Read the section and then, as I said, we'll take up verses 15 to 23. So beginning in verse 11,

Scripture Reading

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus said to him, It is as you say. And while he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then Pilate said to him, do you not hear how many things they testify against you?

But he answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time, they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, whom do you want me to release to you, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ? for he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him saying, have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, which of the two do you want me to release to you? They said, Barabbas.

Pilate said to them, what then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? They all said to him, let him be crucified. Then the governor said, why, what evil has he done? But they cried out all the more saying, let him be crucified.

When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just man. You see to it. And all the people answered and said, his blood be on us and on our children. Then he released Barabbas to them.

And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Our God and Father, as we come into this section of Holy Scripture, this is indeed holy ground as we consider the passion of our blessed Savior. We know that he came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation, that he lived, that he died, that he was raised again the third day, so that we might have forgiveness of sins and an imputed righteousness that avails with you, God. We ask now that you would bless and strengthen us as we consider this passage, that it would encourage us afresh to see the great love that our Savior has for us, to see the great love that God has for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And may you increase our faith and may you increase our hope and our confidence in the blessed Redeemer of sinners.

Again, forgive us now for all sin and transgression and everything that darkens our minds and hearts, and fill us, each one of us, with your Holy Spirit. Illumine our minds and guide us and instruct us for your glory and for our well-being. And we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well,

Introduction

as I said, as we look at this, we see the interrogation first, we see this grant for amnesty in the heart of Pilate, and then the sentencing of Jesus. There's a lot going on here, and so I think it is good for us to slow down a bit and to take our time as we move through the Pashet. Now, the Jews did not have power to impose capital punishment as we know, and so they had to make their case before Pilate. They don't make their case, which is evident in verse 23.

The governor said, why? What evil has he done? But they cried out all the more saying, let him be crucified. It was an effect of mob rule instigated by the Jewish leadership. and ultimately with a view to exterminate, to liquidate, to get rid of this one they thought was a pretender, Messiah.

But as we know, the Lord Jesus is in fact the one promised in the Old Testament. The Bible tells us that in Him all the promises of God are yea and amen, Well, these persons had veils over their eyes and hearts, they were blinded to this reality, and as a result, instead of saying, let us worship, let us adore, let us glorify, let us honor, they say, away with him, away with him, crucify him. So certainly as we see the determination of our blessed Savior, as the prophet Isaiah had foretold, he would set his face like a flint. We know that Christ does that to come to Jerusalem knowing that he's going to be delivered up, knowing that he's going to be crucified, that he would be raised again the third day.

That idea of determination marked the ministry of our Lord Jesus. But contrast that with the determination of the enemies of God and their resolve to rid the world of this one who had been sent from the Father on high. So as I said, we'll look at the attempt to grant amnesty to Jesus by Pilate under four considerations. First, the custom concerning amnesty in verses 15 to 17.

Second, the motivation of the religious leaders in verse 18. Third, the warning by Pilate's wife in verse 19. I actually have five points. The demand of the multitudes in verses 20 to 22.

And then fifth, the cross-examination by Pilate in verse 23.

The Custom Concerning Amnesty

But notice this custom concerning amnesty. Verse 15, Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. Likely, Pilate thought they would ask for the release of Jesus. Pilate, in his examination of the Lord Jesus, says on three instances that I find no guilt in this man.

As far as Pilate is concerned, this is a no-brainer. As far as Pilate is concerned, if he gives the crowd the opportunity to make this decision, they will choose favorably. Pilate has a hesitancy all throughout the narrative to execute this man. Again, at least this Roman governor in the province of Judea had at least a semblance of commitment to jurisprudence.

You couldn't just willy-nilly summarily execute persons. There had to be evidence. There had to be witnesses. There had to be cross-examination.

And Pilate is demonstrating that, albeit weakly and albeit feebly. He doesn't just give the order to execute Christ. He wants to go through the trial. He wants to make sure that this is, in fact, a legit application of capital punishment.

So he thought that, in fact, they would probably turn over the Lord Jesus. But the interesting thing is, notice in verse 15, now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to releasing the multitude, one prisoner whom they wished. But at this point, the governor has relinquished his governorship and has called upon the people to make that determination or that decision. So you see here on the part of Pilate, a gutlessness.

You see here on the part of Pilate, a cowardice. You see on the part of Pilate an unwillingness to carry out and execute his job. He doesn't want to go contrary to the Jewish mob. He doesn't want to go contrary to these, not only the religious leaders, but also to the multitude.

And so he puts this decision in terms of the application of capital punishment into the hands of a bloodthirsty mob. This is absolutely condemnable, and Pilate, though again has some semblance of wanting to play by the rules, shows his hand. He is weak, he is passive, and he is a coward, and he is more than happy to deliver up the Lord of Glory. One commentator says, here we begin to learn that Pilate's title is ironic.

The governor leaves the governing to others. It cannot be the case that a mob rule obtains in society, or you end up with this kind of a situation. Now, notice in terms of the options available. So it was the custom at this time for the governor to release a prisoner.

This is not something new. This is not something that he made up, but it was a custom in play at that time. And so he sets out the options. Notice what he says in verse 16.

And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So, Pilate is going to ask, which one do you want, Barabbas or Jesus? Now, consider this about Barabbas. In John 18, 40, we learn that he's a robber.

Now, that word robber has a broader range of definition than just somebody who steals something while employing violence. It certainly means that. It means robber, highwayman, or bandit. But the second category of meaning is this, a revolutionary, an insurrectionist, a guerrilla.

And it's in this latter definition that we need to understand Barabbas. There were always going to be three crucifixions that day. It was going to be Barabbas and it was going to be his two companions. Consider that in Mark chapter 15, concerning the men who were crucified on either side of our Lord Jesus, it says they had committed murder in the rebellion.

