. So bar is son
of, and then the suffix ABBA means father Romans eight 15,
whereby we cry ABBA father. So this name Barabbas means son
of his father. who was the son of his father,
who was the son of his father, all the way back to Adam, who's
all of us his father. It is referenced to our inherent
Adamic nature. And in that sense, this morning,
we are all named Barabbas. We're all sons of our We all possess the same sinful
nature of our fathers, all the way back to Adam. And deep down
in your heart, you really don't need anybody to tell you that
your name is Barabbas. You know, it is, you know, it
is. Secondly, Barabbas didn't need
anyone to tell him what he was. He wasn't just Barabbas by nature. He was a practicing sinner. Is that what you are? A practicing
sinner? The next thing a lot of little
tracks will say after they've said you are a sinner, then they'll
say you have sinned. Surprise, surprise. That's what
sinners do. And this guy Barabbas hadn't
passed up many opportunities. And neither have the rest of
us. He had proved what he was, a practicing sinner. He's mentioned,
by the way, in all four Gospels. And I'll refer to this just to
show you what a notable figure he is here in the story. Matthew
says in Matthew 27, 16, that Barabbas was a notable prisoner. He wasn't just a prisoner. He
was a notable prisoner. And here in our text, Matthew
15, 7, we read that he lay bound in prison with them which had
made insurrection with him, insurrection meaning rebellion. And he had
committed murder in the process. A rebel by choice and by conduct. The gospel of Luke 23, 19 says
that Barabbas was a murderer and was cast into prison. The
Gospel of John says, John 18, 40, now Barabbas was a robber. So he's called a notable prisoner,
insurrectionist, rebel, murderer, robber. So not only did Barabbas know
who he was, a sinner, but he had well proved what he was.
A practicing sinner. He knew it. Everybody else knew
it. Thirdly, Barabbas knew where he was. He's locked up in prison. He laid bound, it says here.
Already tried convicting, convicted and awaiting execution in the
morning. It's over. They are presently
building the cross. He's to die on. He might could have heard from
outside his prison cell, the ring of the hammer, building
the cross. He knows it and everybody else
knows it. He's locked up. He don't have
the keys to the cell. Neither do you. Neither do I. He's totally without hope. It's
only a matter of time and it's over for him. There is no mercy
of the court. There is no governor's pardon
so far as he knows. There is no crooked lawyer trying
to get him off. It's over for him. And oftentimes so-called gospel
tracts will say something like, You hold the key. You're the
rebel. You're the robber. You're the
murderer. You're locked up. You're condemned. They're going to execute you.
But it's up to you what happens. You hold the key. It's up to you whether you get
out of this prison house or not. Barabbas would say, That religion
is not for me. I don't have the keys. I wish
I did. That must be for somebody else. This is totally foreign to my
situation. And it is to mine and it is to
yours and to every sinner's situation. You don't hold the keys. The
law does. This is not Mayberry. Those of
us that have seen the Andy Griffith show, the town drunk, Otis Campbell,
he gets drunk every weekend, goes to jail, takes the key off
the wall, unlocks it, goes in, puts the key back on the wall
and goes to sleep. He sleeps it off. Next morning, he gets
up, reaches through the bars, gets the key, unlocks the door,
puts his coat on, puts the key back on the wall, leaves. He holds the keys. No, it don't
work that way. It don't work that way. Visit
any prison you like. Who's got the keys? Not the prisoner. It's the law that has to be satisfied.
It's the just demands of the law that's to be met before anybody
walks out. Now I want to give you three
things that stand out clearly in this story. The gospel according
to Barabbas, it would do us well to grasp these three things.
Number one, Barabbas realized. That while all that transpires
here concerns him and involves him, it's not at all about him. The people weren't crying, crucify
Jesus because they wanted to get Barabbas off. Oh no. They didn't care anything about
Barabbas. It's simply that they wanted
Jesus crucified so much that they said, release Barabbas. So what took place involved him
and benefited him, but it was not about him. What was it about then? It was
about all the forces of hell squaring off against God. to destroy the Son of God. That's
what it was about. It was the fulfillment of Genesis
3.15. It was God, through the crucifixion of His Son, bruising
the serpent's head and conquering sin, conquering Satan, defeating
once for all death, hell, and the grave. It was heaven versus
hell. It was God versus Satan. what
the cross was about. It involved Barabbas. It certainly
benefited Barabbas, but it wasn't about Barabbas. It was about
the honor of God himself. A lot of people need to learn
that about the gospel, this little humanistic, sentimental stuff
that God loved you so much. He sent His Son to die just for
you. If you'd have been the only person on earth, He'd still have
done it just for you. It's all about you. No, it's
all about Him. Sovereign, victorious, conqueror,
King of the universe. It's about Him. And He involved
us, but it's not about us. Barabbas understood that. Secondly,
Barabbas understood though I'm not in a position to ask, let
alone demand that Jesus of Nazareth die in my stead. That's not my
call. It's, it's out of my hands. I
have no say in it, but I do understand this. If he does die in my stead. The law demands that I be set
free. They're not building, but one
cross to execute judgment on my sin. And if he dies on that
cross, I don't have to. He understood that. So many teach
today that Christ died for you. He took your place. He paid your
debt. But if you won't accept what
He did, then it's worthless. He died in vain. He shed His
blood in vain. And they make you the sovereign
in the matter. Even though He paid your debt,
He died for you, if you won't accept Him, you'll have to go
to hell and pay again. That's not the gospel. No. Whom the father gave to the son
in eternity past. Christ came into this world to
lay down his life for his sheep and every single one that he
paid for. The blessed Holy spirit is faithful
to come to your house and convict and convert and change and conform. to the image of Jesus Christ
when we leave this world. He's faithful. He's faithful.
