 With that said John chapter 18 verses 39 and 40 I read those two verses and give you a bit of a reminder and Then move into our study in some further detail in some depth But again, I'm wanting to share with you things related to the the event Before us where the Lord Jesus Christ is going through a trial before Pontius Pilate so in verse 39 of John chapter 18 and Verse 40 John writes, but you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover Do you therefore want me to release to you the king of the Jews? Then they all cried again saying not this man, but Barabbas Now Barabbas was a robber Now let me develop this with you as we're about to go through several verses together in different passages Remember with me that Jesus has been brought before the Roman governor. His name was Pontius Pilate and As Jesus was brought before the the governor the the Jewish religious authorities had leveled charges against Jesus and and they very quickly Presented their case against him now. They wanted to do this quickly because they wanted to be the first to present their case They knew that this would help them to set up Jesus in order that he might be convicted There's an interesting proverb if you take notes. It's Proverbs 18 verse 17 You might want to mark this because we see this to be true where it says the first one to plead his cause seems right Until his neighbor comes and examines him That's one of the reasons why people try to hurry to give you their side of the story They want to present to you their side immediately why because it's going to cause bias Because if they can reach you first and convince you that they're sincere and speaking the truth They may be able to cause you to to judge harshly against somebody else who may very well be innocent So the first one to plead his case always seems to be right And that's what's taking place right now. They are pleading their case They're wanting to make sure that that pilot is aware of their need and their cause And and what they're doing is to bring in charge against Christ because they want him to be put to death now They brought what would be called a political charge Because a political charge is a charge that a government official would considered Because we know that pilot said, you know, this is a question. That's really religious in nature. We saw that earlier This is really Something that's religious in nature. You have a law this man made himself out to be the son of God and all of that but that's religious in nature and as a secular authority as a Person who represents the government of Rome. Why would you bring that to me? You you judge him according to your own law is what he was saying And so they wanted to get around that because they wanted They wanted him to be put to death and and Luke told us in chapter 23 verse 2 that they created a charge It was a it was a political charge something that that would Would enable pilot to be Forced into making judgment about it says they they began to accuse Jesus Accusing him saying we found this fellow perverting the nation Forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar saying that he himself is Christ a king And so what that was was a political charge. They said he was perverting Perverting the nation that the word perverting when they use it in that context means to to turn aside from the right path It speaks of corrupting So they're corrupting the nation and in what way while they're forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar saying that he himself Is Christ the king and that was the charge it was a charge that we don't use that term Today very often, but it's it's a the word is sedition It's a charge of sedition sedition speaks of inciting rebellion against the government and that's what they were saying Jesus was guilty of that He was inciting Sedition he was he was perverting the nation. He was causing rebellion against the government now Why would they say that? Now again in Luke 23 to Forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar is part of their charge Well, remember earlier in his ministry There were a group of Pharisees and and people called Herodians and they were trying to entrap Jesus They asked him a question concerning paying taxes to the Roman government. It's found in Mark chapter 12 Verses 15 through 17 so they're asking a question. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? That was their question So mark tells us in chapter 12 verse 15 through 17. He knowing their hypocrisy Said to them, why do you test me? Bring me a denarius bring me some money that I may see it So they brought it and he said to them whose image and inscription is this They said to him Caesar's and Jesus answered and said to them render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God The things that are gods they marveled at him Give to the government what you owe the government But never give to the government what you owe to God and That's what he's pointing out here. You give to Caesar that which is Caesar's Caesar demands taxes You give Caesar his taxes, but you never give to the government What only belongs to God and So that had caused them to have this charge lodged against him And that's why they said we found this person or this fellow perverting the nation Forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar saying that he himself is Christ the king that was the heart of that charge Now as we already have seen earlier that morning Jesus had been interrogated by the Jewish religious authorities Charges were brought against him But as these charges had been lodged against him Jesus did not answer those charges and that provoked them They got them upset and so what they did is they actually pushed Jesus to do something unlawful They they pushed him to to what we call self-incrimination It's not lawful to to be questioned in such a way that I incriminate myself There have to be witnesses