CROSS TO COMMISSION | Choose Christ | Matthew 27:15-26 | Philip Anthony Mitchell

Come here, sir. If you all guess, we welcome you to 2019, the sacred and holy gatherings that not even the devil can stop. And we welcome you to a family that is striving on a front line of battle for the spread of the gospel and the multiply the disciples and we will not stay quiet. And we will not tuck our hotel. And we will not run and stand ten toes down for the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what that costs. For we are aware that time is running out, that we are coming on to the end of the church age and that the devil is busy and that he's working through people who are blind. And sometimes all of that opposition is just a sign of God's anointing upon a person, a house, a ministry and that we're going to be a global family on the front line of this battle. And we are lifting up Jesus, exalting the person of Christ, calling the sinner to repentance and the Saint to mission no matter what that costs. And to our global family and not all of you got the right intentions, we love you, our global family, all of our digital disciples watching live across America and around the world. We are a global army wherever you are taking territory for the Lord Jesus Christ and cities and nations and countries all around the world. And these last days the spirit of Instacar is on 28, 19, global for we are people that discern the times and we know what to do about it. And to all of our family behind prison bars, all of you watching live right now in correctional institutions all around the country. It doesn't matter if you behind bars out here, it's warfare wherever you are, it's Christ wherever you are, you are minister right where you are. And you take territory yourself, your whole, your deep block. Because if we are about that we wasting our time, if we are not about the exaltation of Christ and the pushing out of the gospel and the fidelity to the scriptures, all of this is a waste of time. But we don't have time for shows, don't got time to be playing around, don't got time for entertainment and nonsense. We ain't about that life. And to the unbeliever in the chat, maybe for the wrong reason or the unbeliever in the room on an overflow. We still glad you're here. We want you to know you could belong before you believe. You could skepticize and be among us before you believe. My prayer for you is that in a moment you feel the spirit of God calling you to the Lord Jesus Christ before you're in Turkey, a last breath and time has run out on you. For you not tough enough to die apart from Christ. And don't nobody want to see a box at a funeral apart from Christ. And I pray for you is that you will be on the other side of glory with us before time has run out. The devil is alive. We're at the very end of our three years study through the book of Matthew as we are landing the plane with the final few messages in a series called Cross to commission where we are studying Matthew 26 to 28 together. The final hours of the life of Jesus Christ, of the life of Jesus and we are looking at the two most important events in human history, the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ without which we have no hope at all in this life. We have no all of this is vain. Paul said if Christ is not raised. Our text today is coming from Matthew 27 verses 15 through 26. Spirit of the living God. Lord would you have your way in this place and in this gathering. That said Lord have your way. Ask in the mighty and the majestic and the mattress name of our soon coming king the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. And Amen. One of the most powerful things that has been built into the human experience is this powerful thing that we call justice. It shows up at the very beginning of time when a brother who was jealous of another brother killed his brother because one brother made a susceptible sacrifice unto God and the other one who was filled with jealousy and rage. He killed his brother seeking his own justice and from the beginning of time this concept of justice has been built into the human experience. We've seen this if we've been on social media or you've seen trials of a family that have shed tears in a courtroom when a person who has been guilty of a crime, murder, rape, molestation, whatever it is walks out of a courtroom free and a family feels like they did not get justice on that. We've seen this in our society when a person who was innocent is sentenced to five years, ten years, twenty years in prison and we felt like the justice system did not work right that day. We've seen stories of people who have come out of prison after twenty, thirty years only to say DNA evidence have proven the fact that they were innocent all that time. And that they were just victims of injustice and for those of us men who've been alive a little bit longer than fifteen minutes for some of us we can testify of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of injustice. And if you haven't been on the receiving end of injustice maybe I'm a senior citizen at twenty nineteen I get it you just keep living and I'll show you the more you keep living some of you will die with a testimony saying you know what it feels like to be on the other side of injustice. When someone has done you wrong or people you love have done you wrong or when you've been betrayed and you've been on the other side of injustice and you shed tears because of what people have done to you all the while the Lord forbid you from vengeance or