The sermon 'Guilty for Others' delivered by Jason Dohm focuses on the trial of Jesus before Pilate, emphasizing the concept of substitutionary atonement. Jesus, the only truly innocent one, stands silent, taking the place of guilty sinners before a righteous God. This act of sacrifice is central to the Christian faith and highlights the Gospel's message of redemption. The release of Barabbas, a guilty insurrectionist, contrasts with Jesus’ crucifixion and underscores the scandalous nature of grace, where the guilty are set free at the expense of the innocent. The sermon also reflects on the futility of seeking human approval and the importance of fearing God. Through Jesus' humility and willingness to submit to earthly authority, believers are called to live with a deep sense of gratitude and to pursue righteousness.

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 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, Who 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 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 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 person. 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 And please pray with me Lord we thank you for your word Lord, I thank you for all the teaching that we receive here Lord for the clarity of your teaching And for us to see the purpose of what's going on.

Lord I pray as Jason steps up, Lord that you will open our ears, open our hearts, and let us see what you have for us Lord today and that you have always had for us to understand who you are truly. In Jesus' name, Amen. Romans chapter 3 verse 19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Paul spends the first three chapters of Romans up until 319, condemning all men.

He takes on the Jews and he says, Jews who had the law, you're condemned. He takes the Gentiles who didn't have the law and he says there's a law written on your heart anyway, you're condemned. And then he says that mankind condemned, their mouth will be stopped. All the world will become guilty before a completely righteous and completely all-powerful judge. So the unregenerate man will be on the great and terrible day of the Lord when everyone will stand before this Judge.

The unregenerate man will be like a lamb led to slaughter. There will be no one to stand between him and defend him from a righteous judge. And the condemnation will be so obvious even to himself with his conscience bearing witness that he will have nothing to say, his mouth will be stopped. This is what the Bible teaches. So Jesus is in our text today, standing in the place of men who deserve condemnation, who would have no one between them and a righteous judge who is all-powerful.

St. Corinthians 5 verse 21, For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. It's the great exchange that all of Scripture has been pointing towards page by page by page. The innocent, the only innocent standing in place of the guilty and bearing the wrath of a righteous judge. This is what the silent Jesus is doing in our text today.

He's taking the place of guilty sinners before a righteous God. Forget Pilate. Forget this man who is a judge. This is about Jesus Christ standing as a substitute before an almighty and all-wise, all-just God and taking the penalty for sins that were not His. This is substitutionary atonement on display and I'm tempted to stop here.

I don't want anything to obscure that this is what this text is about. It is about Jesus Christ standing in the place of sinners. But we are only three and a half minutes in, So I won't stop here. We will continue on, but this has to be at the forefront of our minds as we proceed. Now let's go to the text and let's look at verses 11-14 in detail.

Matthew 27 verse 11, Now Jesus stood before the governor, And the governor asked him, 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.

The King of Kings before the governor. Not even a king, just the representative of a king. A petty governor of just a slice of one country in the Roman Empire, standing before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That's Jesus' title in Revelation 19. He's the King of all kings, he's the Lord of all lords, but now he is standing before this petty governor.

Previously he has been standing before Caiaphas, the high priest. What you have here in both of these instances is the substance standing before the shadow. Do you see that? The high priest was just a man that was marked out in the Old Testament to be a picture. He was never anything really special in and of himself except for that he was a picture of a high priest who would come in due time to stand and intercede for a people, to offer a sacrifice for a people, to offer atonement for sinners.

And So the high priest would change. There would be one, and then there would be another one, and then there would be another one, and then there would be another one. All the way down to Caiaphas who was a high priest and he was just a picture. He was just a shadow. And then here comes the substance, the Lord Jesus Christ, the thing that has been pictured one after another.

Here is the real thing and He is standing before just the shadow and submitting Himself to the judgment of the shadow. It's remarkable. It's the same thing. Now, Jesus stands before Pilate. We've gone from the Jewish trial to the Gentile trial.