and other things involved But what they did is they pressed him to what is called self-incrimination You see that in mark 1461 and 62 as they're pushing him to speak he kept silent He answered nothing. So again the high priest asked him saying to him. Are you the Christ the son of the blessed? And Jesus said I am and you will see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven And that is called self-incrimination and that's what they did. They pushed him into making that statement Now pilots been listening to this this is taking place And he's unconvinced of any guilt at all in the part of the Lord Jesus Christ Because he knew that the Jewish authorities hated Jesus So as Jesus stood before him Pilate made it clear. I find no fault in him And he addresses the crowd he makes it clear Jesus isn't guilty Notice verse 38 here in John chapter 18 in verse 38 Pilate said to him What is truth and when he had said this he went out again to the Jews and said to them I find no fault in him at all I would have heard of these things. I Would have heard that this man is perverting the nation as you say I would have heard That he was claiming to be a king. I would have heard that But I haven't heard that and as I'm listening to him and as I'm speaking to him And we went through the things that were taking place that night as recorded by John as I listened to the things that are being said and The questions I'm asking him and the way that he's responding to to those questions. I find no fault in him There is absolutely no secular charge whatsoever that I can find him guilty of I Had heard if he was trying to pervert the nation I Would have heard these things, but I hadn't heard them and therefore I find no fault you have no case and That's where John stops, but let's pick up in Matthew. I mentioned I'm going to turn you to Matthew Let's turn to Matthew 27. I want to give you a filler I want to give you more information as to what is taking place here and we'll look at Matthew 27 versus 11 through 18 Because Matthew supplies more details concerning what is taking place here So in Matthew chapter 27 Matthew being the first book of the New Testament in Matthew chapter 27 Verse 11 Matthew says Jesus stood before the governor The governor asked him saying are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus said to him it is as you say While he was being accused by the chief priests and elders. He answered nothing Pilate said to him, do you not hear how many things they testify against you? But he answered him not one word So that the governor marveled greatly now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished and at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas Therefore when they had gathered together Pilate said to them, whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas or Jesus who was called Christ now notice verse 18 for he knew that they had handed him over because of envy and So these are more details that you can supply to what John is writing to us in his chapter Now notice how it says in verse 12. He was being accused by the chief priests. Notice it says he answered nothing Pilate found nothing of which to accuse him But his accusers wouldn't let him go. So what more could Jesus say? Pilate knew he was guiltless. What else can be said? It says in the midst of all of this that's going on he answered nothing And that's why in verses 13 and 14 Pilate said do you not hear how many things they testify against you? Can't you hear what they're saying? Can't you hear what they're how they're accusing you? Why aren't you not responding to this? And but Jesus would not speak a word He didn't answer him and that's why in verse 14 when it says he answered not one word that the governor Marvelled greatly. Why would he marvel greatly? Because Jesus wouldn't defend himself This is something that the pilot had never seen before It's just normal for somebody who especially when they stand before somebody who can can who could order the death penalty It's just normal for for that person to plead his own cause to to claim his own innocence To to vehemently do that to to cry out with great passion. I'm innocent This is wrong and yet he's not seeing anything like that at all from Jesus it and Proverbs 20 verse 6 It says most men will proclaim each his own goodness, and that's true In every person that goes to jail Whether they're guilty or not is always going to tell you that they're not guilty Most of them will or many will they all proclaim their own goodness and Jesus wasn't answering Jesus was not saying I am not guilty. He wasn't saying it at that point. He wasn't pointing that out and That causes the the the governor to marvel Because the drive to preserve your life is the highest drive a human being possesses That the drive to breathe the two to live is that's the highest drive that you have Some of you have been in the position where you've begun to choke on something and and and you know how you if you have I'm sure that at least one or two of you have how There's this incredible Desire to breathe when you're choking. I was eating it's been a few years ago now, but We were had we had a barbecue at at our house and I took a bite and swallowed and and it didn't it got lodged in my throat the meat got lodged in my throat and I was just sitting there and So it's you know, how you begin to try and swallow and nothing's happening so I'm just sitting there and my then son-in-law is sitting to my left right here and I look in his direction. He's busy watching the TV So I got some water and I started to drink it to try to and I spit all the water back up because the meat was lodged in my throat and my wonderful son-in-law was more interested in Program and So I got up and I walked past him into the kitchen area My son David is there and David sees me and he says, are you okay dad? I Can't talk So I look at him and I go and I shake my