to sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High. Now I would, we're supposed to be getting into Genesis, back into Genesis. Last week was our last psalm, but actually we're gonna preach a political sermon today. So if you can turn to Acts chapter three, maybe we shouldn't call it the political sermon, I don't know. You call it whatever you want by the end. But where the scripture reading's gonna be Acts chapter three, Verses 13 through 15. Okay, so if you'd please stand with me for the reading of God's word. Acts 3, 13 through 15. This is God's word. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus whom you delivered and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. But put to death the author of life whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. Our Heavenly Father, we pray that you'd be with us now. speak to our hearts through your word, and be glorified in our time. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. You can be seated. As many of you know, we aren't necessarily a political church outside of praying for our leaders, praying for the nation, and the global events. We really don't delve into the world of politics often. And I don't delve into the world of politics often. I don't say much as it relates to the political arena, apart from the occasional offhanded jab. In fact, I've often said it. I only have 45 to 50 minutes with the gathered church per week. I don't have time to talk about politics. There are much weightier issues at hand, much greater issues to deal with, eternal issues, issues related to your everlasting soul, issues which so far outweigh political banter that it's not even worth comparing the two. which is why we typically go verse by verse through any given book of the Bible, allowing scripture to dictate the topic. However, Every once in a while, something is so in our faces, so prevalent, so significant in terms of how it impacts this body, even in the temporal sense, that it must be addressed in a topical format. The elders know about some of the conversations being had in the body. We know about the worries and the fears, the dread and the potential at the potential outcome of the 2024 election. We aren't oblivious to these concerns, nor are we as elders exempt from sharing them ourselves. We, too, see and experience firsthand the results of imperfect human government, which, by the way, transcends party lines. Imperfection which transcends political affiliation, transcends geographical location, and even time periods and duration. In other words, we are all aware that human government will never be perfect. No government or individual can act as our ultimate savior. Our fellow man will always fail us because they're just like everyone else. We are all fallen human beings living in a fallen, corrupted, and cursed world system. It's been that way since the Garden of Eden. For all mankind, and that's certainly true of elected or appointed officials, regardless of who they are, regardless of place and time. It's true of even of the greatest kings ever, human kings ever, David, Solomon, Josiah, or the greatest presidents ever, the greatest rulers ever have all been imperfect rulers. They've been flawed and tainted, corrupted rulers to some degree. We can all clearly see the results of government, for example, not living up to their divinely appointed task. And yes, human government and rule and authority is instituted by God himself. And therefore, as Paul tells the Roman believers who are feeling the full weight of life under a corrupt government system, that every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. That's the Christian message. Be in subjection to your leaders, honor them, pray for them, pay your taxes, but don't ever get it twisted. Who's the ultimate authority? Now, Paul says, for there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God. Okay, so there's a big authority, the ultimate authority, and the little authority, or the secondary authority, Big authority instituted the little authority. Therefore, the little authority is in subjection to and accountable to the big authority. In other words, Romans, Caesar is not your God. We do not bend the knee to Caesar or any human ruler as our ultimate authority, ever, ever. In fact, when the little authority, human government, blatantly goes against the will of the big authority, Yahweh, God Almighty, we don't even think twice about then rejecting human authority. In fact, we have an obligation to disobey them. As our message is also, we must obey God rather than man, regardless of how great their earthly title is. Man is not the ultimate authority, nor are they even close. However, as a general principle and command, outside of government asking us to defy some principle or command of our Lord, we are to be in subjection to the ruling authorities. Paul even says, therefore whoever resists that authority has opposed the ordinance of God. And they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves, for rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but of evil. Do you want to have no fear of that authority? Do what is good. You will have praise from the same, for it is a minister of God to you for your good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid. For it does not bear the sword in vain, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. So here we see the task, the role of God-ordained human government to protect a society from harm, from danger, from wickedness, from evil, to instill fear through power and might into the hearts of those who seek to destroy their society or do it harm. They are to be a minister to us citizens for good. They bear the sword not in vain, but for a purpose. They are to be avengers, avengers on behalf of their own people, avengers against evil doers. Therefore, Paul says, it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but because of conscience, okay? In other words, yeah, this is right. We submit to a higher authority, especially when they uphold God's standard for how they are to rule. For because of this you also pay taxes. For rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them, tax to whom it is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Again, this is the Christian message. Peter says the same thing. To persecuted believers, be subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution, whether