Now, in Luke chapter 23, we read the famous passage about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
And, you know, the more you study the Bible, the more you realize that this is the main
pivotal event of human history, and really, everything in the Old Testament is all pointing
us toward this, and there's so much symbolism in the Old Testament that's pointing us toward
the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
And then pretty much everything after this in the Bible is looking back on it, preaching
about it.
I mean, the Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, so this is the key
event of the Bible that everything points to.
And I want to go over some details about the crucifixion of Christ, and notably I want
to focus on two characters in this story.
The thief on the cross, and then also Barabbas are the two people that I want to talk about
tonight.
Now look, if you would, at Matthew 27.
Flip back just a few pages in your Bible to Matthew chapter 27.
The Bible reads in Matthew 27 verse 38,
Come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
He trusted in God, let him deliver him now if he will have him, for he said, I am the
Son of God.
It's interesting if you look at those verses, that's pretty much a quote from Psalm 22.
Psalm 22 is predicting that's exactly the type of things that he'd be saying.
It says in verse 44, the thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in
his teeth.
So according to Matthew 27, the two thieves that were crucified on each side of him, these
are the type of things they were saying to him.
If you're Christ, save yourself.
If you're really who you say you are, you'd have the ability to come down from the cross,
and you could save us too while you're at it.
Now go to Mark 15.
It's interesting because you get different details from each passage.
In Luke, for example, we're not even told the famous story about the thief on the cross.
We're not really told that he's a thief in Luke, but we get that from Matthew and Mark.
In Luke he's just called a malefactor.
Maybe that just means a criminal, a wrongdoer.
But look at Mark 15 verse 27, it says, And with him they crucified two thieves, the one
on his right hand and the other on his left.
And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith he was numbered with the transgressors.
Now what's interesting is that whenever you see Jesus being arrested in the Garden of
Gethsemane, whether you're in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, when Jesus being arrested he
always says the same thing to them.
He said, you've come out against me as against a thief.
Have you ever noticed that?
He says, you know, you come out with swords and staves as it were against a thief.
And then it's funny because when they crucified him they put him between two thieves.
And then here it says he was counted among the transgressors.
So basically he's put in the same category as these two thieves that are hanging on the
cross.
It says next, And they that pass by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah,
thou that destroyest that temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself and come down
from the cross.
Likewise, also, the chief priest mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saves
himself, he cannot save.
Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross that we may see and believe.
And then again it tells us that they that were crucified with him revile them.
Now go to Luke 23.
This story of the thief on the cross is only covered in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
That's the only place where these thieves are mentioned.
Now stop for a second.
As you're going to Luke 23, stop and think about something.
Why are two thieves being crucified?
Is that really what God had prescribed as a punishment for theft?
Think about it.
I mean when you go back to the Old Testament law, what kind of people were put to death?
Murderers were put to death, right?
People who raped or people who killed or people who kidnapped or did things like that.
Murderers would only be punished by having to pay back fourfold, fivefold, or sevenfold.
But they never were killed for their crimes.
So it's interesting that these two thieves are being crucified with them because they're
basically being crucified under the Roman law, not under God's law, not under the biblical
law.
Because under the biblical law, no one would be put to death for stealing.
But throughout history, people have been put to death for stealing.
Even in the United States, you know, cattle rustlers, right, would have to be put to death
or in England around the time that our country was being colonized, people were put to death
for any type of theft.
People were being killed for theft.
That is not biblical.
That is not right.
The only time that the Bible talks about someone dying for theft is that the Bible says that
it's okay if a person breaks into your house at night, you can kill that person in self-defense.
Because you know, you don't know what they're there to do, you know, if they come in the
middle of the night.
So you are allowed in the Bible to kill that person in self-defense if they come into your
house at night.
But if it's in the daytime, the Bible says you are commanded not to kill that person.
If someone tries to rob you in the daytime, you are not allowed to kill that person and
if you do, you will be punished.
That's what the Bible teaches in the Old Testament.
So the death penalty is not something that should be put upon theft, but yet these two
thieves are being crucified and Christ is in their midst.
Look at Luke 23 verse 32.
It says there were also two other malefactors, and we know from the other Scriptures that
these are thieves, led with Him to be put to death.
And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him
and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
And they parted His raiment and cast lots, and the people stood beholding.
And the rulers also with them derided Him, saying, He saved others.
Let Him save Himself if He be the Christ, the chosen of God.
And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him and offering Him vinegar, and saying,
If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself.
Of course, that was prophesied that they would offer Him vinegar.
And a superscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew.
This is the King of the Jews.
And one of the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on Him, saying, If thou be Christ,
save thyself and us.
But the other answering rebuked Him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in
the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we received the due reward of our deeds.
But this man hath done nothing amiss, and he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Now some would look at this and say, well, this is a contradiction.
Because in Matthew and Mark, you know, both of the thieves reviled Him.
Both of them cast the same in His teeth.
And here it says that one rebuked the other.
Well look, I believe both are true.
Because the Bible is God's Word, and you know, if the Bible contains a contradiction, it
wouldn't be God's Word.
So in order to reconcile these two passages, what we must assume is that in the beginning,
they both reviled Him.
At some point, they both were saying the same thing.
But somehow there's a change of heart that takes place.
There's repentance that takes place.
There's a change in the mind of one thief.
