Good Friday Special Service: Pastor Daniel Reese

Now, I'm going to tell you a story and I'm asking you not to judge me as I tell it.

Okay?

A couple of weeks ago, I was taking it easy and laying on the couch and decided to watch

Braveheart.

Again, it's been a long time since I've seen it.

So I thought while the kids are at school and it's quiet, I'm just going to lay here

and do nothing for three hours.

So I did.

Now hopefully I won't spoil it for you, but to be fair, it is a 30-year-old movie.

So you've had your chance.

Now in that movie, which is based loosely on history, William Wallace helps lead the Scots

against the King of England.

What they were fighting for was freedom.

So blue-face freedom, right?

They wanted their independence so that they could determine their future.

They wanted to determine where their taxes were going and things like that, very similar

to the American Revolution that happened a couple hundred years ago, right?

But in the eyes of King Edward, William Wallace was an insurrectionist.

Edward just wanted to hold on to as much power for as long as he could, and Wallace was making

it difficult for that to happen.

Throughout the movie, Wallace steals from and kills many men who belonged to the English

Army.

The movie portrays Wallace as a hero.

And depending on what history book you read, Wallace is portrayed as a hero.

Now at the end of the movie, Wallace is captured, here's a spoiler alert, okay?

He's captured because someone who he thought was loyal to him betrayed him.

He's thrown into prison, and then he is tortured.

He's eventually beheaded and dismembered.

History says that his body parts were sent to different regions as a symbol that you

don't mess with England.

So why are we here this evening?

And I'm not talking about why we are here in this building on this night.

I'm talking about why are we here remembering the crucifixion of Jesus?

We're here because of one man that we don't talk about very often.

He is usually only mentioned around this time of year, but not many other times.

His name is Barabbas.

That's not a name we say very often.

It's not a name we name our children after.

We don't celebrate any of his accomplishments, but he is the reason that we are here this

evening.

But similar to William Wallace, we have this man Barabbas.

So let's consider who he was and why he is significant for us tonight.

In the Gospels of Mark and Luke, he is referred to as a murderer.

In the Gospel of John, he is referred to as a robber.

What we also know about Barabbas based on the Scriptures is that he was condemned to

die.

Now, if we were to take only the idea of him as a robber based on the Gospel of John, that

doesn't make much sense as to why he is being condemned to die.

So we need to take a deeper look at what had Barabbas done to deserve death in the eyes

of the Romans.

Now, Jan, the Romans are in a region now known as Italy.

I don't know where she is.

That was news to her this week.

Now the Romans usually only crucified insurrectionists.

They had such a strong grip on the people that they ruled over that anyone who tried

to harm their empire would be sentenced to death because they wanted to try to send a

message to anybody who would dare rise up against them that it wasn't a good idea.

Anybody that thought that they could overthrow Rome, the Romans wanted to send a message

and said that's not going to go well for you.

So what men like Barabbas would do is they would go from village to village acting like

William Wallace in order to create unrest amongst the people because people will begin

to rebel when they don't feel safe, when their living conditions aren't the best.

And eventually that makes them desperate enough to form a coalition to overthrow the government.

The Romans could not let that happen.

So Barabbas is caught and he's thrown into prison.

Now he had to have known what his fate was, right?

He had to have seen crucified criminals along the roads between village and village.

He heard the people screaming out in pain as they were dying on a cross and now he sits

in a prison cell waiting for that to happen to him.

I would imagine just the thought of that punishment would be torture enough.

I would imagine that it was all he could think about from the moment that he was caught.

While Barabbas awaits his fate, something is happening in the early hours of Friday morning.

Barabbas is desperately trying to find his way out of the situation that he is in.

Now to the Romans, Barabbas is essentially a terrorist.

And we can tell that as we read through the trials of Jesus, that Pilate wanted to release

Jesus because Jesus was no threat to the empire.

But he was also aware that if he released Jesus, it could cause a major uproar amongst the people.

This is why he washed his hands of the situation and said that Jesus' blood was on the hands

of the people.

In Matthew chapter 27 and verse 24 it reads, So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing,

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd,

saying, I am innocent of this man's blood, see to it yourselves.

And all the people answered, His blood be on us and on our children.

Then he released for them Barabbas and having scourged Jesus delivered him to be crucified.

