Revelation of Hope (Pacleb)

The Greatest Coward in the Bible

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Taj Pacleb

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Series Code: ROHB

Program Code: ROHB000020


00:39 Our message tonight entitled
00:40 "the greatest coward in the Bible."
00:46 This man was born in the Roman Empire
00:49 as the very lowest of slaves.
00:51 And as a slave he ended up in the arm services
00:54 of the Roman Empire and friends,
00:55 you can imagine the lack of loyalty
00:58 in one who is forced to be a soldier
01:01 because he is a slave.
01:03 But this man was ambitious.
01:05 Not only was he ambitious
01:06 but he was also brave and courageous
01:08 and he worked hard and he did a lot of things
01:11 in the armies of Romans and perhaps
01:13 he felt like there was nothing to lose.
01:15 His skill and his leadership
01:16 and that will become an great asset
01:18 for the Roman Empire and the Roman armies.
01:21 And he ascended as high as he could go
01:24 in the legions of Rome.
01:26 And his courageous exploits one day were finally brought
01:29 before the attention of the Caesar
01:32 and in recognition of his bravery and his achievements
01:36 Caesar authorized a change of his status.
01:41 He granted him his freedom so that he could rise up
01:46 in leadership positions in the legions of Rome.
01:50 And so he became
01:51 one of the most loyal servants of the emperor
01:54 winning many victories for Rome
01:56 and winning the favor of the citizens of the empire
02:00 and finally after years of faithful service
02:03 this man retired as a great hero of the people.
02:07 He returned back to Rome amidst the applause
02:10 and the appreciation of entire nation and entire kingdom
02:15 and he was taken into Caesars household
02:17 to live out his years of retirement.
02:20 And there he met and married
02:22 a woman by the name of Claudia Procula
02:25 who was actually a relative of Caesar
02:26 and so now he is a part of Caesars very own family
02:30 from beginning as a slave.
02:32 Now then to be free and risen up high and higher
02:35 in the legions of Rome and now he is living in Caesars
02:38 own household as a family member.
02:40 Oh, friends, what a story of success.
02:43 But unfortunately it doesn't stop there.
02:48 As the years went by this man
02:50 became restless for something to do.
02:52 You see the quiet lazy life of retirement
02:54 was not agreeable to him
02:56 because he was a man of action not idleness.
02:59 He lived his life amidst the clash of arms
03:01 and so in his retirement
03:03 he was anxious to do something else.
03:06 He was anxious for another assignment.
03:08 And so friends, at that time
03:11 there was only one great trouble spot
03:13 in the vast Roman Empire and that was Palestine.
03:17 That was the one trouble spot in the Roman territory.
03:22 You see Palestine and Jerusalem
03:24 it was a sizzling ceding boiling part of unrest and sedition.
03:28 And here was a challenge that this man was confident
03:32 that he could conquer.
03:33 And so he was assigned to be the governor of this land
03:36 and he took his wife and his family
03:38 and moved to Jerusalem.
03:39 Friends, who is this man that we are talking about tonight?
03:44 Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate.
03:47 The proud but pitiful Pontus Pilate
03:49 he was furious and dogmatic in his administration.
03:53 You see he hated the Jews with the passion
03:55 and they thought the exact same way about him
03:58 and he was confident in moving to Jerusalem.
04:00 He was confident to conquer this territory
04:04 and to make sure that the Jews were kept in subjection.
04:10 He was a very cruel governor he was a man of war by heart.
04:14 And friends, the tension between the Jews and the Romans
04:17 specifically Governor Pilate it continued to build
04:20 until early one morning Pilate was rudely awaken
04:24 to confront a day not like any day before.
04:29 Because this day friends, he was well face to face
04:31 with choices and decisions just like tonight
04:34 we are about face to face with important choices.
04:39 And this day the choice was this.
04:42 What would he do with the man
04:44 that could change his destiny for eternity?
04:49 He was well face to face with the individual man
04:52 that he had to make a decision
04:54 what he would do about this individual this criminal
04:57 that was accused before him and this and whatever decision
05:00 he would make would determine his eternal destiny.
05:04 And friends, on this day Pilate made ten miserable mistakes.
05:10 How many mistakes?
05:12 We're gonna look at them tonight--
05:13 look at all of them tonight.
05:15 And friends, these mistakes
05:18 led him step by step downward to prudish.
05:24 Of course, of self condemnation and destruction and friends,
05:27 as we trace these steps through the scriptures tonight
05:30 we need to ask ourselves the question,
05:31 how I made these steps
05:34 or am I making the steps even tonight.
05:39 I want you to take your Bible with me
05:41 and go through the Book of John Chapter 19
05:44 as we read about this day unlike any other day before.
05:49 Friends as Pilate was rudely awakened
05:52 I could imagine that morning he was irritated
05:54 just like many must get irritated with someone
05:56 who wakes up early in the morning.
05:58 He was irritated.
06:00 You see he was disturbed from his sleep
06:02 summoned by the very people he passionately hated
06:06 and held at up most contempt.
06:08 And so as Pilate was awaken
06:10 he was determined to take care of business very quickly
06:13 so that he could get back to bed and go back to sleep
06:16 but here was a situation
06:18 that required far more than a quick fix.
06:21 What exactly happened on this fateful day?
06:25 We begin with the story now in the Book of John Chapter 18.
06:28 Notice with me in John Chapter 18
06:30 beginning with verse 28.
06:33 "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas
06:35 unto the hall of judgment and it was early,
06:39 and they themselves would not go into the judgment hall,
06:42 lest they should be defiled,
06:45 but that they might eat the passover."
06:48 Verse 29 "Pilate then went out unto them, and said,
06:51 What accusation bring ye against this man?"
06:56 And so now notice Pilate comes out to ask,
06:58 what is your acquisition?
06:59 And I want you notice their indictment against Christ.
07:02 Notice what it says in verse 30, the Bible says.
07:06 "And they answered and said unto him,
07:08 If he were not a malefactor,
07:10 we would not have delivered him up unto thee."
07:14 Friends, notice what their acquisition is.
07:16 What is missing in verse 30?
07:20 What is missing?
07:22 There is no indictment.
07:24 In response to the question of Pilate
07:25 what acquisition you bring they say
07:28 "If you were not a malefactor,
07:29 we wouldn't have bring him to you."
07:30 In other words what the Jews are doing
07:32 is they are trying to impress Pilate
07:35 of a sense of their importance.
07:37 They were not giving any real reason
07:39 for condemning Jesus
07:41 because they had no grounds on which condemn in to death.
07:45 They knew that Jesus did nothing worthy of death
07:48 in a Roman court.
07:49 And these Jews they feared a trial because they knew that
07:52 they could not substantiate their acquisitions.
07:54 They wanted the death sentence ratified in haste.
07:58 They wanted to skip all the preliminaries.
08:00 They were thirsting for the blood of Jesus
08:02 and they were seeking a favor from Pilate
08:05 on the day of their national holiday
08:07 and friends, they hoped to impress Pilate
08:09 with the sense of their importance.
08:10 They are basically saying this Pilate listen,
08:12 if we the most important people in Israel
08:16 bring someone to you and condemn them to death
08:21 they must be guilty because we are important people.