Maybe it was when he saw him say, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
Maybe that powerful word out of the mouth of Christ, God is ginger.
Maybe it was one of the other statements that Jesus made.
But somehow, he sat there and he heard the words of Jesus Christ, and somehow he changed
his mind and he decided that Jesus Christ really was the Son of God.
Somehow it just clicked with him and he understood.
And he rebukes the other guy.
Now, what's great about this story is that it's just a perfect example of salvation.
It has all the perfect elements of salvation.
Now, a lot of people will try to deny this story, or here's what they'll say, well that
was an exception.
This isn't an exception, this is a textbook example of salvation.
And by the way, God doesn't make exceptions.
If God were going to make an exception, the Bible says in Romans 8 that God spared not
His own Son.
So if God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, when Jesus Christ was in
the garden saying, Abba Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not
my will but Thine be done.
I mean, if God was ever going to turn a blind eye to sin, or let sin go unpunished, or make
a special exception, you know, wouldn't it have been for His own Son?
Wouldn't it have been for Jesus Christ?
God doesn't make exceptions.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
And there's only one way to be saved.
The Bible says that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works lest any man should
boast.
And so salvation has always been by faith, even as Abraham also, you know, believed God
and it was counted for righteousness.
And so this is not an exception, because you'll talk to people and they'll say, well you have
to be baptized to be saved, say what about the thief on the cross?
Well that was an exception.
You know, he couldn't be baptized because he was on the cross, otherwise he would have
had to be.
No, that's false.
Salvation is by faith.
Here's why it's such a great example.
Because number one, we know that he heard the word of God.
Because just up in the passage in verse 34, Jesus speaks and He hears Jesus speak.
And say, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.
But we also know that if He's hanging next to them on the cross, He heard all the other
things that Jesus said to, that all the other scriptures record that Jesus said.
If He's there, right next to Jesus, He heard all of it.
So first of all, He heard the word of God, okay?
Then He believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because, and look what He says in verse number 40, it says, but the other answering rebuked
Him saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
And watch this, and we indeed justly, so isn't He admitting that He's a sinner there?
He's basically admitting that He's a sinner.
Now when He says that we're justly in this condemnation, you know, I have to look at
that and say, humanly speaking, He's wrong.
Because He does not deserve to be crucified just for being a thief.
But if we look at it in a spiritual way, He did deserve to die because the Bible says
the wages of sin is death.
So if we take a spiritual interpretation, it makes sense.
He said, we indeed justly, so He's admitting He's a sinner, for we receive the due reward
of our deeds.
He's not, does He look like He's trusting in His works?
Because see, the Bible uses the terms deeds and works interchangeably.
He says we're not saved by the works of the law, and then He turns around and says we're
not saved by the deeds of the law.
Deeds and works are interchangeable.
Basically what He's saying here is we're receiving the reward of our works, and that reward is
death.
We are dying because of our deeds.
Basically He's paraphrasing the wages of sin as death.
And we're sinners, and that's what we're going to suffer here.
And then He says, but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Now look, what is Jesus being accused of?
Well the Bible tells us, and you know, nothing in the Bible is an accident, just a few verses
earlier tells us what the accusation is.
Now here He uses the word superscription, but you know, in other of the four Gospels
it says His accusation was written.
You know, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
So basically by saying this man has done nothing amiss, look, He's being crucified for claiming
to be the Son of God, He's being crucified for claiming to be the King of the Jews, He's
being crucified for claiming to be God in the flesh, for claiming I am.
He said before Abraham was, I am.
And basically the thief is saying He hadn't done anything amiss.
Basically He's acknowledging that Jesus is who He said He is.
Then He said unto Jesus in verse 42, Lord, okay, so He's calling Him Lord, He's calling
upon the name of the Lord, He says, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.
Look He's dying.
He's basically believing the fact that even though Jesus is dying on the cross, He will
receive a kingdom.
I mean that's amazing faith right there.
That's amazing understanding.
I mean in some ways that's more understanding than Jesus' own disciples had.
You know what I mean?
This guy sees it and he says, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
So to review, basically He admitted He's a sinner, okay?
He understands the penalty for sin is death, then He, and this is all after hearing the
word of God, then He looks to Jesus and He calls upon the name of the Lord and He asks
to be saved just by faith and He acknowledges that His deeds are nothing.
He says our deeds are what got us here.
Lord, save me is basically what He's saying when He says remember me when Thou comest
into Thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Now just flip a few pages to the right in your Bible to John chapter 3 because a lot
of people will use this to say, well, you know, when Jesus died on the cross they'll
say Jesus went to heaven, you know, because you know, you often ask people, well, when
Jesus died on the cross we know His body was in the tomb, but where did His soul go?
Did His soul go to heaven or did His soul go to hell?
And they'll say, well, He told the thief on the cross, today shalt thou be with me in
paradise so therefore we know Jesus was in heaven, but that is simply not true.
And again, we must make sure that the Bible never contradicts itself.
Over and over again the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ was in hell for three days and
three nights.
Acts 2, 31 is the clearest scripture.
This spake He of the resurrection of Christ that His soul was not left in hell, neither
did His flesh see corruption.
Also in Acts 2 it refers to Psalm 16 saying that it was Jesus talking that said, thou
wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption.
The Bible says that He descended into the lower parts of the earth.
He said, as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so also shall
the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Not six feet under, but in the heart of the earth.
