If you would please turn in your Bibles to John chapter 19. John chapter 19, verses one through 16. is our text this morning. John chapter 19 verses 1 through 16. the word of the Lord. So then Pilate took Jesus and scorched him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head. And they put on him a purple robe. Then they said, Hail, King of the Jews. And they struck him with their hands. Pilate then went out again and said to them, Behold, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Behold, the man. Therefore the chief priests and officers saw him when the chief priests and officers saw him They cried out saying crucify him crucify him Pilate said to them You are take you take him and crucify him for I find no fault in him Then the Jews answered him We have a law, according to our law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God. Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid and went again into the praetorium and said to Jesus, where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him, Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you and the power to release you? Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the preparation of the day of the Passover in about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, behold, your king. But they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then he delivered him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led him away. The word of the Lord. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, once again, we approach thy throne of grace in prayer. Father, we pray that you'd be so pleased to bless this time that we have together with one another and with you this morning. We pray that your good and perfect and acceptable will be accomplished. In your holy name we pray, amen. Well, as we mentioned last week, We spent 13 weeks, just over three months, working our way through the Ten Commandments. And once again, as a review, we learned from the First and Second Commandments, that we've been taken possession of by the Lord, and for that reason we are to worship Him exclusively. We learned from the Third Commandment that God will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His holy name. From the fourth commandment, we learned of our responsibility to faithfully keep or to observe the Lord's day, often called the Christian Sabbath. From the fifth and sixth commandments, we learned that God's will for us is to honor Father and Mother and to acknowledge the sanctity of human life, something that we're going to do this afternoon. We learn from the 7th and 8th Commandment that it is God's will for husband and wife to keep the marriage bed undefiled. That is, they are to avoid committing adultery. And that for us, we are to lead honest lives. That is, avoiding theft of any kind. Then we spend five weeks learning the various ways the 9th Commandment is violating by bearing false witness. Then we concluded our sermon series of the Decalogue by spending two weeks considering what the Tenth Commandment requires and forbids. It requires contentment and it forbids discontentment with His providential care for us. Having completed our journey through the Ten Commandments, we then looked to the teaching of Holy Scripture in the 149th question and answer of the Westminster Larger Catechism to arrive to, or to be reminded of, the biblical view of mankind's inability and responsibility toward the law of God. Having worked our way through the Decalogue and the subject of mankind's inability and responsibility toward the law of God, I believe now would be a good time to turn our attention to the very important statement Jesus has just made prior to being sentenced to death on the Roman cross. As we will now see, beloved, while all sin is grievous to God, while all sin is grievous to God and deserving of His righteous indignation, In a sentence of eternity in hell, there are greater and lesser sins. There are greater and lesser sins. Once again, let's look to our text, read our passage, and then look to the Lord once again in prayer. Beginning with verse one, read with me prayerfully. So then Pilate took Jesus and scorched him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head. And they put on him a purple robe. Then they said, Hail, the King of the Jews. And they struck him with their hands. Pilate then went out again and said to them, Behold, I am bringing him out to you. that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then Jesus came out wearing a crown of thorns and a purple robe, and Pilate said to them, behold, the man. Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, You take him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, we have a law, and according to our law, he ought to die, because he made himself the son of God. Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was all the more afraid, and went again into the praetorium, and said to Jesus, where are you from? but Jesus answered him, but Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him, are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you and the power to release you? Jesus answered, you could have no power at all against me unless it has been given to you from above. Therefore, for that reason, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin from then on Pilate sought to release him But the Jews cried out, saying, if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the preparation of the day of the Passover in about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, behold, your king. But they cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priest answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then he delivered him to them to be crucified. They took Jesus and led Him away. The Word of the Lord. