JESUS ON TRIAL

Father, we confess before you that sometimes we don't really know how to read your word

in the context of the opinions of others.

They can make us maybe a little bit hesitant or a little bit embarrassed

when passages of your word seem to go against what people around us want to be true.

So, Father, we can confess before you that there can be a hesitancy and a timidity in our Christian walk.

Father, we ask that you help us not to be timid.

We ask, Father, that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us

and help us to be humble and bold, that you would help us, Father, to be gracious but also very clear,

that you would help us, Father, rather than being intimidated by our context,

that you would help us to pray for those around us.

Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

Lead us and guide us into all truth.

Help us, Father, to seek to hear your word clearly and simply

so that it might come into our lives and bear much fruit in our daily lives, all for your glory.

And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.

Amen.

Please be seated.

So here's the problem with this text.

Are the Jewish people Christ killers?

Quite simply, bluntly.

Are the Jewish people Christ killers?

And is the Gospel of Luke inherently anti-Semitic?

Now, some of you are maybe a bit shocked that I would even raise this question in a church.

But you know what?

Given what's gone on in Western history over the last 2,000 years,

given the well-documented history of anti-Semitism by many, many people,

but unfortunately, regrettably, also by people who call themselves Christians,

how can we not listen to a text like this, which seems to illustrate the Jewish people

overriding the justice of Rome to demand the death of Jesus?

How can we not listen to this text within the context of a history of anti-Semitism?

At the same time, we have to be very, very aware as we read this text that we live in a city

where it's probably the case that anti-Semitism is on the rise.

And as I mentioned several weeks ago, we're virtually next door to the university,

and unfortunately, in Canada and in North America at this time,

universities are often hotbeds of anti-Semitism,

places where, in fact, there are attempts to silence, marginalize, and intimidate people who are Jewish.

One of the things I was very conscious of this week is not only that I have Jewish friends as I was reading this text,

but also that I have people that I know that in conversation with them,

I suspect that they have a fair amount of anti-Semitism.

Fortunately, these aren't people who are Christians, but still.

And I think to myself, if I was to sit down in a Bible study and we were to read this text,

how would I feel if there were lots of Jewish friends listening in?

And how would I feel with people who have anti-Semitism coursing through their veins and in their minds as we read this text?

So let's look at the text with this big question in the back of our mind.

In fact, this text raises lots of other questions, but we begin with this one.

So is this text showing that the Jewish people are Christ killers,

which is part of the ancient roots in Christian circles or justification in Christian circles for anti-Semitism?

Let's look at the text.

Luke 23, in case you were wondering where the text was.

Then the whole company, as I explained a few minutes ago,

that's all of the people who, I didn't turn my watch on, sorry about that.

I will do that right now.

So that's the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders.

Then the whole company of them arose and brought Jesus before Pilate.

And they began to accuse Jesus, saying,

we found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar

and saying that he himself is Christ a king.

Just sort of pause here.

There are two types of things to understand, two things to understand as we're going forward.

The first one is that at that time, the Jewish people are a subject people under the Roman power.

And so the Jewish people, as an over what, only I think one exception,

did not have the ability to perform a capital sentence.

And this was definitely, Jesus didn't come under any type of even remote thing for Jewish power

to have him executed.

And so they're going to have to get the Romans to find Jesus guilty of something that the Romans cared about

so that Jesus could be executed.

So that's what's going on.

And so what they've done is they take these,

and Luke is very, very carefully summarized in one little verse,

the three charges that they bring against Jesus that they hope will make Pilate very, very concerned about Jesus.

And the three charges are, in verse 2,

we found this man misleading our nation.

That's the first thing.

In other words, he's causing trouble.

He's leading the nation astray.

He's causing unrest and uncertainty.

And, of course, within this, with this idea that he's leading them astray and causing turmoil,

the Romans who are concerned with peace and Romans who are concerned that the Jewish people

would contentedly stay under Roman rule,

they're hoping that that would get Pilate's attention.