And so we know that Jesus Christ was dead for three days and three nights because He
said, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore and have the
keys of hell and of death.
He was dead.
Now, stop and think, the place death is also known as hell, okay?
The Bible talks about them descending into death, descending into hell, descending into
lower parts of the earth.
How about this?
Death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.
Okay, so the place of death, the place where the dead are, just looks like it warns us
of the strange woman in Proverbs and it says, he knoweth not that the dead are there and
that her guests are in the depths of hell, okay?
So those that are in hell, the Bible's very clear, they are considered, if we had to say
are they alive or dead, they're dead, right?
How many people are burning in hell right now?
Billions.
Are they alive or are they dead according to the Bible?
They are all dead.
They're not considered alive.
Because some people will say, well, you're going to live somewhere for all eternity.
No, wrong.
Because they'll say, well, you know, eternal life, you know, eternal life, that doesn't
mean anything because, you know, you're going to live eternally in hell, wrong.
Because when they're coughed up out of hell at the great white throne, it says, it delivered
up the dead which were in them and the dead stood before God and the dead were judged
according to their works and the dead are in the depths of hell according to Proverbs
and on and on.
So if Jesus was dead, that means he was in hell and the reason why, his soul we're talking
about, and the reason why is because if you remember, Jesus said, I'm the God of Abraham
and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
God is not the God of the dead but of the living.
So according to Jesus, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were in heaven, were not dead but
they were alive.
So therefore if Jesus Christ died on the cross and then he went to heaven, then he wasn't
really dead.
He was alive.
You understand what I'm saying?
I mean, his body died, but no, the Bible says his soul was in hell for three days and three
nights.
Now the only way for you to teach that Jesus was not in hell for three days and three nights
is to say that the King James Bible is translated wrong.
And that's what people will say.
They'll just say, well, you know, the Bible's just not translated right.
But that's really the only argument you can make.
Because if the King James Bible is your final authority, it says he went to hell and hell
means hell.
And hell always is a bad place.
It's always fire, it's always the heart of the earth and so forth.
Now people will say this though, they'll say, well, you know, when the Bible says that Jesus
went to paradise, okay, you know, that's not talking about heaven, that's talking about
hell, you know, because hell's paradise, right?
That makes a lot of sense.
But I mean, you know, this is the doctrine, this is what they taught me in Bible college.
You know, that there's the good side of hell called paradise, okay.
Now you say, well, Pastor Anderson, he said he was going to be with the thief today in
paradise.
If you're saying he went to hell in three days for three nights, you know, how does
that work?
Well, look at John chapter 3 for the answer in verse 13 and it says, and no man hath ascended
up to heaven, now stop right there, does that say no one's ever gone to heaven?
It says no one's ever ascended up to heaven, okay.
Now if you have a new international version, the non-inspired version, the NIV, it says
no one's ever gone to heaven.
Now that's an outright lie because the Bible tells us that Elijah went to heaven in a whirlwind.
The Bible teaches, you know, that in Ecclesiastes that the spirit of the beast goes downward
into the earth and the spirit of man goes upward, okay.
So to say no one's ever gone to heaven is just completely false.
What about Enoch when he walked with God and God took him?
Where did God take him?
Obviously he took him to heaven, okay.
That's why Elijah was caught up in a whirlwind or, you know, the fiery chariot into the whirlwind.
Now it says here no man has ascended up to heaven.
Do you see a difference between ascending to heaven and just going to heaven?
The ascending to heaven is like what Jesus did when he ascended of his own power.
He basically ascended up into heaven.
Elijah was carried to heaven, okay.
He was brought to heaven.
Remember the rich man Lazarus and Lazarus was carried by the angels?
He didn't ascend there on his own.
They were brought unto heaven.
Enoch was not because God took him.
Enoch didn't just ascend up to heaven on his own.
But it says here no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven,
meaning except for he that came down from heaven.
Even the Son of Man which is in heaven.
Now let me ask you this, was Jesus in heaven while he said that?
But where did he say the Son of Man was?
Heaven.
So doesn't that show that Jesus Christ basically in a sense is outside of time?
Because he's saying it as past tense.
No one has ascended up to heaven except me.
Now had Jesus chronologically ascended up to heaven at this point?
He didn't ascend up until the end of his ministry, after his death, burial, and resurrection.
He's not going to ascend up to heaven until Acts chapter 1.
But yet here he's speaking of it as if it's already happened.
Because in Romans 4 the Bible tells us that God speaks of the things which be not as though
they were.
He knows the end from the beginning.
Jesus Christ was God in the flesh and therefore he said the Son of Man's in heaven right now
as he's talking to Nicodemus.
Now you say, well how could Jesus say that?
Because Jesus Christ is God, okay?
Now yes there's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
And yes the Son and the Father are separate, but these three are one at the same time.
Now we don't fully understand this, but somehow the Bible teaches that there's the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.
And so therefore if the thief dies on the cross and immediately goes to heaven, he's
with Jesus Christ in a sense because he's with God and guess what?
God and Jesus are the same person, okay?
And so, you know, and again you can sit there and split hairs and play games with wording
and well are they the same person or are they different entities?
You know you can use all this wording, but look, just believe the Bible.
The three are one.
If Jesus says I'm in heaven right now while I'm talking to Nicodemus, then couldn't he
be also in hell for three days and three nights and still be telling the truth when he tells
the thief you're going to be with me in paradise when he goes up to be with the Lord in paradise,
in heaven?
