LUKE 23:1-25 JESUS IS FAULTLESS2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 23:1-25 Jesus Is Faultless

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014. Jesus is faultless.

He lived a sinless life. He is absolutely perfect without any sin at all. Now, there is the background of our presentation today. I have the dart hitting the bullseye of the target. And we often refer to sin and talk about that sin is missing the mark. That is, you're throwing the dart, you're shooting the arrow, but you miss the bullseye, you miss the mark.

And that is what it is to sin. That you and I, well, we are sinful. And as hard as we try, we miss the mark. We cannot live perfect lives. Even if we try really hard, we cannot live a perfect day. Even if we try extra hard, we couldn't live a perfect hour. That we miss the mark, we are sinful. Jesus, on the other hand, was very different.

He hit the mark. He lived the absolutely perfect life. And we've been seeing this demonstrated as last week we saw the Jewish trial that Jesus was going through. They arrested him in the garden. They began to examine him throughout the night. And then finally in the morning they had the Supreme Court of the Jewish people, that is the Sanhedrin. They had them examine Jesus.

And they really could find no fault in him. They couldn't find any reason to put him to death, although they wanted to desperately. They gathered together false witnesses and tried to get their stories to line up and

They weren't coming through. Their false witnesses were telling different stories and they were aggravated and frustrated. Finally, they had a reason to put Jesus to death as they asked Jesus if he was the son of God or if he in fact is equal to God.

And Jesus said, yes. And they said, well, that's blasphemy. Let's put him to death. Now, it would be blasphemy if it was not true. But Jesus is equal to God. He is the Son of God. And so, it's not blasphemy. But they accused him of it. And now, what we see happening is they are taking him and turning him over to Pilate. But they're digging in. They're trying to get these witnesses to find something to accuse him of.

Now, this could happen, right, in anybody. We are very familiar with the political races that happen, right? And when there's two opponents in a political race, this is what they do. They try to dig up dirt on their opponent, right? To try to find some accusation against them to be able to accuse them or slander them or say, look, you know, this guy doesn't deserve to have this office, but I do, right?

And as we were preparing for the message this morning and looking at and digging up dirt to see, is Jesus faultless? Well, we were digging up some dirt in some people's lives in this congregation. And we found some things that we want to share with you. And so keep an eye out for this guy. He's a wanted man, dead or alive, Jerry the Brat Simmons.

And he's got some faults, let me tell you. He's got some issues of pride and disobedience and lust and stubbornness and many other things as well that were too long to fit onto the wanted poster. And so there's a reward of $1,000. If you run into this guy, you can contact Pastor Tom and collect your reward. But as we continued to dig, we also found this guy. You've got to watch out for him.

uh we don't have a name for him he's just an outlaw but he's wanted for being too handsome and you got to be careful with that very ambitious and other undisclosed faults and so if you see him make sure you contact calvary police department and they'll get him taken care of and then finally we found this guy wanted dead or alive george leadfoot sedota and uh he's

for explosive rage. It's earned him the nickname PG-13. And so watch out for him on that. You can see him speeding on his Mustang and he's got other secret faults as well. $100,000 reward for him. So keep an eye out because he's worth a lot of money. So there's these guys in our midst who have faults. Now, if I was to put your picture up there, what faults would be listed? Don't answer out loud, please. But...

The point is, all of us, we have faults. We have things that could be exposed, sins that are evident and sins that are not evident. We have issues in our lives because we missed the mark. We are sinful.

And what we're seeing through these trials, the Jewish trials last week, the Roman trials this week, we're seeing Jesus over and over again be presented as faultless. Jesus doesn't have a wanted poster. He has a poster that declares he is faultless. He has no sin. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the sacrificial lamb, the perfect, holy, the spotless lamb,

That took away the sin of the world. And that's what we see throughout our passage together today, that Jesus is faultless. Now, instead of, like I usually do, having points that are tied to specific verses, I have points that are real observations that we'll see themes throughout the passage together. And so the first thing that we'll see as we go through verses 1 through 5 is that the religious are fierce believers.

the faultless. They're fierce against Jesus. Let's start working our way through the passage here in verse 1. It says,

Now this is continuing on from the previous chapter as it refers to they or them. It's talking about the Jewish Sanhedrin, what we might call the Supreme Court for the Jewish people. These are the elders and leaders that put Jesus on trial, determined he committed blasphemy, and now they're bringing him over to Pontius Pilate.