The second is that he is claiming to, he's forbidding to give tribute to Caesar.

In other words, that he's saying that they shouldn't pay taxes,

especially taxes that show that Rome are the nation over the Jewish people.

And then, finally, that he's claiming to be Christ, a king.

These are the three charges that they bring.

In summary, Luke summarizes them.

I'm sure it probably took 20 minutes or whatever for them to talk about it,

but Luke summarizes it for us.

And these are all, in fact, things which, in fact, Pilate would be concerned about.

But before we go any further,

and this is part of us having a bit of a hint that this whole story isn't, in fact,

painting the Jewish people as Christ killers.

But if we're very, if we think about it for a second,

I bet that for many of us, if we were to be very, very painfully honest with a mentor

about some of the concerns we have about being a more committed follower of Jesus,

or if we were to actually ask some people around us what were some of the things

that would keep them from being a Christian, okay?

And if they were to actually be very, very comfortable and honest with us,

what are the three, what are three things that many people would say would concern them

about becoming a follower of Jesus, a fully committed follower of Jesus?

Well, you know, one of the things is that if they followed Jesus,

he would lead them in directions that they don't want to go

in terms of certain things about how they lived their lives.

That he would mislead them about sexuality.

That he would probably mislead them

and make them have to end up doing things with their time

that they didn't really want to do.

Like, I don't know, like go in a small group,

or, you know, like read the Bible, or good grief,

go to church on a Sunday morning

when there's so many better things that you could possibly do.

And so for many people, their concern would be

that Jesus would mislead them.

The second thing is that many people would be concerned

that if they became a follower of Jesus,

that it would have an impact on how much money they had

under their own control.

I mean, good grief, those Christians are going to pass the offering plate.

I mean, good grief, some churches actually talk about tithing.

Good grief, maybe if I followed Jesus,

I'll have to end up being like Mother Teresa

and having absolutely no money whatsoever.

And how dare, you know, this whole thing about,

you know, my money's my own.

If I give myself to Jesus, if I get closer to Jesus,

it might mean that I have less money to spend it the way that I want.

And what's the third thing?

The third thing is that Jesus is going to demand

some type of control of my time.

That he's going to, and I don't want to have,

you know what, I'm trying to, many people will say,

I'm trying to regain control of my own life.

Maybe I'm trying to regain control of my life

because of the wounds which haunt me,

because of my fear of failure or my fear of success,

or trying to get over things that my parents said about me,

or trying to overcome limits to growth.

And I'm trying to get control,

and I have a sense that if I get closer to Jesus,

he's going to demand control.

And isn't it very, very interesting that the three things

that Luke summarizes as the Jewish charges,

the charges that Rome should be interested,

in fact, if you think about it for a second,

are three of the things that keep many of us

from wanting to get closer to Jesus

and keep many people from wanting to think about Jesus

as being the Savior and the Lord of their life.

You see, here's the thing about the Bible.

Here's the thing about the Bible.

The Bible goes after the control center of our life

in the context of the living God.

And if we let it, and if we listen to it very carefully,

we'll realize that it's constantly challenging motivations,

motivations that keep us from Jesus,

and for those who are followers of Jesus,

keep us still a little bit worried

about being even more trusting and committed

to following Jesus.

And with this, we realize one moment,

there's probably something else going on here

than justifying anti-Semitism,

because this is talking about my pagan heart.

And I'm of Irish descent.

That means I don't think I have any Jewish blood in me.

My ancestors, as I like to joke,

you know, when we first met the Romans,

we would like to strip our clothes off,

get naked, paint blue, and paint ourselves blue,

and fight the Romans.

That's my, you know, my cultural heritage.

But the Bible is actually sort of pinning me in this spot.

And so verse 3, let's see how it goes.

And Pilate asked Jesus,

are you the king of the Jews?

And Jesus answered him,

you have said so,

which is a polite form of Jesus saying,

yes, I am.

Now, here's the first thing.