Now you say well wait a minute Pastor Anderson, prove that paradise is heaven, okay.
Well first of all don't you think everything we believe should be based on the Bible and
nothing else?
Shouldn't everything come from the Bible?
Okay, well the word paradise is mentioned three times in the Bible.
Now here's what I think is funny.
People will teach well paradise is where the Old Testament saints went when they died.
They didn't go to heaven, they went to paradise.
Here's what's funny, paradise is never mentioned in the Old Testament.
So that's where, you know, in the Old Testament they went to paradise, in the New Testament
they went to heaven, but every time I look up verses on paradise they're all in the New
Testament.
Isn't that a little strange?
If it's this Old Testament place for saints to go, okay, well here's what's interesting.
If we look at all three mentions of paradise, mention number one is where Jesus tells the
thief on the cross, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 12, let's look at the second mention.
Because look, if we're going to get our doctrine on paradise from the Bible, then that means
that we need to look up all three times that paradise is mentioned and then decide where
we think it is, and not just say, well I think it's the good side of hell.
Hell doesn't have a good side, okay?
It says in 2 Corinthians, and by the way, show me one verse in the Bible that uses the
word hell as a positive place, ever, ever.
Look up all 54 mentions of hell, show me which one is a positive mention.
Even when it mentions Jesus being in hell for three days and three nights, it says that
the only reason that his soul is resting in hope is that he's not going to be left
in hell.
So basically his hope is that he's getting out of there.
So it's not ever mentioned as a positive place.
I mean I know this sounds a little basic when I'm up here preaching that hell's a bad place,
and every time it's mentioned it's always bad, but people teach this doctrine.
But look if you would at 2 Corinthians 12, it says in verse 2, I knew a man in Christ
above 14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot
tell, God knoweth, such an one caught up to the third heaven.
So where was this guy caught up to?
The third heaven.
And I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth.
How that he was caught up where?
Into paradise.
Now was he caught down to paradise?
He was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which is not lawful for a man to utter.
Now look, here the Bible defines itself, and the Bible often defines itself by making the
same statement twice using two different words, showing us that those two words mean
the same thing.
So he says, this man was caught into the third heaven, this man was caught into paradise.
So from this scripture it's clear that paradise and the third heaven are the same place.
Can't be any clearer, right?
And then in Revelation chapter 2 is the next mention, it says, to him that overcometh will
I give to eat of the tree of life, this is at the end of verse 7, which is in the midst
of the paradise of God.
So again the Bible telling us that those who overcome, and the Bible defines that a few
chapters earlier when it tells us this is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith, who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son
of God.
The Bible tells us that if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are the one that overcometh,
and he says we that overcome will eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
paradise of God.
And look, when we die, we're going to heaven.
And in John chapter 14, the Bible says in my Father's house are many mansions, he says
I go to prepare a place for you, and he says I'm going to come again and receive you unto
myself that where I am, there you may be also.
And where's Jesus?
Seated at the right hand of the Father.
He said when he comes at the second coming, when the trumpet sounds, he's going to receive
us unto himself that where he is there we may be also, and we will be in heaven, we
will be eating of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Now that's it, my friend.
So which of those three mentions sounds like it's hell?
Sounds like it's in the center of the earth?
Sounds like it's another compartment, a holding tank for Old Testament saints?
It's not biblical.
So if you believe that paradise is a holding tank for Old Testament saints, you know, that
didn't come from looking up the word paradise in the Bible.
It came from looking up the word paradise in Alexa, and I don't want to spend the whole
sermon on that.
I've spent whole sermons debunking that and showing a lot more scriptures of Old Testament
saints going to heaven and being in heaven and all these different things.
I don't want to spend the whole sermon on that, but I just wanted to cover that briefly
just while we're talking about the thief on the cross.
Let's look at Barabbas now.
Go to Matthew 27.
Matthew 27.
So we saw that the thief on the cross was a sinful man, was he not?
He was a malefactor.
He was a thief.
Did he deserve to be crucified?
No.
He did not deserve to be crucified.
But he did deserve death for his sins on a spiritual level, okay?
He was dying on the cross next to Jesus.
He reviled Jesus, but yet Jesus forgave him of that, because Jesus could have just looked
at it and said, no, you were just reviling me.
You were just blaspheming me.
But yet Jesus Christ forgave him.
I mean, isn't that something?
I mean, you're hanging on the cross, you know, nails in your hands, excruciating pain.
And by the way, the word excruciating comes from the word cross.
Excruciating comes from the word, C-R-U-C, comes from the word like crucifixion, excruciating.
He's in excruciating pain.
He's suffering.
He's in agony, the Bible says, and yet he finds in his heart to forgive the guy who
just finished making fun of him, who just finished reviling him and mocking him.
This guy was a textbook example of salvation.
He admits he's a sinner.
He hears the word of God.
He believes on Christ.
He calls upon the name of the Lord.
He gets saved.
And by the way, he was saved instantly in a moment.
He was born again.
He's a child of God.
He's saved.
Now let's look at Barabbas, another guy that's in the story.
It says in Matthew 27, 15, now at that feast, the governor was wont to release unto the
people a prisoner whom they would, meaning who they wanted.
And they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas.
So this is a high profile prisoner.
This is a famous prisoner named Barabbas.