And Jesus is standing before the representative of the King. All a king ever has been in the history of the world is just a picture of the real king, the potentate who rules over all the universe. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is Jesus Christ and now he stands before what was just a shadow, what was just a picture. Philippians 2 speaks of this in the most tender terms. It talks about the Lord Jesus Christ in Philippians 2.

Paul speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ humbling himself and taking on the form of a servant. Laying aside all the rights of heaven, all the glories of heaven, all the dignity of being a co-equal member of the Trinity, laying all that aside and subjecting himself to servanthood, to humbling himself. We may not see this anywhere in the Gospels more clearly than we see it now. These men to submit themselves, willingly submit himself to this high priest. It was just a picture of the great high priest, who he is, and to this deputy of the King.

It's just a picture of the real King, who he is. It's remarkable what we see in this text. Jesus had just told Peter, put away your sword. Couldn't I call down more than twelve legions of angels? Couldn't I call down 72, 000 angels to defend me?

And now Jesus is before Pilate. He still has these 72, 000 angels completely at his disposal. And yet he is willingly subjecting himself to this because this was the redemptive plan of God. Matthew, this account in Matthew is so highly compressed. It's condensed.

We're seeing this again for the umpteenth time. I don't know how many times it was, But how many times have we come to a text in Matthew and said, there's really a lot more that's happening here. Matthew's saying this because it serves his purpose, but other gospel writers expanded on it, and so it is of this text. Matthew takes us right to Pilate saying, are you the king of the Jews? And so he brings us right to this question and Jesus' answer which is, it is as you say.

And The chief priests and the elders continue to heap accusations after accusations. They are piling up accusations against Jesus and he won't say one word. That's what the text says. He did not answer them one word, not one single word to defend himself against the false charges of the chief priests and the elders. And the text says that Pilate, quote, marveled greatly, end quote.

He marveled greatly. Pilate can't believe that Jesus won't defend himself. Jesus is on trial for his life and he won't even speak in his own defense. So Pilate marvels greatly. We have here the Lamb of Isaiah 53, the Lamb led to slaughter, who was silent before his shearers, who was silent before the slaughter.

Jesus does admit to being the King of the Jews and Jesus has always been the King of the Jews. The Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ is the King of the Jews. We've seen this in the Gospel of Matthew since Matthew chapter 2. You'll remember, wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. And in Matthew 2 verse 2 it reads, They ask Herod, Herod the Great, where is he who has been born King of the Jews?

Where is the King of the Jews? Where is this baby who was born to be King of the Jews? And they say, for we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. How did they know? We don't know.

Maybe it was through the ministry of Daniel in the east in Babylon hundreds of years before. Maybe some of that was retained. Maybe that's how they know. We don't know. But they came because there was a sign of the King of the Jews.

And Herod the Great is so threatened by this baby King of the Jews that he kills all of the babies in and around Bethlehem. So Matthew has condensed. He gets right to Pilate's question. Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus' answer is, as you say.

But there are other things that have happened in this interview before we get to Pilate's question and Jesus' answer. Consider Luke 23 verse 2, And they, the chief priests and the elders, began to accuse him saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a king. So before Pilate even asks this question, the chief priests and the elders are bringing their accusations. They say, this man is perverting the nation. He doesn't want us paying taxes to Caesar and he's setting himself up as a rival to Caesar.

He is saying he is Christ. Of course this is patently untrue. Jesus has specifically and publicly answered whether the people should be paying taxes or not. He says, bring me a coin. Whose face is that?

Caesar's. Render to Caesar. What is Caesar's? And to God, what is God's? So the false accusations are flowing, but The Jews have a charge that makes Jesus in their eyes worthy of death and that was blasphemy.

Pilate cares nothing about blasphemy. Blasphemy is speaking against God. Pilate doesn't even believe in the God of the Jews And so they can't bring blasphemy as a charge to Pilate to get him to validate their death penalty. And so this has to be transferred into sedition, into rising up against the government. That's exactly what they do.

They said, he's raising himself up as a king, as a rival to Caesar. He's not wanting anyone to pay taxes, which is something that might get Pilate's attention, even if blasphemy wouldn't. Now listen to John 18. This has also happened before Pilate asked his question. John 18, 36-38.