And so from now on,

from the rest of the text,

as we read this text,

we have to read the rest of the text,

everything that happens

with the fact that Jesus claims

to be the king of the Jews.

And in fact, later on,

if you go and you read through

all of Luke chapter 23,

Luke 23 · chapter mention

to emphasize it,

Luke records,

there's probably a variety of things

that were put on the cross.

And the way Luke summarizes

what was put on the cross

over the head of Jesus

as Jesus is dying on the cross

is that this is the king of the Jews.

Andrew, if you could put up the first point.

Jesus is the king of the Jews,

so I need to pray

that God will cleanse my heart

from all anti-Semitism

and all other types of prejudice

and racism as well

while we're at it.

Jesus dies as the king of the Jews.

Jesus accepts the title

of the king of the Jews.

When Jesus returns in glory,

he will, of course,

be revealed as what he is,

which is king of kings

and lord of lords,

but he will also be revealed

as king of the Jews.

He never renounces

that role or that title.

He bears it to the cross.

He bears it to that place

which is the power of God

for salvation

for all who believe,

whether pagan or Jew.

And so,

if we, in fact,

have entrusted ourselves

to the king of the Jews,

how can we have within us

any anti-Semitism at all?

How could that possibly be?

And so,

if we find any slight type

of prejudice there about it,

and once we become,

and see,

this is the powerful thing,

this is the way the gospel works,

that as the gospel convicts us

of a certain type of prejudice,

it convicts us of prejudice

in general,

because it's not saying,

okay,

I can be prejudiced against Jews,

but I can be prejudiced

against blacks

or Chinese people

or women

or, you know,

or gays,

or I can be prejudiced

against all these other,

no, no, no, no, no,

you see,

this is the power of the gospel.

This is the power of Jesus.

It isn't as if Christianity

needs some infusion

of some other type

of philosophy

to make us realize

that prejudice

and racism is wrong.

We just listen

to the scriptures.

In fact,

I would maintain

it would be a whole other topic

that the most powerful force

against racism

and prejudice

historically and to this day

is the Christian faith.

Even though many Christians

fall short of it,

it is the power of the gospel.

And so,

for the rest of the stuff

that we read,

all of the different dynamics

that go on,

remember that our own hearts

have the same fears

of these actors

and that we are

reading the story

of the death

of the king of the Jews,

whom I,

as a follower of Jesus,

have put my hope

and faith and trust in

and therefore

all anti-Semitism

must be cleansed from me.

God have mercy upon me.

So the story continues,

verse five.

But they were urgent.

That's the Sanhedrin

in the crowd.

He stirs up the people

teaching throughout all Judea

from Galilee

even to this place.

When Pilate heard this,

he asked whether the man

was a Galilean.

And when he learned

that he belonged

to Herod's jurisdiction,

he sent Jesus over

to Herod,

who was himself

in Jerusalem at that time.

This is just a very,

very classic thing.

How does a bureaucrat

often deal with a problem?

You have a problem,

you've discovered

that it could actually

be somebody else's jurisdiction,

and then you discover,

oh boy,

it's somebody I don't like.

So you kick the problem

over to the person

with the other jurisdiction

to get it out of your hair.

That's what Pilate does.

And so he sends him

over to Herod.

And verse eight,

when Herod saw Jesus,

he was very glad,

for he had long desire

to see him

because he had heard about him

and he was hoping

to see some sign.

That means a miracle

done by him.

Now just sort of pause here.

One of the things

which you're going to see here

is that one of the things

which often happens

for Christians

is that they think,

you know,

I'm really bothered

and troubled by this idea

that Jesus' death

was a sacrifice for sin.

It seems very old-fashioned.

It seems pagan.

It seems antiquated.

It seems inhumane.

And, you know,

isn't it like,

you know,

what we should really think

is we should have a desire

for Jesus.

We should portray Jesus

as a great teacher,

as a great example,

as a great model

of how to live.

And we should just think

of all of the marvelous

things he does.

And that's the thing

which should draw us to Jesus.