And then in Luke 23, 19, speaking about Barabbas, it says who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city and for murder. Now, you need to understand, with reference to crucifixion in the Roman government, with reference to the application of that part of death penalty in the Roman government, you couldn't execute a robber. You couldn't execute a thief. You couldn't execute just somebody who was your garden variety criminal.

What is in view is this second aspect of meaning in terms of Barabbas. He was a revolutionary, an insurrectionist, or a guerrilla. Josephus used the term for those who fought against the Roman occupation. We see them called in the New Testament zealots.

France says that Barabbas most likely was a freedom fighter, to the Romans an insurrectionist, but to the Jews a patriot. So Barabbas, to use the language of the former president, was a very bad hombre. He was a wicked man. And I think that underscores the wickedness of these people, when given the opportunity for the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they didn't personally know.

It's not the religious leaders that are on display here, though they are. It's this mob. It's this multitude. They've been ginned up.

They have been brought to a fever pitch. They have been brought to this place where formerly they had hailed him. Formally, they said Hosanna to the one who comes in the name of Yahweh. Now they're actually crying out, away with him, away with him, crucify him.

But with reference to a revolutionary, an insurrectionist, a murderer, and one that should have been capitally executed. For them, they want Barabbas and not the Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, the passion narrative underscores for us the darkness and the deepest depravity of human nature. Not only the actual act of execution when Jesus is nailed to the cross and he is then mocked and spat upon when he's enthroned above that, but rather it's the lead up, it's the build up, first instigated by the leaders and then brought along by this multitude of this mob.

So this is the party that Pilate is entrusting with the significant choice of who will be capitally executed today. So there were three crosses already set up. There were three persons that were going to be executed that day. Most likely, Barabbas was the ringleader of them, and the two men on either side, one of which we know, ended that day in paradise with our blessed Savior.

But nevertheless, these three men were wretched. Again, Davies and Allison said Pilate had already made ready crosses before he passed judgment upon Jesus, and that after the amnesty, Jesus was nailed to a cross originally intended for Barabbas. John Gill makes the observation, it's not the case that necessarily Barabbas went to heaven. But if ever there's an illustration of substitutionary atonement, this idea of a general approach to the atonement, that Christ went to the cross for whoever out there, might activate their own heart and believe on Him is not biblical.

The reality is that the just took the punishment for the unjust. The reality is that Christ the champion, Christ the covenant head, Christ the last Adam, Christ our priest, went to that cross on behalf of all those whom the Father had given Him. The atonement is definite. The atonement is particular.

The atonement affects precisely what God had purposed for it to affect. It's not generic. It's not broad. It's not sort of out there that the free will driven sinner can just make up his mind to flee to Jesus.

No, if that's the picture in our minds of atonement, we need to see the reality that Christ goes to the cross, the just for the unjust. He takes in Himself the penalty that is due for our sins. So again, I'm not suggesting Barabbas is going to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb, but I am suggesting with Gil that this is emblematic, this is symbolic, this is what it is like, that this innocent man goes to the cross when the guilty is free. And with reference to our redemption, isn't that precisely what we know to be true?

When we eat this bread and when we drink this cup, we do so in remembrance of Him. Why? Because He's the Redeemer. He's the victor.

He is the Savior. We don't parade ourselves as saviors. We don't pat ourselves on the back. This isn't a memorial service to our free will or to our wisdom or to our ability, when every head is bowed and every eye is closed, to shoot up our hand.

This isn't a celebration of the day we walked an aisle, but rather it is a time for us to reflect upon blood atonement, wrought out by the Second Person of the Trinity, who assumed our humanity with all of the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin. who lived a life of obedience to the Father's law, who went to that cross on our behalf and took the penalty that was due for us, and who was raised again. And that blessed transaction is summarized by the apostle in Romans 4.25. He tells us that Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses. He wasn't delivered up because of his offenses.

Even Pilate recognized that. Pilate's wife recognized that. The thief on the cross recognized that. He was delivered up because of our offenses, but He was raised for our justification.

What is justification? Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. So again, I'm not suggesting that if you drop dead today, if you get hit by a car today, which I hope does not happen, but if that were to obtain, I'm not suggesting you'd see Barabbas when you enter in to paradise. You'll see the thief that was on the other side of our blessed savior.

But it's emblematic, the just for the unjust, the righteous and innocent for the unrighteous and the guilty. And so when, Pilate sets forth this man, or when Matthew tells us about that man, notice in verse 17, therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, whom do you want me to release to you, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called the Christ? So you've got this option now, you've got these two parties, and let's see how we proceed.

The Motivation of the Religious Leaders

Notice, secondly, the motivation of the religious leaders. Matthew tells us, as much as John and Luke does, how Pilate viewed the situation. I've pointed out, Luke 23, on three occasions, Pilate says, I find no guilt in this man. Now, Matthew doesn't have that threefold repetition in the mouth of Pilate.

Again, it's not that there's contradiction. It's not that it's different. It's not that it's paradoxical or anything like that. But theologically, each of the gospel writers comes at it from their perspective to give us the theology that they want us to have.

So we have this blessed fourfold account relative to the passion narrative. But Matthew is as conspicuous about Pilate's view of the situation as are the other gospel writers. Notice in verse 18. For he, Pilate, knew that they had handed him over because of envy." Now, this didn't require direct revelation from God.

This didn't require anything supernatural. All this required was Pilate speaking to Jesus. This required Pilate asking Jesus questions, and this required Pilate knowing something about the background as to why Jesus was in his chambers. It was the religious leaders.