They're doing this because they do not have the authority to execute Jesus. And that's their ultimate goal. They want to put him to death. And so they have to bring him to Pilate, the Roman authority in the region, so that he can be executed. Verse 2, And they 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."

And so as they come to Pilate, they bring these accusations against Jesus. Now, these are lies that they are bringing to Pilate. They said, we found this guy perverting the nation. And that is not true. They did not find Jesus perverting the nation. Even though they tried and they got these false witnesses to try to testify against Jesus in their own trials, they

There was no evidence. There was no support. They couldn't find any evidence that Jesus was perverting the nation. They also tell Pilate he is forbidding that people pay taxes to Caesar.

And that also is a lie. In fact, they tried to trap Jesus on this issue. You might remember, we dealt with it quite a while back in the Gospel of Luke. But they brought this guy to Jesus who said, hey, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

And they thought they had him trapped because if he says, it's not lawful, don't pay taxes, then they could turn him over to Rome and accuse him of not, you know, forbidding to pay taxes. But if he said, no, you need to pay your taxes, then the people would turn against him. And remember, Jesus took the coin and he said, whose inscription is on here? So give to Caesar what is Caesar's and then give to God what is God's. Give honor to whom honor is due. Give taxes to whom taxes are due.

And so Jesus did not forbid the people to pay taxes. And so these are lies that the people or that the Jewish people are bringing to Pilate. But then they throw in the truth at the end that Jesus said that he himself is Christ, a king. And this part was true.

We saw this last week in their trials of Jesus, that Jesus is that Savior that had been promised throughout the whole Old Testament, known as the Christ, the Messiah.

He is that promised Savior. He claimed to be that promised Savior. And so this aspect of their testimony is true. But it's not very strong. And so they throw in these lies. Well, he says he's the Christ, and he perverts the nation, and he forbids to pay taxes. So deal harshly with him is their idea. Verse 3. Then Pilate asked him, saying, Are you the king of the Jews?

Now, it would be a serious issue to claim to be king without Caesar's authority, because it would be an opposition to Caesar.

But there's more going on here than what Luke records for us. You can read the full conversation in John chapter 18. Where as Jesus and Pilate are talking, Jesus explains, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight against

And would preserve me from this trial. But my kingdom is not of this world. Jesus is referring to him being the king of kings. The heavenly king. And so as he says, yes I'm a king. He says, it is as you say. I am the king of the Jews. Pilate understands he's not trying to make a political claim. He's not trying to be in opposition to Caesar. And so he understands this isn't a real issue. This guy is really no threat.

Also, you could consider that as Jesus stood before Pilate, he had already been beaten by the Jewish soldiers who held him overnight. And so he stood before Pilate, beaten and bloodied, and not in any kind of glory as, you know, hey, I'm the king, but he was there in humility. And Pilate understood, he recognized this is not a threat to Caesar, this is not a threat to Rome, this is...

something else entirely. In Matthew chapter 27, it tells us that Pilate knew that the religious leaders brought Jesus to him because of their envy of Jesus. And so he saw through their lies. He saw through what was going on and recognized they're envious of Jesus. They want to get rid of him so that they can keep their power. And that's why they're doing this.

So verse 4, Pilate said to the chief priests in the crowd, I find no fault in this man. And here we see it declared by Pilate, Jesus is faultless. There is no fault, no reason for him to be judged or punished or executed. Pilate declares that Jesus is innocent. He evaluates their accusations,

Those are lies. Those are lies. Well, that one he says is the truth, but it's a heavenly kingdom. There's nothing to charge him with. There's no real issue here, Pilate decides. But then it goes on in verse 5 and says, But they were the more fierce, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.