forbid you from fighting back when the spirit of God was to you in your soul don't fight back vengeance is mine say it the Lord. And for some of us who are not all the way where we need to be we're still journeying on our progress of sanctification we know the pain of dealing with injustice and feeling like you want to retaliate even a person with the microphone pray for me that part of me is not fully redeemed as that part of you that says man you don't like me I don't like you you don't love me I don't love you you come after me I come after you and for some of us we know what it feels like to be wrong and something inside you and they want to fight back. You want to fight back you want to say something you want to comment all the while the spirit of God restrains you from doing that and now you got to feel the weight of God to trust him that he would bring vengeance he will vindicate he will take a stand for you that is not always difficult to do that's not always easy something very difficult to do and this is what we come to in the reality of text and I talk to you like this in the beginning of these messages because I want you to understand that these things are not going to be things that we read are not fables and fairy tales these are the accounts historical accounts real human beings including your Lord and I talk to you like this that you can feel what the people feel in the text at the day and time in which this happened we come now to the back half of the trial of the ages the most important trial in the history of mankind the trial of the Lord Jesus Christ for you know how the Lord came preaching to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand he came doing miracles healing people raising the dead he set off a revival in the nation of Israel and as that revival is brewing there was a group of religious leaders who are growing in envy and jealousy over the Lord Jesus Christ never mind he's testifying to all the things you have read in the Old Testament for the fact that his ministry is blowing up their eyes are full of genders and their hearts are full of envy and they hate the Lord Jesus Christ they want to get rid of him because envy is a dangerous sin and gets into the host of the heart in which it lives and it darkens their heart and it colors their mind it was it was me on a flight and into Cape Town my friend Preston Perry who leaned over to me across the aisle he said to me your bro if the devil could find a jealous heart he can make a slanderous mouth and that's what we see right now all in our society man slanderous mouths always critiquing always tearing somebody down always got something negative to say about another person's ministry know there's nothing wrong with that person for some of us their hearts are full of evil and the heart of full of slander and jealousy and because their hearts is dripped by jealousy they mouths has connected to the heart another devil using their mouth for slander this is the Pharisees this is the Sadducees this is the leaders of the Lord their mouths full of slander against the Lord Jesus Christ their hearts full of envy and jealousy and wickedness they see Christ blowing up in his ministry they can't take that instead of joining the revolution they try to go against something they cannot stop in the flesh so they make a decision amongst themselves we cannot share the spotlight with the Lord Jesus Christ he must die which brings me pain when I read that in a text I think men who call themselves men of God men of God would hate someone so much that not even just talking about them is not enough but you actually hate somebody so much you want another minister to be put to death man God is not in you in the spirit of the Lord is not in you but this is the religious leaders of the nation of Israel the Lord comes down to the end of his life he rolls into the city of Jerusalem to shout of Hosanna blessed is the one who comes in the name of the most high God he is held as king before the weakest over he'll find himself in a garden praying knowing that he's coming out to the final hours of his life at his Thursday night in the distance he sees his betrayer Judas coming with a mob of Roman soldiers they handcuff him and arrest him Judas flees the people closest to him flea not a Lord is left by himself and from Thursday night to Friday morning those Jewish leaders put Jesus through six illegal trials they are cowards they can't try him by day legally they try him by night by the time the sun comes up at 6 a.m. in Israel they have come to their sentence death is what they want for the Lord Jesus Christ but they do not have the execution power of Rome so they have to bring Jesus to a man named Pontius Pilate who was the governor of Judea between AD 26 and 36 it is to him now Jesus goes to stand the Roman trial last week we read the beginning of that trial today we read how the trial ended in the first century AD Matthew reflecting on this time because he himself was a coward at the moment fled he goes back in reflection on the trial he says in verse 27 verse 1 chapter 27 when the morning came and all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death and they bound him and let him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor then verse 11 we see the beginning of the Roman trial now Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him a question are you the king of the Jews the charge that was laid against him as a threat against Caesar Jesus said to him you have said so but when he was accused by the chief priest and the