It was the persons who we see had an animosity toward our blessed Lord. Way back in Matthew's gospel, that first instance of Sabbath wars in Matthew chapter 12, they're already plotting to destroy Jesus. In the buildup to the Olivet Discourse, we see that emphasis by our Lord on the murderous rage of the religious leaders at that particular time. So Pilate's not supposed to be commended here because he's a brilliant sort of judge or justice in this environment, but he's able to at least see the obvious.

And he knew what was the motivation behind the religious leaders. So verse 18, he knew that they had handed him over because of envy. Now, for those who have been here for some time, you'll know the difference between jealousy and envy. Jealousy is simply when I want what you've got.

Envy is when I want what you've got and I don't want you to have it. Actually, it doesn't even matter whether I have it or not. I just don't want you to have it. We should be very concerned that our political climate now is one built on the politics of guilt and envy.

Envy is a bad thing. The best illustration I can remember, I know that one of the sisters here is waiting for it, was way back when I was a little kid, I went fishing with my father and my cousin at a river in Oregon. And my cousin was the champion fisher that day. He had five or six, and he had them on a stringer.

And of course, it was into the bank of the water so that the fish could stay wet. I didn't catch anything for that whole period of time. And so my envy drove me to the point. No, it was my sin, my wickedness, to pull that stringer out of the embankment and to let the fish go.

What was the rationale? If I'm not going to catch fish, then neither is he. If the crowds aren't going to bow down to us and give us adulation, if they're not going to praise us, if they're not going to worship us, if they're not going to glorify us, we're going to take him out because we don't want him to get what is due for us. You need to understand that if Pilate was able to stumble on this, then the people of God had better appreciate what is at play in this transaction.

The religious leaders despised him. He came to his own and his own received him not. They despised, they rejected, they mocked, they ridiculed, they tried to catch him up, they then engaged in a plot to have him murdered, and that is what we are witnessing at this particular juncture. They don't have the authority to murder him, so they need Pilate to do so.

Now notice that I'm saying murder. Capital punishment is authorized in the Bible. I stand by that 100%. But when you capitally punish an innocent man, then that's murder, and that is precisely the crime that is going on right before our eyes.

The Sanhedrin condemned Jesus for blasphemy. Why? Because he, being a man, made himself out to be God. The religious leaders emphasized not the blasphemy when they bring Jesus to Pilate.

Pilate wouldn't care about blasphemy. Pilate wouldn't care about that sort of a thing. It would have been an intramural debate among Jesus and the religious leaders. So they stress the kingly nature of his messianic claim.

And that's why in verse 11, the first thing that Pilate asks is, are you the king of the Jews? See, if Jesus declares himself as the king of the Jews, then he's a rival contender to Caesar. Then we've got problems. Then we've got sedition.

Then we've got insurrection. or a coup in the making. As well in Luke's gospel, chapter 23, the first two verses, when they bring Jesus to Pilate, what is it that they claim? They said that this man forbids the paying of taxes to Caesar. So they were shrewd, they were envious, they were wretched, they were little, they were cowardly, they were full of evil and godlessness, but they had enough ingenuity to realize that we need to frame this in such a way that Pilate will give us what we want.

Again, the idea of manipulating the court, the idea of a lack of due process. I don't want to moralize based on our present situation, but I would invite you to make the connections later on. I think it denigrates the blessedness of our Lord Jesus to bring our sufferings into his passion. We don't want to do that.

Our sufferings will never, ever get to the level of the passion narrative of our blessed Savior. But the reality is, there is no new thing under the sun. The abuse and the bastardization of the justice system now has its tap roots long ago, and we see it here in the trial of our blessed Savior. The religious leaders use this as leverage, this idea that he's claiming to be a king, and this idea that he's forbidding to pay taxes in order to manipulate Pilate to condemn Jesus to death.

Turn over to John. You'll see this very clearly in John 19. John 19. Verse 12, from then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out saying, if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend.

Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. See, these men are manipulative. These men are wretched. These men are godless.

These men are motivated by envy, not because they have an esteem for Yahweh of Israel, not because they believe in the law of Moses, not because the prophet Isaiah resonates with that, but it's because Jesus has stolen their thunder. It's because Jesus has led, in their minds, astray the multitudes, and so now they need to get Pilate, as it were, and manipulate him to do their bidding. which again reflects poorly on them in terms of native depravity, but it reflects poorly on him. Judges shouldn't be bought. Judges shouldn't be manipulated.

Judges shouldn't be sort of used in this fashion to simply carry out the whims of the mob. And then notice in verse 15, but they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caesar.

It is a horrific declaration on their part, again with the design to get Pilate to do their bidding and put Jesus to death. It wasn't Christ's blasphemy nor his alleged threat to Caesar or to the political order that motivated these religious leaders. I mean, you can hear it right now, can't you? These religious leaders are so holy, they're so pious, they're so pure, they're so otherworldly, they're so committed to Moses, they're so committed to Jeremiah, they're so committed to Isaiah, and they're committed to the Roman civil state.

We don't want anybody to jeopardize what's going on here. We will scream our allegiance to Caesar because of our purity and our desire to make sure that the claimant to the messianic crown is only the one that we sanction and only the one that we certify. These are manipulative wretches who are behind the scene with Pilate effectively with his arm behind his back and he is a puppet doing their bidding. Davies and Allison says, the real motive for handing Jesus over is here uncovered.

Not offense at blasphemy, but desire for power over the populace. The leaders of Jerusalem were, so Matthew implies, threatened when significant numbers gave heed to Jesus instead of them. Their envy came from what? a thirst for power. It wasn't their desire for purity along the messianic line.