08:24 Take our word for it.
08:26 Is really what they are saying do you see it?
08:28 They are not giving a real acquisition.
08:30 They're simply saying we're the most important people.
08:32 If we bring some to you it must be true take our word for it.
08:35 And friends, do you realize the many preachers
08:37 are doing exact same thing as the Jews did.
08:40 They are saying to their parishioners their members
08:42 just take my word for it.
08:44 I got direct degrees behind my name.
08:47 I have spent many years in school
08:49 when I know the word of God
08:50 and so if I say something it must be the truth.
08:53 And friends, just like Pilate
08:55 many church members are rejecting the truth
08:58 because they're believing in the words of a man.
09:02 You see friends, it was Pilate's responsibility
09:06 to know what truth was for himself.
09:08 Amen.
09:10 He could not just take their word for it.
09:12 And in the same way friends,
09:13 we can't take mans word for it you can't take my word for it.
09:16 It is your responsibility God holds you accountable
09:19 as an individual to find out what truth is for yourself
09:24 but notice how Pilate responds in verse 31.
09:28 In verse 31 Pilate said to them.
09:30 "Take ye him, and judge him according to your law."
09:34 So what has Pilate do?
09:36 Pilate does not care to know what the truth is.
09:39 He doesn't want to deal with Jesus
09:41 because he was rudely awakened from his sleep.
09:42 He wants to go back to bed.
09:45 And so he says to the Jews you judge them yourself.
09:47 He doesn't want-- you see he is the judge.
09:48 It's his responsibility to know what is the truth.
09:51 But here we find Pilate first mistake
09:54 and that is this write it down, friends.
09:56 He wasn't interested in knowing truth.
09:58 Oh, what a terrible mistake.
10:01 He was not interested in investigating
10:03 what the situation was and you see friends,
10:06 Pilate this morning
10:07 he did not sense the solemnity of the situation.
10:10 He didn't consider this matter of high priority.
10:13 He felt there were other things
10:15 that were more important to do with his time.
10:17 Surely, this was not something to lose sleep over.
10:20 And for as many people are esteeming
10:21 the truth of God's word in the same way.
10:25 They brush it of as something it is not very important.
10:28 Not something to lose sleep over friends.
10:30 It's your responsibility to know truth.
10:33 But Pilate was indifferent
10:35 many are repeating the same mistake today.
10:37 Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts
10:39 and they were not interested
10:40 in hearing in what he has to say.
10:43 Oh friends, I beg you on behalf of Christ
10:44 don't make this first mistake.
10:46 Don't cast the truth of God's word
10:47 and the truth of Jesus down to a level of unimportance.
10:50 You can't do it, brothers and sisters.
10:52 It is of eternal significance
10:54 more important than anything else in your life
10:56 because friends, when Jesus comes
10:57 what else is gonna matter.
10:59 Is it going to matter
11:00 how much money you have in your bank account?
11:02 Is it gonna matter how many people
11:03 respect you in this world?
11:05 Is it going to matter friends,
11:06 no nothing would matter except do you know Jesus.
11:11 Tonight friends, it's a message of life and death.
11:15 Please don't cast the truth down to the level of unimportance.
11:18 That's Pilates first mistake.
11:21 You see brothers and sisters, the Jews began to press
11:24 Pilate for the death sentence and now Pilate realizes
11:28 that it's a life and death situation.
11:31 Its not something you just can go can go back to sleep.
11:33 He has to deal with this, friends.
11:35 And you have to understand
11:36 that Pilate was not a just judge.
11:39 You see, many times in his career
11:41 Pilate had delivered innocent men to the deaths
11:44 without calmer consideration.
11:46 But friends, this day with this man
11:50 it was something different.
11:52 Because there is something that held Pilate back this day
11:55 from his calm and casual cruelty
11:57 because there was something that was different
12:00 in the face of the accusers.
12:03 It was the hatred that was different from the hatred
12:06 that he had seemed before.
12:08 Not only was there something different
12:09 in the face of the accusers
12:10 but also in the face of the accused.
12:14 Now as the waves of the acquisition beat upon Jesus
12:19 His whole baring stood firm in conscious innocence.
12:24 Heavy surges of raft broke about Him
12:27 but He remained unmoved by them to all the false charges
12:31 He answered not a word He stood there silent
12:34 but His silence was eloquence.
12:40 As Pilate looks upon the face of Jesus
12:43 I can imagine him thinking, how could this man
12:47 bear insult and mockery with such peace and dignity?
12:54 Without retaliation and without anguish
12:58 how could this man just stand there
13:01 with peace up on his brow
13:03 and these people are thirsty for His blood.
13:06 As Pilate looked upon the countenance of the accused
13:08 the Holy Spirit began to fastened upon his conscience.
13:12 A strong conviction began to urge Pilate
13:16 that this man was innocent
13:17 that he should leave this man alone.
13:21 This man has done nothing worthy of death
13:24 and Pilate begins to realize that the Jews bought Jesus
13:27 because of their envy towards Christ.
13:29 They strived that-- they desired to destroy the one
13:33 that would stand in their way
13:35 and Pilate knows that they want him
13:38 to sign the death warrant.
13:40 But the Holy Spirit convicts him that
13:42 to use his decision making power as the judge
13:46 to stop this injustice that is being heaped upon Christ.
13:51 But friends, listen Pilate knows
13:54 that if he lets the Jesus know
13:58 the Jews will cause him a lot of trouble.
14:02 The Jews would cause him a lot of trouble
14:05 if he would to do the right thing
14:06 and Pilate does not want to be inconvenience by the Jews.
14:11 And so now there is a conflict of conviction versus convenience
14:15 that is warring capturing his mind
14:17 and so Pilate brings the prisoner
14:19 into the judgment hall and begins the interrogation.
14:22 He has to do with it, friends.
14:24 It's a life and death situation.
14:26 And all alone notice what he asked Jesus in verse 33.
14:30 It says "Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again,
14:33 and called Jesus, and said unto Him,
14:35 Art thou the King of the Jews?"
14:39 Are you the king of the Jews?
14:42 And friends, I want you to notice
14:43 Christ responds to the question with the question.
14:46 In verse 34 "Jesus answered him,
14:49 Sayest thou this thing of thyself,
14:51 or did others tell it thee of me?"
14:55 Friends, do you realize what Jesus asking him?
14:57 And he answers the question with the question
14:59 and he is basically asking Pilate,
15:01 Pilate, are you saying this because this is what you think
15:04 or you are saying this because other people have told you
15:06 that I am the king of the Jews.
15:07 In other words what Jesus is asking Pilate,
15:10 what do you believe?
15:13 What did you believe Pilate?
15:15 He is throwing the ball in his courts.
15:18 What do you believe?
15:19 And friends, you have to understand that realizing
15:21 Jesus was asking this it wasn't
15:22 because He didn't knew the answer
15:24 because Jesus knew exactly what Pilate believed.
15:26 Amen?
15:27 Jesus could read His life like a little an open book.
15:30 Jesus is not asking because He doesn't know
15:33 because friends, listen whatever
15:34 God asked the question in the Bible
15:35 is because He wants us to think
15:37 about the answer to the question.