And here is where we see the first point, the first observation, and that is the religious are fierce against the faultless. The Jewish people, as they hear that Pilate says he's faultless, there's no fault, he's innocent, they become more fierce. They step it up. This idea is to give additional strength or to make stronger. And so they're getting louder. They're insisting more and more that,

And you know how it is. People can be very forceful. They're insisting that Jesus is a troublemaker and that he is deserving of death. And so from that, I make this observation that the religious are fierce against the faultless. They're fierce against Jesus. Now when I talk about the religious, I'm referring to religion in the sense of a system of rules that

are not from God. What the Jewish people had done is they had taken what God had declared in the Old Testament and they had built their own system on top of it. And they valued their ways, their rules, their regulations, their rituals more than God's. And so when they approached God, they tried to do so on their own terms, on the system that they had built, and they disregarded what God had said.

And so as I refer to religion, I'm referring to that type of thing. It's not just something that the Jews had an issue with, but it's something that all people have an issue with. That we build our own systems, whether they be known and broadcast or whether they be in our own minds and hearts. We build our own systems of how we approach God. And if it's not according to what God has actually said...

Well, then we are getting caught up then in a religious system that is not of God. And the big problem with that is that religion is opposed to Jesus. The problem with that is we begin to value then our system more than what God has actually declared. We value the system more than the relationships.

That is what happened to the Jewish people. And that's what happens to anyone who tries to relate to God on the basis of works or whatever system that we have come up with. And so there's this opposition that develops. Even if it started out, you know, we want to be really religious because we love Jesus. That religious system will turn us against Jesus as we value those things more than what he has said. We need to be very careful.

That we approach God as He has prescribed. And that is by faith in Jesus Christ. We can't try to come to God in any other way. We can't try to come to God with any other system that we've developed or that man has come up with.

We need to be faithful to approach God in the way that he has prescribed. And anything else is a religious system that ultimately turns us against Jesus. And we will become more and more fierce against Jesus as we get entrenched in that religious system. We're going on now in verse 6. It says, when Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the man were a Galilean.

And as soon as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. So Pilate, he's listening to their accusations. They're getting more and more fierce. And they say, he's stirring up trouble all the way from Galilee all the way to here. And he says, oh, did you say Galilee? And Pilate here thinks he has an out.

And from this, I make this observation. It's point number two about Pilate. And that is the people pleasers will not stand up for the faultless. Pilate is ultimately interested in pleasing the people. He values that more than anything else. That's what's most important to him. And so when he hears about Galilee, he says, you know,

That's in Herod's jurisdiction. I don't have to make a decision about this. I can defer that. I can make Herod decide on this issue. And that way I don't have to upset anybody to make a decision about Jesus. Pilate is a people pleaser. Now,

Part of the factors in this situation is that Pilate has been in trouble a couple times already politically. He's made some major blunders with the Jewish people. He's been reprimanded by the Roman authorities.

And so Pilate here is fearful. He's in danger of losing his job, his position, his power as the governor of the region. And so he is attempting to keep the people happy so that he doesn't get in trouble. And so he thinks, well, if I send him over to Herod, this is perfect. Because then the people won't be upset at me because I didn't make the decision. It's Herod's jurisdiction. Let him make the decision.

At the same time though, he knew that Jesus was faultless. And so even though he knew that Jesus did not deserve to be judged or tried or condemned, he was not willing to take a stand. He'd rather have a way out. He'd rather have Herod deal with it so that he doesn't get in trouble. He'd rather let someone else decide because, well, he wants to have good relationship with the people. He wants the people to be happy with him.

And that's a problem with people pleasers. And it's something that we need to check our hearts for as well. Are you a people pleaser? That is, you're so concerned about what people think and what people will say and what will happen if people find out. Well, you begin to put that before the truth. Pilate knew that Jesus was faultless. He knew that the right thing to do was to dismiss this whole thing and let Jesus go. He knew it.

But he wasn't willing to do that because, well, he was more concerned about what would happen with the people. There are those who know the truth about Jesus, but they are unwilling to take a stand for him, to be identified with Jesus Christ. And ultimately, that's what Christianity is all about. That's what baptism is about. It's identifying with Christ, saying, yes, I believe in Jesus Christ.

Jesus told us in Matthew chapter 10, verse 32 and 33, Whoever confesses me, Jesus says, before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven. It's this identification we need to be identified with, aligned with, Jesus Christ, and confess him before men.

That doesn't mean just, you know, making one profession of faith, but it's about standing with Jesus, being faithful to Jesus, representing Jesus. Pilate was not willing to do that. Instead, he sends him over to Herod. He's more concerned about pleasing people. Verse 8, Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad.

