Give Us Barabbas

• Matthew 27:15-26 GIVE US BARABBAS the story of the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 
• The governor gives the crowd the opportunity to let Jesus go, and take Barabbas, but they choose to have Jesus crucified instead of barrabas. His own wife tells him to have nothing to do with Jesus. The influence of crowd dynamics can be seen here as the crowd is influenced by the Priests and elders. Everyone Cries out “crucify him” and they let the notorious criminal go. 
• Lets see what we can get out of this 

1. Your reputation matters. 

• ¹⁶ And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
• The words that the writers of the Bible use matter. The context matters. Matthew, writing this record make sure that the reader knows- This wasn’t a run-of-the-mill prisoner. He was known. 
• For what? Not sure. But people knew him. Which speaks to the heart that wants this notorious criminal released instead of Jesus. They chose a notorious criminal over Jesus
• Years ago I preached a sermon about Barabbas. What happened to him, how did he live, what did he go on to do with his forgiveness. You should listen to it. Wanted to preach it again. 
• New stuff- Barabbas had a reputation among the people for being a notorious criminal, I hope that after this interaction he was know for being the most loving, caring, forgiving, serving person they had ever met. I sure hope that his forgiveness changed him. 
• In the same way I hope that your release from your sins changed you.
  His reputation mattered so much to be mentioned, I hope his new one is better. 
• I hope YOU care about your reputation. As a Christian, you should. Barrabas was known as a notorious criminal. Hopefully notorious after for being good. Same for you. 
• Pro 22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold. 
• Do a few random internet searches and you’ll find many articles to encourage you to not care what people think about you. How to ‘be yourself’ and ‘embrace you’
• It’s been a common theme I’ve seen in the past 40 years of my life. 
• America has shifted from a tradition based conforming society to an individualized one. 
• Used to want to fit in, now people want to stand out, social structures don’t matter. Encourages people to embrace odd lifestyles, but now its trying to get everyone to conform to them. 
• There’s too many people in Christendom, or America, that seem to care very little about what People think about them. In some respects I think its good (evangelism) but other ways its bad, in how we deal with people and live out who we are in Christ. 
• Jesus said- John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
• You can not be increasing Jesus while simultaneously increasing yourself. Not caring at all about how you represent Christ in this world because of need of self is not decreasing.  
• Acts 24:16 This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. (Paul)
• We’re all notorious for something. Some of it is true, some false. Some is just the world coming at you and your haters hating you. Some warranted some not. 
• When you believe what the Bible believes and preach what the Bible preaches, you are not going to have a great reputation in the worlds eyes. That’s a given
• But how you live your life as a person of God on this earth matters. How you interact, speak, look, and live. It matters. 
• Can’t beat spouse, kids, lie, cheat, steal, do bad business deals, etc and be ok with it
• Guy used to know- married many years, divorced, remarried un biblical, horrible liar, unreliable, mutual friend- unable to reach him because of the witness of this guy- Not his bc of doctrine. 
• How many failed preachers can you think of? You’re just as culpable in your circles. 
• 1 Peter 2:12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
• Your conduct should be notoriously loving, gracious, serving, kind, with integrity. 
• You can still speak the truth in love and people may not like you- but your reputation matters. 
• What do your neighbors say about you? Business associates? Co-workers? Wait staff? Family members? Many a Christian who claim to know Jesus and that’s about it. 
• This is why Paul encouraged Timothy to find pastors that had a good reputation among unbelievers. What good is a pastor who has enemies in the community because of his personal conduct? 
• 1 Timothy 3:7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
• What I do out there matters and I never forget it every where I go!> 
• Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment
• You want to know the secret? Proverbs 3:3-4 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, 4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
• You can’t have one without the other. You can’t have so much mercy you share no truth, and not so much truth you have no mercy. 
• You can be 100% right and be a jerkface and 100% loving and not have an ounce of truth