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, once again we approach Thy throne of grace in prayer. Father, we pray that You would be so pleased to lead and guide us this morning as only You can. We pray that you'd be so pleased to bless the reading and hearing of your holy word. May you be honored in all that is said and done and thought this morning. May Jesus be magnified. May he be glorified. May the church be strengthened in her most holy faith once for all delivered to the saints. Father, we pray that there'd be anyone here this morning who has not yet begun to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we pray that today would be the day of their salvation, that today would be the day that you would be merciful to them, that you would grant them saving faith in Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray that you would be pleased to bless thy servant's work for your honor and glory for the church's good. I pray your forgiveness in advance if I should speak anything amiss. In your holy name we pray. Amen. Jesus answered, you could have no power at all against me unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. John 19 verse 11. I believe we've all heard it said that sin is sin. We've all heard that before, I believe. And it's true, sin is sin. All sin is lawlessness. There isn't a sin that doesn't qualify as being lawless. The Holy Bible clearly teaches that all sin is lawlessness. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. The Apostle John says in 1 John 3, 4. So considering Scripture, the saying that sin is sin, that sin is sin, it must refer to the fact that all sin must be taken seriously because all sin is lawlessness. And so when we hear the saying, you know what, sin is sin, it's another way of saying all sin needs to be taken seriously because it's lawlessness. Why must all sin be taken seriously? All sin must be taken seriously because those whose life is marked or is characterized by lawlessness will not be permitted to enter the kingdom of heaven. One's life who is marked by an unbroken pattern of consistent lawlessness will not be permitted to enter the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew chapter 7 verse 21 through 23, we find our Lord and Savior saying these words. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, have done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness, you who practice sin, you whose life is marked by sin. While all sin must be taken seriously, We must not take sin lightly. While all sin deserves God's displeasure, are all sins equal in God's sight? Are they all equal? Beloved, that's an important question to ask. In our consideration of the various ways the ninth commandment is violated, when we looked into the many ways in which one may bear false witness, we learned that one bearing that one is bearing false witness when he or she is representing smaller faults. You remember that? Smaller faults or smaller failings of others as being more serious or more important than what they truly are. For the sake of remembering, here's the 145th question and answer of the larger catechism. It asks, what are the sins forbidden in the Ninth Commandment? That's the question, and here's the section of the answer that ties into the idea of greater and lesser sins. The Catechism states, the sins forbidden in the Ninth Commandment are denying the gifts and graces of God, aggravating smaller faults, hiding, excusing, or extenuating of sins, when a call to a free confession, unnecessary discovering of infirmities, raising false rumors, receiving and continuing evil reports, and stopping our ears against just defense. Again, we're focused on aggravating smaller faults. looking at those, looking at sins and exaggerating them as if there's some, you know, more than what they truly are. And so are all sins equal in God's sight? Our answer, beloved, is yes and no. Yes and no. Yes, in that all sin is lawlessness, and that all sin deserves his righteous indignation and eternal punishment in hell, and no, in that we also see from sacred scripture that not all sin calls for the same punishment. We see this in our judicial system today, right? When looking to God's Word, we read of sins that deserve capital punishment, while other sins do not, but rather call for punishments that are appropriate to the offense. He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. Exodus 21-12. If men fight and hurt a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished according as the woman's husband imposes on him. And so the appropriate punishment for that man would be he will face her husband. It goes on to say, And he shall pay as the judge determines. But if any harm follows the child, then you shall give a life for a life, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for a hand, foot for a foot, burn for a burn, wound for a wound, stripe for a stripe. In other words, whatever harm is done to that child, that same harm is deserved to the person who caused it. And so if the child loses its sight as a result of being harmed, then that person will lose their sight. And so, and on the other side of that, the Lord is gracious in giving these guidelines for dealing with these particular sins so that no one is punished beyond what they rightfully deserve. And so here in these two examples, We see that while all sin is lawlessness, and is, as the late Pastor R.C. Sproul is known for saying, cosmic treason against God, we easily conclude that in another sense, God does not view all sin the same. Then there's Proverbs chapter six. where we are told of seven sins that the Lord hates in our abomination to Him. In Proverbs chapter six, verses 16 through 19, we read these words. These six things the Lord hates. Yes, seven are an abomination to Him. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and anyone who sows discord among the brethren. And so, beloved, As we are seen from Holy Scripture, contrary to what many believe, God does not view all sin the same. Listen carefully as I read the 150th question and answer of the Westminster Larger Catechism. It asks, are all transgressions of the law equally heinous in themselves and in the sight of God. And it answers all transgressions of the law are not equally heinous, but some sins in themselves and by reason of several aggravations are more heinous in the sight of God than others. Listen to what the larger catechism goes on to say regarding the Roman Catholic view of sin. It says, how does the Roman Catholic Church misuse the Bible teaching that some sins are more heinous than others? The Roman Catholic Church teaches a false distinction between mortal sin and venial sins. According to the Roman Catholic doctrine, a mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God, which brings everlasting death and damnation on the soul, whereas venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God, which only lessens the love of God in our heart and makes us less worthy of God's help and weakens our power to resist mortal sins. Why is this Roman Catholic doctrine false? And here's why it is false. This doctrine is false because the Bible teaches that every sin, even the least, deserves God's everlasting punishment. According to the Bible, the wages of sin is death, Romans 3.23, a general statement which includes every kind of sin, and so all sin is worthy of death. The Roman Catholic Church is wrong in teaching that some sins are only a slight offense against the law of God, and since no sinner is worthy of God's help at all, it is wrong to speak of venial sins as making us less worthy of God's help. Again, while all sin is lawlessness and deserving of God's righteous indignation, and everlasting punishment in hell, God does not view all sin the same. Before moving on, let's dismiss the charge that some make against the biblical teaching of greater or lesser sins. The charge against the biblical teaching is that some sins are of great importance to God, whereas lesser sins are not as important to Him. We just saw that in the Roman Catholic doctrine. Some are important to Him, and some are not so important to Him. Beloved, nothing can be further from the truth. God takes all sin very seriously. All sin, great or small, is rebellion against the most holy, just, wise, infinite, and eternal Lord God Almighty. from the passing of a wicked thought, to the taking of a life, to the outright rejection of Jesus Christ, God takes notice of all sin because there isn't one single sin that he does not take seriously. All sins, from the greater to the lesser sins, earn and or deserve eternal damnation in hell. God takes sin very seriously. Beloved, one cannot consider the personal work of Jesus Christ and arrive to the conclusion that there are some sins which are of little to no concern to the Lord God Almighty. When we look to the pages of Holy Scripture, what was it that initiated the sending of God's one and only beloved Son? What was it that initiated that? I mean, yes, we know in eternity past, before the foundation of the world, the plan of redemption was already decreed, it was already there. He's already chosen all who would believe in Him, who would be His sons and daughters. But when we look to the pages of Holy Scripture, when we look to the point in time where there's space, time, and history, what was it that initiated the sending of God's beloved Son? That which initiated the sending of Jesus Christ to redeem those who have been given to him, those who believe in him, is the simple act of rebellion by our first parent Adam. And what was that act? He didn't murder anyone. He didn't bear false witness. He didn't give anybody a black eye. He didn't kill an infant. He didn't hurt an infant. What was it? Taking and eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eating something that he was told not to eat. much like a child, or even some of us adults. And the woman in the home says, don't touch those cookies until it's time. And what do we do? At the right moment, we reach over and we grab a cookie, don't we? That's what Adam did. He disobeyed a command. He disobeyed a command. And that's what initiated the sending of Jesus Christ. God takes all sin very seriously. I mean, think it through. When one act of disobedience, not murder, but the eating of a piece of fruit, results in the fall of mankind, how can anyone suggest that there are some sins which are of little importance