And it's a very,

very common move

in Christian circles

and in Christian churches

to downplay,

to in fact actually

maybe even deny

that there's anything

sacrificial about

the death of Jesus

upon the cross

and focus on his life.

Focus on the red letter

parts of the Bible.

Focus on what he has to say

about the poor.

Focus on the wonderful things

that he says

about this and that

and the miracle,

you know,

the wonderful things

he did.

And in a sense,

Herod is that person.

Herod is that person.

He's heard about

the wonderful things

that Jesus does

and he'd like to see

Jesus do some

wonderful things.

And then the story

continues

because Jesus

actually doesn't

satisfy him

by trying to just do

those wonderful things

for him.

Verse 8 again,

when Herod saw Jesus,

he was very glad

for he had long

desired to see Jesus

because he had heard

about him

and he was hoping

to see some miracle

done by Jesus.

So Herod questioned

Jesus at some length,

but Jesus made no answer.

The chief priests

and the scribes

stood by vehemently

accusing Jesus

and Herod with his soldiers

treated him with contempt

and mocked him.

Then arraying him,

that's Jesus,

in splendid clothing,

he sent Jesus back

to Pilate

and Herod and Pilate

became friends

with each other

that very day

for before this

they had been at enmity

with each other.

Now just sort of

pause here for a second.

Is it reasonable

to think that Jesus

is primarily

a good teacher,

that he's primarily

a wonderful example

of how to live?

Well, let's see

how Pilate and Herod

understand Jesus

within that perspective

in the next verse.

Pilate then called together

the chief priests

and the rulers

and the people

and said to them,

you brought me this man

as one who is misleading

the people

and after examining

him before you,

behold,

I did not find

this man guilty

of any of your charges

against him,

neither did Herod,

for he sent him

back to us.

Look,

nothing deserving death

has been done by him.

I will therefore

punish him

and release him.

Now just sort of

pause here for a second.

This is something

which is very significant,

both that he find

Jesus completely

and utterly innocent

but also that

they're just going

to casually

mock him

and that they're

going to casually

just have him whipped.

And here's,

and Andrew,

if you could put up

the next point,

here's what Pilate found

and I just used Pilate.

I could have said

Pilate and Herod

but it sort of

upset the flow

of the sentence.

But Pilate found Jesus

to be an innocent,

impractical,

harmless fool.

In other words,

someone that no one

would want to follow

or listen to.

Pilate and Herod

found Jesus

to be an innocent,

impractical,

harmless fool.

In other words,

someone that no one

would want to follow

or listen to.

Now this might sound

a little bit shocking

to you,

but if you think about it

for a second,

if Jesus is actually

primarily an example,

then why on earth

did he die?

Like what is that showing?

And how is it that

his whole behavior

right now

is showing anything

worthy of us to follow?

Like he doesn't say anything,

he doesn't do anything

to protect himself,

is that the type of example

that we want to model?

Like do we want to

actually model somebody

that when it comes down

to the crunch

is on one hand

is recognized

to be innocent

but on the other hand

given that he's also

impractical,

harmless and foolish

and therefore we can do

whatever we want with him,

then why on earth

would this actually

be somebody

that we actually

wanted to follow?

Like, you see,

what often happens,

there's a very,

very common claim

about Christians

that Christians

are just always

trying to model Jesus

after their age

and that's primarily

the case

when people want

to turn Jesus

no longer into

the power of God

for salvation

to all who believe

but want to make

Jesus primarily

an example

for how to live

and when people

want to turn Jesus

into an example

about how to live

and how his teaching

is wise,

they focus,

we focus,

on those parts

of the teaching

of Jesus

that agree with

the wisdom

of the world

and we focus

on the examples

of his life

that are examples

that our culture

already teaches us

and all of the

other things

in the Bible

and all of the

other things

about Jesus

that don't fit in

with that,

we ignore

and in fact,

we even lose

any real desire

to follow Jesus

in his words

because it'll keep

bringing us up

to these awkward,

inconvenient things

like the fact

that he seems

to be impractical

and foolish

and harmless

and doesn't even

take normal types

of means

to defend himself.