Don't tell me that he shed his blood for people in hell. He
wasn't that big of a failure. No, no, we don't believe that. If Christ died for you, the Holy
Spirit will sooner or later get your attention. Convict you,
bring you to repentance, change your heart, change your life,
and you will live no longer for the pleasures, the satisfaction
of what this world can give. You'll be interested in the homeland. You'll be interested in pleasing
Him who lives in your heart. That's how it works. Playing
religion is one thing. Being a child of the King is
another. Well, Barabbas had the picture.
He had the picture. See, when you're facing a cross
at daylight, you get it straight. He had it straight. Those soldiers never went down
to the cell to Barabbas and said, Mr. Barabbas, We know you were
scheduled to die on this cross this morning, but there's possibly a change
of plans. Would you be willing? Would you
cooperate with us and let another man have your cross this morning?
We can't do it without your permission. No, no, no. That's not how it
works. Would you protest that decision being made without your
consent? No, they never did that. They
never did that. The only crowd on earth that
has a problem with God being God, taking the initiative, showing
mercy to whom he will show mercy, saving his people, the only crowd
on earth that has a problem with that is a self-righteous religious
crowd that we're very blessed with many of them in this part
of the country. Still rebels in their heart. They hate God. And they say, I'll not have anybody
deciding for me. Not even God. A lot of folk need to know what
Barabbas knew. Christ either died for me or he didn't. And
if he did, I'm free. And if he didn't, I'm damned.
End of story. It's not rocket science. Thirdly, finally, Barabbas knew
something else. He understood that if Jesus of
Nazareth died on the cross, his cross, the cross made for Barabbas, He understood that if Christ
suffered that judgment, he could never again be tried
for those crimes. They've already been paid for.
One has already died for these sins. They're gone forever. I'm
free and free forever. They'll never come up against
me again. I know a lot of so-called grace
preachers, but that's their favorite word.
Yes. We're saved by grace, but yes,
our sins are forgiven. But yes, I know our sins are gone
past, present and future. But yes, I know I'm free from the
law of sin and death, but Yes, I know the Bible says there is
therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
But do you think Barabbas left that
prison and went his way saying, I know I've been released, but I know the law was satisfied,
but I know I'm free to go, but I know I can't be tried for these
crimes again, but no, no. He left there saying I'm released. I'm free. Praise God because
another died in my stead. He died for what I've done. He
died for what I am. If you could believe this gospel,
according to Barabbas, I don't know if you can, if you could
believe this, you could be free. I don't care how many people
you've shot or how many banks you've robbed or how many people
you slept with. If you could believe this gospel
of Barabbas, you could be free today. Makes all the difference. It was good news to him when
they told him, you're not going to that cross. Somebody else
is. And his name is Jesus. They've just got three crosses and none of them are for you. This morning, dear ones, Christ
has fixed it for us. He has really fixed it for us
and that forever. Don't waste your time straining
religiously to live good enough to prove that you don't need
Christ. That's the thrust of modern religion.
Live good enough where you don't even need him. No, it's too late
for that. You need him. You need him. You were Barabbas last week. You'll be Barabbas this week.
You blew it last week. You blow it this week. We're not here today to make
a statement that we're making the grade. No, we're here to make a statement
that we haven't made the grade, but there is one who made it
for us. And we worship him. We bow to him. Barabbas never walked away with
the idea. I guess they released me because
my crimes weren't that bad. No, they were bad. They were
bad. He went away singing, Jesus paid
it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left
the crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Bless his holy name. What has Christ done for me?
What has he done for you? Some years ago now, we were down
at Oak Island near Southport at the coast. Preachers don't
go to the beach, you know, they go to the coast. We were at the
coast. And naked people go to the beach,
we go to the coast. And so I was walking along the
shoreline there in the sand just before dark. June was way behind
me, picking up invaluable shells that we need a few more tons
of, you know. I was meditating, talking to
the Lord. It was almost dark. And I stooped down right at the
water's edge and I wrote with my finger in the sand, S-I-N-N-E-R. And I stood back up and I said,
Lord, that's me. You know me. And about that time, a wave came
in and it distorted my writing, washed some little bit of sand
into my finger marks, but I could still read it. Sinner. There'll be people can still
read it long as you live. I stood there a moment and another
wave came. And it washed it even more. I
could still see some marks in the sand, but I couldn't make
out the word sinner. I stood there a moment and another wave came. And this
time the sand was as smooth as if it had never been disturbed. That's what Christ has done for
me. I sleep, but my heart waketh. It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh, saying, open to me, my sister, my love, my dove,
my undefiled. Undefiled? Yeah, that's me. That's me. When Jacob sent his servant to find Tamar, who had played
the harlot, the servant asked, where's the
harlot that was in this place? You know what the answer was
he got? They said, there was no harlot in this place. And there wasn't. Many this morning,
would look at this corrupt body of flesh standing before you
and say, awful center, awful, awful center. You know what my
Lord says? There's no center in this place. You're talking about somebody
that don't don't exist. Fallen. feeble, failing, yes. But God looks at us in Christ
and says, there is no spot in thee. You're in my beloved son
in whom I'm well pleased. I don't see a thing wrong. I see my son. Oh, this morning to see ourselves
before God where Barabbas was. And to experience before God
what Barabbas did. And to go free with all our debts
paid as Barabbas did. And to sing, my hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not
trust the sweetest frame. And I've known some sweet ones
in my time. But I dare not trust the sweetest
frame. but holy lean on Jesus name, on Christ the solid rock
I stand and all other ground is quicksand. Let's stand together.