15:39 And so in asking Pilate, Pilate what do you believe
15:42 Jesus was asking this
15:43 because He saw that in the hoard of pilate
15:46 there was a little bit of faith
15:48 that He was trying to bring out.
15:50 You see Jesus longed for Pilate salvation
15:53 and He saw that there was hope for Pilate.
15:56 And so this question was calculated
15:58 to provoke a response of faith.
16:02 A response of what?
16:03 In other words He was giving Pilate an opportunity
16:06 to acknowledge the conviction of the Holy Spirit
16:10 that was in his heart.
16:11 What do you believe, Pilate?
16:12 Here's an opportunity for him to acknowledge the conviction.
16:17 And the reason is why friends,
16:18 because expression deepens impression.
16:21 When you express faith you are faith is impressed
16:24 even more strongly.
16:26 And friends, you have to understand that salvation
16:28 begins when we first hear to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
16:32 And so now, as the Jesus asks the question,
16:34 what do you believe?
16:35 Pilate is not brought face to face with a choice.
16:37 How is going to answer the question?
16:40 He is going to say him
16:41 on the path of bible life with death.
16:43 Will he acknowledge the conviction
16:44 of the Spirit of God or will he ignore
16:47 the conviction of his heart.
16:48 And friends, notice what he does.
16:49 He makes his second mistake in verse 35
16:52 "Pilate answered, Am I a Jew?"
16:55 What a sarcastic response.
16:57 "Am I a Jew?
16:58 Thine own nation and the chief priests
17:01 have delivered thee unto me, what hast thou done?"
17:04 Here we find Pilate second mistake write it down, friends.
17:06 Pilate brothers and sisters,
17:08 he ignored the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
17:11 He refused to answer the question
17:13 and acknowledged the conviction.
17:15 He did not want Jesus to know
17:16 that he sympathized with Him in his hearts.
17:19 And so pride forbade him from being honest.
17:25 He wouldn't acknowledge the conviction with him?
17:29 And friends, this mistake may seem small
17:31 just ignoring the voice of the Spirit of the God.
17:33 Ignoring the conviction and putting on an exterior
17:36 and being so evasive with the Spirit of God.
17:38 Friends, it seems small but one mistake leads another
17:41 and I want you to notice Jesus kept working with Pilate though.
17:45 Can you say, amen?
17:46 He did not give up so easily.
17:49 Jesus continued to work with Pilate
17:51 and notice how Jesus response to His question in verse 36.
17:54 Verse 36, notice what it says.
17:56 "Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world.
17:59 If My kingdom were of this world,
18:00 My servants would fight,
18:01 so that I should not be delivered to the Jews,
18:03 but now is my kingdom not from hence."
18:07 You see Jesus assures Pilate
18:08 but he does not have to be
18:10 afraid of the acquisitions of the Jews.
18:12 He made it clear I am not the king
18:13 or My kingdom is not of this world.
18:15 You don't have to be afraid, Pilate.
18:17 The acquisition of the Jews are not--
18:19 is not founded it's unfounded.
18:22 My kingdom is not of this world.
18:24 Is my kingdom is not formed
18:26 by mountains and rivers forebodes.
18:29 My kingdom is a heavenly a spiritual kingdom.
18:32 In fact notice in the next verse
18:34 the Bible tells us but you rightly
18:37 "You say rightly that I am a king.
18:40 For this cause I was born, and for this cause
18:43 I have come into the world,
18:44 that I should bear witness to the" what?
18:47 "Truth" and "Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
18:53 Here we're find Jesus saying
18:56 My kingdom is a kingdom of truth.
19:00 It's a spiritual kingdom and My voice is not a voice
19:03 of insurrection and rebellion against the government of Rome.
19:08 No, my voice is a voice of truth
19:10 and as Pilate listens to the answer
19:12 now his curiosity is arose and now
19:14 Pilate responds by asking
19:16 Jesus the question of all questions.
19:20 Notice verse 38,
19:24 "Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?"
19:31 Friends, that was the question of all question.
19:33 And in that very moment on the outside the Jews afraid
19:37 that the Jesus would work some type of miracle
19:39 to escape the Jews began to make noise, they began to shout.
19:45 They made a loud commotion and they were shouting at Pilate
19:48 urging him to sign the death warrant.
19:50 And so friends, when Pilate heard the commotion
19:52 that was taking place on the outside
19:54 of the judgment hall remember
19:55 he is with the Jesus one and one
19:56 on the inside of the judgment hall.
19:58 He doesn't have to leave.
20:00 He asked the question of questions,
20:02 he didn't wait for the response.
20:03 Because when the commotion on the outside took place
20:07 he had to make another choice.
20:09 Either he would listen to the distractions of the crowd
20:12 or the doctrines of Christ.
20:14 And then friends, and friends,
20:15 instead of waiting for Jesus to answer
20:17 he succumbed to the cry of the crowd.
20:21 Here is the third miserable mistake that Pilate made
20:24 and what is that?
20:25 He allowed himself to be distracted from the truth.
20:29 Friends, he did not have to leave he was the governor
20:32 he was the judge nothing forced him to leave
20:35 and no one forced Jesus to be taken away.
20:40 He responded to the sound his of the ears
20:43 rather than the conviction of his heart.
20:45 Oh friends, have you done this?
20:47 Are you doing this?
20:50 The devil works daily to keep us from Him
20:52 the answered to the question, what is truth?
20:55 Satan uses whatever means he can such as the media.
20:59 Captivating our mind, our eyes and our ears drawing us away
21:02 he uses even family functions.
21:05 Keeping us away from hearing the answer to the question
21:08 what is truth appointments and commitments to employers
21:11 and jobs to things that are not really important
21:14 to someone that cannot save you.
21:16 Friends, what a foolish mistake to listen to an employer
21:20 who does not have a heaven to take
21:22 you to more than listening to God himself.
21:26 Will you sport as an excuse?
21:28 I remember so vividly a lady come to my meetings,
21:32 her name was Susan in the San Jose area.
21:35 She came every single night to the meetings
21:37 that she loved the message.
21:38 She embraced the Sabbath.
21:39 All these beautiful messages from the Word of God
21:41 she believed it in her mind but friends,
21:44 when it came to the end she could not make a decision.
21:48 And friends, you know it hurts the excuse
21:50 what's her reason was.
21:52 Every Saturday morning she was part of a swimming team
21:55 and that's how she had fellowship
21:57 in socialize and exercise.
22:00 So she chose her sport rather than her Savior.
22:04 Oh, friends, what a foolish mistake.
22:06 There are good stories as well that I have experienced.
22:08 Andrea came to our meeting just a few months ago
22:12 in San Jose in Mountain View, California
22:15 and she was the secretary of the local Catholic Church.
22:18 She has just got the job and she had insurance
22:21 and she had hours and it was a good job.
22:24 But as she came to the meeting and she heard the truth
22:26 of what the Bible says and she realized
22:28 that she had to make a decision to follow Lord Jesus
22:31 and even though it was difficult,
22:32 even though she needed the health insurance
22:34 that the job provided she took a stand and went to a priest
22:37 and said I can no longer work on Saturday,
22:39 Friday evening to Saturday evening.
22:42 She took a stand friends,
22:44 and God blessed her and honored her.