So what Herod and Pilate

find and what

the gospel shows

is that when we

on one hand

think that we are

exalting Jesus

and making him

more culturally relevant

by holding him up

as an example

and as a guru

and as a wise teacher,

what we're really doing

is demoting him

and making him

something which is

someone who is

very comfortable

in whatever the culture

has to be saying

in this particular day

and actually doesn't

fit with the evidence.

The evidence

of Herod and Pilate

is that Jesus

is innocent

which is significant

to us

but he's harmless.

He's impractical.

You know what?

He's a fool.

And Herod

acts like a typical

Canadian.

A typical Canadian

is utilitarian.

Some of you

have been to university

and you know

that's a particular

ethical theory

by which you say

that amongst

other things

that what you do

is you take

the course of action,

the moral action

that you take

is the one

that creates

the less pain.

And so what we're

going to see

in the rest of the text

is that Herod,

Pilate,

is a utilitarian.

That there's going

to be a contrast

between the potential

of a riot

starting up

and even more importantly

that people

aren't going to

like him

and are going to

undermine his authority

and they're going

to try to cause

some trouble for him

and on one hand

you have that,

on the other hand

you have the death

of an innocent

harmless fool

that no one

in their right mind

would want to follow.

And so Herod

as a utilitarian

is going to say

it causes

far less distress

and far less pain

in general

if I can end

and prevent a riot

by the death

of one innocent man

who doesn't even

have any followers

around him anyway.

They've all fled,

they're all in hiding.

And that's what we're

going to see happen

here in the rest

of the text.

But they all cried

out together,

verse 18,

away with this man

and release to us

Barabbas,

a man who had been

thrown into prison

for an insurrection

started in the city

and for murder.

Pilate addressed

them once more

desiring to release

Jesus but they

kept shouting,

crucify,

crucify him.

A third time

he said to them,

why,

what evil has he done?

I have found in him

no guilt

deserving death.

I will therefore

punish and release him.

But they were urgent

demanding with loud

cries that he should

be crucified

and their voices

prevailed.

So Pilate decided

that their demand

should be granted.

He released the man

who had been thrown

into prison

for insurrection

and murder

for whom they asked

but he delivered

Jesus over to their will.

Just this final thing

about the anti-Semitism.

If you go back

and,

this is sort of

the second to last,

if you go back

and look at Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

it's very,

very clear that

the Bible says

that it's

Pilate,

Herod,

everybody.

In fact,

it's ultimately humanity

which is implicated

in the death of Jesus,

not any particular group.

Even looking for

a particular group

is actually an indication

of anti-Semitism

to actually even try

to ask that type of question

and apportion the blame

and it's to completely

and utterly misunderstand Jesus.

Here we see

that Pilate

and the crowd

are at one,

that Pilate

and the crowd

are being cynical,

they are being unjust,

they are being immoral

and they are being cruel.

They are being cynical

because many in the crowd

know that the charges

against Jesus

are false.

Pilate knows

that Jesus

is an innocent man.

They have a cynic,

everything that's going on

is just reeking

with cynicism

and it's unjust

and it's cruel

and it's immoral

that they would go

and that they would choose

a person who actually

is guilty of murder

and is actually guilty

of insurrection

and is actually guilty

of rebellion

and that Pilate

would even offer that

as a choice to the crowd

and that the crowd

would choose that man

and that Pilate

would go along with it.

Everything about this

whole story

just reeks

of cynicism,

cruelty,

immorality

and injustice.

But here

is the profound question

for us.

Andrew,

could you put up

the next one?

Is God the Father

the same as Pilate

in the crowd?

Unjust,

cynical,

immoral

and cruel?

I mean,

that's one of the things

which motivates people

who say

that the whole idea

of Jesus dying

as a sacrifice

is just not right.