For he had desired for a long time to see him, because he had heard many things about him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by him. Here, as we look at this exchange with Herod and Jesus, we get to see the third observation, the third point this morning, and that is, the pleasure lovers desire a show from the faultless.

Here is Jesus comes before Herod. I'm referring to Herod as a pleasure lover because ultimately he just wants to be entertained. He wants a good show. It tells us that he's exceedingly glad there at the beginning of verse 8. He's really happy when Jesus comes in. Now Herod lived and reigned in the northern part of Israel in Galilee. But he was in Jerusalem because this was during the time of the Passover feast.

And so he's in Jerusalem for the feast. And although he lived and reigned in Galilee, he had never had a chance to see Jesus. And that's where Jesus primarily ministered to. So he'd heard all about Jesus. He'd heard the stories of the miracles. He'd heard about the teachings. He'd heard about all the things that Jesus had done. But he'd never been able to see him. But now, Herod's all excited. He's exceedingly glad. He's like jumping up and down. All right, Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming. Why?

Because, well it tells us at the end of verse 8, he hoped to see some miracle done by him. Herod wanted to see Jesus because he wanted to be entertained. He wanted to be wowed. He wanted to be blown away. Jesus, do something amazing. Let me see it. It reminded me of that scene in The Incredibles. The best movie ever made. You know The Incredibles? Well, the little kid sees the dad, right? Lift up the car. And he looks down and the kid's blowing a bubble. He goes, boop.

Well, then later on in the show, he drives home. He pulls in the parkway. There's that little kid again. He's like, what are you doing here? What are you waiting for? He said, something amazing, I guess. That's what Herod was there. He was waiting. I just want to do something amazing. Blow my mind. Just do something incredible. He wants Jesus to put on a show. But Herod is disappointed because Jesus is not there to entertain him. Verse 9.

It says, then he questioned him with many words, but he answered him nothing. Jesus would not be Herod's entertainment. He refused. And so as Herod is asking him questions, Jesus doesn't even respond. It's an interesting contrast. He had a conversation with Pilate. They talked. They went back and forth. He talked about truth. Pilate said, what is truth? There was this dialogue that went back and forth, but when it came to standing before Herod,

He didn't even open his mouth. He refused to entertain Herod as he wanted. You know, many people want to see Jesus work a miracle. And they think, you know, I'll believe if I see some sign. But that is, well, it's incorrect. We've seen it proven throughout the scriptures time and time again that miracles do not produce faith.

It's a little bit hard for us to understand because it seems like miracles would produce faith. But all you have to do is just spend a little bit of time in the Old Testament. You think about when the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt miraculously by God. Right? The ten plagues, these incredible miracles happened. God leads them out. They get stuck at the Red Sea. God parts the Red Sea. They walk across on dry land. Amazing miracles taking place.

But just a couple days later, they're hungry, they're thirsty, they're grumbling, they're saying, let's go back to Egypt. God isn't going to take care of us. He's not going to provide for us. And then so God provides for them food and water. And then a couple days later, they're hungry, they're grumbling again. Then God provides daily manna for them. I mean, God does miracle after miracle after miracle, but it doesn't produce faith for the people of Israel.

Over and over again, they're turning against God. They're running away. They're saying, God can't meet our needs. God can't provide for us. Miracle after miracle after miracle did not produce faith because miracles do not produce faith. You can also see that demonstrated through the life of Jesus. Here, Jesus is teaching the truth. He's working miracles all throughout the region. People are seeing those miracles. They're hearing the truth. And then they're saying, show us a sign and then we'll believe.

And Jesus is saying, you've already seen the signs. I've already been working the miracles. You've seen the dead raised. You've seen these works take place. When Lazarus is raised from the dead, there were still many who did not believe. In fact, the religious leaders, when Lazarus was raised from the dead, decided, well, we got to kill Jesus and Lazarus because people see that he was raised from the dead. Miracles do not produce faith. And so Jesus here doesn't take part in Herod's desire to be entertained.