head. No Now I haven't breathed in 15 20 seconds It's starting to build up time and I when you eat, you know, you're not taking in a lot of Breath and so I've got very little oxygen So I look at him and I shake my head. No Now he doesn't know what to do so he runs up and tries to do the Heimlich thing and He starts lifting me up and throwing me all over the kitchen And I'm just kind of like a ragdoll cuz My son-in-law my ex-son-in-law was a is a police officer trained in all of that And so finally he looks he thinks. Oh, I ought to do something and He comes and grabs me by now It's about 45 seconds to closing in on a minute that I haven't breathed and my face is starting to get a little red and he presses and Thank God the meat comes out and I picked it up and sliced it and finished it off. No so I Can tell you that the desire to breathe is a very intense desire The desire to stay alive is a very deep. It's a number one drive. We have It's to stay alive We all know that and each man will plead his cause each person will beg for their life they just do and This is why Pontius Pilate is marveling because in all of his years of Being a judge a governor and all that he's done He's not seen something like this where a man is going to be put to death in a very painful way And yet he's not answering He's not saying anything and these are very very serious charges. Jesus is not responding And that's why in verse 14 here in Matthew 27, that's why the governor marveled. It says greatly the word Marvelled isn't like he was amazed the word marveled means to to hold someone in admiration He saw him in that way You see Jesus's response Was actually a fulfillment of what God's word a prophetic word in the Old Testament book of Isaiah Jesus's response was actually a fulfillment of that prophecy concerning Messiah Again, if you take notes Isaiah 53 verse 7 He was oppressed He was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth He was led as a lamb to the slaughter And as a sheep before its shearers is silent So he opened not his mouth And Jesus is there by not answering fulfilling the prophetic word of Isaiah concerning Messiah Well a person who said nothing in his own defense is unheard of But Jesus was innocent It was obvious that he didn't require a defense on his part. Now now pilot on the other hand Give you a little more insight into this roman governor Pontius pilot Probably didn't need any problems. He was already in a bad position At the time of the writing he had governed the area for five years And he had misjudged the jews before He he on one occasion he deliberately offended them by having his soldiers carry roman banners with an image of Caesar Now we need to know that the jews considered these images blasphemous And they asked for the removal, but he refused to remove them And what he did is he herded a delegation of jews into an amphitheater and threatened to behead them But they bared their necks. They threw themselves on the ground. They defied him He removed the banners That's the kind of passion they had that's the kind of faith that they had When the governor said do something that violates your faith Or i'm going to take your head off They said take our heads off. We're not going to blaspheme our god Interesting how the church doesn't seem to understand that today Secondly he took money forcefully from the temple treasury in order to build a water channel And when he did that The jews openly rioted and so pilot slaughtered many protesters and then third He had special shields that were made for the guard of the antonia fortress And these the shields had images of tiberius caesar engraved on them And this time jewish leaders protested directly to caesar Caesar ordered him to remove the shields immediately. He's already caused enough problems He doesn't need another one He's looking for a way out And so as he's speaking to him he discovered something about him He actually finds out that he had come from galilee now There's another ruler by the name of herod And herod had for some time wanted to see Jesus if you're taking notes luke chapter nine versus seven through nine says herod the tetrarch Heard about all that was going on And he was perplexed because some were saying that john the baptist john had been raised from the dead Others that elijah had appeared and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life Herod said i beheaded john Who then is this i hear such things about and he tried to see jesus So this is something that had taken place earlier in the ministry of christ where herod wanted to see this man so um When he was saying these things and and those rumors were going about People were wondering exactly who jesus was he wanted to know who he was Because there were people who were making or spreading rumors again I mentioned it a moment ago, but some were saying john had been raised from the dead others elijah had appeared Others that one of the prophets of long ago had appeared and so this is something jesus actually had to take care of This is something that he had to speak about with his disciples. Why because his disciples had heard the rumors even as herod had When you go to israel and god willing I hope someday if we're able to go back again soon enough I hope that those of you who have never gone to israel will have a chance to go because we go to an area called cesarea filipi cesarea filipi is in the northern area. It's in the galilee and and we've been there many many many times and It's it's a place where jesus would often resort. He would often take time to vacation. It was a resort area It was a very famous area during his time They had various ruins of various pagan shrines and all and they had uh, they had Just a lot of paganism going on in that area And so jesus had taken his men up there and they were all having conversation And that's when jesus said who do men say that i the son of man am that's when he asked