And so many might say,

George,

okay,

yeah,

yeah,

yeah,

maybe I,

you have some problems

in me trying to mainly

say that Jesus,

I should be like

primarily a red-letter Christian

and mainly concerned

with some of the teaching

of Jesus that I like

and an example in Guru.

But gosh,

I mean,

so it's that God's

going along with this?

God just goes ahead

and lets the crowd do this?

That Pilate's being cynical,

unjust,

immoral and cruel

and that's like,

isn't God picking Jesus

as well?

And for many of us,

and by the way,

questions like this

are often raised

in academic literature.

It's maybe not as much

heard in certain church circles

as well.

Maybe some of you

have never come across

this as a complaint

and it can be a bit staggering

to think about.

Here's the thing.

One of the problems

that we Christians have

is that we've lost

the habit

of reading Bibles

as,

we read it

as a series of quotes.

I'm all in favor

of things like daily bread

and stuff like that

but often we just get

a little bit of a snippet

of a text

or a bit of a chapter

of a text

and we move on

to something else.

And we've lost this habit

of reading a book

as a book.

You know,

we read movie,

we watch movies,

you know,

most people,

we try to watch

the movie at the beginning

and we watch it

right through to the end

and we see how themes develop

and how things are prefigured

or certain things

are set in motion

or certain comments

reveal intentions

in what's going on

and we've lost that habit

often when it comes

to reading the gospel.

And so many of you,

if you've been here

over the months

that we've been going

through Luke,

I've said that

ever since Luke chapter 9

Luke 9 · chapter mention

when Jesus says

that he's going to go

to Jerusalem

to die upon the cross

and rise from the dead,

that every single thing

in the gospel of Luke

after that point,

you have to realize

that it's to be read

in the context

of Jesus'

repeatedly saying

that he's going

to Jerusalem

to die upon the cross

and then he will rise

from the dead.

And that's still at work here

because he's in Jerusalem.

But even more specifically,

if you just turn back

in your Bibles,

on my page,

I have to turn it back

to Luke chapter 22.

Luke 22 · chapter mention

And Luke chapter 22

Luke 22 · chapter mention

beginning at verse 39.

And Jesus has explained

what's going to be happening

to him in the institution

of the Last Supper.

Judas has gone off

to betray Jesus

and gather the soldiers.

And Jesus is in the garden.

And I talked about this

a couple of weeks ago,

but we have to,

everything that's happening

right now,

if we don't,

this question that's on the stage,

if this part of Luke's gospel

wasn't there,

then this would be a very good,

that's an unanswerable question.

But look what happens to Jesus.

And he came out and went,

verse 39,

as was his custom

to the Mount of Olives.

And the disciples followed him.

And when he came to the place,

he said to them,

pray that you may not

enter into temptation.

And he withdrew from them

about a stone's throw

and knelt down and prayed,

saying,

Father, if you are willing,

remove this cup from me.

Nevertheless,

not my will,

but yours be done.

Nevertheless,

not my will,

but yours be done.

Everything that's happening

after this,

you will see,

if you keep on reading,

and there appeared to him

an angel from heaven

strengthening him

and being in agony,

he prayed more earnestly

and his sweat

became like great drops

of blood

falling down to the ground.

See,

if Jesus is all

just merely about love

and teaching and examples,

then it's really,

the death of Jesus

makes no sense.

It's really,

literally like,

like some person

coming up to you,

you know,

some guy coming up

to a girl and says,

I love you so much.

And the girl says,

really?

I love you so much.

I'm going to show you

how much I love you.

And then takes out a gun

and shoots himself in the head.

That would be completely

crazy and cruel

if the woman would be

in therapy maybe for years,

need profound inner healing.

And she would just say

the man is sick.

And if,

if the death,

if Jesus just says,

you know,

I love you so much

and then boom,

kills himself,

that's completely crazy.

But you know,

if,

if you see somebody,

if you,

you know,

periodically every,

unfortunately about every year,

there's several people

who drown in the Ottawa River

right near Ottawa.

And if,

and when you read about somebody

who they don't even know

the person,

but they see a person

in distress

and they,

they dive in

and they swim

and they get them back,

we call them a hero.