He says, no, I'm not going to put on a show. This isn't going to change Herod's heart. He doesn't even open his mouth. Well, then in verse 10, it tells us that the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Jesus. And here again, pointing back to point number one, that the religious are fierce against the faultless. As Jesus was transferred to Herod, these religious leaders came with him. And now they're continuing to oppose Jesus, to bring these accusations. It says they vehemently accused him.

They're fierce against Jesus, pushing for, seeking for him to be put to death. Verse 11, Then Herod, with his men of war, treated him with contempt and mocked him, arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him back to Pilate. So here's Herod. I refer to him as a pleasure lover. He wants to be entertained. He's exceedingly glad to see Jesus. But then it turns to contempt.

He's real happy to see Jesus. He's hoping to see a miracle. But when Jesus doesn't put on a show, it turns to contempt. They treat him with contempt. They mock him, it says, and they array him in a gorgeous robe. You're the king of the Jews. And so they're making fun of Jesus. And the idea is, hey, if you don't put on a good show...

Then we'll make our own show. And we'll entertain ourselves at your expense. Since you won't do any miracles or answer my questions. Then in verse 12 it says, That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other. For previously they had been at enmity with each other. And so these guys get along now. The people pleasers, the pleasure lovers get along well. Because neither of them are really serious about God.

But as we look at Herod as a pleasure lover, again, it's a warning for us. It's a call to say, hey, where's your heart at? Is pleasure the most important thing of your life? Is that why you're here at church this morning? Because you're a pleasure lover? You know, I try to be boring as often as I can to try to weed out all the pleasure lovers. They go, wait, this is too boring to be here. No, I'm just kidding. But there are those who are pleasure lovers. That's most important. Entertain me.

Hey, put on a good show. But then if you don't put on a good show, well, hey, I'll make my own show. I'll entertain myself. Sometimes, as you and I are in contact with those who value pleasure more than anything else, who are seeking to be entertained, the best thing to do is to follow the example of Jesus and not engage, not say anything at all.

There are those who ask questions, not because they want the answers, but because, well, they want to show. They want an argument. They want some commotion. They want to see, you know, some display that entertains them. And Jesus, as he faced Herod, he just didn't even open his mouth. You don't have to answer that question if you don't want to. Might be the best thing if they're just looking for a good show. Sometimes people will challenge believers.

Because they want the show. Not because they want the truth, but because they want to be entertained. There are those who will go as far as to blaspheme and to say ridiculous things about God just to watch you freak out. Because they want to be entertained. That's the most important thing to them. And so we should follow the example of Jesus many times in those cases. Just say nothing.

Because pleasure lovers, well, they desire a show. That's what they want. That's what they're looking for. And Jesus said, no, I'm not going to give that to you. Well, going on now in verse 13, it says, Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, he said to them, You have brought this man to me as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined him in your presence, I have found no fault in this man concerning those things of which you accuse him.

Here Pilate calls together the people again as Jesus is brought back from Herod. And once again he declares, Jesus is faultless. There's nothing that you have accused him of that is proven to be true.

They could not pin a real accusation upon him. And so Pilate says, he's innocent. I found no fault. I sent him to Herod. Herod now found no fault. Even when he tried to provoke Jesus, he found no fault with him. But notice what we see as we go on in verse 16 and 17. Pilate is still a people pleaser. Verse 16 says, I will therefore chastise him and release him.

for it was necessary for him to release one of them at the feast. Here Pilate continues to demonstrate that he is a people pleaser, and he will not stand up for the faultless. Pilate declares here that Jesus is faultless. He found him faultless. Herod finds him faultless. Look, there's nothing wrong with him. He hasn't committed any crimes. But notice, he's still willing to chastise Jesus.

He's still willing to punish him. Not execution, which is what the people are asking for, but he's saying, I'll just punish him a little bit. Now, picture this, okay? Can you imagine being taken to court? Maybe you're sued, maybe you're charged with some kind of crime, and you're taken to court. And you go through the court proceedings, and the defense attorney goes, the prosecutor goes, there's the jury, and they find you not guilty. The judge renders the verdict.