to God? I mean, all sin is important to Him, and let that be settled once and for all. However, As we've already seen from Scripture, and now from the Westminster Larger Catechism, not all sin is equally heinous in God's sight. In addition to what we've already considered, when we look to today's passage of Scripture, we clearly find an additional support for the existence of greater and lesser sins. Here we find Jesus Christ standing before the Roman governor Pilate. The Jews of the day, the religious leaders, charged Jesus with blasphemy. He claimed himself to be the Son of God, and rightfully so, a sin according to their law deserving of death. And Jesus is standing before Pilate, and Jesus says, you could have no power at all against me unless it has been given to you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. He is the one who has the greater sin. Beloved, while Pilate is not innocent of Jesus's murder, He didn't find any fault in him and yet handed him over to be crucified. The one bearing the greater sin is Caiaphas, the high priest. How? Why? It was Caiaphas who set the wheels in motion for the murder of Christ. If it had not been for Caiaphas, the high priest, setting the wheels in motion for Jesus to be murdered, Pilate would have never found himself in a position between choosing between himself and Christ. choosing between self-preservation or handing Jesus over to be crucified. While both Pilate and Caiaphas' sin earns God's unmitigated wrath in hell, the greater sin, beloved, rests upon the high priest. Not my words, Jesus' words. The greater sin rests with Caiaphas. If it had not been for him pursuing the murder of Christ, Pilate would have never had to choose between his own well-being and Jesus' well-being. Had Pilate upheld Jesus' innocence by refusing to honor the Jews' request to sentence Jesus to death, Pilate knew that he was innocent. We read right here from sacred scripture, Pilate said, I find no fault in this man. He knew he was innocent. Had Pilate upheld Jesus' innocence by refusing to honor the Jews' request to sentence Christ to death, the Jews would have caused an uproar, they would have gained the attention of Rome, and the rulers in Rome, the governorship of Rome, would have come down, started breathing on Pilate's neck, and they would have come down upon him, The Jews worked toward removing Pilate from governorship The Roman government would have come down hard and heavy upon pilot Why for not keeping the Jewish people the Jewish province that he's responsible for peaceful? That's all that he needed to do was to keep the peace in that province, to keep the Jews peaceful. No riots, no ruckus, keep them peaceful, let them worship their God. Rome, we worship many gods, so we have no issue with them worshiping their God, just keep them peaceful. And the last thing that Pilate wanted was to have the ruling authorities of Rome breathing down his neck and eventually coming down hard and heavy upon him, removing him from governorship. That's his livelihood. And so both Pilate and Cephasis sinned against God. Both deserve God's unadulterated wrath. However, from God's standpoint, the greater sin was committed by the high priest. because he is the one who got the ball rolling. If it wasn't for him, Pilate wouldn't have had Christ standing before him. And Pilate wouldn't have had to choose between himself and Christ, between self-preservation and upholding the innocence of Jesus Christ. And so, beloved, when it comes to sin, We must always respond with the utmost seriousness. We must always respond with the utmost seriousness because God takes in both the greater and lesser sins with the utmost seriousness. He's proven that with the gift of his son. When we approach the necessary task of dealing with our own sin, and when necessary, the sin of others, when it comes to do so, we must approach the task in an appropriate manner, not overreacting, not downplaying sin that needs to be addressed, but appropriately addressing the sin, dealing with it as it ought to be dealt with, not overreacting, not underplaying it, but dealing with it with appropriateness. And always, always with the goal of not tearing down the person, but building that person up. You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for the redemption, the forgiveness of sins that we have in our beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that you would, that you would be so pleased to continue to faithfully encourage us, enable us, remind us to always take our sin very seriously. May we never be found taking sin lightly. May we always be found dealing with sin appropriately. Father, we thank you again for Jesus Christ who came and fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf, who came and bore our sin so that we might be saved, so that we might be redeemed, so that we might have the wonderful promise of eternal life. Father, once again we pray that if anyone here this morning are listening to this message, if they have not yet begun to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if they have not yet placed their faith and trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sins, Father, we pray that today would be the day of their salvation, that you would be so kind to grant them saving faith in our beloved Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. in whose name we live and move and have our being. Amen.