And,

and,

and the greater,

that the,

the greater the risk

and the greater self-knowledge

before the act,

the more that we consider it

to be something completely

and utterly praiseworthy.

That a person who knows

that in that particular area

that there are dangerous currents,

but still they are going

to do what they can

to risk their own life

to save that other person,

we marvel at their courage.

We marvel at their sacrifice

and at their risk.

And when we hear of people

who've gone into a house

that's burning to rescue children

and,

and maybe even at the end

they save all of the children,

but then they are overcome

by smoke themselves,

we are overcome

by their willingness

to sacrifice themselves

for children.

And what we see here

in the garden

is Jesus understanding

understanding completely

and fully

and massively

the act of sacrifice

and rescue

and what it is going

to cost him

to undertake.

And part of him says,

Father,

if there's any way

that this can be taken from me,

please take it from me.

And it is so,

the magnitude

of the fact

that he is going

to bear the wrath

and justice of God

in his very person,

that he is going to,

it's going to entail

him no longer

being at one

with the Father,

that it is going

to entail

him taking upon himself

the doom

that human beings deserve

and he will offer

human beings

the destiny

that he deserves.

He takes upon

the doom

that I deserve,

he offers me

the destiny

that he deserves.

And we see

that full,

clear-eyed struggle

and the conclusion

of it is,

not my will,

but yours be done.

And so,

Andrew,

if you could put up this,

in the suffering

and death

of Jesus Messiah,

we see revealed

the deep justice,

mercy,

and grace

of the living God

working in perfect harmony

with saving power

for fallen humans.

in fact,

Jewish people

would see

in this text

a very,

very powerful

Old Testament

image of atonement,

of the scapegoat,

that they would see

within this

that,

in a sense,

Jesus becomes

the scapegoat

by which the sins

of the people

are put,

sorry,

that the sins

of the people

are put on Jesus

who dies

and the scapegoat

goes free,

that Barabbas

goes free,

that the justice

which is deserved

in a sense

falls upon

another person

so that the one

who voluntarily

takes that place,

sorry,

the one voluntarily

takes that place

of having the sin

and the wrath

and the punishment

fall on them

so another can go free.

That's what we see here

in the text.

It's clear-eyed love.

It's clear-eyed grace.

It's clear-eyed mercy.

And at the same time,

a just and holy God

is able to punish

sin and rebellion

and evil.

That in the suffering

and death

of Jesus Messiah,

we see revealed

the deep justice,

mercy,

and grace

of the living God

working in perfect harmony

with saving power

for fallen humans.

In a sense,

every single one of us

is Barabbas.

only rather than

having a crowd yell

that Barabbas

would be freed,

Jesus willingly

takes our place

so that we can be free.

We're going to see

this very powerfully,

not next week

because we're going to have

a sermon on the Trinity,

but the week after

when we look at Jesus

as death upon the cross,

that the hint

of the Barabbas story

is seen far more clearly

when Jesus says

to the thief

dying upon the cross,

today you will be

with me in paradise.

That we see Jesus

dying,

fulfilling the justice

of God

and displaying

the deeper grace

and mercy of God

for all who put their

faith and trust in him.

So in conclusion,

is Jesus an example?

Only if we receive

the gospel

and only in a very,

very particular way,

but in a very powerful way

that will actually

completely and utterly

change and transform

our lives.

If you could put up

the final slide.

When we receive the gospel,

we truly receive

new life from God.

As we are gripped

by the gospel,

we are nudged

and drawn

and shaped

and grounded

in a new way of living

for the glory

of the living God.

You see,

when we put our faith

and trust in Jesus,

it's not just that

we put our faith

and trust in a story

or an example,

but Jesus actually

did something for us.

The book of Romans

describes it

that Jesus is the,

the death of Jesus

upon the cross

is the power of salvation

that comes from God

that's available

to all who believe.

And so that when we put

our faith and trust

in Jesus,

we actually receive

new life.