Jesus answered. So this is Jesus explaining the nature of his present kingship. So Matthew doesn't record it, but John does, and Jesus says exactly what his kingship is about to Pilate. Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews.

But now my Kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice." Pilate said to him, �What is truth?� So here we have Jesus being accused of being the king, but he takes the pains to explain to Pilate the nature of his present kingship which is it's not a worldly kingdom.

Jesus says if it was a worldly kingdom, my servants would fight, but they're not fighting because I have a spiritual kingdom. I have a kingdom about proclaiming truth. This was the reason why my father sent me, was to proclaim truth. And then Pilate declares his uncomfortability with objective truth at all and he says, what is truth? At this point, Pilate learns that Jesus is a Galilean.

This is Luke 23 beginning in about verse 5. At this point in the interrogation Pilate learns that Jesus is a Galilean and Pilate sees a way out. Pilate really, In all the Gospel accounts, it's so clear that Pilate wants nothing to do with this. And so now Pilate sees a way out. Not my jurisdiction.

Galilee is not under my jurisdiction. It's the Passover feast And so all of the rulers within Israel are there, which includes Herod the Tetrarch, Herod Antipas, not Herod the Great, but the son of Herod the Great. So Herod the Great is the one who slaughters the babies in and around Bethlehem. And his son, Herod Antipas, is the tetrarch of Galilee, the ruler of Galilee and Jesus has conducted all of his ministry, almost all of his ministry in Galilee where Herod Antipas has been governing and Herod Antipas is the Herod who imprisoned John the Baptist because John the Baptist rebuked him for his unlawful marriage and then John the Baptist is beheaded. So it's this Herod Antipas that Pilate is happy to send him to.

To get Jesus out of his hair and to get clear of this matter that he wants nothing to do with. And Herod actually is happy to have Jesus come before him. The text says in Luke 23 that Herod Antipas is exceedingly glad that he had wanted to see Jesus for a long time. And the text says why. He wants to see a miracle.

Jesus is a circus performer to Herod Antipas and he wants to see Jesus do something whiz-bang. He wants to have a miracle done on command to satisfy him, to satisfy his appetites. And when Jesus won't do it, the text says Herod with his men of war treated him with contempt and mocked him. And Herod ends up sending him back to Pilate, only clothed differently. He puts a gorgeous robe on him.

That's what Luke 23 says. He arrays him in a gorgeous robe as if he were a real worldly king and then he sends him back to Pilate having mocked him. And Luke 23 says that that day Herod and Pilate became friends. They had been at enmity with each other. They had been enemies of one another, But Jesus brings them together.

And we see here what we've seen all throughout the Gospel is that Jesus brings people together. Jesus brings all varieties of God haters together who hate each other in any other context, but are joined in their opposition to the government of God. Do you see that? Can't agree on anything anywhere except for that God cannot govern us. So Pharisees like Sadducees when it's time to oppose Jesus.

And Pharisees and Sadducees like Herodians when it's time to oppose Jesus. And Herod and Pilate like each other a lot. When it's time to submit themselves to the government of Almighty God. It was that way then, it was that way before then, it's that way today. You can see a hundred examples of that in the modern day.

You'll see it next weekend when we go to Outrally. You'll see the cabal against Jesus Christ and the government of God. People who don't like each other in any other context, but when it comes to throwing off the government of God, they are fast friends. So in this section, the thing to marvel at is that Jesus has laid aside his rightful title of Lord of Lords. And he is standing before this petty governor who is nothing.

All things were made by Jesus Christ. All things were made through Jesus Christ. All things were made for Jesus Christ. Pilate is nothing. Caesar is nothing.

The kings who have lived on this earth are nothing but Jesus has laid aside his right to be Lord of Lords. And He's taken upon Himself the mantle of servant, and He's willingly subjected Himself to death. Even the disgraceful death of a criminal on the cross. Brothers and sisters, worship Him. Worship Him.

Why would He do this? This is a mystery. Can you adequately explain why Jesus Christ would leave the honor of heaven as a co-member of Trinity and come to die for you? You're a sinner. Subject himself to the judgment of these men who are nothing, who are totally defiled, totally despicable.

