This weeks bible study is a look at the deliverance of Christ to be crucified. I have read the Word thoroughly for this, and have taken out things that directly apply to us. They seem to be hidden messages. But please pray for this to touch your heart, and with the season of Easter, that it will reveal truth.
Matthew 27:11-26
Our Choices Crucify Him
v.11 "Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."
This is just a response from Christ many think, but it is so much more.
CHrist did not shiver or stumble when faced with what He knew was coming. Death. He did not choose to slander. He admitted everything to what He was based on just one question, followed by the response "it is as you say."
We are Christians. Christ did not hide who He was. But do you hide Him?
So many Christians today confine Him to one area of their life. They live a lie. Are you?
v. 13-14 "Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed."
Through persecution, trials, and all that faced Him, He remained true. He didn't choose to negate their words. He was a good Man. Pilate was stunned with what he saw, seeing as he could not convict Him.
Pilate felt Christ posed no threat to him or Rome, from a military standpoint.
Are you living a life where things you do pose a threat to your walk? Can people who question you walk away with satisfaction of knowing they were right about what they said...or can you live for Him and know you're blameless.
v. 15-18 "Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over."
They were given a choice, as we are daily. Barabbas or Christ. A man of sin or a man of God. They chose sin. They released it into their world while keeping Holiness shackled in a chamber.
They(The Pharisees and Saducees) delivered Him in envy.
The Pharisees and Saducees despised Christ for showing them that they were not as "holy" as they put on. He revealed them. They did their best to try and have evidence against what He claimed to be.
They could find no wrong in Him.
Nicodemas saught Him in darkness.
They asked Christ what He would do about the woman who committed adultery.
They persecuted the man who Christ made see.
They thought Christ was wrong for being humbled and eating with tax collectors and sinners.
They tried to say He used demons to put aside demons.
They wanted Him dead for healing on the Sabbath.
The Pharisees did their best to paint Him a fake.
To avoid the mirror that Christ showed them of themselves they delivered Him so they would not be exposed.
They could not prove Him wrong. He is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
v. 19 "While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him."
Pilate had nothing...and yet the people were pressuring him to act. His wife even warned him of his mistake he was about to make.
v. 20 "But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death."
The nature of the Pharisees and Saducees is revealed by this. They had to convince the crowd..to release a murderer and a thief.
Do you have to convince yourself daily that what you are doing is right in God's eyes? Do you battle with justification?
Through all of your actions, can people be assured that you are a Christian? It should be evident.
v. 21 "But the governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."
They convicted Christ right here. They chose sin over Christ. We do this daily.
v. 22 "Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" And they all said, "Crucify Him!"
They put Him to death. We do the same thing daily. Our decisions reveal what He is. You can choose to live for Him, who died for you, or yourself and follow a road of unhappiness that leads no where good.
v. 23 "And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!"
Christ has done no evil. Why do we choose to sin rather than be with Him? We convince ourselves it is good for ourselves, which is selfish. Sin isn't good, it kills, it pillages, it picks apart, it destroys.
v. 24 "When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves."
One you sin it gets easier and easier to allow it to go on. You become blind to it. The Pharisees didn't want to see their sin, so they pushed for Him to be done away with.
You make the choice yourself to sin. To lie. To curse. To be immoral. To Steal. To covet. To slander. And so many more things. You choose to crucify Him everytime you do these things.
How can you put death before Life? Sinners are blind to what real Life is.
v. 25 "And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!""
When you sin people will see it. They will know what you are. It will change your life as you know it. Sinners wait as hawks for Christians to stumble so they can cry 'Hypocrite!' If you live life the way you should, it wouldn't occur as much. When you sin, you deny the glory of Christ momentarily.
It will even go as far as to effect you and your children. The sword will never leave David's kingdom indeed. If you do something that is bad, your kids can be ruined for it. Especially in todays world.
v. 26 "Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified."
Pilate just let this happen. Often today when brothers and sisters in Christ sin, we just let it happen. We need to be held accountable. Conviction does it. Christ was convicted to death. He knew it was coming.
They crucified Him. The Holy One. The Prince of Peace. The Life. They beat Him and tossed Him away.
We do the same thing when we sin. No matter how small it is in your eyes...it is just the same.
So where do you go from there, after you realize what you are?
To Him, He is the Way.
Is your sin eating away at your life? Is it doing more? What are you doing to prevent it? Are you just providing your flesh with catalysts to lead your further into the darkness. I'm telling you now, Christian, you're going no where safe.
We have put Him on OUR cross so many times.
Just as Pilate struggled since they were determined to Kill Him, we struggle as we kill Him, its secret though, we struggle with sin.
There is hope though. He rose again. He gave us the ability to change.
Won't you invite that change into your life? He'll always rise again..so what are you accomplishing in a life that doesn't glorify Him? Because living otherwise you seek as the Pharisees did, to prove Him wrong.