2. What you stand for matters. 

• Here’s another issue in this record. The people in the crowd were influenced by the powers that be to turn on Jesus. To release barrabas instead of Jesus. No foundation on which to stand. 
• How they did that? Not sure. Probably social media posts, pulling people aside to introduce doubt in their minds, giving them youtube videos to watch with divergent views. Who knows
• ²⁰ But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 
• Here’s a truth- if you don’t know what you stand for- anyone can influence you. 
• It’s clear. The people were influenced. They let other people influence them in their thinking
• I’ve had seasons in my life where I was like this- Any new book, program, video, I’d be sucked into it because I wasn’t solid in what I believed. Why I got rid of study bible. 
• These dudes weren’t sure about who Jesus was- so they turned on him. 
• So- You need to know what you believe and why you believe it, but you need to be malleable enough that if you’ve got something wrong you can adjust your thinking. 
• This nuance between caring what people think while not caring what people think while not allowing yourself to be influenced while allowing yourself to be influenced is not easy. 
• Its nuanced. Its subtle. I don’t want you to be easily influenced in the bedrock solid truths about our faith but I also don’t want your mind to be such a steel trap that you can’t grow and learn. 
• There’s some scriptures that make it clear that we shouldn’t easily accept everything. 
• 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 
• 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
• Its clear that we all wont always agree on everything always. But since I’ve been a Christian, I’ve changed a lot of what I believe about life because I’ve grown. 
• Abortion, Homosexuality, Nationalism, Plan of salvation, The value of Church etc. 
• And I still might change some stuff as I learn and grow. We have to grow!
• But we can’t change the basic doctrines of death, burial, resurrection etc. 
• Romans 14:5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
• Its clear that some in the bible were more easily persuaded than others. 
• Acts 17:11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
• So what do we do?
• You must be keenly aware of those who are trying to influence you and ask yourself for what intention are they attempting to influence you and to what? What are they selling you? Are they selling you the truth, or just their way of thinking to justify their side?
• My intentions here are very simple- I want to lead you to fully submitted biblical life with Jesus in the local church for a lifetime to get you to heaven
• That’s it. That’s what I’m persuading you to do. I want to beat the Hell out of you and shove you into Heaven. I am not a theological mastermind, I am not world wide known preacher, I am not an author, musician, influencer, or denominational leader. 
• I am retiring in 20 years, leaving my pastoral position and handing the torch to someone else. 
• Personally- I want to go to Heaven and look at Jesus and say “I brought some with me” That’s it. 
• Be firm to not be persuaded from sound doctrine and the things of God
• 2 Ti 1:12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
• Be open to not be a lunk head. 
• James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
• There’s a huge balance between being fully persuaded and unable to realize you may have been wrong. Can only be discerned spiritually. 
• Man appolos was “Mighty in the scriptures” was convinced by a wife and husband
• Acts 18:26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

3. Do you know what you Got

• ²³ Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”
• We, as Christians have been given so much by the Lord that we sure not forget it. At all. 
• This story of Jesus and Barrabas was foretold by Jesus in Matthew 21. Story of wicked vinedressers- Not owners of the vineyard and not doing what the owner said. 
• Matthew 21: 37 -39
• This is what the Jews did to Jesus- They took him out back and killed the son of the owner who had entrusted them with his vineyard and they didn’t get the inheritance. 
• They rejected Jesus- they turned him over to be crucified for nothing. 
• Now- there’s some theology out there that says that we put Jesus on the cross- and that’s true to a certain point, but you and I weren’t powerful enough to do that. 
• Jesus willing went to the cross for us- we didn’t send him there- and that distinction is important. If we don’t understand this we don’t understand the free gift of his grace. 
• Matthew 26:53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”  John 10:18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
• At any moment Jesus could have came down off the cross and figured out another plan, but he didn’t he willfully gave his life for us to be absolved of our sin to be in relationship with God. 
• Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• The story of the Cross is the penal substitutionary atonement, he did pay for our sins to satisfy the wrath of God on our behalf, but it was because of his LOVE for us that he did this. LOVE
• John 3:16 For God so loved the world John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 1 John 4:9-10 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
• We must constantly remind ourselves, like Barabbas, that Jesus did something magnificent for us by going to the cross and he did it willfully. The details of his condemnation cannot overshadow his willingness of what he did for us so we could be free. 
• 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
• That was the point. To bring us to God. To bring us into relationship with him so that we could experience everlasting life on this side of Heaven, and the life to come. DON’T FORGET
• This was the prophecy that was fulfilled- That we would be back in relationship with God because of HIS sacrifice on the cross. It HAD to happen. 
• Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way;And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
• So what’s the response?
• Care about how we live. Live as someone who has been saved from our sin-Don’t forget
• Care about what we believe. What we speak and say about the God that saved us
• I’m so tired of arguing the minute scriptures of contention with people for no other reason than they want to split hairs and break fellowship. Keep the big things the big things-Live like SAVED

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