Oh Jesus Christ is worthy to be worshipped. We should stop right now in the middle of this sermon and worship God that he would subject himself to his own creation Back to our text beginning in verse 15 and reading through 23, Jesus or Barabbas. 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 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 was 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. So there's a custom at the Passover feast. The people pick a prisoner and the governor sets him free. And it's a way for an unpopular, hated, despised, occupying government to garner a measure of goodwill with a population that otherwise is not inclined to be cooperative.

Do you see what's happening here? It's just a way to garner a small measure of favor with a populace that hates you. And so the people get to pick a prisoner and the governor will set him free as An act of goodwill. Here's what John Calvin says, nothing could be more unreasonable than that festivals should be honored by allowing crimes to go unpunished. Have you ever thought of that?

I never thought of that before I read what John Calvin. How perverse to have a worship celebration, a worship festival celebrated by suspending justice. This is part of Worship Week in Israel. We'll selectively suspend justice. But this is the custom.

There's a prisoner named Barabbas. And the new King James and the NASB and the ESB and the NIV all say notorious, but it's not a particularly good translation. The Greek word is actually neutral. And so the King James does a better job and the King James calls him a notable prisoner. The word's neutral.

Notorious definitely has a negative connotation and there's no negative connotation with that word. It just means that he's a prominent prisoner. He's well known. Everyone knows the case of Barabbas. So he's a notorious man, that's for sure.

But he's just a notable, prominent, well-known prisoner. In Mark 15, it says that Barabbas had committed murder in the rebellion. So Matthew doesn't give that to us, but Mark does. He had committed murder in a rebellion. So he's a murderer and he's an insurrectionist.

He's a man that took place in a rebellion to overthrow the government. So it's possible with the people that hate the government that he's quite a popular prisoner. So Pilate asks, who would you like me to release? This notable, this prominent and well-known prisoner Barabbas, who's a murderer and an insurrectionist or Jesus who is called Christ. And again, Pilate sees the way out, this is the second time, Pilate sees the way out of having to deal with this man.

And verse 18 says, for he knew that they had handed him over because of envy. Well, how does he know that? What, the chief priests and the elders are now concerned about taxes going to Caesar? Wait, the chief priests and elders of the people of God, now their primary concern is the honor of Caesar. So this is so thinly veiled and Pilate sees right through that.

He knows it's not about any of the issues that have been brought and put on the table, but that it's just simply envy. I believe that God is doing something here. He's baiting us. God is baiting us in Matthew 27. He is putting irresistible bait on the end of a shiny hook.

Barabbas is going to go free in this text. And so Jesus Christ, the most innocent man, whoever was, the only innocent man, is going to die and the murderer and the insurrectionist is going to go free and something inside of us is going to rise up and say No! No! This insurrectionist, this murderer cannot go free! And the minute that happens in your heart, you've taken the bait.

You've taken the bait that God has put there. Why? Why do you care if Barabbas goes free? This was 2, 000 years ago. What do you care if it's a lucky day for a murder?

What do you care? Because Barabbas is guilty. And Barabbas deserves death for his crimes. Right? Isn't that what's causing this to well up in our hearts.

He deserves to die for his crimes. The justice of God demands that this man die for his crimes. And then it dawns on you, The wages of sin is death. Romans 6-23, I have my own death penalty hanging over my head. And so it's not just this dirty, filthy murderer who gets to go free with the death of Jesus Christ.

The lie that you told this week carries the death penalty. The hatred in your heart for your brother carries the death penalty, even though you've justified it and you've explained to yourself why it's not that bad or even that it's okay. The lustful look at the woman or the man has carried with it the death penalty. The careless words, the defamatory words that have rolled off of your lips carry with it The death penalty. So Almighty God brings us to Brabus so that we can see the scandal of the Gospel, nose to nose, face to face with the scandal of the gospel.

How is the gospel scandalous? Well, at least in two ways. The first way is the magnitude of the mercy. It's scandalous. It's like a fairy tale if you're Barabbas.