22:48 And think about Sister Yolanda in Bakersfield.
22:51 She had been living with her partner for 22 years
22:54 have three children's with this man.
22:57 This man was not interested in marriage.
22:59 Living together in sin.
23:02 And she came to the meeting but he would not come
23:03 but she was convicted of truth.
23:05 She wanted to serve Jesus but she realized
23:06 that she could not do it while living in sin,
23:09 living with someone that would was not her husband
23:12 even though he was the father for the three children.
23:16 And so because he would not choose to get married
23:18 she chose to move out.
23:19 And she followed Jesus and was baptized.
23:21 Can you say, amen?
23:23 Did not make any excuse oh, brothers and sisters,
23:25 that devil has so many different things to distract
23:27 this jobs and relationships and sports and family functions
23:30 and media you don't have to be
23:32 a slave to the devils distractions.
23:34 You have a choice, friends.
23:37 You're like Pilate have a choice to make tonight.
23:39 And by the way friends, this story about Pilate
23:41 is also recorded in the Book of Luke.
23:42 And I invite you to take your bible
23:44 and turn to the Book of Luke Chapter 23
23:46 because we find Pilate making mistake
23:48 after mistake after mistake and in Luke 23
23:51 we find Pilate's fourth miserable mistake.
23:54 Luke 23 beginning with verse 4.
23:56 I want you notice what takes place.
23:59 Luke 23:4 the Bible says
24:04 "Then said Pilate to the chief priests
24:06 and to the people, I find no" what?
24:10 "Fault in this man."
24:12 Now friends, Pilate who is the judge
24:15 just pronounce this prisoner innocent.
24:19 He said I find no fault in Him.
24:21 Your acquisitions are not founded
24:22 that I find no fault in Him.
24:24 And friends, what should Pilate do right now?
24:28 Turn Him lose, right.
24:29 What you do with a man that has no fault?
24:30 What do you with a man that is innocent?
24:31 You would let him go.
24:33 So friends, Pilate just declared as the judge
24:36 I find no fault the very next thing
24:38 he should do is let Jesus go
24:41 but notice what he does in verse 5.
24:44 "And they were the more fierce, saying,
24:45 He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry,
24:49 beginning from Galilee to this place.
24:51 And when Pilate heard of Galilee,
24:56 he asked whether the man were a Galilaean.
24:58 And as soon as he knew that
25:00 he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction,
25:02 he sent him to Herod,
25:05 who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time."
25:08 Friends, I want you to notice he should have let Jesus gone.
25:12 But the fury of and the fierceness of the people
25:15 in demanding His death caused Pilate to waiver,
25:20 to compromise with the crowd.
25:22 You see he wanted to let Jesus go
25:24 but he dreaded the ill will of the people
25:27 and so now he found something to get out of the situation
25:30 when he realized that Jesus
25:32 was a part of Herod's jurisdiction
25:34 he set Him to Herod.
25:35 Friends, he should have let Him go
25:36 but this was an way out.
25:39 Not having to deal with the problem,
25:40 not having to offend and go against the will of the people
25:45 at the same time not having to do the wrong thing
25:47 in crucifying Jesus.
25:48 Oh, what a coward.
25:50 He should have let Jesus go, friends.
25:53 And instead of letting Him to go
25:54 he sentenced to Herod.
25:55 Here's Pilates fourth miserable mistake.
25:57 And what is that he put off making a decision.
26:00 He should have made the decision.
26:01 But he put it off.
26:02 What a coward.
26:04 He didn't want to deal with the situation
26:06 because it was inconvenient.
26:09 And so he sought to be released
26:10 from the responsibility of Jesus.
26:12 He was seeking to avoid the potential problem
26:15 and repercussions of doing the right thing
26:17 in letting Jesus go.
26:18 Oh friends, have you done this?
26:21 Are you doing this?
26:23 Jesus comes and knocks at the doors of our hearts
26:26 will you sent Him away
26:27 like Pilate sent Jesus away to Herod?
26:29 Will you brush Jesus of His unimportant?
26:32 You see the Holy Spirit brings this man to our conscience
26:36 and before it's over we all gonna have to decide
26:39 what we do with Jesus.
26:41 This is not a decision we can put off forever, friends.
26:44 We can't procrastinate this one for eternity.
26:46 It's a responsibility that none of us
26:48 can escape from either we are going to crown Him
26:51 in our lives or we are gonna crucify Him.
26:53 We can't remain neutral forever.
26:55 We must make a decision
26:57 and here we find Pilates fifth miserable mistake
27:00 and that is he tried to be neutral about it.
27:03 He put of making a decision.
27:05 He passed the responsibility to somebody else.
27:07 And number five he tries to remain neutral.
27:10 In other words I am not going to hurt Him
27:12 and I am not going to help Him I am just gonna give Him Herod.
27:15 Let somebody else deal with Him.
27:16 He wasn't taking aside.
27:18 He was trying to remain neutral.
27:19 Oh, what a coward in trying to be neutral.
27:23 Friends, when it comes to Christ claim upon our lives
27:25 it's impossible to be neutral with Jesus.
27:28 Jesus said in the Book of Matthew 12:30,
27:31 "He who is not with Me." Is what?
27:34 "Against Me and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."
27:38 Friends, if you are in the valley of the decision
27:40 tonight you are against Christ.
27:42 Don't even think for a moment
27:43 that you are in decision is a neutral decision.
27:47 No, brother and sisters, there is no neutral gallant.
27:49 Either you are with Him or against Him.
27:51 Either you are saved or you're lost.
27:53 And friends, listen if you are almost saved
27:55 you are still completely lost.
27:59 But friends, God is trying to save someone tonight.
28:02 God is trying to wake someone up
28:04 who is comfortable in spiritual complacency,
28:06 comfortable in this world.
28:07 Oh, brothers and sisters, Jesus loves you.
28:10 He is trying to save I don't who you are.
28:13 But don't be neutral.
28:15 There are perhaps some people in this room this evening
28:18 who have been coming to this church for years
28:21 but have not made a full commitment to Christ.
28:23 Tonight, don't put Jesus off anymore.
28:28 Tonight make a decision for Him don't be a coward
28:33 be courageous and stand up.
28:36 You see, when it comes to Christ
28:37 we can't remain neutral.
28:38 Either we are gonna crown Him or crucify Him.
28:41 You see, we all born on a battle field
28:42 and we have to chose which side
28:44 we are gonna be on and friends,
28:46 we are on God side people are to be see it
28:48 and know we all to take firm public stand
28:51 and not be ashamed of who we are and who we serve.
28:55 Not being ashamed of the gospel
28:56 not trying to hide yourself.
28:58 Don't be afraid to stand up and stand out, friends.
29:02 Pilate feels relieved now and he sends Jesus away.
29:06 He doesn't have to deal with Him anymore.
29:08 Just pass off your responsibility.
29:09 Just remain neutral don't help Him
29:10 and don't hurt Him,
29:11 just get rid of the-- just relieve Him
29:15 just get rid Him, get rid of the problem
29:19 until Herod sends him right back.
29:21 And by the way do you know
29:22 why Herod sent him right back.
29:24 You see you studied what happened
29:25 when Jesus encountered Herod.