Not guilty. You're like, yeah. But then the judge continues and says, so you only have to endure a whipping. Or you only have to pay a $10,000 fine. Wait a minute. I'm not guilty. Why do I have to pay a fine? I'm not guilty. Why do I still have to be punished? You see, what Pilate is doing is he's trying to please the people. He's thinking, okay, Jesus is innocent. I know he's innocent. The people want him dead, but

That's not right. He doesn't deserve that. But if I don't kill him, then the people are going to be upset. Well, maybe, maybe. Here's my solution. What if I just beat him? And maybe then that'll satisfy the people. Then they'll still be okay with me. They won't report me to my superiors and everything will go on. So maybe to please the people, I can just have Jesus whipped. And then...

the situation will resolve itself. Jesus won't die from it. He doesn't deserve it, but at least he won't die from it. That's what they want. At least he'll survive it. And so Pilate, consumed with trying to please the people, is willing to chastise Jesus, even though he knows he doesn't deserve it. Verse 18. And they all cried out at once, saying, Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas, who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city and...

for murder. So now we're introduced to this guy Barabbas. Now Pilate's tradition was to release one prisoner during the Passover feast time. And so as he is dealing with this situation with Jesus, he's thinking, okay, if I present them Jesus and Barabbas and say, which one do you want me to release? It'll be clear. I

He's rebellious and he's murdered people. So if I present them to him, surely they'll make the rational choice and they'll pick Barabbas to be executed and Jesus to be released. But the crowd responds in verse 18 and says, no, no, no. You execute Jesus and release Barabbas. Pilate's plan is falling apart. He thought for sure they would ask for Jesus. But the people said, give us Barabbas.

Now we know from the other Gospels, it tells us that the chief priests were there. They were inciting the people. They were saying, ask for Barabbas, ask for Barabbas. And so they were, the religious, continuing to be fierce against the faultless, stirring up the crowd to ask for Jesus to be executed and for Barabbas to be released. Verse 20, Pilate, therefore wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them, but they shouted, crucify him, crucify him.

Here again, you see Pilate. He knows the truth, but he's not willing to stand for it. He wants to release Jesus. He knows there's nothing wrong here. He wishes to release Jesus. But the people are shouting, crucify him, crucify him. What's he going to do? Here's what the people want. Here's what he knows to be right. And ultimately, he had to choose who he was going to serve. If he was going to deal rightly with the truth...

If he was going to deal justly or if he was going to please the people. And he's having a hard time making this decision who he's going to serve. It's a picture for us too because you and I, we have to choose the same that Pilate did. Who are you going to serve? Understand that if you serve God, there are going to be lots of people who do not like that.

And more and more and more we're seeing it in our society. Around the world they see it to a far greater degree that is hard for us to even understand. There's great animosity and persecution against those who choose to serve God. People will not like that. Jesus said you will be persecuted. It is going to happen. The world hated me first. It's going to hate you as well. But you have to choose who you're going to serve. If you're going to try to please the people you cannot serve God. And if you choose to serve God...

Well, there are going to be people who are displeased, who do not like it. But you have to choose. And here's Pilate. He knows the truth. He knows what's right. He wants to release Jesus. But the people are saying, no, crucify him. Verse 22. Then he said to them the third time, why? What evil has he done? I have found no reason for death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go.

Here for the third time, Pilate says, Jesus is faultless. He is sinless. He hasn't committed any crimes. The religious leaders in their trials, they dug, but they found no dirt on Jesus. Even with the false witnesses that they gathered together, they couldn't get them to agree. The only thing that they could agree on was a true statement that they decided was false, that Jesus is the Son of God.

Pilate dug, but he found no dirt. He examined Jesus. He examined the accusations. There was no truth in them. He had done nothing deserving of judgment. Herod dug. He couldn't find any dirt on Jesus, even when he tried to provoke him. And so again, we see Pilate knowing the truth, declaring over and over,

This is the third time now. In verse 4, he said, I find no fault in this man. In verse 14, he says, I have found no fault in this man. Here he says, I have found no reason for death in him. But notice, he says, therefore I will chastise him and let him go. He's still willing. He's just trying to please the people. I'll punish him. I'll just beat him. How about that? What evil has he done, Pilate asks. As a people pleaser, he will not stand up for Jesus. And ultimately, he caved.