It's our choice daily whether we sin or not.
Don't put Him back up there. He has endured so much already.
God Bless.
Matthew 27:11-26
Our Choices Crucify Him
v.11 "Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."
This is just a response from Christ many think, but it is so much more.
CHrist did not shiver or stumble when faced with what He knew was coming. Death. He did not choose to slander. He admitted everything to what He was based on just one question, followed by the response "it is as you say."
We are Christians. Christ did not hide who He was. But do you hide Him?
So many Christians today confine Him to one area of their life. They live a lie. Are you?
v. 13-14 "Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed."
Through persecution, trials, and all that faced Him, He remained true. He didn't choose to negate their words. He was a good Man. Pilate was stunned with what he saw, seeing as he could not convict Him.
Pilate felt Christ posed no threat to him or Rome, from a military standpoint.
Are you living a life where things you do pose a threat to your walk? Can people who question you walk away with satisfaction of knowing they were right about what they said...or can you live for Him and know you're blameless.
v. 15-18 "Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over."
They were given a choice, as we are daily. Barabbas or Christ. A man of sin or a man of God. They chose sin. They released it into their world while keeping Holiness shackled in a chamber.
They(The Pharisees and Saducees) delivered Him in envy.
The Pharisees and Saducees despised Christ for showing them that they were not as "holy" as they put on. He revealed them. They did their best to try and have evidence against what He claimed to be.
They could find no wrong in Him.
Nicodemas saught Him in darkness.
They asked Christ what He would do about the woman who committed adultery.
They persecuted the man who Christ made see.
They thought Christ was wrong for being humbled and eating with tax collectors and sinners.
They tried to say He used demons to put aside demons.
They wanted Him dead for healing on the Sabbath.
The Pharisees did their best to paint Him a fake.
To avoid the mirror that Christ showed them of themselves they delivered Him so they would not be exposed.
They could not prove Him wrong. He is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
v. 19 "While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him."
Pilate had nothing...and yet the people were pressuring him to act. His wife even warned him of his mistake he was about to make.
v. 20 "But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death."
The nature of the Pharisees and Saducees is revealed by this. They had to convince the crowd..to release a murderer and a thief.
Do you have to convince yourself daily that what you are doing is right in God's eyes? Do you battle with justification?
Through all of your actions, can people be assured that you are a Christian? It should be evident.
v. 21 "But the governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."
They convicted Christ right here. They chose sin over Christ. We do this daily.
v. 22 "Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" And they all said, "Crucify Him!"
They put Him to death. We do the same thing daily. Our decisions reveal what He is. You can choose to live for Him, who died for you, or yourself and follow a road of unhappiness that leads no where good.
v. 23 "And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!"
Christ has done no evil. Why do we choose to sin rather than be with Him? We convince ourselves it is good for ourselves, which is selfish. Sin isn't good, it kills, it pillages, it picks apart, it destroys.
v. 24 "When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves."
One you sin it gets easier and easier to allow it to go on. You become blind to it. The Pharisees didn't want to see their sin, so they pushed for Him to be done away with.
You make the choice yourself to sin. To lie. To curse. To be immoral. To Steal. To covet. To slander. And so many more things. You choose to crucify Him everytime you do these things.
How can you put death before Life? Sinners are blind to what real Life is.
v. 25 "And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!""
When you sin people will see it. They will know what you are. It will change your life as you know it. Sinners wait as hawks for Christians to stumble so they can cry 'Hypocrite!' If you live life the way you should, it wouldn't occur as much. When you sin, you deny the glory of Christ momentarily.
It will even go as far as to effect you and your children. The sword will never leave David's kingdom indeed. If you do something that is bad, your kids can be ruined for it. Especially in todays world.
v. 26 "Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified."
Pilate just let this happen. Often today when brothers and sisters in Christ sin, we just let it happen. We need to be held accountable. Conviction does it. Christ was convicted to death. He knew it was coming.
They crucified Him. The Holy One. The Prince of Peace. The Life. They beat Him and tossed Him away.
We do the same thing when we sin. No matter how small it is in your eyes...it is just the same.
So where do you go from there, after you realize what you are?
To Him, He is the Way.
Is your sin eating away at your life? Is it doing more? What are you doing to prevent it? Are you just providing your flesh with catalysts to lead your further into the darkness. I'm telling you now, Christian, you're going no where safe.
We have put Him on OUR cross so many times.
Just as Pilate struggled since they were determined to Kill Him, we struggle as we kill Him, its secret though, we struggle with sin.
There is hope though. He rose again. He gave us the ability to change.
Won't you invite that change into your life? He'll always rise again..so what are you accomplishing in a life that doesn't glorify Him? Because living otherwise you seek as the Pharisees did, to prove Him wrong.
It's our choice daily whether we sin or not.
Don't put Him back up there. He has endured so much already.
God Bless.