elders he gave no answer because you have to know when to be silent and when to speak only a fool says everything that's in their heart then Pilate said to him do you not hear how many things they testify against you Pilate now is realizing that something is special about Jesus he gets risked up by Jesus he has now a many affection for Jesus he's trying to defend the Lord in the trial verse 14 but he gave him no answer not even a single charge so that the governor was greatly amazed now Pilate now is in a jam it is the first century AD Pilate is an unpopular governor he has also been reprimanded by his own boss Tiberius Caesar Pilate now is in a serious jam there is an uproar right outside his door in the courts where they're screaming for the Lord Jesus Christ there is an innocent man inside of his house the Lord Jesus Christ Pilate who's on popular now is between a wall his back is up against the wall he's in a rock in a hard place he's in a difficult place right now he knows he just can't let Jesus go because the people are out there so he feels and at the same time the Cyrus season the elders are calling for his death he knows that something is different about this man he's since wise this man not defend himself he's since that he's innocent it was pilot last week he says I find no form in him Pilate does not want to try Jesus he does not want to sentence an innocent man to death so he tries to pass him off to a toy king named Herod Jesus goes before Herod for another trial he says nothing because Herod does not matter in the granski he said back to pilot and our pilot is in a real jam pilot now is stuck and now pilot will defer to his last option he's now getting ready to play his last card it's like for those of you who play spades and you keep that joker in your back pocket and I'm talking about the black and white joker not the color one where you know for fact you're going to win pilot now has that black and white joker in his back pocket he knows he has one more option to get out of sentencing an innocent man to death and it's his last option and now pilot in the second half of the trial will play his final card but the hopes that he can escape sentencing are innocent men verse 15 now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd one prisoner whom they wanted and they had then a notorious prisoner in the cell whose name was called Barabbas pilot now remembers this is happening during the feast of Passover the most famous feast in Israel the city is packed with thousands of people pilot knows that during his feast there was a custom in which every year as a goodwill from Rome to the Jews they would release one prisoner who was bound this will be a win win for Rome and for Israel for in the fact it will buy favor and equity with the nation of Israel but if somebody was sitting in prison and they was innocent this is an opportunity for them to be let free this is an opportunity for justice and pilot knows there's somebody sitting in his cell who is so notorious a criminal that maybe if I bring this person out and stand this person up next to Jesus maybe they would choose Jesus to let him go and I can wash my hands of the whole matter so he goes into the prison and he finds the worst person in that basement he finds a man named Barabbas Baraba is his name in Greek which means son of the father so now you have two sons on trial you have a son of the father on trial Barabbas and a son of the father on trial Jesus one is a one is the son of a heavenly king a heavenly father the other one is the son of an earthly father but now you have a son of the father on trial and a son of the father on trial Barabbas Baraba son of the father in those days rabbis was called father so maybe Barabbas is a wayward child maybe Barabbas was that child who strayed far away from his parents and now he's out there in the street wiling out we don't know but for whatever reason he's called son of the father that's what his name means and maybe he's far out there way from his family according to the scriptures Barabbas is sitting in prison for three charges he's sitting in prison for being a thief he's sitting in prison for being a murderer and he's sitting in prison for being an insurrectionist Josephus tells us the historian that just long before this Barabbas was involved in leading and helping to lead a rebellion against Rome and in that rebellion many people died in that rebellion so he was seen as dangerous watch he was seen as depraved he was seen as a man that does not deserve freedom and before you judge him for his charges there are thousands of Barabbas is listening to me right now men and women that don't deserve freedom so pilot pulls Barabbas out he's going to stand him up next to Jesus one of his left one of his right with the hopes that the people would choose which one they want to set free Pilate is betting on that these people have enough common sense to set free the right person verse 17 so when they gathered Pilate said to them who do you want me to release to you Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ so here is Pilate Barabbas on the left Jesus on the right he looks at the people said which one do you want me to let go this dangerous murderous seaving criminal who is a ministerial society or this man Jesus who is called Christ now you were thinking this moment that people have enough common sense to make the right choice surely they're not going to release a man that is a minister society surely they will see this man Jesus who gave birth to a revival in their nation