It says, Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will
ye that I release unto you, Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called Christ?
For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou
nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because
of him.
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas
and destroy Jesus.
The governor answered and said unto them, Weather of the twain will ye that I release
unto you?
They said, Barabbas.
Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?
They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
And the governor said, Why?
What evil hath he done?
But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took
water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this
just person.
See ye to it.
Then answered all the people and said, and by the way, these are some of the most chilling
words in the Bible, His blood be on us and on our children.
Wow.
Then released he Barabbas unto them, and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to
be crucified.
Now, there's so much going on here, but like, you know, we don't have to turn there, but
it's interesting, in Deuteronomy 21, we have the scripture about when they find a dead
body out in the field, okay?
In Deuteronomy chapter 1, the Bible describes that sometimes they go out in the field and
they find a dead body laying there.
You know, there's been foul play.
Someone has murdered this person, and you know, they didn't have the DNA and forensics
back then, so basically they find this dead body and they were supposed to perform a ritual
where they would find the city that was the closest to that dead body, and they would
bring the elders of that city and everybody would basically swear and say, I don't know
who killed this person.
I don't know who committed this crime.
And basically they would pray to God that, you know, that they would be forgiven for
not carrying out justice, because you know, God holds man responsible to bring murderers
to justice, okay?
And so basically they knew that the only way to clear themselves of innocent blood was
to shed the blood of the one who had shed the blood.
So they were supposed to kill the murderer and put him to death.
Well he said if you don't know who the murderer is, they're supposed to all swear and say,
you know, we don't know who committed this crime.
They shall answer and say our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen
it.
And the Bible says that they were supposed to wash their hands, they killed a heifer
as a sacrifice, and then they shed the blood, and then they would wash their hands saying,
you know what?
We are innocent of the blood of this person.
Now was Pilate innocent?
Well if we use Deuteronomy 21 to examine Pilate, part of what they had to say in order to be
innocent was, our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
Now could Pilate really say that?
So Deuteronomy 21, 7 teaches that when they would wash their hands, they had to swear
an oath that said our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
And you know, Pilate, by observing, allowing it to take place, giving them the green light
saying take ye him and crucify him, and then washing his hands, he was not innocent.
He was guilty.
Okay, and so that proves that Pilate was guilty, even though he washed his hands, he still
had blood on his hands, even though he physically washed his hands.
Look at Mark chapter 15, Mark chapter number 15.
I don't want to spend too much time on Pilate because I want to focus on Barabbas, but it's
just interesting how, you know, you read through Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy these books
of the law, and when you're reading them sometimes you think, you know, what is the point of
all this?
Or this is boring or something, but you know, if you think about it in terms of the Lord
Jesus Christ, there's so much symbolism.
The sacrifices, the lambs, the bullocks, the calves, the goats, all representing the blood
of Christ, and you know, representing Pilate when they're washing their hands, and you
know, we can see all that.
And so, you know, always be looking for Jesus in all these passages when you're looking
at the Old Testament.
But look at Mark 15, 6, it says, Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner whomsoever
they desired, and there was one named Barabbas which lay bound with them that had made insurrection
with them.
So we find out a little more in Mark.
In Matthew we knew that he was a notable prisoner, he was a famous prisoner.
Here we get a little more detail.
It says he was bound with them that had made insurrection with him who had committed murder
in the insurrection.
So basically now we find out that Barabbas was one that had started a rebellion of some
sort and he had other co-conspirators with whom he made this rebellion and he committed
murder in the process.
That's what he's guilty of, murder.
That's why he is said to be crucified.
So these two thieves, I mean, you know, they're being crucified for theft, this guy's being
crucified for murder, okay?
It says in verse 8, And the multitude, crying aloud, began to desire him to do as he ever
had done unto them.
But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the king of the Jews?
For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.
But the chief priests moved the people that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
And Pilate answered and said unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom
ye call the king of the Jews?
And they cried out, Crucify him.
And Pilate said unto them, Why?
What evil hath he done?
And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them and delivered
Jesus when he had scourged him to be crucified.
Go to Luke 23, Luke chapter 23.
It's interesting because Barabbas is actually in all four Gospels.
Barabbas is mentioned in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, so he's a significant character.
You know, God only brought up certain details in all four Gospels, very significant details
and this is one of them.
It says in Luke 23, look if you would at verse 16, I will therefore chastise him and release
him.
Wanting to just chastise Jesus and release him.
For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.
And they cried out all at once saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas,
who for a certain sedition, now sedition is synonymous with insurrection, and for murder
was cast into prison.
But therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.
But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.
And again, it says in verse 25, he released unto them him that for sedition and murder
was cast into prison, whom they had desired, but he delivered Jesus to their will.
Now go to John 18, the last place we'll see about Barabbas.
John chapter 18, the Bible says in verse 38, Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?
And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find
in him no fault at all, but 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?
Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas.
Now look at this.
Now Barabbas was a robber.
Now isn't that different than what the other passages said?
In Matthew it just said he was a notable prisoner.
In Mark it said it was an insurrection and murder.
In Luke it agreed with that and said it was sedition and murder.
Same thing.
Mark says that he was a robber.
Now is the Bible contradicting itself?
No.
Obviously he had done both.
Obviously he was a robber.
He was probably a robber by trade, he'd been a habitual robber, and then he did this insurrection
and murder and so forth.
