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(BARABBAS)
SCRIPTURE- St. LUKE 23:18 APRIL, 1995
AND THEY CRIED OUT ALL AT ONCE, SAYING, AWAY WITH THIS MAN, AND
RELEASE UNTO US BARABBAS
SUBJECT - GIVE US BARABBAS
PLAY/DOWNLOAD [MP3]
A great man, once spoke these words, "December 7, 1941, a day that
will live in infamy." This was a speech, referring to one of the most
darkest times in our history, the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
And, indeed, this was a tragic time. Hundreds, or thousands of men and
women, perished while sleeping, or going about their carefree duties,
when a sneak attack, turned a peaceful, sunny, beautiful Sunday
morning, into a chaotic, hell on earth, for those that were there, and
for this entire nation. It was a day, that this nation, will never
forget. Several years later, the Japanese, paid the price for their act
of violence. There were other days, that we have in our history books,
and in our memories, that were bad, but nothing like Pearl.
However, there was another day, that we celebrate, where only one
person died, yet it outweighs, what happened at Pearl Harbor, by
multitudes. What happened on that day, set the stage for all of
creation, past, present and future, to either prosper, or perish. But,
it is not so much what happened on a hill called Golgotha, that I want
to focus on. It is an event, that preceded that, which I want to focus
on today. Go back with me in time, to a scene, that rivals anything
that man could ever do, to show his wickedness, and contempt for good.
The scene, is the court of Pontius Pilate. Pilate is facing a crowd of
people that have assembled themselves, to witness the trial of a man
named, Jesus. Jesus is standing between Pilate and the crowd. There is
nothing regal about Him. He looks like the average Jew, of that day.
As we ponder, 'what is the history behind this man, and why is He on
trial?', we notice that the crowd is being stirred up, by a group of
men, dressed in what appears to be royal apparel. We find out, that
these men, are the religious leaders of their day. They seem to be
trying to get the crowd to tell Pilate something. But, what?
Another interesting thing is, there is another man, standing
between Pilate and the crowd, which puts him, next to Jesus. This man,
unlike Jesus, looks dirty, unshaven, and is rather unpleasant to look
at. He doesn't look like the type of fellow, you would want to run into
on a dark, deserted road. Both Jesus, and this man, are in chains,
which gives the idea, that they are prisoners. We find out something
else. This is not actually a trial, but a voting party, to see which of
the two men, Pilate will set free (Matt. 27:15). So, we need to see,
which of these men, deserve to be set free, and what will be done to
the remaining individual.
As we look at what the people say about Jesus, we find out that He
had a mysterious birth. His parents, raised Him up, along with His
other siblings, to recognize that there was a God, and that without
Him, man could do nothing. Jesus, unlike most children, spent most of
His time, not playing with the other children, but in the temple,
listening to the religious leaders, talking about the law, and
commandments of God. Then, one day, He comes back, as a grown man, and
things really begin to get exciting. First, He gets baptized by a man
named John the Baptist, and a dove, lands on Him. At the same time, a
voice, comes out of Heaven, and says, "This is My beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. Listen to Him." Then next thing we know, is that He
starts saying, and doing things, that have not been done before. He
challenges the religious leaders, on their actions regarding how they
are trying to keep the people in bondage, by putting more laws and
restrictions on them, that God had not ordained.
But, that is only the beginning. He begins to heal the sick, without
using medicine. He opened blind eyes. He cured the lame. The deaf,
received their hearing. He fed over ten thousand people, with only five
loaves of bread, and two fishes, and still had leftovers. One day, He
caused some fishermen, who had not had a bite all day, to gather so
many fish, that their boats were sinking, from the weight. But, the
most spectacular thing He did, was to raise a man from the dead, that
had been dead, four days. He also raised two other dead people. In
short, this man, went about doing all things, that were good. He even
preached good. So much so, that the people followed Him, more than the
religious leaders.
All we know about the other man, whose name is Barabbas, is that
he is a thief, and a murderer. This man, has a history of violence. He
is one that can't be trusted. And here is Pilate, asking which one of
the two, shall he release to the crowd. Jesus, that does nothing but
good, or Barabbas, that does nothing but evil. As we listen, the crowd
responds in a loud voice, "GIVE US, BARABBAS!!!" "What then, is to
happen to Jesus?" Pilate asks. The crowd responds again, "CRUCIFY
HIM!!!" What kind of madness is this???!!! The crowd, being urged on by
the religious leaders, would rather have a murderer, released to them,
rather than a Man, that God says is His Son, and that has done more
good in a little over three years, than all of these leaders, who
supposedly are God's ministers, have done in their entire lives,
combined.
That day, and its scenario, is played over, time and time again,
by most of us, every day. How, you might ask. The scenario we just
looked at, shows a man in authority, giving the people, he ruled over,
the choice to receive unto themselves, good, or evil. Jesus represents,
GOOD, LIFE, BLESSING, PROSPERITY, RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS, HEALING, AND
EVERYTHING THAT GOD HAS TO OFFER. Barabbas, represents death, cursing,
poverty, sin, sickness, bondage, and all things that are the worst,
that man can find. And so it is, that today, God, sets before each of
us, the good, and the evil, and asks us to choose which one we want.
However, He urges us to choose the good. Yet, despite this urging, we
choose the evil. And, many times, we do it, not at the urging of
others, but at the urging of, our own religious leaders, who have
something against the good.
That's right. Today, and down through history, man pursues a
course of self destruction, that is due, in large part, to the
doctrines, and traditions, that man has allowed to creep in to their
churches. And, when God, sends someone to us, to tell us the truth
about these devilish practices, the preachers in these churches, urge
their followers, to reject God's message, and to run the messenger, out
of town, if necessary. Abortion, versus life. Too many Christians are
choosing abortion. They are saying, give us Barabbas. Homosexuality,
versus heterosexuality. Too many Christians, are seeing nothing wrong
with it. They are saying, give us Barabbas. No prayer in schools,
versus prayer in the schools. They say, no prayer. They are saying,
give us Barabbas. Morality in the public schools, versus no morality.
They want, no morality. They are saying, give us Barabbas. Laws for our
nation, based on God, or laws, based on man. They want laws based on
man's ideas. They are saying, give us Barabbas. Yes, that's right. Time
and time again, when given the choice between good and evil, life and
death, blessing and cursing, Jesus and Barabbas, we inevitably choose
Barabbas. Why? Because of the pleasure we derive from it. That's
right. There is pleasure in sin. But, the wages of sin, is death. Are
you ready for that? Man's nature, seeks pleasure for himself. He seeks
something he can identify with. God says, "In man (woman), dwelleth no
good thing." "The heart of a man (woman) is deceitfully wicked."
Barabbas, represents us, in our sinful state. Jesus, represents, what
we can become, if we will only make a choice to reject Barabbas, and
choose Him.
Today, right now, I am saying, you are standing in that crowd,
like nearly two thousand years ago. God, is putting two choices in
front of you. One is Jesus, and all He represents. The other, is
Barabbas, and all he represents. He is not going to twist your arm. He
will honor your decision. It is my hope, that you say, "give me Jesus."
If you say, "I am not ready yet", what you are really saying is, "give
me Barabbas." Think about it.
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