and surely they will have enough discernment to choose the right one out of the two surely they would but man some of them was just as inept and depraved that some of us in our generation who don't have enough discernment to know the difference between a real shepherd and a fake one and the discernment to know the difference between a real prophet and a fake one a real church and a fake one a real ministry and a fake one that's why it breaks my heart every week to say you thumb in fake ministries and thumb in false prophets and liken and go into their conferences and buy in their books because we don't have no discernment listen into the doctrine of demons being preached from pulpits and you run around those gatherings saying preach preach when you're listening to heresy being preached eloquently this is why I keep encouraging you a billion times to read the scriptures for yourself read read read read read read read read because the more truth you have in you the easier it is to discern a lie it's because of our biblical illiteracy in this generation why so many of us are being abused by false prophets every week and then we depend on them because you feel like you can't hear from God for yourself let me tell you a false prophets do they attach you to themselves and they make a god out of themselves and they think you can't have a relationship with God apart from them that you need to be reminded that you can pray and talk to the father anytime you want to and you can open the scriptures and hear his voice anytime you want to this ain't about P.A.M. this is about the Lord Jesus Christ what a false prophet talk to you like this no a false prophet would never encourage you to go get truth they want you to depend on their revelation all the time don't read the Bible don't even open it just trust what I say is in there always preaching no scriptures always got conferences no scriptures always got books no scriptures always got something to say no scriptures I want to raise up a body of people around the globe that have fidelity to the word of God that they love the scriptures so much because in them they testify of the man you call Lord and Savior they are the Lord Jesus Christ certainly there will no difference between Jesus and the prophets right certainly they will have enough discernment to make the right decision but how could you have discernment when you don't pray right and if you're going to have discernment they're going to have a prayer life the more you pray the stronger your discernment gets so you come into a room and you say it's not right you shake somebody's hand you say it's not right you're in a book you say it's not right that comes from an overflow of intimacy with Christ and filling yourself with the word of God God verse 18 now I want you to notice this watch notice when notice when when when pilots says which one you want to release Barabbas on Jesus he says who was called Christ he didn't just say choose between Barabbas and Jesus he said which one you want Barabbas on Jesus who was called Christ he's talking to Jews there were Christ means the anointed one he's he's he's leaning on real thick hoping that these Jews will remember it was y'all who been looking for an anointed one for thousands of years it was y'all who been believing for Messiah yeah y'all should know that this man right here fulfilled all of the old testament scriptures y'all should know his story you should know he was born in Bethlehem check you should have known he was born of a virgin check you should have known he performed miracles check y'all should know that he was the Messiah pilot is like giving this extra nudge y'all should know who he is I mean if you don't have enough discernment to make the right decision shoot I'm telling you he's the one called Christ why is Barabbas pilot leaning on real thick you know why he's leaning on real thick because of verse 18 for pilot knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up pilot isn't a jam he knows that these trial by these Jewish leaders he knows it's a sham a farce fake so he's hoping banking on these like who on you crazy Jews this man is called the Christ come on get me out of this select Jesus don't you have enough discernment you want you don't want this crazy maniac back in your society this man is called Christ and pilot knows in his heart either he knew about Jesus or during the trial he fell in love with some type of affection to some at some point in time either he heard about him or his heart was warm towards him it just reminds us that no heart is safe from Christ oh Jesus no heart is safe from Christ even as pagan governor feels something in his heart for the Lord something inside him is burning for the Lord he's making every attempt he can to get the Lord off verse 19 besides while he was sitting on my gosh besides while he was sitting on the judgment seat watch his wife sent them a text a word saying babe boom quotation marks have nothing to do with this righteous man for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream Pete the scene pilot is sitting on the judgment seat the people are getting ready to choose between for rabbits or Jesus they said nothing yet and all of a sudden the trial is interrupted by his wife her name is Claudia she sends them a message boom babe I had a dream and in the dream I saw this man you bought the sentence he is a righteous man gosh no I feel fire this is so powerful to me watch because where is Jesus the friends Peter's gone watch the disciples are gone everybody that should be making a