The choice presented to the crowd at Passover between Jesus and Barabbas, as recorded in John 18:39-40, serves as a powerful illustration of the universal human need to choose between Christ and sin. Despite Pilate finding no fault in Jesus and even subtly encouraging their release, the crowd unanimously chose Barabbas, a known criminal, over the King of the Jews. This highlights the critical decision each person faces: to accept the free gift of salvation offered through Jesus' sacrifice or to reject Him, a choice that determines eternal destiny. The sermon concludes by emphasizing that refusing to choose Christ is itself a choice for eternal loss, urging listeners to accept Him as their Savior.
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Thank you. Greetings, friends. The Gospel by John chapter eighteen, verses thirty-nine and forty. We have here a part of the preceding the crucifixion, where a man has his great opportunity of making a choice, where the multitude that came together to take the Lord Jesus and to crucify him, where they were given a choice to make. Pilate had been saying to the Lord Jesus, What is truth?
And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, that's verse thirty-eight, and saith unto them, I find no fault at all in him. I find in him... no fault at all. But ye have a custom that I should release unto you one at the Passover. Here is a custom, and it prevailed amongst the Jewish folk. They had the privilege, once a year, of choosing one of the prisoners to be set free, to be released. But ye have a custom, said Pilate, the Roman judge, that I should release unto you one after Passover.
Will you, therefore, that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Now here Pilate says in verse thirty-eight, He's the judge. I find in him no fault at all. There was nothing at all by which Pilot could give a sentence. There was no basis. There was no guilt found and no fault found by the judge. So he was willing to release unto them, Jesus, but he's going to let them make the choice.
Ye have a custom that I should release unto you one at the Passover. Will ye therefore... that I release unto you the King of the Jews. He gave them a lead. He gave it to see, and we can easily see now, from this verse that it was the desire of Pilate that the Lord Jesus be released. Now this is most remarkable. The judge himself could issue the statement I find in him no fault at all, and then try to lead the multitude to choose Jesus, the King of the Jews, to let him be released at this particular Passover season.
Pilate thought this would be a noble way of him being released from the judgment of this man. No doubt about that. because he said three times over that he found no fault in this man. But now the multitude has the right to choose. And my friends, they made their choice. They made it quickly. They made it spontaneously. And they made it unanimously. It says in verse forty, note the words, Then cried they all, not the majority, not a sweeping majority, but unanimously.
All of them, then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, not this man, not the Christ, not the Savior, not Jesus, not the king of the Jews, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber, and we read in other Gospels that he was a murderer, that he is a razor of sedition. He was a murderer, he was a robber, and he was an insurrectionist.
How many there are today in our day? But that's not the point here. The crux of the matter here is that the Son of God that came down from heaven was born of the Virgin, who had lived in the home of Joseph and Mary for some thirty years, the one who at the age of twelve was found in the temple with the doctors and lawyers, hearing and answering their questions at twelve years of age. When he starts out in thirty, around thirty years in his public ministry, he is done good at every turn of the way.
He has blessed mankind, those poor, unfortunate, with disease-racked bodies, with blindness, deafness, unable to speak, leprosy. palsy, whatever their awful disease, he cured them immediately and without charge. He raised the dead, no charge. For all the blessings in feeding the multitude, no charge. My friend, God has provided for us salvation without charge.
you would wonder that there would be one single individual in the world would be without the Savior, without having a time in their life when they were converted to God, a time when they, as a guilty, trembling sinner, realized for the first time in their lives that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, that He died for their individual sins. according to the Scriptures. My friends, have you had a second birthday? Are you born again? The spiritual birth that takes place, the power of God does it, friend, the moment you trust Christ.
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Marvel not, she said to Nicodemus that great man, that religious man, A man with a pure character. Ye marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. There must be the spiritual birth, as well as we have the first birth, that's evident. But there must be a second birth, a spiritual birth, the time we have accepted Christ as our Savior, and we rejoice in the knowledge from the word of God that our sins are gone. Our fears are over.
We shunned God's presence now no more. And if we knew the words of the old hymn, we could readily and quickly sing with all our trembling heart, oh, what can equal joy divine, and what can sweeter be than knowing that the soul is saved for all eternity? Oh, my friend, are you saved? If so, when were you saved? If so, how were you saved? And if so, where were you saved? These are three major questions, incident to salvation.
Can you answer them? If I was saved, when was I? You don't gradually grow into it. It's a matter of being awakened to see your need, and the moment you touch Christ, you're saved by His grace. He does the saving. You and I do the trusting, the accepting. He is near you now, ready for you to accept Him by an act of your mind, your faith, your soul. Yes, He died for me. And from that moment, if you really did believe that He died from you, then from that moment you're born again, and you'll know it.
The Holy Scriptures will make it clear to you that you're the sons or children of God. You're saved by your sovereign grace. They cried out unanimously, not this man, not the King of the Jews, not the Lord of life and glory, not the Savior, but Barabbas, the robber, the murderer, the insurrectionist. Oh, my friends, we must make a choice. You and I must make a choice before life's day is done, if we're going to be in heaven. And remember, friend, there's a great deal of truth in this statement.
No choice is a choice. No choice is a choice. In connection with the Savior, that no choice is a choice to go on without him, to live. apart from him, apart from his salvation, to live without Christ and to go on through life without him. What is your choice today? Oh, my friends, you must make a choice. You do make a choice when you stay away, when you fail to trust, where you refuse to believe.
that Jesus died just for you, for your sins, and without your trusting Christ as your Savior, you're going to be lost for all eternity. The Word of God says so. Your Bible and mine says so. Then, friend, what will your answer be? What will you do with Jesus? What will your answer be? Father, we thank thee that the Lord Jesus is ready to say the perishing soul, that will put their simple trust and faith in him. We pray, Lord, grant that many will do so this day. Bless our President, our great country, and our government.
Keep this, Lord. Draw us near to thyself, for we do ask and pray for loved ones, for relatives and friends, neighbors, those we meet where we work, and from day to day, that they may trust Christ. and be happy for all eternity in his own precious name we pray. Amen.