Pleasing the people was more important to him than pleasing God. Pleasing the people was more important than following what he knew was the truth. Verse 23, it says, But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that he be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. Pilate's insisting he's faultless,

But the people are loud. Now we look at this and we understand, hey, it doesn't matter how loud the people get, that doesn't mean that you should do something that's unjust. That doesn't mean that you should turn over one who is innocent because the people are really loud and they're insisting. We understand as we look at this, that's not right. But Pilate, although he knew it wasn't right, ultimately desired to please the people. And so they...

had their way. Their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. Fine. Do what they want. Let it be as they say. And that brings us to the fourth observation here for the passage today. And that is, the faultless one died in place of those who deserved it. Check out verse 25. It says, And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison.

But he delivered Jesus to their will. There's an exchange that happens. Pilate gives the order. And so they released Barabbas. And I like how Luke reminds us here of the kind of man Barabbas was. He was arrested for rebellion and for murder. They released the murderer. The one who deserved to die. But they delivered Jesus to be crucified. Jesus Christ.

took Barnabas' place on the cross. Not Barnabas, Barabbas. He took his place. If Jesus hadn't been there, Barabbas would have been crucified. Because, well, he led a rebellion. He murdered people. He deserved to be crucified. But the one who deserved to be crucified was released, and the one who is faultless took his place and received the penalty that Barabbas deserved. And not just Barabbas.

But when Jesus went to the cross, because He is the Son of God, because He is sinless and lived a perfect life, when Jesus went to the cross, He not only took Barabbas' spot, but He took my spot. He took your spot. That you and I, because, well, as I talked about earlier, as we began the message, looking at the faults that we have, we find that we don't have to dig very deep.

We have sin issues. And it means that we are worthy, that we deserve death. We deserve God's judgment. We deserve God's wrath because we missed the mark. We don't live perfect lives. Jesus did live a perfect life, but we don't. And when Jesus went to the cross, he took our place. The penalty that I deserve for missing the mark, Jesus received.

The penalty that you deserve for missing the mark, Jesus received. Yeah, he received. He received that judgment so that you and I don't have to. And so now here's the amazing thing. That wanted poster has changed. Now instead it declares redeemed. Forgiven. Instead of Jerry the Brat Simmons, I am now Jerry the Saint Simmons. Not because I stopped sinning, but because the penalty for my sin has been paid.

Because Jesus took my place on the cross. And this is what the gospel is all about. That the price to be paid, the judgment owed, has been paid in full. Jesus paid the price so that I don't have to. So that I can have forgiveness and redemption. Instead of accusations against me, I'm justified. I'm being sanctified. I will be glorified. And I will get to spend eternity with God because...

Well, I've come to God by faith in Jesus Christ. Not on some religious system. I haven't been seeking after, you know, pleasing the people, and that's most important. Being entertained and a lover of pleasure, that's not what's most important. No, most important is pleasing God. And to please God, I come to Him as He says, by faith. Recognizing and receiving that Jesus died in my place. Jesus is faultless. He is sinless. He's perfect and holy.

but he took my place. It's a call for us to please God. We read recently as we were going through the Bible in three years, we read the book of Romans. And I spent some time to reflect on Romans chapter 6 verse 21 where Paul challenges us. He says, what fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed for the end of those things is death. Paul says, think about your life.

What fruit did you have in the things that you're now ashamed of? There's a lot of things that you used to be involved in or maybe you're still involved in, but you're ashamed of them. What did you get out of that? There's a lot of sin that we've been involved with that, well, it results in death and destruction and pain. It messes up our families. It messes up our workplace. It messes up our church. It messes us up. We're miserable. That's the fruit that we get. We're miserable.

He says the end of those things is death. And then a little bit later on in Romans chapter 13, he says, look, it's high time to awake out of sleep for our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. And as you look around, you can see the things that are happening. Man, if you just follow the headlines in Israel, it's just like there's more than you can keep up with, with all the rockets being fired and the different groups. And there's all kinds of things happening. But the time of salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

And so he decides, or he concludes in Romans 13, 13, let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But he says, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. Listen, this is the time, guys. We need to recognize that Jesus is faultless.

And that He took our place. And the only real response to that is to give ourselves unto Him. To receive what He's done for us. And to live to please God. Because He took our place. He received my penalty. He received the death that I owe. But He took it for me. So that I can have life by faith in Him. And if I continue on in some religious system that I've built...