Now what is the deal with Barabbas?
Now I've thought about Barabbas a lot, and go if you would to Leviticus chapter 16, because
I think Leviticus chapter 16 is a scripture that would prophesy of Barabbas.
Now it would make sense that there would be an Old Testament prophecy of Barabbas because
he is a significant character that appears in all four Gospels.
So it would make sense that something in the Old Testament would point us to Barabbas because
so many other things about the crucifixion are predicted in the Old Testament.
You know, the part about him being numbered with the transgressors, the part about him
receiving gall and vinegar to drink, the part about them casting lots and dividing up his
garments and so forth, the exact things that they would mock him when he was on the cross
and that they would wag their heads, just the fact that he was going to be numbered
with the transgressors and all these different details that are given.
Barabbas is also predicted in the Old Testament, I believe, in Luke chapter 16.
Now Luke chapter 16 gives us a scripture about what the Bible calls the scapegoat, okay?
Now we've probably all heard that term, you know, somebody being a scapegoat.
Now when we, in modern day America, when we say that someone's a scapegoat, what we're
saying is that someone takes the blame for stuff that they didn't really do wrong, right?
So basically like, let's say something goes wrong at work, right?
Basically someone is picked where they're going to be the scapegoat, they're going to
be, or sometimes we'll call this the fall guy, have you ever heard that term, like the
fall guy is like the scapegoat?
It basically means that, you know, this is the guy who's going to take the fall, he's
going to take all the blame for something that he didn't even do, we're going to throw
him under the bus, he's going to be made the scapegoat.
He's not really guilty, but he's taking the guilt.
And he's going to be punished for what he didn't even do.
Now that is not what the Bible means when it says scapegoat.
So when we use the word scapegoat, we're not really using it in the biblical sense.
Now there is a little bit of truth in the way we use it in modern day English.
Let's read it and then we'll talk about it, but look at Luke 16 verse number 7, it says
he shall take the two goats, and this is on the Day of Atonement they would do this, he
shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation, and iron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and
the other lot for the scapegoat.
So basically this is the equivalent of flipping a coin.
Basically there's going to be a random choice.
Two goats are brought, the two goats are the same, they basically randomly decide which
goat is going to be the Lord's goat, and which goat is going to be the scapegoat.
So we see how one is for the Lord and one is for the scapegoat.
It says in verse 9, and Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell and
offer him for a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat
shall be presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement with him and to let him
go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
Now he begins to talk about another subject about the ritual, about bullocks that are
being sacrificed and slain and their blood shed.
Jump down to verse 20 to finish up with the scapegoat.
It says in verse 20, when he had made an end of reconciling the holy place and the tabernacle
of the congregation and the altar, he shall bring the live goat.
The live goat is the scapegoat, because remember, we've got two goats, we randomly decide, okay,
this one's for the Lord, this one's the scapegoat.
They take the Lord's goat and they sacrifice him, shed his blood, and offer him for an
offering, eventually he's going to be burned with fire.
The scapegoat is left alive.
So in verse 20 he takes the live goat and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head
of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel.
And all their transgressions and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat
and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man in the wilderness.
So you can see where the modern definition of scapegoat comes from, don't you?
Because they're basically confessing the sins of the nation and putting it on the goat.
So that's why when people talk about a scapegoat, it's someone who's being blamed for stuff
that they didn't do.
So that's why, you know, here all these sins are being put on this goat, you know, that
didn't do any of that stuff.
And so the scapegoat in modern day vernacular is one who takes the blame for others.
But the difference is that in our modern day vernacular, when we talk about a scapegoat,
that person's taking the punishment.
That person's busted.
Here the scapegoat is so called because it's escaping punishment.
It is escaping into the wilderness.
It is not the one that's being killed, okay?
So it says here that Aaron shall bring the goat, or I'm sorry, look at verse 21, Aaron
shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, all their transgressions and all their sins, putting
them upon the head of the goat, and he shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into
the wilderness, and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited,
and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
Now this scripture talking about the scapegoat, you know, there's a lot of controversy surrounding
it.
You know, I've heard a lot of different interpretations on this.
Now growing up in church, I always have heard, the only way I've ever heard this preached
was that the scapegoats Jesus.
That's what I've heard all the time, scapegoats Jesus.
But if you think about the story, is Jesus, I mean, I can understand how sometimes symbolism
in the Bible can have different levels of interpretation and maybe things can represent
more than one thing.
I get that.
But if we're looking at the primary interpretation here, you know, if there are two goats, one
of them's for the Lord and one of them's for the scapegoat, and the one is being sacrificed
and killed and the blood shed for the atonement for the people, wouldn't it make more sense
that that represents Christ?
Dying for their sins?
Shedding his blood for their sins?
Because if you think about it, this parallels exactly with the story of Jesus and Barabbas.
Because a lot of people will say, well who does the scapegoat represent?
A lot of people will say the scapegoat represents Jesus, and that's what I was always taught.
Jesus is the scapegoat of Leviticus.
But wait a minute, was he the one that escaped or was he the one that got killed?
And then other people will say, well the scapegoat is Satan.
And they have these different interpretations, but honestly, if we look at this, the clearest
interpretation here, just the basic surface interpretation is clearly that the scapegoat
represents Barabbas.
And here's why.
Basically, Jesus is represented by the goat that's killed for their sins, and the scapegoat
represents for Barabbas.