defense for Christ is gone but the Lord the father wanted to keep a new record in the trial raised up a pagan woman to make sure somebody made a defense for Jesus so while the people who were supposed to be defending him were gone the Lord divinely downloaded into the heart of a pagan woman that this man watch is a righteous man so that it will always be in the record of the court case that this man watch was wholly pure blameless and righteous watch and I just point that out to you in the text because I just want you to know even when people who should fight for you do not the Lord has a way of vindicating you you don't got to be fighting in comments all the time there's a time to fight and there's a time to let God fight for you and here is the father defending his son through a dream by a pagan woman the Lord will send help from you from the least likely places that's why you can't box him in you try to box him into the front door here come through the back door you lose your job here provide for you another way somebody betray you here raise up another friend man who am I talking to I'm telling you the Lord knows how to move on your behalf come on man hey didn't let Jesus go out like that somebody said this man is righteous I'm going to spend this whole sermon exulting the person of Christ because he's righteous blameless and pure let the record show innocent man died for you and I no spot no blameless found in him watch verse 20 now the cheap priests and the elders watch his word persuaded the crowd to ask for barabas and destroy Jesus stop now watch watch the scene pilot asked him which one do you want before the people correspond he gets interrupted now watch while he's dealing with that letter here comes the chief elders in the ears of the people ask for barabas ask for barabas he's distracted with the message ask for barabas ask for barabas ask for barabas ask for barabas I say you got to be careful who you listen to and careful what podcast you listen to and what preachers you listen to because some of us being led astray because we got the wrong people in our air every whisper is not a godly whisper and every podcast is not a godly podcast and every platform is not a godly platform that's why you got to be careful who you let into your air you can end it getting your soul and that's why too many people being disrespected by false doctrines because they listen to false teachers and false friends now you think to myself well Lord why would you let the governor be distracted while they forming a coup against your son watch because the father knows the son must die so not even give the people an idea to think to choose Jesus if they choose Jesus he goes free but the father knows that the son cannot go free oh my gosh so he engineers a divine interruption just enough time for the men to stir up the crowd against the son because the son must be convicted so how is the father working against the son no the father is working the best interest of his will I only point this out in your text so you can see because watch all things right now are working for the good of the Lord right the persecution against Christ is sovereign the interruption is sovereign the people being stirred up against him is sovereign all of it is sovereign that you will learn this later in the book of Romans when Paul says all things not just good things just good things not just things that make you feel good all things good things and bad things they work together for the good of those who love him and who are called according to his purpose even the things that make you cry the betrayals you went through the divorce you suffered the Lord is working for all of it the job you lost the things that brought tears to your eyes if you are in the center of God's will he is working all of it all of it for your good this is how the informed Christian goes through this life goes through persecution and comes out on the other side goes through trial and come out on the other side goes through hardship and comes out on the other side knowing that all these things are working together all of it even the hell a year I had last year the most warfare that I ever but it pushed me to the point of wanting to quit the ministry and what God formed in me is strength and confidence and kill the one who counted me worthy to suffer for his name even that too is working for our good somebody given praise in this place right now look at me this is how you let the devil rob you get testimony you'll be busted and broken in the basement of your soul contemplating suicide but hanging on to a thread and we refuse to give the devil glory to say even when I'm going through right now the Lord someway somehow he will get glory out of me for this someway somehow he's going to get glory we will not let's say and get an ounce of glory not even an inch not even an inch so you start talking like this yeah I went through that watch but this is what I learned that's how you rob the devil of glory yeah I lost that but this is what I learned I made that mistake but this is what I learned I lost that friend but this is what I learned I suffered that betrayal but this is what I learned all things all things the Lord engineered the interruption the Lord a lot of time for them to stir up the people the Lord gave the dream to Claudia because he knows his son cannot walk free right now if he walks free you and I in trouble today gosh his son must suffer injustice so that you and I can receive justice you're only justified because of the injustice the son suffered for you