We receive

a new relationship

with God.

We enter into a new covenant

with the true

and living creator God.

And that's what we receive.

The Bible goes on

and says other things.

We receive the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

We are born again.

We are clothed

with the righteousness

of Christ.

That there's a range

of images

that portray

what happens

when we put our faith

and trust in Jesus.

But it's also then

as we are gripped

by the story

of the gospel,

as week by week,

and as day by day

as we read the Bible

and we come clear

and clear

that what Jesus does

upon the cross for us,

how he,

knowing every single thing

there is to know

about you and me,

knowing everything

to know about me,

still he died

on the cross for me,

that he would

take my place,

that he would

take my doom,

that he would offer me

his destiny,

that he does this

for me.

And as this story

grips us,

we're nudged

into saying,

well, you know,

maybe I should listen

to him about money.

when we know

that at the end

of the day

we are reconciled

to God,

that God's final word

about us

when we appear

before him,

not because of

our own righteousness,

is to be welcomed

into God's kingdom,

to spend eternity

in the new heaven

and the new earth

with the living God

because of what

Jesus has done for us.

When we know

that that's the end

of the story,

maybe we say,

you know,

maybe I can be

more generous.

You know,

because maybe

I don't have to think

that the one

with the most toys

at the end wins

because that actually

has nothing to do

with the meaning

and the direction

of life.

And if Jesus knows

me so perfectly

and still he died

for me,

maybe I should listen.

It draws me.

It nudges me.

And it makes me say,

you know,

if Jesus became poor

so that I can become rich,

maybe I should just

make do with

a little bit less money

so that,

you know,

maybe people in China

can hear the gospel

or people in India

can hear the gospel

or that the poor

in Ottawa

can hear the gospel.

Like,

maybe that makes sense.

Maybe that should shape,

that will shape my life.

Maybe that will ground

how I view money.

And the fact of the matter

is that my control

often,

you know,

often brings me

into trouble.

And maybe if Jesus

has loved me so deeply

and done this,

maybe as we're gripped

by that story,

it nudges us

into saying

that Jesus

should have more control.

It draws us into it.

It shapes us.

It grounds us.

That's why

the mission statement

of this church

is making disciples

of Jesus

gripped by the gospel

who live for his glory.

That when we receive

the gospel,

we truly receive

new life from God

as we are gripped

by the gospel.

And that means

not only what,

what the meaning

of what Jesus does

for us on the cross,

but all of the nuances

of the story,

as we're gripped

by that,

we are nudged

and drawn

and shaped

and grounded

in a new way

of living

for the glory

of the living God.

Please stand.

We're going to have

real time challenges.

Let's just pray

and then I'll tell you

about the time challenges.

Father,

you know,

even today,

how many of us

are worried about

drawing too close to you

because we fear

losing control to Jesus.

Father,

you know,

even today,

how many of us

fear drawing too close

to Jesus

because we think

he will mislead us

about certain things

like maybe sexuality

or

how we spend our time.

Father,

you know how many of us

are leery

and worried

about drawing close

to Jesus

because of the impact

he'll have

on money

and how we use money.

Father,

we thank you

that Jesus knew

everything like this

about us

and still he died

on the cross for us.

We thank you,

Father,

that Jesus had

a clear-eyed knowledge

of who we are

and yet he died for us.

And we thank you,

Father,

that his death

upon the cross

was your means,

your power,

for us

to become

your children forever

if we receive it.

Father,

we thank you for this.

We ask,

Father,

that you would help us

to receive

what Jesus did

for us on the cross

by trusting him

as our Savior

and our Lord,

this King of the Jews,

that he would be

the King of my life

and the King

of this congregation.

And we ask as well,

Father,

that you would bring

the story of Jesus

to us,

that we would be gripped

by the story of Jesus

and what he did

for us on the cross.

And Father,

as we are gripped

by the gospel,

make us,

help us to live

for your glory.

And this we ask

in the name of Jesus,

your Son

and our Savior.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.