29:27 Jesus had no words for Herod.
29:29 Jesus said not one word to Herod, you know why?
29:31 Because Herod had gone too far by this time.
29:34 He had opportunity after opportunity
29:36 by John the Baptist.
29:38 You see this was the same Herod
29:39 that was guilty of beheading John the Baptist.
29:42 And Herod had seared his conscience,
29:45 he committed the unpardonable sin.
29:47 He had gone too far and therefore Jesus knew that
29:49 whatever he said would just add more condemnation
29:52 to him in the judgment.
29:53 And so Jesus had no words for Herod anymore.
29:56 So Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate and Pilate realizes
30:00 that he cannot escape from this decision.
30:02 He must deal with Jesus sooner or later
30:05 and then notice what happens in verse 13 of Luke 23.
30:10 "And Pilate, when he had called together
30:12 the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
30:14 he said to them, You have brought this man unto me,
30:16 as one that perverteth the people and, behold,
30:19 I've examined Him before you."
30:21 And he repeats.
30:22 "And I've found no fault in this man touching
30:25 those things where of ye accuse him.
30:27 No, nor yet Herod
30:29 for I sent you to him, and, lo,
30:32 nothing worthy of death is done unto Him."
30:35 Here we find Pilate re-declares that Jesus is innocent
30:40 and now the conviction begins to grow
30:42 that Jesus is not guilty
30:44 and he should let Him go right there and then.
30:46 But Pilate begins to waiver and weakness.
30:49 He begins to vacillate.
30:51 He knows that he should let Jesus free.
30:53 Even Herod confirmed the conviction of his own mind.
30:57 But then notice what he does.
30:58 Oh friends, here is the next mistake verse 16.
31:01 It says "I'll therefore" do what?
31:04 "Chastise him and release him."
31:08 He just declared that Jesus was innocent.
31:10 No fault and yet even after that he chastises Jesus.
31:17 Why?
31:19 In order to pacify the people.
31:22 In order to please the crowd.
31:24 Here we find brothers and sisters,
31:25 the mistakes get bigger and bolder
31:28 and here is Pilate sixth miserable mistake
31:30 and what is that?
31:31 He compromises to a calm and please the crowd.
31:37 A Roman scourging was 39 times.
31:41 Thirty nine, that seems like an odd number isn't it?
31:44 The reason why it's 39
31:45 because the Romans believe that if you were to scourge
31:47 someone 40 times they would die.
31:49 So they did it to 39 times
31:51 and they did this twice to Jesus.
31:55 Pilate did it to an innocent man knowing and believing
31:57 that He was innocent and he did why simply
32:00 to calm the crowd, to please others.
32:02 Oh, brothers and sisters,
32:03 have you ever lowered your standard to please others?
32:07 Have you ever went down and compromised
32:10 because of the crowd?
32:12 The Bible tells us in the Book of James
32:15 that when we do this we are enemy of Christ.
32:20 James 4:4 the Bible tells us.
32:23 "Do you not know that friendship with the world
32:25 is enmity with God?
32:27 Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world
32:29 makes himself an enemy of God."
32:32 Oh friends, in pleasing man we are scourging Christ.
32:35 That's what we are doing friends.
32:37 In following the crowd and wanting to be popular,
32:39 wanting-- caring so much about what other people think of us.
32:42 Wonder what God think of us.
32:43 We are scourging Christ.
32:44 We are doing the exact same thing
32:46 that Pilate was doing.
32:48 Our compromises wound Him.
32:51 Bible says in Isaiah 53:5,
32:54 "But he was wounded for our transgressions,
32:56 He was bruised for our iniquities."
33:00 Friends, if you ever attempted to turn your back on Jesus
33:06 first take a look at His back.
33:09 Before you turn your back on God take a look at His back
33:12 and when you see those stripes
33:15 recognize that it's because of those stripes
33:17 that we are healed.
33:19 I remember our brother Will, he came to our meetings.
33:25 He came every single night at first
33:28 he was loving it embracing all the truth.
33:32 He came for another church
33:34 he was refused hearing things he never heard before
33:36 but he saw it from the Bible it was clear.
33:40 And after few weeks we noticed a drop in his attendance
33:45 He stopped coming.
33:46 So we went to go to visit him in home.
33:49 And this Brother, brother Will he was so friendly with us
33:51 every night he was joking with us and laughing with us
33:53 and just appreciating, he just real friendly open guy
33:55 but when we went to his door he was something different.
33:59 It was coldness, he was real short with us.
34:03 And we said Brother Will, we miss you at the meetings.
34:04 I mean, have you been busy, well, what's been going on?
34:08 We just wanted to stop by and let you know we missed you.
34:10 We hope you come back.
34:12 You know what he told us.
34:14 I believe everything you guys are teaching.
34:17 I believe everything you're teachings is the truth
34:19 from God's word but I have a problem.
34:21 You see my wife belongs to another church
34:25 and if I keep going to those meetings
34:26 it's gonna anger her and I want to have peace in my home.
34:32 Here he made a compromise.
34:34 He gave us the cold shoulder
34:36 but he wasn't giving us the cold shoulder
34:37 it was Jesus he was turning a shoulder against.
34:43 Why, in order to maintain an earthly relationship
34:48 he was in bondage to an earthly relationship.
34:50 Oh brother and sisters, if you have ever tempted
34:52 to confirm just a little bit to the pressures of the crowd
34:55 remember what it did to the Jesus
34:57 when Pilate did the same thing.
34:59 Friends, it wounded Christ.
35:02 It put Him in agony and pain.
35:06 Oh, stop hurting Jesus.
35:08 Pilate when he saw Jesus after the scourging was finished
35:11 he was almost like-- I can imagine
35:13 Pilate moved to tears by the patience
35:15 suffering of Jesus and he thought surely
35:17 that Jews sympathy will be arouse.
35:19 Surely there will be a content to let Jesus go now.
35:22 But friends, when the Pilate--
35:24 when Pilate brought Jesus before the people and as the people
35:29 saw the compromising weakness of Pilate and how he set aside
35:34 justice and equity in condemning a man
35:37 that He himself said was innocent the people knew
35:41 that if they would just keep pressure on
35:43 that they would eventually get what they want.
35:46 Friends, you make one compromise with the crowd
35:49 they're gonna know that one compromise
35:51 leads to another.
35:53 They knew that if they just keep pressuring him
35:55 they eventually get what they want.
35:57 And so someone I can imagine
35:58 is as Pilate shows that Jesus to the people
36:01 I can imagine someone in the crowd saying
36:04 "Pilate you condemn, you scourge an innocent man.
36:08 You said you found no fault and yet you scourged him.
36:13 We are gonna report you to Herod.
36:14 And we are gonna report you to Caesar."
36:17 And friends, I can imagine
36:18 now Pilates mistakes are been compound.
36:21 As this threat is given being reported
36:24 to Caesar of practicing in justice
36:26 now Pilate begins to cover sin with more sin.
36:31 I want you to notice that Bible tell us in Isaiah 30:1
36:34 "Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord,
36:37 who take counsel, but not of Me,
36:39 and who devise plans, but no of My Spirit,
36:41 that they may add" what?