You are dead meat if you're Barabbas. What hope does Barabbas have? He's in the custody of the Romans, he's an insurrectionist and a murderer. He's dead to rights. This is like a fairy tale.

The prison door opens up, Barabbas you can leave. You're free. What must that moment have been like for Barabbas. What? I'm going free?

And so we see that and we say it can't be that easy. It cannot be that easy. But what we are failing to recognize is that the alternative is that you add something to it. You do something for it. But the Bible says that all our righteousness is as filthy rags.

So what are you going to add to it? We can impress each other. But when God looks at the things that we have to offer, He says, you brought me a dishcloth, a filthy, Stinking rag? Brothers and sisters, these are the alternatives. It either is that easy or at least that simple.

There's a big distinction between simple and easy. Simple is probably the word. Or you have something to add. But God says, whatever you might add, however proud of it you might have been, it's a filthy rag in his sight. He's a Holy God.

He's nothing like you. He's nothing like me. He's holy. So all the things that you've been proud of are vile. They disgust him.

Do you believe that? You better believe that. That's what God says. That's what's true. The second way that the gospel is scandalous is that the natural man is unwilling to accept the label of despicable criminal.

The natural man is completely unwilling to accept the label of despicable criminal. So we spit on Barabbas and him being released. But there's grace for me. I'm not like that. There's bait on that hook.

There's bait on that hook. And you come and you read this passage and when that wells up within you, you're being brought nose to nose with the scandal of the Gospel. And if you won't wear the label of despicable criminal, you have no part in Christ. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you will not wear that label, then you will not agree with God Almighty about yourself and you're standing before Him and you can have no part in Christ because you don't even think you're sick.

But the truth is, cancer is coursing through every limb of your body. And you are what the label says you are. Because God is Judge and God is Holy. There are three other noteworthy things that happen in this section. First, Pilate's wife has a dream.

Minding her own business and sleeping, God sends her a dream that Jesus is just, he's innocent, he's righteous, and she suffers in that dream so much so that she would send a messenger to her husband when he is sitting on the judgment seat and say don't have anything to do with this innocent man, with this just man, with this righteous man. God the Father continues to testify to the innocence of his son through these gospel writers, through these inspired gospel writers. God is saying, my son is innocent. Why is that important? Because he's only an acceptable sacrifice if he's innocent.

God can only accept this lamb if it doesn't have a defect, if it's blameless. So God, through the inspired gospel writers, keeps testifying. He's innocent. He's innocent. He's innocent.

He's innocent. And it means that he can be an acceptable sacrifice and he can be a substitute for sinners. If he has his own sins, he cannot be a substitute. If he is a just man, an innocent man, a righteous man, then he is the only righteous man who has ever lived and he can stand in the place of sinners. Secondly, the chief priests and the elders are plunging blindly into more and more and more sin.

They are stirring up this crowd. Remember Bagg, just the last several chapters, How many times have they been trying to avoid a tumult? All the way back to the beginning of the plot. Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar, lest there be a tumult. Arrest him at night so that there won't be a tumult.

Try him in the middle of the night so there won't be a tumult, but now when it serves their purposes, they are stirring up the crowd. They are fanning the flames. Here is the historical context. Pilate has terribly mistreated the Jews, unjustly mistreated the Jews. They have complained bitterly to Caesar.

This isn't in a text, but you can find that historically, the historical writers of the time have chronicled this. Pilate has mistreated the Jews. They've complained bitterly to Caesar. Caesar, Caesar has rebuked Pilate and put him on notice about his government of these people. And within a year of Jesus' death and resurrection, Pilate will be removed from this ill treatment of the Jews and banished.

Okay, so he's going to go from governor to banished because of his treatment and the complaints of the Jews. So the Jews have Pilate over a barrel even though he is the governor. And Pilate knows it and they know it. And this comes through crystal clear in John's account. Listen to John 19 verse 12.

From then on Pilate sought to release Jesus, but the Jews cried out saying, if you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar's. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. So the Jews, even though they are the governed, have the trump card to play over the governor because he's already been rebuked by Caesar. He's already in trouble with Caesar and it's going to lead to his banishment within a year of this moment. Third, the crowd is literally screaming for Jesus to be crucified.

