Date : Fifth Lenten Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Text : The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ Drawn from the Four Gospels

Title : The Praetorium

"They cried out all together, saying, ‘Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas.’"

Last week, the Lord’s trials began. First, He was presented to the high priest of the Jews. This was Jesus’ church trial. The high priest found Jesus to be guilty, even though the evidence against Him was shoddy and conflicting.

Because the Jews’ desire was not simply to quiet Jesus, but to have Him killed, they sent Him onto the Roman government’s man in Judea, Pontius Pilate, for a civil trial. I doubt that the Jews ever got a Thank You note from Pilate.

Where the high priest wanted nothing to do with what Jesus had to say, Pilate sought to be a fair judge. The Jews presented their charges, then Pilate directed this question to Jesus: "Are you the King of the Jews?" It was a fair question, asked in a fair manner. You can tell this by how Pilate follows up his question: "Your own nation and the chief priests have given you over to me. What have you done?"

Having been asked if He were the King of the Jews, Jesus answered right to the point, that He is not the Jews’ King in the way in which one would normally think. Indeed, His kingdom is not one of a particular nation of people, or held in by boundaries, or flying under a certain flag.

We can see that Pilate is trying to get a grasp on Jesus’ reply when He asks Jesus if He is, indeed, a king. And, Jesus tells Pilate that, yes, He sure is.

Pilate was proved the Roman skeptic when Jesus tells Him that He came into the world to bear witness to the truth—you know, that He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and that no one can go to God the Father except through Him—and that He is the Good Shepherd, and the Vine, and the Bread of Life, and the Light of the World, and the Gate, and the Resurrection and the Life.

Indeed, it was in Jesus bearing witness to the truth that got Him into the hot water in which He found Himself, standing trial before Pilate. And, here’s where the rebellion hits the road.

If the truth is not on the people’s side, then people don’t want to hear the truth. We even have this saying, nowadays: you have your truth and I have my truth. But, that’s not true. Truth is not opinion. Truth is not in your head. Truth exists, no matter what you think about it.

The Jews found themselves in the spot of hating Jesus for speaking the truth because Jesus had a whole lot to say that didn’t fit their notion of the truth. Despite how God was always their helper, their rescuer, their mighty Lord—despite how God had compassion upon them, constantly forgave them, and was so longsuffering for them—the Jews rejected Him.

I guess you could say that the truth wasn’t good enough for them. So, the Jews fashioned a religion that was no more truth than was the golden calf of Aaron.

But, let’s not poke at the toothpick in the eye of the Jews when we have a two-by-four sticking out of our own. Neither do we want God’s truth. We want to live by our own home-spun version. Every generation does, and we are no different.

We think that Christianity is a restaurant menu. For your main course, you choose what you want to believe, and I choose what I want to believe. For dessert, you choose how you want to live, and I choose how I want to live.

We poke at Pilate for being so skeptical in asking, "What is truth?" but we ask the same question, all the time, and we have the benefit of holding the truth in our hands in the pages of the Bible, and hearing the truth from the lips of our pastor as He proclaims Jesus Christ; having been washed in the truth in Holy Baptism and continually fed upon the truth in the meal of the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus Christ.

Back to Pontius Pilate. He found out that Jesus was from the northern area of Galilee, and Herod was the sort-of-king of that area, so Pilate did the honorable thing and sent Jesus to Herod.

This is the same Herod, who had arrested John the Baptist—the Herod, who made frivolous promises when his fancy was stirred by pretty girls—the Herod, who had John killed. Herod was a waste of time; all he wanted from Jesus was a magic show. Jesus would not humor him. So, Herod mocked Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate. No Thank You note to Herod, either.

Over the course of the trial, Pilate finds Jesus innocent, three times. Each time, now, the Jews cry out for Jesus’ crucifixion. Pilate has an idea. He knows of a custom where one prisoner is let go in favor of another. He has this notorious felon in custody: Barabbas.

Yeah, Pilate thought, the Jews will let Jesus go and hang Barabbas.

You know that is exactly what did not happen. But, do you know that Barabbas—whose name means "son of the father"—Barabbas represents you?

Jesus was found guilty in Barabbas’ place. Jesus was sacrificed in Barabbas’ place. Jesus died in Barabbas’ place.

Jesus was found guilty in your place. Jesus was sacrificed in your place. Jesus died in your place, so that you could be sons and daughters of the Father.

I suppose that, on St. Patrick’s Day, the Irish will not appreciate my saying this, but you got off scot free. Actually, scot free is not named for the people of Scotland, but comes from a Scandinavian word for tax or payment.

Tax free. Payment free. Scot free.

Jesus Christ took the taxing of your sins in order to be your payment. Of this payment, Peter wrote (1 Peter 1:18-19): "You were ransomed . . . not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

Pilate has had enough. The people respond that they are fine with Jesus’ blood being upon them and their children. Barabbas is set free.

I’ll bet that Pilate never got a Thank You note from Barabbas—that he continued to be the criminal that he was, just as you and I continue to be the sinners that we are.

That leaves only one: the lamb without blemish or spot. Jesus is all but set for the cross, so that with His precious blood He could be taxed as the payment for your sins.

So that, now made by God to be His holy children, you could wear the silver and gold of royalty, in King Jesus’ Paradise, forever.

Your Thank You note to Jesus is your worship of Him. Amen.