Now Pilate was just trying to keep the peace.

His role in this story is merely political.

The people who wanted Jesus dead were the ones who were threatened by him.

So Barabbas is going to be set free.

How his stomach must have churned, if you can imagine that.

As he listened to the soldiers coming down the stone corridor, hearing their keys rattle,

stopping at the door of his cell, think about what must have been going on in his mind.

Think about that situation.

How stunned he must have been when one of them said, get out of here, the governor has

set you free.

Another is going to die in your place.

Jesus really did die in Barabbas' place that day because the people made a choice.

It was either going to be Barabbas or Jesus.

So when they made their choice, Jesus literally became the substitute for the criminal.

Think about that situation.

The religious leaders of this day were more concerned about a man who believed differently

than them.

Than they were about a man who was guilty of killing their people.

Because Jesus didn't live up to who they thought the Messiah would be and then potentially

being wrong about what they had been teaching.

They would rather set free a known robber and murderer than face the reality that they

could be wrong.

So Barabbas is free.

No longer under punishment.

I can just imagine that it probably took him a little bit of time to come to grips with

that new reality.

I would have been asking what's the catch?

It can't be that easy.

What's the catch?

This is too good to be true.

Now Barabbas drops out of our history for us at this point.

But I wonder, I wonder, I was thinking about him, did he ever come to realize that not

only did Jesus replace him on that wooden cross outside the walls of Jerusalem, but

did he also realize that Jesus was his Passover lamb as well.

Tradition says that Barabbas followed the procession to the cross and watched where

Jesus was crucified.

Now that makes sense.

That makes sense to me.

Notice about this man who took his place.

Barabbas above all people knew it should have been him on that cross.

Barabbas of all people knew it should have been him that had to carry it up there.

Barabbas of all people should have known it should have been me that had the skin ripped

off my back.

It is believed that those who were crucified next to Jesus were part of the same insurrection

that Barabbas was a part of.

I wonder if Barabbas made his way to the tomb as they buried Jesus.

On Friday, Barabbas was the winner and Jesus was the loser.

On Friday, Barabbas lived and Jesus died.

On Friday, love hung on the cross and hate walked free.

History is measured not from Friday but from Sunday.

And on Sunday, Jesus became the focal point of human history and Barabbas just becomes

a footnote.

We know nothing else for certainty about Barabbas.

He walked away from the cross on Friday and walked into obscurity.

We would think that Barabbas would have been more aware of the fact that Jesus had taken

his place on the cross.

And when the stories of the resurrection began to surface, that if only out of curiosity,

if only out of curiosity, he would have checked the stories out.

And that as a result of the resurrection, that Barabbas' life would have been turned

around and he would have become a follower of Jesus but there's no evidence of that at

all.

And as rich as tradition is with stories of disciples and early followers of Jesus Christ,

there's no mention of Barabbas.

I think a day like today, it's important to think about Barabbas because he is us.

Jesus took our place on that cross.

He took the beating.

He took the humiliation.

He took the pain.

Barabbas should have been the one to have long nails driven through his wrists and feet.

His tendons in his arms should have been shredded when that occurred.

And he should have finished his life in an unbelievable amount of pain.

Barabbas should have been the one to struggle to catch every single breath as long as he

hung on the cross.

But it was Jesus.

We are here this evening because of Barabbas.

And the challenge this evening for all of us is how are we going to end it tonight?

Because after he is released, we don't know what happens to him.

There are many people who have experienced Jesus.

They've heard the truth of the gospel and yet their life continues on in obscurity.

If anyone should have been the greatest evangelist that ever lived, it should have been Barabbas.

He was set free because of what Jesus did for him on that Friday.

The same is true for all of us.

We are set free because of what Jesus did for us on that Friday.

We don't need to talk about the resurrection yet because that's still a couple days away.

We just need to sit in the reality that there was a substitution on our behalf because of

our sin.

We just need to be grateful today that the punishment we deserved was replaced with

freedom.

And we have to make a choice.

Understand and accept the freedom that we have been given in Jesus or continue to live

our life of rebellion.

The most ironic thing about Barabbas to me is that his name in Aramaic means son of Abba

or son of the father.

So the literal son of God took the place for us so that we could be considered sons of

God through faith.