that that very important question And they answered you know, some say jeremiah some say elijah says some say john some say elijah some say jeremiah Or one of the prophets and that's where jesus said but but who do you say that i am? And that's when the apostle peter says that weren't the christ the son of the living god And so that it is in that area that jesus provoked through a question a response from his men So that a confession of faith concerning who he is would take place But these men had heard the same thing herod had heard Herod had heard the same thing john elijah one of the prophets And so this was common at that time herod had heard of who jesus is was wondering who he is Who is this man that's doing all of these works? Who is this man with such compassion? Who is this i want to see him so he's been desiring to see him for some time And so what happens well pilot hears That that jesus is from the galilee from the north So he thinks man i got my way out of this mess You see herod had responsibility for what took place in the north So ponches pilot actually sent jesus to see herod You see herod was in jerusalem And so pilot sent jesus to stand before herod hoping to to get out from underneath this problem if you take notes That's found in luke 23 So while before herod jesus refused to answer any questions that herod posed The chief priests and the scribes were accusing jesus before him and in luke 2311 It says herod with his men of war treated him with contempt and mocked him They they arrayed him in a gorgeous robe sent him back to pilot And it says that when he went back to pilot that pilot and herod became friends that day Well when jesus returns to ponches pilot pilot continues trying to get jesus released he makes it clear After closely questioning christ he finds no fault in him His solution is simple I'm going to chastise him And i'll release him So in verse 15 it says Of matthew 27 at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished and At that time they had a notorious prisoner called barabbas Therefore When they had gathered together pilot said to them whom do you want me to release to you barabbas or jesus who's called christ For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy Well, there was some kind of custom at that time, but there's no information as to how it began But we know pilot was more than willing to let jesus go And and it would seem that he thought that they might want jesus to be released But verse 16 here tells us they had a notorious prisoner His name is barabbas if you take notes barabbas means son of the father. That's how that's translated Barabbas And he was a violent revolutionary When you look at barabbas and you see barabbas being Next to christ, you know the two has choices. It's obvious that the world chooses the notorious He he is a he is a Uh a rebel he is he is a violent oppressor and that's much more appealing to the flesh It says in marx gospel chapter 15 verses 6 through 8 It was the customer at the face of release of prisoner whom the people requested A man called barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who committed murder in the uprising And the crowd came up and asked pilot to do for them what he usually did They wanted Barabbas whom do you want me to release to you is the question barabbas? or jesus He knows and notice verse 18 here. He knows that jesus was delivered to him because of envy Envy is a horrible sin. It's a spiteful jealousy Jealousy has been defined as as Wishing you had something that somebody else has Envy is wishing you had something somebody else has and they didn't And so that's even worse and so He knew that jesus had been delivered because of envy It's been said in proverbs 27 verse 4 wrath is cruel and anger a torrent who's able to stand before jealousy So it seems that what he's doing here is he's saying listen i'm offering you a choice jesus Who has he was already been been beaten and everything and Perhaps that will cause them to have some pity or barabbas barabbas is a violent robber He's an insurrectionist surely you're going to want the harmless one the gentle one Surely you're going to want that one over this violent guy who who's been involved in so much So much insurrection and and even even death Surely you're going to want the one who is the one of peace the prince of peace But no they began to cry out and they began to say give us Give us barabbas In john chapter 18 we can turn back there in john chapter 18 Bible simply says in verse 40 not this man, but barabbas Now barabbas was a robber So they refused jesus and they they cried out They cried out for a robber and that prompted That that was prompted by the priests and the elders It says in luke 23 22 through 25 he said to them the third time what evil has he done I found no reason for death in him. I'll therefore chastise him. Let him go But they were insistent demanding with loud voices that he be crucified And the voices of the of the men and of the chief priests prevailed Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested He released to them the one they requested Who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison, but he delivered jesus to their will Pilate knew jesus was innocent of the charge But he gave in to their demands He knew that jesus was innocent But he gave in to their demands and again That fulfilled isael Isaiah 53 verse 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment who shall declare his generation For he was cut out cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people He was stricken now The spirit of the lord prompted the memory of the apostle peter And peter actually mentions this he was in jerusalem and Peter and john were ministering They ministered to a crippled man and he was healed This is after the death barrel resurrection of jesus and after pentecost it's recorded In the third chapter of the book of acts And