36:43 "Sin to sin."
36:45 Now Pilate's mistakes are being compounded.
36:47 Now he must cover up sin with more sin.
36:50 And in Proverbs 5:22 the Bible says
36:53 "His own inequities entrap the wicked man,
36:56 and he is caught in the cords of his own sin."
37:00 Now Pilate is making mistake after mistake.
37:02 He begins to be tangled in the cords of his sin
37:04 to the point that he can't get out.
37:06 If he is reported to Caesar
37:09 of the injustice of condemning an innocent man
37:11 surely he is going to lose his position.
37:14 If this is known he is gonna lose his job.
37:17 And so now Pilate is on the path where there is no turning back
37:21 and now in his heart he makes decision
37:23 that no matter what the cause he must save his job.
37:29 And many people are making this same mistake today.
37:33 Number seven, Pilate was valuing the temporal above the eternal.
37:40 And friends, many people are doing the exact same thing.
37:43 When they hear the truth of God's word
37:44 in order to maintain peace in the family, in the home,
37:48 on the job they are sacrificing Jesus,
37:51 they are putting aside
37:52 the truth of Gods word and this causes
37:54 Jesus so much pain, brothers and sisters.
37:57 And if you do this you will never find peace.
38:01 If you put off a decision
38:02 you will never be at peace, friends.
38:04 You will not only miss on this life
38:06 but you will miss out on the life to come.
38:08 And friends, at this moment
38:09 Pilate was given even another chance.
38:11 Oh friends, God is merciful.
38:13 Can you say, amen?
38:14 Even though he has scourged Jesus caused Him so much pain
38:17 God gave him another chance as he was hesitating
38:20 on what he should do with Jesus
38:22 a messenger pressed through the crowd
38:24 and pressed a letter in the hand of Pilate
38:27 it was a message from his heathen wife.
38:31 And the message read, dear Pilate,
38:33 have nothing to do with this just man.
38:40 I have suffered many things in a--
38:41 in a dream because of him.
38:43 Here it seems that God was now dealing with his wife.
38:47 Pilate I can imagine
38:48 took this as a warning message from God
38:51 now his wife is confirming the convictions of his heart.
38:54 Jesus is a just man, He is an innocent man.
38:57 And now Pilate face begins to grow pale,
38:59 sweat begin to pour and now he begins to tremble.
39:03 He is confused by his conflicted emotions.
39:06 The convictions of the Spirit of God
39:07 is becoming even more piercing,
39:09 the pressure of the Pharisees more demanding
39:12 and the decision is now being more and more difficult to make.
39:17 Friends, we need not make a decision when it first comes.
39:20 You put it off it's gonna be hard.
39:22 It's not going to be a more convenient time
39:25 it's just gonna get harder and harder and hard.
39:28 Oh, friends, someone
39:29 God is trying to save someone tonight.
39:35 How is he now gonna get out of this terrible situation?
39:39 Another idea now comes and flashes into his mind.
39:43 And Pilate remembers another way for him
39:47 to get out of the situation.
39:49 He remembers that-- that this was the time
39:52 where it was customary to release
39:53 one prisoner to the people.
39:56 And so Pilate thinking that this was his way of escape
40:00 to get out of this terrible situation
40:03 of doing the right thing and suffering
40:04 the ill will of the people
40:07 or doing the wrong thing to please the people.
40:09 He remembers and he calls for the most dangerous,
40:12 desperate prisoner deep into the dungeons
40:16 of the Roman Empire, Barabbas was called.
40:20 And friends, you have to understand Barabbas
40:23 was the one prisoner that was most feared
40:25 by all he people in the land.
40:28 He was a robber, he was murderer,
40:31 he terrorized all the people of that region
40:33 and he was sitting on his death role
40:35 for his crimes and his terror
40:37 and Pilate calls for the Barabbas
40:40 to be brought forth out of the dungeon
40:41 and now Pilate positions Barabbas right beside Jesus.
40:47 Pilate felt in his heart though
40:49 surely they're gonna chose Jesus about this murderer.
40:52 I mean, he was seeking to arouse within them
40:55 a sense of justice.
40:57 Don't let a guilty man go free
41:00 and don't condemn an innocent man.
41:02 Pilate was trying to arouse the sense of justice
41:04 in the hearts of the people.
41:05 But friends, they had already forsaken justice a long time ago
41:08 but justice would not forsake them.
41:11 Here is the eighth miserable mistake of Pilate.
41:13 What does he do?
41:14 He allows others to make the choice.
41:19 He was letting others decide his destiny in other words
41:22 and he was confidence in the question
41:24 whom of you that I will liaison to you.
41:25 He was confident that they would surely choose Jesus.
41:28 But like the bellowing of wild beast the mob cried
41:31 in response give us Barabbas.
41:37 And then he asked the question to the crowd
41:41 that must be answered by each one of us tonight.
41:45 He then said "What shall I do then with Jesus?"
41:52 Here is the question that we must answer for ourselves.
41:55 No one can answer for us
41:56 we must decide either for Christ or against Christ.
42:00 Friends, don't be a coward
42:01 and don't let others dictate your decisions.
42:05 You must make the decision for yourself.
42:07 And friends, when Pilate said
42:08 "What shall I do then with Jesus?"
42:11 Friends what was the decision of the crowd.
42:13 They then cried "Let him be crucified."
42:17 And I can imagine Pilate could not believe his ears
42:20 like the surging multitude rode
42:22 like demons crucify Him, crucify Him.
42:25 They were demon in the crowd in the form of men
42:28 hyping up the crowd into a satanic frenzy crucify Him.
42:31 We will not have this man to be rule over us.
42:34 Get rid of Him, give us Barabbas.
42:37 That's the cry of the crowd in His last days as well.
42:40 People already want the truth, friends.
42:43 People in the Christian world want to hear smooth things,
42:46 things that tickle their ears
42:48 and makes them feel good about themselves.
42:51 This prosperity gospel that is growing churches
42:54 into mega and gega churches people
42:56 are compromising on word of God
42:58 and watering down the clear message of Jesus.
43:03 Friends, in doing so what we are really doing
43:04 is crucifying the Lord of fresh.
43:09 Friends I want you to notice Pilate is now troubled.
43:14 Never he though it would ever come to this
43:18 to subject an innocent man
43:20 to the most cruel death, crucifixion.
43:24 And friends, in desperation now
43:26 he begins to plead with the crowd.
43:27 Notice what the says now in verse 20.
43:30 Pilate begins to plead with the crowd now.
43:32 In verse 20 he says,
43:34 "Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus,
43:37 spoke again to them."
43:38 You see he really wanted to do the right thing.
43:40 He wanted to release Jesus.
43:41 He wanted to let Him go free
43:42 and now he is beginning to negotiate with the crowd.
43:44 But verse 21, "But they cried saying crucify him crucify him.
43:48 And then he said unto them the third time, Why,
43:51 what evil has he done?
43:53 I found no cause of death in Him,
43:55 therefore chastise him and let Him go.
43:59 And there were the more instinct with loud voices,
44:02 requiring that he might be crucified.
44:04 And the voices of them
44:05 and of the chief priest prevailed.
44:08 And Pilate gave sentence
44:10 that it should be as they require."