Because what?
Because he escapes.
He's not killed.
And if you think about it, I've always thought in the past, and I've even preached this,
and I don't think it's necessarily wrong to preach this, but when you read the story of
Barabbas, you can kind of see it as a picture of salvation.
And in a sense it is.
Because if you think about it, well Jesus is our substitute, right?
Jesus died for our sins.
Well here's a guy, Barabbas, who was guilty, right?
I mean Barabbas was a robber.
Barabbas was a murderer in Acts.
You know, when Peter refers back to this, he said, you denied the holy one and the just
and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, he says, to the Jews.
So he's calling this guy a murderer.
And the Bible calls him a murderer and a robber and so forth.
So we know the guy was a bad guy.
He was a guilty criminal.
By the way, I heard a funny quote the other day.
They said democracy is the system that chooses Barabbas over Jesus.
And that's how it works.
You know, whenever you go with the crowd, the crowd's going to go with Barabbas, not
Jesus.
And you know what?
It was just a few people who stirred up the crowd.
And that's what happens in a democracy is that you have these people called demagogues,
which in this case was the chief priests and the scribes, who stir up the people and brainwash
them and go on TV and tell them what to do.
And then they just mindlessly, oh, give us Barabbas.
You know, because they're just brainwashed by, you know, CNN is like chief priest news
network.
You know what I mean?
Like basically they're brainwashed by the chief priests and the scribes to choose Barabbas.
Now, if you stop and think about it, yes, I believe that there is an interpretation
and I've preached it and I still see there's an interpretation of here's a guy who's guilty
who goes free.
Here's an innocent guy being crucified.
Here's a picture of the substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross.
I believe that.
That makes sense.
But if we stop and think about it on a human level, that's symbolic.
But stop and think about it.
Is there really any evidence that Barabbas ever believed on Christ or got saved or anything
like that?
I mean, is there any evidence like that?
I mean, and the Bible tells a lot about Barabbas.
I mean, we see him four times and then he's mentioned in Acts, so really five times this
guy's mentioned.
I mean, if he got saved or if he believed on Christ or if he realized, wow, Jesus is
taking my place up there.
That cross was intended for me and Jesus is on that cross.
You know, wouldn't that have been mentioned in one of the five times?
But it never is.
So from all we see, Barabbas was a bad guy and he continued to be a bad guy.
I mean, we don't really see anything good about Barabbas.
He's a murderer, he's in this rebellion, he's a robber, he's supposed to be killed.
And look, who chose Barabbas?
Very wicked people, right?
The reprobate leaders of the children of Israel who Jesus said would have no forgiveness in
this world or in the world to come, who he said, you can't believe your hearts have been
hardened.
You know, the Pharisees and the scribes and the chief priests, these wicked rulers, okay,
they wanted Barabbas.
They loved Barabbas.
They chose Barabbas over Christ and there's no mention of Barabbas ever being saved.
So although Barabbas does picture the substitutionary atonement of Christ, he only pictures it in
the sense that Jesus Christ even died for those that didn't even get saved because he
died for everybody, okay.
But really, Barabbas is not a picture of a guy who got saved.
And if you stop and think about it, Barabbas is like the opposite of the thief on the cross.
Think about this now.
Barabbas is the opposite of the thief on the cross.
Here's the thief on the cross, okay, he's being crucified, in my opinion doesn't really
even deserve to be there, okay.
He's killed physically, but he's saved spiritually and he goes to heaven.
Barabbas on the other hand is spared physical death, but is probably burning in hell right
now for all that we know, okay.
Because I believe that if anything, you know, in Leviticus 16, you know, the scapegoat,
is the scapegoat Satan?
You know, I don't know.
That's possible.
And you know, again, I'm just giving you the evidence for both sides.
Because if you look at Leviticus 16, it talks about a fit man carrying the scapegoat into
the wilderness, okay.
And you know, maybe you could tie that in with the strong angel, because what does fit
mean?
If I said, hey, he's a fit man, what am I saying?
He's in good shape, he's strong, right.
So as a fit man, he has to be strong enough to basically carry this goat and he has to
take it to a place that's uninhabited.
You know, so back to the ultramarathon sermon, you know, he's got to run out into the wilderness
carrying this goat, taking this goat to a really far away place and drop it off where
it's not near anybody, okay.
So that could be tied in within Revelation when there's a, the Bible tells us a strong
angel comes from heaven, you know, binds Satan and casts him into the bottomless pit, okay.
So that, you know, and again, I'm not saying I believe that, I'm saying that's possible.
That is one interpretation.
So you know, the scapegoat could represent Satan, because you'll notice a lot of people
who worship Satan, have you noticed that they use a lot of goat symbols?
Think about that now, because they use these goat head symbols and they're upside down
star with the circle around it, it's like a picture of a goat, and even the streets
in Washington, D.C. are in the shape of a goat's head.
Has anybody ever looked at that?
I remember the first time I got Microsoft Streets and Trips, my dad had always told
me about them being in the shape of, I said, I'm going to check that out, you know.
So I just typed it into the map, you know, or you can MapQuest it.
Just typed in Washington, D.C. and boom, you're like, whoa, it's an upside down star right
there at the, at the Capitol.
Who's ever seen that before?
Yeah, pretty much everybody in the room.
But yeah, check it out on the map.