when the apostle peter and john were about to enter into the temple area during the hour of prayer Through a gate that is called the beautiful gate And they encountered a crippled man who was there late at the gate they're waiting for people to pass by because Religious people are generally more generous than the non-religious and he had a A prime spot by a beautiful place called the beautiful gate We all know the story. I I share it with you fairly frequently how that as Peter and john were about to walk in Peter sees this man who was laying there knowing that he'd been there for a long time And he looks down at him and he says to him look upon us And it's interesting how luke was prompted by the spirit to write And the man looking up expecting to receive something I find that interesting expecting to receive something what he was expecting to receive Was money because that's why he was there. He was asking for alms or charitable gifts And so he's expecting for them to hand him some some money and all of that So he has this expectation to receive something and that's when peter said to him silver and gold have I none But such as I have give I thee in the name of jesus christ I say unto you rise to your feet and walk and and and I i'm always just taken by By the description that you have of what took place at that time how that the apostle peter reaches down and you can see This guy as he's there. He's unable to walk hasn't done so And who knows how long and he reaches down and he takes him by the hand And he begins to lift him up and as he lifts him the spirit of god is working a miracle of healing in him And he receives strength in his ankle strength in his calves his knees He has strength in his in his thighs as he gets an instantaneous sense of balance That's something that sometimes we forget about by the way in healings like that because A sense of balance is something that takes time. I mean we have grandchildren who are right now Very small and one of our grandchildren is about a year and a half and and she she's been carried around and enjoying Life being carried around for a long time. She didn't feel like didn't feel like walking for a long time So she's over a year old and she's finally made up her mind I think it's probably time for me to take a few steps of my my own And so we we watch her my olivia and she's a year and a half now But when she was beginning to walk and we watch her and it reminded me of watching my kids Because What they do is they'll usually crawl to something then they'll crawl up something Then they'll hold on to something and then they'll Sometimes just release one hand and hold on to the one thing to retain their balance And then if you distract them, you know, they'll reach for whatever it is Usually it's my wallet and because they'll be doing that the rest of their life At least that was true with my kids my credit card So when you hold it out They reach for it And if you pull it a little bit slowly all of you parents know this They'll lean towards it and then they move their little feet and then that's how they begin to take their steps There's usually something like that But are they out there dribbling a basketball and jumping? No, why? Because they don't have balance Balance is something that's acquired over time and experience Balance is something you develop That says keep that in mind when you read about Jesus healing these lame individuals And in in in book of acts in chapter three it says walking Leaping and praising God Walking and leaping that is a miracle you have to take into consideration For him to even have balance let alone walking and jumping and landing and walking and leaping and all of that That's what took place and that's why it was such a fantastic thing and when that happens I mean by itself it's fantastic, but they're seeing this man They're all recognizing him that he had been there for a long time He'd never walked at all everybody was familiar with him. That was his spot. That's where he that's where he was always seated It's kind of like you guys in church. I always know where you're at. You always sit in the same places You have your little name written there. This is my spot Walking and leaping and praising God and then he grabs hold of the apostles and's holding on to them And people are marveling and in acts chapter three versus 13 through 15 It says that Peter began to preach and as he preached he said The god of Abraham Isaac and Jacob The god of our fathers Glorified his servant Jesus whom you delivered up And denied in the presence of pilot When he was determined To let him go You denied the holy one and the just And asked for a murderer to be granted to you and killed the prince of life Whom god raised from the dead of which we are witnesses I'm always blessed to see the boldness of the apostle peter. He didn't give him an excuse or make an excuse for him he said Pilate determined to let him go but you determined that you would kill him And that's what's taking place here You see instead of the prince of peace they wanted a worldly leader Remember in john chapter one verse 11 how how john said he came to his own and his own did not receive him His own rejected him his nation and his people rejected him And with that i'm gonna Read isaia 53 and share a few things with you in verses one through three Isaia 53 one through three and i'll close with these verses For isaia is writing and he says this Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant And as a root out of dry ground He has no form or comeliness And when we see him there's no beauty that we should desire him He is despised rejected by men a man of sorrows acquainted with grief And we hid as it were our faces from him He was despised And we did not esteem him Who has believed our report is what he says We have given you a message But it's a message mankind refuse to receive Isaia 53 is speaking concerning the