So like William Wallace, maybe Barabbas' intentions were good and he was just trying

to bring freedom to his people.

Maybe they weren't.

The truth of the matter is that the only way that he was able to gain freedom is because

Jesus stepped in and took his place.

The same is true for us.

We walk around in bondage, don't we?

We carry around these chains of sin and we need to understand.

We need to let it see deep into us that that penalty has already been paid.

We are free.

We don't have to carry it around anymore.

We don't have to walk around with it anymore.

You are no longer under a death sentence.

The issue is that once the prison was opened, Barabbas had to walk through that door.

Jesus has paid the price for our freedom.

We need to take off the chains.

We need to walk through that door.

Do you think that when that prison cell was opened that Barabbas' pride just kept him

in there?

Do you think that as they were un-chaining the things that were tying him down, that

he talked them into putting them back on?

You got to believe when that cell was opened, when those chains were removed, that dude

was sprinting out of that place, hoping they don't change their mind.

Are you willing to do that tonight?

Now here in just a second, we're going to take communion together.

And as we take communion together, take the chains off and don't put them back on.

As we take communion together, understand the freedom that has been given to you because

of what happened on a Friday.

As you eat the bread, consider that it should have been your broken body, but Jesus stepped

in.

As you drink the juice, understand that it should have been your blood spilled all over

creation, but Jesus stepped in.

The human body can hold around one and a half gallons of blood.

Every single drop of Jesus' blood was spilled for you to the point where only water remained.

So let's remember that tonight as we take these elements together.

So as we take these, and how we're doing it tonight, they're available for you.

But before you take these things, it's important that you understand that you should not, we

are commanded in Scripture not to take this in an unworthy way.

You need to confess your sin.

You need to make amends with your brother.

You need to lay your chains at the altar.

And you need to proclaim victory over sin because Jesus stepped in and took your place.

And so our worship team is going to lead us in some songs as we do that.

And as they lead us, as you feel led, as you've prepared your heart, as you've laid these

things down before Him.

Then come, remember His broken body and spilled blood for you.

And not before Jesus is with His disciples.

Now I think about that often because if I knew that my last day was a certain time,

you ever played that game with yourself?

Like if I knew I was going to die in a week, here's the list of things I would do.

I take out a massive loan that I didn't have to pay back.

Whatever the list is, right?

Have you done that? I'm sure you've all done that.

What Jesus did was He washed His disciples' feet.

He had at one last meal with them together.

And Scripture says that on that night He broke bread with them and He says, this is going

to be my body broken for you.

Every time you eat it, do it in remembrance of me.

And then He took the cup and He says, this is a new covenant in my blood.

Every time you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.

For as often as you eat and drink, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

So that's what we're going to do tonight.

So here's my encouragement to you.

Love your heart.

Confess those things before Him.

He has set you free.

And I think so many of us in church that the prison gates are opened and we just, because

of our pride, we just want to sit there.

We just want to continue to sit in our misery when He's calling us to be set free.

So I don't know how you need to respond tonight.

But I think some things need to be laid down.

I think some amends might need to be made.

I think some things need to be confessed.

What a better day to do it than on Good Friday.

The day we remember His broken body and spilled blood so that you and I have freedom.

So I'm going to pray for us.

We're going to welcome our worship team back up and I'm going to sit right here.

And if I can pray with you or encourage you in any way, then let me do that.

I'm inviting any of our other elders as well that are in the room to just want to join

me here and minister to people as God calls them.

But however you feel that, there's no order and there's no rush.

As you feel that come and remember His broken body and spilled blood for you.

Let me pray for us.

Father God, I pray right now that as we remember your sacrifice of giving us your one and only

son.

Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts.

I pray Father that as you take off chains and as you open prison doors that we will

sprint to you.

We will sprint to the freedom that you have offered us.

So Father, I pray that you will help us feel the weight of the sin that you have forgiven

us for today and today.

Help us understand that it was because of us that you had to give up your son because

you were good and loving.

So Father, I pray that you minister to our hearts this evening.

I pray that you're homeless this evening.

And so Father, we give over this time to you.

We thank you for Jesus.

We thank you for the broken body.

We thank you that every ounce of His blood was spilled on our behalf.

And so Father, I pray that as we take these elements that you will remind us of how much

we are loved.

We ask all these things in your name.