I'm disregarding what He has done. I'm devaluing His act of love in dying for me. I'm saying, no, I don't need your act of love. I don't need you going to the cross. I have my own way. I have my own system. Here's how I'm going to approach God. Here's what I'm going to trust in. And it's these rules, these regulations, these rituals, these ideas that I've come up with or that someone else has told me about. But if it's not from God, if it's not what the Scriptures declare...

It's disregarding what Jesus has done. If I'm in pursuit of pleasing people, if I just want to be happy, you know, I just want people to be happy with me and I don't want to rock the boat or, you know, I don't want to make waves. Then I begin to put people before Jesus. And again, I disregard what He has done. Jesus wasn't a people pleaser. He sought to please the Father. And so He took our place. Listen, it's high time to awake.

If you're living your life around this idea of trying to make people happy, trying to not rock the boat. I'm not saying you go and try to offend people on purpose. But stand up for Jesus Christ. Identify with Him. Be bold in your proclamation of who He is. He is the Savior. He is the Son of God. And He died upon the cross for us. You need to hold fast to that. Don't shy away from it because it's not popular.

Or if you're caught up in the pursuit of pleasure, the pursuit of happiness perhaps. You want to be entertained. Listen, that devalues what Jesus did for us. There's much more to life than a good show. There's much more than just being entertained. We're to live our lives to be pleasing to God, to glorify God. Why? Because of what Jesus did for us. You see, it all comes back to this. Jesus is faultless love.

And you and I are sinful. And He took our place. And the only reasonable response is to live our lives as a living sacrifice. As we close the service this morning, we're going to partake of communion together. And so I'll invite the worship team to come back up. And I want to encourage you. They're going to lead us in a couple songs. And as they do, the ushers are going to pass out the bread and the cup.

And as they pass out the bread and the cup, I want to leave you to be free to partake at any time. As you're worshiping the Lord, you go ahead and partake at any time. But as you prepare your heart, and as we worship the Lord, reflect on the reality. This is so amazing that Jesus, being perfect and sinless and holy, received the penalty and the punishment for all of my sins because I am unholy. He's faultless. I am faultful.

But he took my place anyways. He received my penalty so that I can be forgiven and redeemed.

And all of this took place at the cross. It all centers around the cross. And Jesus didn't want us to forget. And so he gave us communion as a reminder. He says, I need you to remember this. You need to remember this. He gave him the bread. He said, this is my body which is broken for you. He gave him the cup and he said, this is my blood which is shed for you. Do this as often as you eat, as often as you drink in remembrance of me.

We need to remember who Jesus is and what He did so that we don't get caught up in religion, so that we don't get caught up in pleasing people, and that we don't get caught up in the pursuit of pleasure. But that we remember who He is and what He's done, and that we keep our eyes focused on living our lives for Jesus Christ. Receiving what He's done for us. The forgiveness, the great blessings, but then going forward in response, the only reasonable response, to glorify God.

For His great love and grace and mercy towards us. So reflect on that. Remember Jesus. And listen, if there's issues of sin in your life where you have been caught up in religion or people pleasing or pleasure loving, all you got to do is confess it to the Lord. Repent of it. And I encourage you to partake this morning as a testimony to that. Saying, Lord, I turn from that. I see.

I've been pleasing people. I've been putting them first and I need to put you first. And so I repent and you partake. Same if you've been caught up in a religious system or if you've been involved in pursuing pleasure. Whatever God's speaking to your heart. Maybe you've never been right with God. Maybe you've never received the forgiveness that Jesus offers. Listen, you can receive it. You can be born again. And I invite you to partake with us.

And say, yes, I receive, I recognize, I understand now Jesus died in my place. And so as I partake of this God, I'm saying, I receive that forgiveness. I receive what you did for me. And if you don't receive that, then don't partake. Because then you'll be like Pilate. Well, I know the truth, but I'm not really willing to act on it.

The Bible tells us if you partake of communion in that condition, you just partake judgment to yourself. Because you testify, I know the truth, but I'm just not willing to obey it. Don't do that. But receive it. If your heart is to receive it this morning, then you partake with us as we reflect on who Jesus is and what He's done for us. Amen? Let's worship the Lord together. They're going to hand out the bread and the cup. Partake at any time during the worship.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.