declaration of messiah to come fulfilled in jesus christ But the question is asked who has believed our reportant to this day two thousand years later the same statement can be made Who has believed our report For the church has been reporting as declaring that messiah has come That the church has been declaring this for two thousand years And the report that he's speaking about is a message that god would send messiah so that people might be saved And and he speaks in this way who's believed our report this message of messiah And then he said to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed the arm of the lord Is another way of speaking of god's power to save In psalm 44 verse 3 they did not gain possession of the land by their own own sort Nor did their own arms save them But it was your right hand your arm and the light of your countenance because you favored them So who has believed this message of salvation a message that speaks of how god would send messiah To save people that god has the power and ability to do that That god has made a way for people to be saved Who has believed this because god has made that way for people to be saved But the majority of those who hear that message rejected This one that he sent to rescue Is rejected and that's what that's what israel was saying the messenger the one who was sent to deliver the nation was rejected By the people he came to save so who is believing our report who is being saved who is listening to the gospel Who's listening to our word of salvation? God has a message of salvation But not everybody receives it He said in verse 2 he shall grow up before him as a tender plant as a root out of a dry ground He has no form or comeliness when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him messiah he's saying is going to have insignificant very humble beginnings It's a picture of a dry barren landscape with a small vine that is growing in the middle of nowhere So he's got a very insignificant humble beginnings pointing to jesus christ He said in verse 2 again advise a 53. He has no form or comeliness when we see him There's no beauty that we should desire him He's not going to be a commanding figure There were studies done. I don't know that there'll be I don't know that that applies To the upcoming election that we have here in the united states soon But there have been studies done over the years and i've i've i've read the results of some of those studies Over the years and normally in a political contest very often in political contest I find this interesting and it's And it seems to be it seems to be true else. I wouldn't be repeating it to you. Um Very often the better looking one wins The taller one the better looking one very often The better looking person wins Because people are attracted To to the height to the build To the outward beauty. I mean that's isn't that what What happened when when saul in the old testament Was given the position of king over israel And it speaks concerning him how he was head and shoulders above all the rest He was very tall that he was very handsome. He had a pedigree from Coming from the tribe of benjamin. He had he had an ancestral pedigree He had unearned qualifications. He didn't do anything to to make himself tall He didn't do anything to make himself handsome He didn't do anything to get himself born into a very prestigious tribe He didn't have those are all unearned qualities. Those are all things that that he was given Those are all gifts. Those are things that he had nothing to do with and and yet when the people saw him They said surely this one here. He he he's the king. He's handsome. He's tall. He's strong And and that's how that's how we are even to this day If somebody if somebody's appealing in the flesh if somebody has is good looking if somebody is Is eloquent articulate if somebody's humorous if somebody seems to to to have Some some qualities that we admire We're drawn to that. That's the way it works But jesus didn't he has no former comeliness When we see him there's no beauty that we should desire him Now That doesn't necessarily simply speak of him being plain looking But most certainly when he was beaten most certainly when the saliva was running down his cheek and his His beard had been plucked out And his head was swollen with the crown of thorns Undoubtedly there was no beauty in him as they were looking at him No form no comeliness no beauty. There's nothing there appealing about him There was no splendor in him at that moment no majesty It was nothing visually that would draw us to him I mean even as he's standing there with Pontius pilot remember how pilot and mark 152 asked him Are you the king of the Jews? He's looking at a man who's insignificant First three tells us in isaiah 53. He's despised. He's rejected by men. He's a man of sorrows. He's acquainted with grief He's despised the word despised means worthless Rejected he's unwanted He was not worth defending And he wasn't worth caring for As a matter of fact He was worthless He was unwanted And john won 10 and 11 it says he was in the world and the world was made through him The world didn't know him He came to his own His own didn't receive him They rejected him. They didn't want him. They looked at him. There's nothing in him that makes me desire him There's nothing about him that makes me want to follow him He was a man of sorrows He was acquainted With grief When isaiah says he was acquainted with grief that word acquainted is a hebra word that speaks of knowing it by experience It wasn't that he read books on grief and grief counseling and how to deal with those who sorrow When it says he's acquainted with grief It means he experienced it Jesus christ when you look at jesus and you see him When some some messengers come and say The one whom you love lazarus is is very ill about to die and you see how jesus goes to the town of lazarus martha and his sister mary