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