44:16 And in verse 28 to 30 of Matthew 27
44:19 it says "They stripped Him and put his scarlet robe on Him.
44:23 And when they had twisted a crown of thorns,
44:26 they put it on His head, and a reed in His hand."
44:30 And now they're mocked him, the king of the Jews
44:34 and put a crown of thorn on his brow.
44:37 And friends, those thorns came because of sin.
44:40 It came from the curse.
44:42 Here we find Jesus taking our curse
44:45 so that we could have His blessings.
44:47 He is crown not with the crown of gold
44:49 but a crown of thorns.
44:51 "And they bow the knee before Him and mocked Him,
44:53 saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
44:55 And they span on Him and took the reed
44:57 and struck Him on the head."
44:59 Oh, friends, can you imagine?
45:01 Have you ever someone-- have you ever have someone
45:03 come and spit in your face.
45:05 This is what man did to their Creator
45:08 spitting in the face of Jesus
45:10 they mocked Him and they humiliated Him.
45:13 And then John 19:3 it says
45:15 "And then they said, Hail, King of the Jews!
45:17 And they struck Him with their hands."
45:19 Here we find guilty hands
45:23 hitting the face of the holy one.
45:26 And yet He did not retaliate, friends.
45:29 And he did not give up, He did not tap out.
45:32 He did no respond with anger instead of vengeance
45:36 the blood of His love flowed out.
45:39 Jesus subjected Himself to the most cruel
45:41 and torture-- cruel torture and humiliation.
45:45 And now Pilate brings Him out one last time.
45:48 Now he is trying to excite not so much justice
45:51 but the pity and the mercy
45:54 from the hearts of the Pharisees.
45:56 And then notice what he says let's go now
45:57 to the Book of John 19:4.
46:00 The Bible says "Pilate therefore went forth again,
46:03 and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you,
46:07 that ye may know that I find no fault in Him."
46:10 He is repeating it over and over he has no fault.
46:12 Then verse 5 "Then came Jesus forth,
46:14 wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe.
46:16 And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!"
46:21 In other words he is saying look at Him.
46:24 Look at Him hasn't He suffered enough.
46:28 Look at the blood, look at the pain.
46:32 Behold the man he is trying to excite
46:35 sympathy and mercy from their hardened hearts.
46:40 "And when the chief priest
46:41 therefore in the officers saw Him,
46:43 they cried out, saying, crucify him, crucify him.
46:45 Pilate said unto them, take ye and crucify Him
46:48 for I find no fault in Him."
46:51 Here we find brothers and sisters,
46:52 that Jews had forsaken justice and mercy and Pilate
46:56 is absolutely convinced that He is an innocent man
46:59 but now he just yells to the crowd
47:02 and gives in to what they want.
47:05 Take Him and crucify Him.
47:07 Then notice verse 7, "Then the Jews answered him,
47:09 We have a law, and by our law he ought to die,
47:12 because He made Himself the Son of God.
47:16 And when Pilate therefore heard that saying,
47:18 he was the more afraid."
47:20 You see now right here in this passage
47:22 Pilate for the first time
47:24 hears the real acquisition of the Jews.
47:27 This is the first time he heard it.
47:30 The acquisition is that he this man is making himself
47:33 the Son of God and so now Pilate begins to tremble.
47:38 He has paralyzed with terror.
47:41 You see his convictions are confirmed.
47:45 He thought the perhaps this one was truly the Messiah.
47:51 The one that the prophets had spoken about that he heard of
47:54 and so now Pilate rushes back to Jesus
47:58 and begins to seek the truth from Jesus
48:00 with all his heart.
48:01 Notice what it says in verse 9
48:02 when he heard the real acquisition verse 9.
48:04 It says "And went again into the judgment hall,
48:07 and saith the Jesus, Whence art thou?"
48:10 Friends, notice the question.
48:11 What did the Pilate ask?
48:13 Where do you come from?
48:14 Now friends, did Pilate already knew
48:15 where Jesus came from on the earth.
48:18 He knew that he was from Galilee, right.
48:20 And so when Pilate said where do you come from,
48:23 what he was really asking is what planet are you from?
48:26 Because you see friends,
48:27 there was a belief amongst the Romans
48:30 that sometimes the Gods the Roman Gods
48:33 would come to the world in human flash
48:37 to make sure that justice was being administered to.
48:41 And so Pilate begins to fear that perhaps this is truly
48:45 who the Jews say He claimed to be.
48:48 This is truly the Son of God in the flesh.
48:52 And now he begins to seek for truth.
48:54 Where do You come from but then notice
48:56 "But Jesus gave him no answer."
49:00 He had his opportunity but he wasted it.
49:04 And then in verse 10 "Then saith Pilate unto him,
49:06 Speakest thou not unto me?
49:09 knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee,
49:12 and have power to release thee?"
49:14 Verse 11 "Jesus answered,
49:15 Thou couldest have no power at all against me,
49:17 except it were given thee from above,
49:20 therefore he that deliver's me unto thee hath the greater sin.
49:24 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him,
49:26 but the Jews cried out, saying,
49:28 If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend,
49:31 whoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
49:34 And when Pilate therefore heard that saying,
49:36 he brought Jesus forth, and sat down
49:38 in the judgment seat in the place
49:40 that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha."
49:43 Verse 14 "And it was the preparation of the passover,
49:46 and about the sixth hour and he saith unto the Jews,
49:48 Behold your King!
49:50 And they cried out, Away with Him, away with Him,
49:52 crucify Him.
49:54 Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?
49:56 The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
50:00 Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified.
50:04 And they took Jesus, and led Him away."
50:08 Oh friends, Pilate sought for truth
50:12 but here's his ninth mistake, friends.
50:14 He sought for truth but it was too late.
50:18 Now he wants to know where Jesus is from.
50:20 Who are you?
50:22 But he sought for truth when it was too late.
50:26 The golden opportunity had passed.
50:29 Jesus had no further life for him.
50:31 He went too far it was too late
50:33 and now he makes his final attempt to release Him.
50:35 Pilate now is a slave to the will of the people,
50:38 he is the puppet in their hands.
50:40 Oh what a coward his own indecision
50:43 and cowardice has caused his own ruin
50:45 and now he is guilty of crucifying the Son of God
50:49 and then Matthew 27:24 shows the last mistake
50:52 Pilate made after he condemned Jesus to death.
50:55 It says in Matthew 27:24 "When Pilate saw
50:58 that he could no prevail at all, but rather that a tumult
51:00 was rising, he took water and washed his hands
51:03 before the multitude, saying,
51:05 I am innocent of the blood of this just person.
51:09 You see to it."
51:10 Here we find Pilate tenth mistake,
51:12 he tries to wash himself of the guilt
51:17 that is heavy upon his conscience.
51:19 Pilate's tenth mistake was he thought
51:22 he could remove his own guilt by the works of his own hands
51:25 by some kind of performance some little penance some act
51:29 either he could remove the guilt but friends,
51:31 the only they can remove our guilt is the blood of Jesus.
51:36 Pilate tries to remove his own guilt
51:38 but the water of his own works.
51:40 So mark the penance a performance of duty
51:43 but friends, what a wash away our sins
51:45 nothing but the blood of Jesus.