And the more Pilate tries to wiggle out of it, the louder they get. It's been less than a week since the triumphal entry. It's been less than a week since the multitudes are crying out Hosanna to the Messiah and welcoming their King. What a week. Do you see the madness of seeking the approval of men?

If you fear men and you love the applause of men, you'll find yourself always chasing a moving target. It's a good thing Jesus isn't looking for the applause of men, because that target is on the move. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus speaks of the Pharisees and he says, they do their charitable deeds to be seen by men. They blow a trumpet when they give money. He says they pray to be seen by men.

They pick the busiest street corner for their prayers. They fast to be seen by men. They want to make sure that they are looking very disheveled on their fast days so that everybody else knows that they are fasting. And Jesus is condemning it for just this reason. The crowds that love you one week may be screaming for your death at the end of the week.

So when you make compromises to accommodate other people, know this, you've not seen the last of those compromises. You'll have to make a hundred more just like it to keep up with the changing appetites of the crowds. This is true of Pilate. He fears man. He's looking for the applause of man.

This is true of the people, the chief priests, the elders, and the multitudes. They fear men, and they're seeking the applause of men. So Christians have to be a completely different kind of people that care nothing for the applause of men and only fear God. Man can only kill the body and then he's done. God can kill the body and then destroy the soul forever in hell.

He is to be feared. If you want to look for the applause of anyone, look for the applause of God. Please God. Because what he wants and what he expects never changes and you'll never be able to say that of any other crowd. The last section, Matthew 27, 24 through 26.

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 person. 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.

Pilate washes his hands. Pilate thinks he can have his cake and eat it too. He thinks he can please the crowd and exonerate himself, make himself innocent of this great sin that is being committed. He knows that Jesus is innocent. He tries over and over in this account to release him, but ultimately when there is a tumult rising and he can't afford the tumult, then he gives in and his principles collapse and he does what they want him to do.

H2O does not cleanse the hands. Two hydrogen molecules and an oxygen molecule bonded together doesn't cleanse. Only the atoning blood of Jesus Christ takes a crimson stain and makes it white as snow. You can wash your hands until your skin falls off, but your sins cling to you unless Jesus Christ as a substitute stands in your place to bear the wrath of God. It's ironic.

It is so ironic that Pilate in this text would do the false cleansing. Think of all the things that are done by men, women, and children to wash their hands. But the sin keeps clinging and keeps clinging and keeps clinging and it will cling to the last day of their life and to the great and terrible day when they stand before the Judge unless Jesus takes the penalty for their sins. So Pilate adds his name to the names of infamy. We spent two weeks studying Judas.

Not a lot of babies being named Judas. Oh, look at little Pontius Pilate. Isn't he sweet? No, I don't know one Pontius Pilate. That may be because we're not Roman.

It's a name of infamy. It goes on a short list. The Apostles' Creed is the oldest and most influential creed among the people of God since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What's the line? Suffered under Pontius Pilate.

How Many times since the death of Jesus and the formation of the Apostles Creed have the words suffered under Pontius Pilate past the lips of the people of God. Ten thousand times ten thousand. And so because his principles collapsed, he adds his name to the book of infamy and no number of washing of the hands, the H2O will not do it. His sin clings to Him. Brothers and sisters, the responsibility of our sins lies with us.

It is non-transferrable. You cannot blame it on your childhood. You cannot blame it on your spouse. You cannot blame it on not having enough money or having too much money or not being good looking enough or being too good looking. You cannot transfer your sins to the circumstances of life or to the other people that God has sovereignly put in your life.

Your sins cling to you until you bow your knee and you confess that Jesus is Lord and He stands in your place as a substitute. There is only one scapegoat. You remember this picture in the Old Testament. The goat comes and the priest lays his hand on this goat to transfer the sins of the people to this goat and then you send him out. There's only one scapegoat and It's not your mother or your father or your friends or even your enemies.