and I can receive that son yes yes yes yes yes verse 21 the governor again said to them which one of the two do you want me to release to you and they said brabus now they answer everybody look now these unsuspecting people hearts have been corrupted by bad spiritual leaders I feel sorry for some believers sometimes not really a fault except you don't have the courage to get out of that wack God forsaken Iqabad church you don't have enough discernment to turn off that podcast so too many believers running around America victims of toxicity in your heart because you're listening to toxic leaders who are about themselves and not about Jesus so if they keep exorping themselves you're going to be full of yourself they're exorping Christ you get delivered from your issues these people have been corrupted and instead of having the discernment to say give us the crestose they ask for a murderer and pile it shut to them what shall I do with Jesus who was called Christ get ready to close pilot asks the most important question in human history what shall I do with Jesus who was called Christ every human being has to answer that question you will answer that question in this life or you will answer it in the life to come it does not matter if you're Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, agnostic no one escapes that question what will you do with Christ watch you got to answer it why because of what he claimed he claimed to be the son of God he claimed to be God he claimed to be the way the truth the life he claimed to be the narrow road he claimed to be the only way to God since he made those claims died and was raised you got to answer what you're going to do with him you'll even know him now as a loving savior or you'll meet him later as a wrathful judge no revelations says he is coming back to make war and who will baby in a manger no the next time he comes his eyes are like a blazing fire he's going to tread out the wrath of God against all I'm godliness and unrighteousness what will you do with Jesus will you reject him now or love him will you serve him now or run from him would you surrender to him now or be rebellious towards him you got to answer that question your death will answer that question you better know what gamble you making you don't want to gamble the wrong way and wake up on the other side and lost that bet you'll be rolling traps instead of C-Law you got to be from New York to understand that one what will I do with Jesus who was called the Christ and they said it crucify him and finally said why what evil has he done but they shot it all the more let him be crucified they are depraved now they are begging for what they don't really realize watch so when pilot saw that he was gaining nothing but rather that a riot was beginning such a coward he took water and he washed his hands he tried to absolve himself of the guilt saying I am innocent of this man's blood no you're not because pilot you a coward now I know you got rised up I know you was feeling Christ for a second I know you pilot was touched by Jesus that trial he knew something was different about Jesus that trial watch and pilot had the ability to acquit him but because of the pressure from the people he capitulated to compromise listen to me carefully I'm about to I'm almost done this is why you have to be men and women of convictions hear me when you grow in convictions all your decisions are already made but when you are a person of compromise you flirt with things that will get you in trouble you flirt with you flirt with things that get you in trouble when you're a person of compromise you flirting in the cubicle you flirting with this business deal you flirting with this you flirting with that when your person of compromise you can't stand so you flirt with things and get you in trouble when your person of conviction you stand if pilot had conviction he would watch not capitulated to the pressure of the people knowing it's an innocent man he would have acquitted him pilot didn't do that because the people pleaser he capitulates now watch pilot did not escape he may have washed his hands and said I don't my I'm innocent just a few years after this trial pilot was removed from his office he was sentenced in exile to what is modern day France and because of the guilt on his conscience he committed suicide just like Judas who betrayed Christ committed suicide so pilot may have escaped in a moment but he did not escape what he did this is what suicidal thoughts are been there it's it's it's this like self inflicted justice pilot wrestled with that maybe for years he loses his job he's an exile he takes his life he's separated from God for all eternity now when he could have just did the right thing the time to do the right thing is the time you have to do the right thing it's now the time to surrender your life to Christ it's now and all the people answered him says nah we don't want him watch what they do his blood beyond us and on our children these people are so depraved they cursed themselves no killing and let his blood be on us and let his blood be on our children these parents are so foolish no I don't need do they curse themselves they curse they children that's why we got a pride for people who have kids because when you have kids and you're not led by God you'll make decisions that hurt your children and if you are child and you have godly parents or a teenager you need to honor your parents if they're serving God this is what happened we don't have enough common sense to realize how our decisions