But it's a, the reason that upside down star is a satanic or a masonic symbol is because
of the fact that it represents a goat's head, and you'll, you'll see a lot of satanic, you
know, rock bands, they'll make a goat head, or even, you know, they'll do that thing with
their fingers where they make like a picture of like a goat head with their fingers, and
they basically want to symbolize that.
You know, so, you know, and here's the thing, biblically speaking, the Bible talks about
the saved as being the sheep and the goat, you know, separating the sheep from the goat.
So you know, there could be something to that, but I'll say this, more than anything, one
thing we can know for sure is that in Leviticus 16, the scapegoat definitely represents Barabbas.
You know, the one who's being set free, guilty with all that guilt and sin upon him, but
he escapes.
He gets away.
He goes away.
And of course the Bible talks about Barabbas being a murderer, and the Bible talks about
Satan being a murderer, because the Bible says, you're of your father the devil, the
lust of your father you will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there's no
truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
So we see these two men, the thief on the cross and Barabbas.
One was spared physically, but in all that we can see from the Bible, damned spiritually,
damned eternally.
That's Barabbas.
And then we see the man who was not spared physically, he was condemned physically, but
he was spared spiritually, and he went to heaven.
Today he was in paradise.
So again, you know, what's a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose
his own soul?
It's interesting that Barabbas is called a robber, and the thief on the cross is a thief.
You know, basically similar crimes there.
So there's a lot of interesting symbolism here, and what I want to say is this, you
know, as we study the Bible, understand that everything in the Bible, whether you're in
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, you know, it all points to Jesus Christ.
That's why the Bible says, to him give all the prophets witness that through his name
whosoever believeth shall receive remission of sins.
Okay.
And, you know, and that's another thing is that, you know, the scapegoat, when he runs
off into the wilderness, his blood isn't shed.
And the Bible says without the shedding of blood there is no remission.
You know, he carries the sins off into a far country.
You know, could that picture the fact that our sins are separated us as far as the east
is from the west?
It's possible.
But anyway, it's interesting to study, and I hope that you'll think about that and read
that.
You go to Leviticus and you get into these sections and you get bought.
What is it?
The goat?
The live goat?
You know, what is it?
But you know what?
It's all about Jesus.
It's all about the Gospel.
And we can learn these truths of the Gospel by studying the Old Testament.
And you know, we ought to understand that this story is the most important story in
the Bible, you know, is the crucifixion of Christ.
We ought to study.
We ought to love this story and read it often.
Read it in Matthew.
Read it in Mark.
Read it in Luke.
Read it in John.
And I think that this is something that we need to remember, that Jesus Christ died this
brutal death for us.
And you know, we're just as guilty in many ways as Barabbas.
You know, we've been rebellious.
Maybe we haven't committed murder, but you know what, we've probably been a thief in
our lives, probably stolen something in our lives.
I mean, probably everybody in here has stolen something at one time or another.
Or we, you know, we were dishonest on the job or whatever.
Okay.
I'm not saying that you're out shoplifting.
You know, probably most people in this room have not shoplifted, hopefully.
But you know, who here has been shoplifting?
No, I'm just kidding.
But anyway, you know, probably very few people in this room have done any shoplifting, but
you know what, you know, we've stolen in other ways.
You know, you didn't give an honest day's work for that eight hours of pay or whatever.
Or you were deceptive on the job.
Whatever you saw, you took something small or whatever the case may be.
But you know what, we've all sinned.
We all deserve, we're all deserving of death.
Okay.
And you say, well yeah, but this thief was a really bad guy, that's why he's being crucified.
He didn't even commit anything worthy of being crucified according to God.
He had committed what God considered a smaller crime that was not worthy of death.
And so look, you might have committed a small crime, but we're still worthy of death.
And thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift, thanks be to God for the blood of Christ that
cleanses us from all sin, and you know, we, you know, we ought to follow the thief on
the cross example, not Barabbas' example.
You know, because we might think, oh man, Barabbas, he had it made.
So what?
He died and went to hell in all likelihood.
The thief on the cross, yeah, he died a brutal death, but he's in eternity, he's glorified
with Christ for all eternity.
So don't ever be envious of the Barabbases of this world who seem to escape punishment.
Don't look at the scapegoat with envy.
You know, and think, oh man, the scapegoat, you know, he gets to survive.
You know, they rolled the dice, right?
And basically decided which goat's going to live and which goat's going to die.
Which goat was the lucky goat, you know?
If you think about it, Jesus Christ, when he died on the cross, he's been glorified
forevermore.
He's basically, you know, rejoicing with great joy, whereas, you know, the scapegoat, if
it represents Satan, yeah, he's escaped for the time being.
He still hasn't been punished.
I mean, has Satan been punished yet?
No, but we know what his end is, just like Barabbas' end, hell, eternity and hell, okay?
And so don't be envious of the Barabbases of this world.
You know, understand that it's all about the blood of Christ and what's a man profited
if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul, right?
And so I hope you'll study this story and love this story because this story is the
heart of the Bible, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, thank you so much for this story and the things that we can learn from it.
Help us to study your word and learn more about the gospel and learn more about the
death, burial, and resurrection.
Thank you for the story about the thief on the cross and Barabbas to contrast two men,
one who suffered in this life and one who suffered in the next.
Please help us to study and to share this message with as many people as possible that
we could preach the glorious gospel to every creature in Jesus.