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1998-04-16 - Crime and
Punishment
The Cross Series, Part 35
Luke 23:13-19 And Pilate summoned the chief priests and
the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, "You brought
this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having
examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the
charges which you make against Him. 15 "No, nor has Herod,
for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been
done by Him. 16 "I will therefore punish Him and release
Him." 17 [Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast
one prisoner.] 18 But they cried out all together, saying,
"Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!" 19 (He
was one who had been thrown into prison for a certain insurrection made in
the city, and for murder.)
In fear of a riot in the city, Pilate has played his final trump card and
been beaten. He had hoped to use his custom of releasing a convicted
criminal from prison before the Passover to free Jesus. Many zealots ended
up in prison, caught fighting the Roman occupation. Barabbas was possibly
such a man. Pilate begins his address by explaining that he, and Herod, find
Jesus guiltless of the crimes He is accused of by the Council. He finds no
guilt and yet, to appease the people, the Procurator promises to punish Jesus.
This is the first shadow of the cross. Jesus is guiltless and yet punished
Barabbas is actually guilty of the crime of which Jesus stands accused.
Mark 15:7 And the man named Barabbas had been imprisoned
with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection.
(NAS)
Barabbas would consider himself a freedom fighter. He and his compatriots
where trying to make Palestine such a problem to the Roman Army, they would
get frustrated and leave. To the natives, they were soldiers. To the Romans,
they were the enemy, criminals. Barabbas probably considered the man he had
killed a casualty of war. But to the ruling Roman law, he was a murder
worthy of death. Just as we were willfully separated from God, unrepentant
sinners - not seeking redemption in any way. We did not consider ourselves
guilty. We had to be shown that we were guilty. The Law condemned us, worthy
of eternal, spiritual death.
Isa 64:6-7 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither
like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7
And there is no one who calls on Thy name, who arouses himself to take hold
of Thee; for Thou hast hidden Thy face from us, and hast delivered us into
the power of our iniquities.
Jesus stands willingly in front of a crowd that calls for His death. His
creation rails against Him not realizing that Jesus has spent eternity preparing
for this moment. Jesus' would be protector, Pilate, is frustrated by the
reaction of the people. The crowd will not answer his plaintiff question.
He offers to punish and release Jesus in a final attempt to satisfy the mob.
They will be satisfied with nothing less than Jesus' execution.
Matt 27:21-24 But the governor answered and said to them,
"Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."
22 Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus
who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let Him be crucified!"
23 And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept
shouting all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"
24 And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing,
but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in
front of the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to
that yourselves."
The power of darkness must have furiously bent every effort against Jesus
in this hour. There is visible evidence in the illegal trial, the Council
stirring up the mob and the paid witnesses. Jesus could have ended it all
with a word and Pilate would have released Him. Or the Master could have
used a word as He did in the Garden of Gethsemane and simply walked away
from the terrible cup that was drawing closer.
Pilate does a very Jewish thing here. He calls for water and ceremonially
washes his hands of the matter. He had rebuked Jesus earlier making it clear
that he was not a Jew, but here he shows that he understands the mannerisms
and customs very well. But it would take more than water to cleanse Pilate's
guilt. It also takes more than the water of baptism to cleanse us Baptism
itself has no power to cleanse, but is an outward sign of repentance
and obedience. It is the repentance, the change of mind and submission of
will, that breaks the power of sin over us. It is the sacrificial death of
Jesus in our place that pays the debt we owe to God. It is the life of Jesus
given to us that give our spiritual man, the new man, eternal life.
We are about to turn the last corner toward the cross where Jesus takes the
punishment that was intended as justice for our crimes. Only accepting this
finished work on our behalf has the power to save us from the punishment
we so richly deserve. None of us is righteous and I will put myself at the
front of that list. No amount of ceremonial washing - good works, giving
of time and money to worthy causes, moral living - can bridge the gap
that stands between us and the level of perfection required. Jesus offers
us His righteous life in exchange for the ragged tatters of our own lives.
In accepting His gift, we can stand before the Father in Jesus' righteousness
and be acceptable in the sight of the Father's judgment.
Lord Jesus, we are about to look directly into the last portion of the
path you walked to pay for our release from slavery to sin. Give is willing
hearts as we review the events on the road You took to the cross. Give us
Your insights and blessings as we go forward. Amen.
Grace & Peace,
Mike
jmhoskins@gmail.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org
http://www.peacewithgod.net
All verses are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.
CFD | April 1998
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