It wasn't their desire for the Roman government to carry out its tyranny over its citizens unimpeded. Oh, we have no king but Caesar. It is their raw pursuit for power that brings this envy such that they want to see the Savior himself cut off and executed because of their sin.

The Warning of Pilate's Wife

Now notice thirdly the warning by Pilate's wife in verse 19. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, I thought about this in the modern day, she would have texted him. Right? She didn't text him then.

They didn't have iPhones or Samsungs or Androids or anything like that back then. But she sends for him while he's in the act of judging. Now, this man obviously had respect for his wife. He obviously had love for his wife and she for him.

You don't see that kind of interchange or that kind of camaraderie in a marriage unless there is a close connection. So I have to believe that this made some sort of an impact upon Pontius Pilate at this particular time. So while he's sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him saying, notice the message, have nothing to do with this or with that just man. For I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.

Now, there's other instances of dreams in Matthew's gospel that are revelatory in nature. We ought not to be surprised that God the Lord, the sovereign Lord, is able to do this with a pagan, with a heathen, with a Gentile's wife. The fact that he does that, again, at least humanly speaking, is another way to impress upon Pilate the necessity to rule in a just way. But then notice what she identifies Jesus as, have nothing to do with that just man.

I mentioned the latter aspect according to Westminster Catechism and its doctrine of justification or its definition of justification, the imputation of Christ's righteousness received by faith alone. See, brethren, we not only need the blood of Jesus to wash away our sin, we not only need forgiveness, but we need a righteousness by which we enter into the presence of God. If we are only forgiven, we're put back at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and now it's up to us to to make a faithful mass, to provide the works or to provide the righteousness. You see, the beauty of the gospel is that Jesus takes care of it all.

That in justification, we're both forgiven and we're given this righteousness. So her language of just man is theologically significant. It should remind us of Matthew 3, when John the Baptist tries to stop Jesus from getting baptized. And Jesus says, permit it, for thus it is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.

What does Jesus mean? He means that in his life, he needs to obey. In his life as the covenant mediator, in his life as the last Adam, he needs to take seriously every jot and tittle of the law of God, and he needs to obey it, such that his righteousness is then imputed to us. Paul summarizes this in 2 Corinthians 5.21.

God made Him, Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become what? The righteousness of God in Him. Yes, we need to be forgiven. But Scripture, beginning in 1 Samuel 15, and all the way up to Hebrews 10, we have that constant refrain from God Most High, it is better to obey than to sacrifice.

So we need not only the sacrificial aspect of Christ's work, what we call the passive obedience, we need that blood atonement, but we need his active obedience to the law of the Lord. I'm not suggesting Pilate's wife had this worked out theology in terms of the Westminster Shorter Catechism and Reformation theology. But I am suggesting that in her mouth we ought to understand that blessed truth. Yes, Jesus paid it all, but Jesus also accomplished for us that righteousness by which we will enter into heaven.

That blessed garment, that blessed clothing, that blessed reality that we find in Zechariah chapter 3, when Joshua the high priest is standing before Yahweh, and the devil is right there, ready to accuse him. And before the devil can open his big mouth, the Lord God rebukes him. And then the Lord God orders that the filthy, wicked, disgusting garments be stripped off Joshua, the high priest, and they be replaced with a beautiful and a polished and a glorious robe, along with a turban upon his head. It is a picture or an illustration of the great exchange.

Our sins heaped upon the Savior, who was penalized in our behalf, and then His righteousness heaped upon us and received by faith alone. So as often as you eat this bread and you drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death and all that is with it until he comes. And so this woman says, have nothing to do with this just man. For I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.

John Calvin says, God the Father took many methods of attesting the innocence of Christ that it might evidently appear that He suffered death in the room of others. That is in our room. And then understand this, her statement, this pagan, this Gentile, this heathen who had no access, as far as we know, to the Old Testament Scriptures, or perhaps she did. Some suggest that Plato was very conversant with the Old Testament himself, but with reference to this lady, we have no no direct knowledge that she had access to the Old Testament.

She had any access to who Jesus was in terms of fulfillment of the Old Testament. But these religious leaders did. They understood that Messiah must come from Bethlehem, Ephrathah. They understood from the prophet Isaiah, or they should have understood, that he would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

So her understanding of this just man underscores all the more the heinousness of their wretchedness to put this just man to death. France says the intervention of Pilate's wife serves only to deepen the guilt of the Jewish leaders. Even a Gentile woman can see that Jesus is innocent. Don't you get that?

Sometimes it's just so obvious. It is so apparent. It is such a no-brainer, and this heathen got it. And yet these religious leaders, allegedly schooled in the law of Moses and in the prophets of God Most High, had no clue.

Understand the power of sin. Understand the reality of total depravity and total inability. This wasn't made up by some men who loved theology. It is what Scripture testifies.

The apostle Paul in Ephesians 2 tells us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God made us alive in Jesus Christ. We preach sovereign grace. We preach the power of God. We don't appeal to sinners and their free will to come forward, to make their decisions, to open their hearts and let Jesus in.

That's not what scripture testifies. The reality is, is that we're dead. The heart is deceitful above all things, according to the prophet Jeremiah. Deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

Who can understand it? We can't. And as we are faced with these sorts of things, we ought to at least inch a bit further to understand the nature of depravity out there. It shouldn't surprise us on the one hand, the things that go on today.

On the other hand, wickedness should always surprise us because we ought never to make truck with it or ever to be at peace with it. But on the other hand, brethren, understanding our Bibles, understanding our own experience, Did you come to Jesus because you were wiser? Did you come to Jesus because you were better? Did you come to Jesus because you were more virtuous?

I suspect not. You came to Jesus because God in His grace chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Not because we were holy and without blame, but that we would be holy and without blame. Election puts us in Christ.