There's only one scapegoat and it is the Lord Jesus Christ and you must lay your hands upon him for your sins to be transferred. Verse 25, the people say, His blood be on us and on our children. Now remember back to Matthew 23, just a couple of chapters ago, and Jesus is talking about how they killed every prophet that God ever sent to them. They were just killing prophet after prophet after prophet. And then Jesus in Matthew 23 says, fill up then the guilt of your fathers.

In other words, in the killing of the Messiah, In the rejection of the Son of God, fill it all the way up. Your fathers have been filling the cup up and it's almost full. But there's a last measure and it's the rejection of the Messiah, the Son of God. And then in Matthew 23, 35 and 36, Jesus says this, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barakiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation." The blood of Jesus Christ and all the prophets that came before did come upon these people who said this and on their children.

And there was a judgment, a mighty judgment, a horrific judgment right around the corner for these people and for their children. Three concluding remarks. Three concluding remarks. Listen to John 19 verses 10 and 11. John 19, 10 and 11.

Then Pilate said to Jesus, Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you? Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given to you from above.î We should come to this text and marvel, marvel, praise his name for his willing subjection to this wicked governor. He is the king of kings and the lord of lords. He is the substance and this is just the tiniest little shadow that he's standing before.

But he endured the cross despising the shame for the joy that was set before him. And that joy was to redeem a people. Number two, you are Barabbas. You're him. And whether you're willing to wear the label of despicable criminal or not, the label fits.

You cannot get it off of you because it's the label placed upon you by Almighty God. And He's right and you're wrong. The wages of your sin is death. And if you've broken one point of the law, you've broken them all. You are guilty of the breaking of all of the law.

That's in the book of James. So what now? What now? The wages of your sin is death. What now, unrepentant person?

Will you justify yourself? Will you refuse to wear the label of despicable criminal and think that you're good enough and think that you'll be able to mount a defense against this righteous judge. Jesus is here in this text standing without defense, without defense, because he's playing the part of a sinner before a righteous judge whose mouth has been stopped. So unrepentant person, whoever I'm speaking to, unrepentant person, know this, that either Jesus will stand before this man with his mouth stopped on your behalf as a substitute for you, or you'll be just like this, you'll have no defense, you'll have nothing to stand between you and a righteous and almighty judge. Christian.

You who God has shown that you wear a label of despicable criminal. You who know something of the moment of the guards coming and opening the cell and telling Barabbas, you can go. You can go. How will we live? How will we live?

We have a reservoir of gratitude to live out of. The label of despicable criminal has been put aside and a new label of righteousness, not your own righteousness, But a righteousness apart from the law, a righteousness gained through faith in Christ where His righteousness is imparted to you, how will you live? How will you live when the label of despicable criminal has been removed and the label of righteous has been applied to you. Finally, the Lord's people must be ruled by principle, not by seeking after the favor of men, not by fearing men. And the principles must be derived by the word of God, the revealed word of God.

And our principles can't collapse when the pressure gets ratcheted up. We have to be a different kind of people because we have to be a people who are more and more and more conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and His principles never collapsed under pressure from a crowd. And the alternative is to chase the approval of the crowd and to compromise and to have the target move and to compromise and to have the target move and to compromise endlessly until the end of your days. Make up your mind now that you don't care about that target. You only fear God and you only desire the approval of God.

May God conform us to the image of His Son who never buckled under that pressure. Look to Him and live like that. Let's pray. Father, For those of us who have faith in you, it is so good to be yours. We can come to this text and be filled with gratitude that You have stood in the place of those who fear You and trust You and love You.

Oh God, increase our fear of You. Increase our trust of you. Increase our love for you, Lord. We look in our hearts and see it in such paltry measures, though we see progress. We wish it was so much faster, we were so much further along.

But we trust you God, not only to justify sinners, but also to sanctify them. So we come before you to plead with you. You would help us to live like Christ, to be like Christ, to be conformed to this precious image that we've seen week after week after week in the gospels. Thank you for the life of Jesus Christ that we could observe, for His death, that we could live before you, for His resurrection. We can know for sure that the substitute has been accepted and exalted.

And that we can be accepted in the beloved Jesus Christ. We pray in His name, Amen.