and how He goes there and he stands and speaks to both martha and then mary and goes to the tomb where Where his friend had been buried in The easiest scripture in the new testament to memorize. It's only two words where jesus stood there and And jon just writes poignantly Jesus wept acquainted with grief Because earlier in the story It simply says now jesus loved That family he loved him He loved him And there he is standing outside of a tomb knowing what he's about to do and And still you see god in the flesh crying Over lost humanity Now you see him when he goes to jerusalem and In his triumphal day of his entrance Now luke tells us He stopped And he looked at the city And he wept over it If you would have known even you If you had known this day But you didn't Not a stone is going to remain in you. That's Not thrown down Think about that for a minute He wept over a friend And he wept over a city He was acquainted with grief Jesus knew what hunger was Jesus knew what thirst was Jesus knew what betrayal was Jesus knew what abandonment was He knew all of those things Do you know there were times when I was a young believer And I was trying to grab hold of that Trying to learn that about my savior And very early in my spiritual walk And very early In the days of my coming to christ I began to pray something that I still do And I said to him You know you understand You know you understand You know you understand There were times I don't know about you whether you've ever been In that place where The words are just not sufficient You don't know exactly how to Put into words what you're experiencing And so I learned a long time ago To simply say you know You know You know Sometimes I've done it with great passion Sometimes I've said that with great tears Because he's acquainted with grief You know what a broken heart is You know what it's like to have your closest friends Abandon you You know what it's like to be misunderstood You know what it's like To be hated without a cause You know what it's like He's acquainted with grief Please don't forget that Don't forget that Sometimes we think we're all alone We're not You know the psalmist speaks about God Having our tears in his bottle He remembers He knows He understands you He knows your loneliness He knows your sorrow He's aware of your fear He's aware of all of those things And he loves you Think about that for a minute He knew what you would do with his message And he gave it to you anyway He knew what you would do With his love And he loved you anyway He knew And he still gave his life for you He's acquainted with grief He's acquainted with your sorrow He's acquainted with your fear And he knows it by experience As there he is in that In that garden Father, father, if there be any other way Remove this from me Nevertheless, not my will But yours be done There is no other way There is no other way I have a baptism to be baptized with And how straightened I am until it be accomplished How desirous I am to fulfill that To take upon myself That cross to tie in obedience So that I might be able To ransom people That I might be able to rescue them So that they might have hope So that they might have life So that they may not perish And spend eternity In judgment How desirous I am to save them And yes, he's acquainted with grief And yes, he's there being rejected And even though he's saying I find no fault in this man They're saying not this man But Barabbas And John says that he was a robber He was a thief He was violent He killed people But the world would prefer a Barabbas A phony son of the father Over the true son of the father The Bible says The response to him As we hid our faces From him He was despised Rejected And not valued The Psalmist in Psalm 69 Verses 19 and 20 says You know my reproach My shame My dishonor My adversaries are all before you Reproach has broken my heart I'm full of heaviness I looked for someone to take pity But there was none For comforters But I found none Matthew 26-67 He spat in his face and they beat him Others struck him With the palms of their hands People wear crosses today As articles of jewelry But they are instruments of death And torture It wasn't easy for Jesus It's not going to be easy for us But it's worth it Whatever you go through In the end You'll say it was worth it Because if you've ever said To the Lord, God make me like you I want to be like you Ever With sincerity He was a wounded healer He suffered and so will you But I've discovered Something in the Times of pain that I have Over the years Gone through I've never been alone I've never been abandoned And I've never Regretted the lessons I've learned Because I don't Stay in that crucible Of affliction I come out And when I come out I'm purified And my life is different My faith is stronger My hope is deeper My trust is greater Because my God Never fails My God always delivers me My God is always with me Never, never, never leave you Jesus told us I'll never abandon you I will not leave you orphans I will come to you I go to prepare a place for you And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself And where I am there you may be also I'm waiting for you I will welcome you We'll have a great reunion you and I You shall see me face to face And then you'll know whatever you went through Was worth it Because it ended up with you being here With me And so I don't want Barabbas I want Jesus The Son of God The true Son of God And I see that he was rejected And I see that he was despised And I see that he went through all of these things But he's the one I can go to When I'm not being understood He understands He's the one I go to When I feel a bit rejected Because he doesn't reject me And though he was despised And was not esteemed Yet he is my king And yet he's there For us And so in this trial For Messiah His own people are saying Give us Barabbas But in fact God gave us His Son Let's not forget that