It doesn't find us in Christ. And we need to appreciate that reality. These are wicked men with veils over their faces that couldn't see anything right in front of them, and yet this heathen woman has the wherewithal to warn her husband not to pursue this murderous course.

The Demand of the Multitudes

Notice, fourthly, the demand of the multitudes in verses 20 to 22. You have the persuasion by the leaders in verse 20. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus." That's at this point that lots of people say, well, then it's not their fault. It's not their fault.

The religious leaders are culpable. They're responsible. They're the ones that did this. Jesus teaches in the earlier part of Matthew's Gospel, if a blind man leads a blind man, both fall into a pit.

So you cannot ever say, well, it was my leadership, it was my pastor, it was my parent, it was my governor, it was my premier, it was my prime minister, it was the president. Oh, certainly they have powers of persuasion. Certainly they are culpable in other categories. Those who lead, those who teach, shall incur stricter judgment to be sure.

But it's not the case that you lack liability simply for following wicked men. And you need to understand and appreciate that. If wicked men are leading you down a wicked path, it is your duty under God Most High to stop going down that wicked path. I don't know why this is even debatable.

I don't know why this is even difficult. I don't know why any of us struggle with what John Knox so clearly identified, that disobedience to tyrants is obedience to God Almighty. You see that enshrouded in Holy Scripture. And so you have these men, these religious leaders, and again, they will be culpable and held accountable for this responsibility, but those persons that willfully, actively participate in godlessness, are not gonna escape the pit or the ditch.

They're not gonna be off scot-free. So notice the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. Now this crowd had once supported Jesus. Remember the triumphal entry in Matthew 21?

Matthew didn't make that up. There were people that actually took palm branches and laid them down before the Lord Jesus as He goes into the city on that cult. There are people that are praising Him. They are seeing Him as the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture.

So on the one hand, at the beginning of the week, they are praising and worshiping and saying, Hosanna to the Lord Most High. And then at the end of the week, they're saying, away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him. I think at times, brethren, we let people off the hook way too quickly. I'm not suggesting we go out and police everybody and try to, you know, get into their heads and minds and hearts and all that sort of thing.

But a mob that follows godless men is culpable and responsible. It is the duty of the righteous to disobey tyrants in obedience to God Most High. This is a perfect example and illustration or demonstration of that in our Bibles. The religious leaders had once feared the crowd because they did support Jesus.

Go back to Matthew 21. Matthew 21, where you see that. as you read through Matthew's gospel, and it's not just Matthew 12 in the first formulation or the first identification of their plot to destroy Jesus, but it goes all the way back to Matthew chapter two, when the murderous rage of Herod and the massacre of the innocents. I mean, the very beginning of our Lord's earthly ministry was marked by persecution, oppression, and this attempt to destroy and eradicate him. Matthew chapter 9 when the Lord Jesus is teaching about the bridegroom and he talks about the bridegroom being cut off So all along the way we see this at least foreshadowed It gets real clear in Matthew 12 when they plot to destroy Jesus and then it gets clearer and clearer and clearer along the way Up to Matthew chapter 26 when they actually hatch the plan.

They say we can't do it around the feast time We can't do it around the people because we're afraid of the people are causing some sort of an uproar but notice in 21 The passion wink, building up to its crescendo in terms of the death of the Lord Jesus. Notice, Jesus tells the parable of the wicked vinedressers, just like the prophet Isaiah does in Isaiah 5. Same subject matter. He's not dealing with pagans.

He's not dealing with heathen. He's not dealing with the Roman government in this parable of the wicked vinedressers. He's doing precisely what Isaiah did. in Isaiah chapter 5 when he pronounces woes. Again, not against Babylon, not against the Hittites or the Hibbites or the Jebusites, but he pronounces woes upon Jerusalem.

This group of people continuously and persistently rejected Yahweh. This group of people continuously and persistently raise their fist to God Most High. And so as the prophet Isaiah before him, he uses the idea of a vineyard and he teaches what's going to happen in terms of His coming. In fact, back up for just a moment.

Notice in verse 33, here another parable. There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now, when vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers that they might receive its fruit.

And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all, he sent his son to them, saying, they will respect my son. But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir.

The others, of course, being the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the various men that came and told Israel as a vineyard that they better get their act together. Then last of all, he sent his son to them, verse 37, saying, they will respect my son. But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers? They said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. They got that right. And they would have witnessed it about a generation later in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

That's the subject matter in Matthew 24. This is build up. But then notice what we see in verse 42. Have you never read in the scriptures?

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Now, verse 43 is the theology behind this transaction. Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you, the Jews, and given to a nation, the church, which includes Jews who believe the gospel, bearing the fruits of it.

And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls it will grind him to powder. Now, notice verse 45. Now, when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking to them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes, because they took him for a prophet.

Remember, that wasn't a year prior. That was a couple of days prior. Things change quick, don't they? Popular opinion of our Lord Jesus went from, he's a prophet sent from God.

He could be Messiah to away with him, away with him, crucify him. I want to just make an appeal practically to the children and the young people among us. Those who don't make peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ early on run the risk of continual and persistent hardening. Hardening.

When our kids were little, we were reading through the plague accounts or the narrative in Exodus, the book of Exodus. We took a piece of bread and we put it on the counter. And each night we'd read another chapter. And as you know, that section each night, not each night, but each chapter says that Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

That either he hardened it himself or the Lord and his sovereignty hardened Pharaoh's heart. So each night we'd go look at that bread. And each night we saw that it was harder and it was harder and it was harder and it was harder. What was the message?