51:47 Pilate makes the last mistake thinking
51:50 that he could justify himself by some good works
51:53 and here we find ten miserable mistakes, friends.
51:56 Number one, he was disinterested in knowing truth.
51:59 Number two, he ignored the conviction of the spirit.
52:01 Number three, he was distracted away from the truth.
52:03 Four, he put off making any decision.
52:05 He tried to remain neutral about it.
52:07 He compromised with the crowd.
52:10 He valued the temporal above the eternal.
52:13 He allowed others to make his decision.
52:15 He sought for truth when it was too late.
52:17 And he thought he could remove his own guilt.
52:21 Oh friends, have you made these mistakes
52:26 are you making these mistakes tonight
52:29 as Jesus is led away to be crucified.
52:32 Barabbas the murderer goes free and by the way friends,
52:35 I want you think for a moment if anyone at that moment
52:37 could understand salvation surely it would be Barabbas.
52:42 Because as Jesus is taken away
52:43 to be crucified Barabbas goes free.
52:45 You see more than anyone else
52:47 Barabbas understood the simple gospel truth
52:50 I should have died but that man took my place.
52:58 I should have been crucified
53:01 but this man is dying in my place.
53:03 The innocent dying in place of the guilty
53:05 because friends, we are all Barabbas tonight.
53:07 We are not just Pilate we are also Barabbas.
53:10 We are guilty.
53:12 The guilty sons and daughters of the father
53:15 but Jesus the true Son of the Father died
53:19 so that we could go free.
53:22 And now what did they do with Jesus?
53:24 Instead of crowning Him they crucified.
53:28 When this day was finished
53:30 Pilate was relieved,
53:33 the day is over.
53:35 At first he was relieved
53:36 then he tried his best to forget about Jesus.
53:40 But you could sure the Holy Spirit
53:41 would not let him forget.
53:45 And after the death of Christ
53:46 Pilate few days later began to hear rumors
53:49 that troubled him.
53:51 Rumors that Jesus was not really dead.
53:55 Rumors that He actually roused from the grave.
53:59 And he tried to banish these horrifying thoughts
54:01 but his mind shake off the conviction
54:03 finally he could bare no longer
54:05 and he called hat centurion
54:07 that was in charge over the soldiers
54:08 that were guarding the tomb of Jesus
54:10 and he called the centurion.
54:11 Centurion, tell me the truth what happened?
54:13 I have been hearing these rumors and I know that no way
54:16 it could be true but I need you tell me
54:17 what exactly took place.
54:20 Is it true?
54:22 Tell me it is just rumor, right.
54:24 And I could imagine that centurion
54:26 he begins to stammer.
54:28 He begins to go pale.
54:30 He drops his head and Pilate begins to realize
54:33 that there is more to the story than he knew.
54:35 And Pilate demands to hear the whole truth
54:38 and now the centurion begins to tell
54:40 what happened at the tomb on the third day.
54:43 Yes, we were there guarding the tomb
54:46 and Pilate that tomb was sealed tight.
54:49 We were there.
54:50 And suddenly a bright light shown around us.
54:55 Brighter than noon day sun and we saw Pilate,
54:57 there is beautiful shining creature
54:59 roll back the stone and sit upon it.
55:02 And then this angel, this angelic being
55:04 he called in to the tomb an he said Son of God
55:07 come forth your Father calls you.
55:09 And friends, Pilate as he hears this terror strikes his heart.
55:16 And then this centurion says and we saw Jesus,
55:19 we saw Him come out of the grave.
55:20 He walked right out of the tomb and he was alive, Pilate.
55:25 We were terrified, we couldn't move.
55:26 We felt down as dead man
55:28 and upon regaining our consciousness
55:30 we went to report it and on our way
55:31 to report to the priest met us and he offered us money
55:34 bribing us not-- to say that
55:37 the disciples have stolen His body.
55:39 But we saw Him, we saw Him rise.
55:41 He is alive today.
55:42 And then Pilate suddenly realized for certain
55:45 that he had betrayed and crucified the Son of God.
55:51 He was ceased with uncontrollable
55:52 trembling from head to foot.
55:54 And shortly after this he was called back to Rome
55:58 to answer for some of the charges
55:59 brought against him by the Jews
56:01 and on his way back to the Rome
56:03 the Caesar that loved him so much
56:05 that he was so loyal to it that Caesar died
56:07 and now a new emperor took his place,
56:09 a new king is sitting upon the throne
56:11 and this king did not recognize
56:13 Pilate as a result of his injustice
56:16 and his compromising spirit
56:17 Pilate was displaced from his position
56:19 as governor by Caesar himself
56:22 and now we find Pilate wandering around the Roman streets
56:25 as a drunken wretch until finally a few days,
56:28 few weeks after that he took his own life in suicide.
56:35 He was a slave that was made free
56:38 but he died as a slave a slave to sin,
56:41 a slave to worldly ambition,
56:43 a slave to what other people thought.
56:45 You see friends, Pilate thought that he could
56:47 save something by giving into the crowd.
56:49 He thought that he could maintain a superficial peace.
56:52 But friends, in giving in, in compromising,
56:55 in procrastinating he ended up losing everything.
56:59 And friends, listen, this story is given in the Bible
57:04 as a solemn warning for us tonight.
57:08 A solemn warning not to lightly regard the choices
57:11 that we make day by day, a merciful invitation to chose
57:15 to crown Christ as our king today.
57:18 You see friends, by our choices
57:20 we have the power just like Pilate.
57:22 Are we to crown Jesus or to crucify Jesus?
57:26 And so as we close tonight
57:29 what we do with Jesus, friends?
57:33 We have been here four weeks.
57:36 We preached night after night after nights.
57:38 I poured out my heart and soul into these meetings.
57:43 The Holy Spirit is been here
57:45 and has blessed the study of his word,
57:49 He has let us into an understanding of truth.
57:52 Now the question tonight friends,
57:53 as we begin to close this meeting
57:55 what are you going to do with Jesus,
57:57 what are you going to do with the truth?
58:00 It's not enough time to understand it.
58:03 God calls us to walk into.
58:07 You see friends, tonight we are on the judgment,
58:12 we are sitting on judgment seat of Pilate
58:14 and Jesus is standing before us.
58:20 Question is what you are gonna do with Christ?
58:24 Are you gonna crown Him Lord of your life.
58:26 Are you gonna say yes Lord, I surrender all.
58:30 Begin small whatever it is I give it to You
58:35 or are you gonna continue to live your life?
58:38 How you want of it?
58:39 Or you are gonna continue to hold on
58:41 to your darling precious sins, your traditions?
58:46 Friends, if you do you're crucifying Christ.
58:48 You are adding to the weight of sin
58:51 that crushed His soul.
58:53 Don't do it tonight.
58:55 But one day we are-- we are sitting before judgment seat
58:59 Christ is standing before us
59:00 what you are gonna do with Him?
59:01 But friends, one day the picture is gonna be reversed.
59:04 One day Jesus will sit upon the judgment seat
59:06 and we are gonna be standing before Him.
59:09 And what we do with Christ tonight
59:14 will determine what Christ would do with us.


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Revised 2014-12-17