damage our kids they curse themselves and they curse their children and they too did not escape for 40 years after this trial history tells us tight as the Roman emperor rose into Rome destroys the city and a thousand a million Jews is left bloody in the street a lot of these same people died during that time pilot capitulates the people curse themselves then he released Barabbas and having scourge Jesus delivered him over to be crucified now I know we read right by that and you don't care they scourge Jesus send him to be crucified I want to show you what scourging was since we live in 2026 I want to show you what Jesus how he was scourged before they sent them to the cross turn your attention to the screen you that one word in the text scourging that is the best depiction we have of our Roman scourging one word for you in the text far more brutal for the one you call savior and the movie does not do the word justice because according to Isaiah he was beaten to the point he was not recognizable his face was not recognizable his body was a big lump of flesh swan the prophet said by those stripes you were healed don't clap those are the stripes we take for granted when we live in sin we are just a service he is savior but he is not low like he didn't pay a price to have a right to your life and from there they carried him up a hill to be crucified this is what pilot did to him before he even released Barabbas swan say I don't even understand how Western Christians could read what happened to the Lord and turn from the Scriptures and then live any life you want so it was after that before the cross then this happens with Barabbas just watch Jesus call himself the life that's what he is that's what he brought Barabbas was an insurrectionist he was a man of rebellion one man a man of life and the other man a man of rebellion the man of rebellion he walks out free from the courtroom that day the man of life is sentenced to death and in the sense all of us who are saved we are Barabbas we walk out of the sentence of death there was three crosses set up that day two thieves on the right and the left and Barabbas was supposed to be in the middle perhaps and the Lord took his place on that cross the same way he took your place the punishment that you and I deserve he took your place like he took Barabbas's place and the Barabbas represents rebellion and if Christ represents life and the people had to make a choice then symbolically you and I are choosing the same every day every day you're choosing between life or rebellion between Christ or his enemy and the way that we live the way that we treat other people the way that we serve the way that we give the way that we show up we're always making a decision between Christ and rebellion between life and rebellion we're always making a decision and man God help you I pray and this will be more than just a sermon that something will click on it inside of you and you say tomorrow I'll wake up I'm gonna make a daily decision to choose Christ I'm gonna choose him over sin I'm gonna choose him over rebellion I'm gonna choose him over disobedience I'm gonna choose him over not being faithful I'm gonna keep choosing Christ and when I make the wrong choice by accident I'm gonna get back up repent and choose Christ again and again and again and for the rest of your days I'm gonna keep choosing Christ over this sinful relationship this sinful practice we're gonna stop choosing our rebellion over Christ it's my relationship I was born this way or I get to do this or we're gonna stop choosing our rebellion rebellion, parabis over Christ his price was too great Dang it I don't even know what else to say what's your name what's your name come up here sit down on this front row come up here come y'all letter through sit down on that front row we'll help you Ronda you get all her information when this is over sit down right here right here come sit right here don't look at her close your eyes it's okay it's okay it's okay it's okay it's okay it's okay it's all right it's okay it's all right it's all right we're gonna help you I promise it's all right just sit down right here with the prayer team Father in the name of Jesus I don't even know what to pray Lord I just uh dang it man God I pray something would something would shift on the inside of your people gosh Lord I pray you would ring us out from our rebellion and our hardness of heart I will I will wickedness and I will lies and I will excuse us I prayed today Lord we would fully surrender to you that you would deepen I would love for you you would deepen I would love for Christ our surrender to Christ our affection for Christ we would desire Christ more than anything else in this life we would see Him and we would adore Him and we would be an awe of Christ and we would live for Christ and post for Christ and give for Christ and stuff up for Christ Lord do it in this room do it in the overflow do it across the camera do it across America and the world God we need the sons and daughters to rise up in this hour Lord we need revival in the hearts of your bride or please him I cry God please a beg of you Lord and mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of all soon coming King Lord Jesus Christ I will God and I will save you I will best friend I will strong tower and I will deliver up I will hide in place I will friend I will wonderful counselor I will print some piece I will healer and I will deliver up I will wait make her and I will provide her I will all and all I will have everything and his name I pray