What was the point? Flee to the Lord Jesus. Take seriously the book of Ecclesiastes and Solomon's admonition. Remember your Creator in your youth.

Your heart doesn't get softer, it gets harder. You don't get more innocent and pure as you grow older, you get more vile and wretched and wicked. Again, this is probably not the most self-esteem message you've ever heard, and you may not like me addressing your children this way, but the end result is simple. Flee to Jesus.

Don't wait. Don't tarry. Don't play games. Don't say, oh, well, I'll do that when I get older.

I want to live my life. I want to do this or that. Can I just tell you something? Living your life without Jesus isn't living life.

Life is made to be lived under the power of God Almighty, worshiping Him, glorifying Him, honoring Him, praising Him, looking at a day like this and being taken up to the glory of the Creator as it's revealed in the created order. That is what living life is all about. It's making peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So do not tarry.

These persons went from the place of Hosanna to the one who comes in the name of the Lord in the space of one day, a few days later to saying, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Now notice the demand of the multitudes in verses 21 and 22. So the chief priests, the elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, which of the two do you want me to release to you?

They said, Barabbas. Pilate said to them, what then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? They all said to him, let him be crucified. So the question of amnesty is presented now.

It is articulated. You can choose either Barabbas, the guilty murderer, the insurrectionist, the one that is actually an opponent of the civil state, or Jesus, one who's holy, harmless, and undefiled. And think about this as well. In this mob mentality, how many of these people had ever even met Jesus?

How many of these people had even heard the trial? How many of these people had already decided based on the extortion imposed upon them by the religious leaders? Again, this idea of mob mentality is a horrific approach to doing life in the civil order. It ought to terrify any and all of us when there is an utter disregard for due process.

When we hear these reports that the government does not need to provide any evidence for what tact they are taking in terms of shutting churches, I mean, come on! That everybody in Canada isn't outraged about this and roaring about this is absolutely mind-boggling. The old adage is that if they can disenfranchise one group one day, they can certainly do it to the next group the next day. We all have a vested interest in due process.

We all have a vested interest in no-mob rules. We all have a vested interest in government that actually does its job. And these religious leaders now converge not only upon Pilate, but upon these people. Spurgeon makes this observation.

The Lord of glory had been sold by Judas for the price of a slave. And now a robber, a murderer, and a leader in sedition is a greater favorite with the people than the prince of life. Look at what they say. Let him be crucified.

The question concerning Jesus' status is horrifying. Let him be crucified. What crime had he done? What violation had he engaged in?

What wrongdoing had they proved? We know nothing, because what Pilate says in the next verse underscores that. What's he done? Where's the evidence?

Where is the proof of this evil sedition on the part of the Savior? So, again, a terrifying glimpse at what happens when we devolve to the level of the beasts and to the animals. When we get to that point where regard for due process, a regard for cross-examination, a regard for witness evidence, a regard for all those things just goes right out the door.

Pilate's Cross-Examination

Now notice finally the cross-examination by Pilate in verse 23. The governor said, why? What evil has he done? That's a good question.

The question is necessary, not only theologically, because we should have a vested interest as to what happens to our blessed Lord at the hands of these godless people, but it was absolutely crucial in terms of Roman jurisprudence. You couldn't just summarily execute. He's not stolen, brethren. He's not Mao.

He's not Hitler. He's not the tyrants of the 20th century. He has at least a semblance of a commitment to Roman law. And so in order for him to give the execution order, There has to be a violation.

We saw that working through the latter chapters in the Book of Acts. The apostle Paul was a political hot potato. Felix didn't know what to do with him. Festus didn't know what to do with him.

Agrippa didn't know what to do with him. So what do they do? They rubber stamp his trip to Nero, who ultimately did know what to do with him. He lets him go the first time, but the second time around, Nero has his head chopped off because he then seems to be a threat to the Roman Empire.

So the question is necessary to validate a capital offense. The question is indicative of the conflict Pilate is undergoing. Again, I don't want to write this man off. He's a wretch.

I don't have enough bad things to say about Pilate. If he was my governor, I would not be happy. He would be just a daily burden on my heart. I would pray for his salvation.

I would pray that God restrain him, or I'd pray that God remove him in whatever way God deemed appropriate. But with reference to Pilate, there is this struggle. I think I mentioned before, when he's with Jesus in John 18, and he says to Jesus, what is truth? What is truth?

What is it? Now, some say, oh, he's just a skeptic, and perhaps it was ironic, or perhaps he was just sort of denigrating the whole concept of truth, or whatever. What if he's actually saying, what is truth? I don't know what to do here.

I mean, we just read the bare narrative. We never enter into sort of the human dimension. And we need to be careful, because we don't know motives, and we don't know hearts, and we don't know all those particular things. But the fact is, at least at the surface level of the text, there is some degree of struggle with Pilate.

He doesn't just rubber stamp this execution. Davies and Allison, again, make this observation. Because he has heard his wife's dream, because he knows that Jesus has been handed over out of envy, and because he has interviewed Jesus and found no proof of wrongdoing, Pilate knows that Jesus is not deserving of death. This is why he asks the crowd, why?

What evil has he done? The query is Pilate's feeble attempt to alter sentiment. He's trying to at least inject a degree of objectivity into what has degenerated into a kangaroo court. What's he done?

Pony up the evidence, produce the facts, give us something that we can operate with. Now, I suggest that this all underscores even more just how bad Pilate is. Just how wretched Pilate conducts himself in this instance. The question indicates that the allegations provided by the religious leaders had not been successfully proven.

Right? If it had been successfully proven, they would have offered up evidence. But even notice in the framing of the question and the answer to it in verse 23. Why?

What evil has he done? But they cried out all the more saying, let him be crucified. That's not the way we're supposed to function. We have no evidence, no proof, no whatever, and we just say, it doesn't matter, just let him be crucified.

Matthew Henry says, it is much for the honor of the Lord Jesus that though he suffered as an evildoer, yet neither his judge nor his prosecutors could find that he had done any evil. So the judge in the case says, why? What has he done? It's horrifying, isn't it?

Doesn't that just strike you as odd? It's kind of like, and again, I don't want to moralize and bring our situation, but the judge in our court said, yeah, they violated your rights, but they're not guilty. They violated your rights, but that's okay." It's like, wait a minute, I thought this was a body politic founded on the rule of law, due process, and evidence, and cross-examination, and all that sort of thing. No, not at all.

It's a kangaroo court. We just do whatever it is we want. That's what's happening in the life and ministry of our blessed Savior. And then the multitudes respond as they've been responding.

They cried out all the more saying, let him be crucified.

Application

Well, in conclusion, I wanna bring out just a few thoughts, and then we'll transition to the supper. In the first place, and we've probably gotten a good dose of this, the depravity of man. And I'm not saying all those people out there. Brethren, we are bad.

Unless God changes our hearts, unless the Lord grants us the graces of faith and repentance, we would have been in that mob saying, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Now you and your Sunday morning church service can say, That would have never been me, but you know the grim reality at some point in your life. Yeah, it most likely would have been you. You would have been caught up in the same sort of rigmarole.

You would have been caught up in the same sort of frenzy. You'd have been caught up in the same sort of thing and raised the same fist to say, away with him, away with him, crucify him. In terms of the Roman governor, the attempt to grant amnesty to Jesus because he knew he was innocent. He knew he was innocent.

Why does he put this position out there? If he wants to function as a Roman governor in a normal body politic, in a normal way, he would have just released Jesus. But no, he puts the decision-making in the mob. The knowledge that the religious leaders handed Christ over because of envy, the neglect of his wife's intervention, the recognition of the determination of the multitudes, and the deliverance of Jesus to crucifixion without any proof of his wrongdoing underscores the depravity of Pilate.

Now, unfortunately, in this instance, Pilate happens to wield a lot of authority. Pilate happens to wield the power of the sword. And here we see that Pilate wields that sword arbitrarily, capriciously, without any proof whatsoever. Spurgeon again says, he who has power to prevent a wrong is guilty of the act if he permits others to do it, even though he does not actually commit it himself.

Let me read that again, because there's a lot of complicity in our lives with reference to these sorts of things. He says, he, Pilate, who has the power to prevent a wrong, stopping this mess and sending everybody home, is guilty of the act if he permits others to do it, even though he does not actually commit it himself. Well, I was against it. I really didn't think he should die.

It happened under your watch. It happened under your authority, it happened under your rule. Spurgeon here sounds like the Roman politician and lawyer who lived in the 106 to 143 BC, a man by the name of Cicero. He said, there are two kinds of injustice.

The first is found in those who do an injury. The second in those who fail to protect another from injury when they can. See, if you not only inflict injury, but you're also the kind of person that can prevent the infliction of an injury and you don't, that is guilt as well. Remember when David sent word out to Joab to have Uriah executed.

David wielded the sword. He was nowhere near the field of battle. It was the Philistines that ultimately dealt the death blow to Uriah. But who was the murderer?

It was David. Now that was an active act by him to execute and murder Uriah to cover up his sin. But you get the point. Same thing happens in Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings chapter 21.

You have Ahab and Jezebel, mother, wife of the year, woman of the year, Jezebel, that horrible wretch of a woman. Ahab wants to extend his herb garden, and so he wants Naboth's vineyard. Well, Naboth understands the primacy of land as an old covenant Israelite. He understands that this is given by deed, by God, to his people.

It's dispersed amongst the various tribes and clans and families, and so Naboth says no. And so Ahab comes home, and he's sullen, and he's unhappy, and he's sad. And Jezebel says, what are you doing? Jezebel, remember, hails from Phoenicia.

Her father was a king of a pagan empire. As far as the pagans were concerned, if you wanted a piece of land, you didn't ask for it. You just took it. So Jezebel says, look, Ahab, daddy would have never let this fly.

We're getting that piece of land. So what happens? She hires, or not hires, but she has a couple of people accuse Naboth of blasphemy, and they execute Naboth for the crime of blasphemy, and then they annex his land. Who's guilty in that?

Yeah, Jezebel again, that monstrous wretch of a woman, but Ahab. He had the power to stop this travesty and he lets it go. So it shows in the language of Dale Ralph Davis, he's not only guilty, but he's gutless. He has no wherewithal in him whatsoever to stop this travesty, stop this crime from occurring.

So there's two types of sin, two types of crime, two types of injustice. The first is found in those who do an injury, and the second in those who fail to protect another from injury when they can. So you've got the Roman governor guilty. You've got the religious leaders.

They deliver Jesus to the Roman governor so that he will carry out capital punishment. They are motivated, not by a pure desire to figure out who Messiah is in accordance with their scriptures, not a desire to actually maintain peace and stability in the Roman state, but rather they're motivated by a desire to exercise power and control over the populace, and that means get rid of Jesus. He stands in the way. They persistently urge the multitudes to side with their decision, and they manipulate Pilate in order to carry out their design.

Their attempt, their activity demonstrates human depravity. See, this idea that everybody that is above us is holy, righteous, and pure is simply not biblical. Total depravity is comprehensive. Total depravity affects everybody.

Total depravity not only affects the individual in every aspect of his or her being, but it affects everybody out there. All are guilty before God. Romans chapter 3, the apostle brings together that catena of Old Testament quotations to show that there is no fear of God before the eyes of men. There is none who seek after God.

There is none righteous. No, not one. Not one out there. I'm not suggesting that we necessarily be suspicious of each and every person, but I'm suggesting that we be suspicious of each and every person.

Brethren, the reality is that people above us will sin, and if we blindly follow them in their sin, we will fall into the ditch with them. We sing as Sunday school kids dare to be a Daniel, but when it's time to actually dare to be a Daniel, we renege. We say with these Jews, we have no King, but Caesar. That is a gross violation on our part when we willy-nilly follow that kind of behavior.

The wickedness is compounded ultimately by Pilate's attempts to not crucify Jesus. Again, on the surface of the text, whatever's happening in Pilate's unholy heart, there is a battle at play with him and these religious leaders. J.C. Ryle describes it this way.

The behavior of Pilate afforded the chief priests and elders an occasion of reconsidering what they were about. The difficulties he raised about condemning our Lord gave time for second thoughts. But there were no second thoughts in the mind of our Lord's enemies. They pressed on in their wicked deed.

That was it. So all of the thoughts of Pilate, all of the good demands of Pilate did not prevail with them at all. They were set on getting rid of the Lord Jesus Christ. They manipulate the situation, they manipulate the governor himself, and then they manipulate the multitudes.

And brethren, don't be the multitudes. Follow the Lord Christ wherever He bids us. Revelation chapter 14, the Lamb stands with His fair army on Zion, and it's described in that passage that they follow the Lamb wherever He goes. That's our mandate, that's our requirement, that is what we are commanded to do, not to subject ourselves to ungodly men who would try to take us away from our allegiance to the Lord Most High.

But I don't want to end on that negative note. I feel like it's been a negative sermon, but I think at times we need to understand the negativity involved in terms of sin, because it underscores the necessity in terms of the response. See, if we weren't that bad, Jesus could have just come down from heaven and taught us how to be better. But that's not the issue.

We were that bad. So Jesus had to come down and not only live for us, but to go through this for us. He's not going through this because of his sin. He's not going through this because of his crimes.

He's not going through this because the religious leaders are right. He's going through this for us men and for our salvation. The heinousness of sin displays the gloriousness of God's grace. We sing of it, we'll sing of it not too long from now.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. When we understand the depravity of man, and not just these men, but this man, these men. When we understand that reality, we'll understand why the Son of God did what He did in order to save us from our sins. This provoked the Apostle Paul to love Him, to worship Him, to glorify Him.

He celebrates this reality in Galatians 2.20. He speaks of Jesus as Him who loved me and gave Himself for me. Brethren, that ought to be what empowers us and what enables us and what provokes us in the act of worship. It ought to be what we reflect on as we eat this bread and drink this cup.

Yes, our sin, but the glory of the Savior. Yes, our wretchedness, but the power of the gospel. The Apostle starts Romans 1 with that thesis statement. I'm not ashamed of the gospel.

Why? Because it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Why? Because in it, the righteousness of God is revealed.

Now understand that as Paul uses righteousness of God, in that space or in that place, it's not the perfection of God, His rightness or His justice, but it is that righteousness that God demands and that He supplies to us. In it, the righteousness of God is revealed, and we see the testimony of that in the prophet Habakkuk, that just shall live by faith. See, all of this underscores how bad man is, but it also demonstrates how good, how glorious, how wonderful, and how loving our God is, that He would send His Son into this arena to live for us, to die for us, and to be raised again for us. The innocence of Jesus Christ is loudly proclaimed by Judas, Pilate's wife, and Pilate himself.

His innocence is even passively, not actively, proclaimed by the religious leaders and multitudes in that they have no ability whatsoever to prove his guilt. What is that but a testimony as well to the reality of what Pilate's wife said? He's a just man. John Calvin says, the supreme and sole judge of the world is placed at the bar of an earthly judge.

He is condemned to crucifixion as a malefactor. And what is more, is placed between two robbers as if he had been the prince of robbers. A spectacle so revolting might at first sight greatly disturbed the senses of men were it not met by the argument that the punishment which had been due to us was laid on Christ, so that our guilt having now been removed, we do not hesitate to come into the presence of the heavenly judge. Because of what Christ did with reference to this earthly judge, he has facilitated our way into that heavenly courtroom, where we will hear that blessed statement, enter in to the joy of your rest.

It is most glorious what Christ has accomplished, and part of that is this aspect of his suffering on behalf of sinners. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank you very much for what we find in these pages of Holy Scripture, not only as a proof for the doctrine of total depravity, but a proof for the doctrine of the amazing grace of God Almighty, and the blessedness and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. who as the second person of the Trinity took on our humanity so that he could live for us, so that he could suffer for us, so that he could die for us, and so that he could be raised again for us. What a blessed gospel, what glorious news this is, and how we pray that it would be preached throughout the earth today, that that word would run swiftly and be glorified, and that it would not return to you void, but it would accomplish the purpose for which you sent it, and we ask in Jesus' blessed name, amen.

Scripture References

• 1 Samuel 15:22
• 1 Kings 21:1-16
• Psalms 118:22
• Ecclesiastes 12:1
• Isaiah 5:1-7
• Zechariah 3:1-5
• Habakkuk 2:4
• Matthew 2:16; 3:15; 9:15; 12:14; 21:1-11; 21:33; 21:37; 21:42-43; 21:45; 24:2; 26:3-5; 27:15-23
• Mark 15:7
• Luke 23:2; 23:19
• John 18:38; 18:40; 19:12; 19:15
• Acts 24:1
• Romans 1:16-17; 3:10-18; 4:25
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Galatians 2:20
• Ephesians 2:1
• Hebrews 10:5
• Revelation 14:1-4