to king, as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good. Honor all people, love the brethren, fear God, honor the king. Christ himself said, give to Caesar what is Caesar's. That little coin has his picture on it. Okay, go ahead and give it back to him. But give God what is God's. Namely, everyone who bears his image. Give your life to God first. Don't rob God of what belongs to him. Now, why do I say all this? Because I want to make it clear that our message is not one of rebellion or revolution, though at times that's necessary, but that our message is one of subjection, submission to government, not because human government is so great, obviously, we live in 21st century America, but because human government The idea of human government, the institution of human government, and the commands for human government are from God, which means that at its core, government is good, and right, and even holy to some extent. It's very important that we make that clear as we get into what we're about to get into. Because having said all that, Our current elected, maybe elected government on both a national scale and a local scale here in Colorado is failing miserably to live up to these divine expectations. They are miserable and utter failures when it comes to punishing what is evil and rewarding what is good, for example. In many cases, they're doing the exact opposite today. They are big, fat failures in truly protecting the weak, the needy, and the vulnerable. Again, not just saying that they will protect the weak, the needy, and the vulnerable, but they got that down all day. They're saying it all day long, but they are failing miserably to actually do it. They are failing, for example, miserably in terms of protecting life. honoring the sanctity of life of those same divine image bearers, even the most innocent and vulnerable divine image bearers. In fact, their track record for protecting life is abhorrent. It's detestable, it's downright evil. Which means, again, they are failing to live up to God's expectation for their authoritative position. But that's just one failure. Perhaps the major failure, but it's just one of many as James Montgomery said, there are times in the history of a nation when the government disappoints or even betrays its people. It becomes natural to ask why human government exists and how it should function. Now your shepherds recognize, along with many of you, that we are living in such a time where they have betrayed us. We are living, for example, in Romans chapter one, where God has given this nation over to our own lusts and our own sin and unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, and deceit for our worship of self and creation. And of course, we've been given over to government officials who not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. They even use many of these ungodly virtues as their platform, right? Not only have our local and national officials been under disappointment and failure in terms of God's commands for how they are to rule well, but I would go so far as to say one party in particular, the Democrat Party, has betrayed and continues to betray the people of this country. Now let me preface what I'm about to get into by saying I agree with something that I heard Paul Washer say maybe 12 to 15 years ago. He said, I'm not right wing, I'm not left wing because they're both on the same dead bird. And I tend to agree with that, again. There will be no perfect government. There will be no perfect ruler. We are all, humanly speaking, thoroughly tainted and corrupted by sin, including our elected or appointed officials, right? There are corrupt Republicans, for example, downright evil Republicans, many Republican oppressors, warmongers, adulterers, self-serving liars, cheats, crooks, perverts even. So don't think I'm up here tooting the horn of the GOP, okay? Far, far from it. My answer this morning is really twofold, and I'm aware that I'm telling you what many of you already know. I'm preaching to the converted in many ways, let's just say, but first, while both parties are full of imperfect human, the other party, the Democratic Party, has gone so far to the left, they've gone so far liberal, they've gone so far astray that a spirit-indwelled Christian cannot and must not choose to cast their privilege vote for them in the upcoming election. Their platform is completely incompatible with biblical Christianity. That's just how it is. I would be surprised, for example, to hear of any professing Christian voting for any Democratic candidate today other than in the way that some have told me they're going to do it, that they're going to vote Democrat to usher in the end of the world and the return of Christ. I like that kind of thinking. but I'd be really surprised if anyone could actually bring themselves to do it. We should be shocked and surprised to hear of any spirit-indwelled Christian voting Democrat today. We should not be surprised, however, when the world, in other words, all non-Christians vote for a Democrat today. They are of the world, and the world is anti-Christ. So don't be surprised when a vast number, maybe even a greater number, votes for their agenda. We should also not be surprised when many, even professing Christians, say that they're not going to vote at all, which is a matter of conscience, and frankly, one I respect. You should know that at this stage in the game, a non-vote is essentially a vote for the Antichrist party. It's one more vote that's taken away from the side that, while far from perfect, appears to be much more aligned with the Romans 13 mandate. It's like seeing a young woman being assaulted and not doing anything about it because of conscience. You know? That's aim number one. Really, don't be surprised when the Democrats win this election. Don't let it shock you. Don't be surprised when the population votes or sits out the vote to their own destruction. Now, my second aim is to reassure you all that if that happens, should things not go the way we would want them to go this November, remember that we serve an all-sovereign God. The one who appoints kings and removes kings and guides the king's heart like channels of water. So at the end of the day, while everything might not go the way we want it to go, everything will go the way it's supposed to go. Which means that we, and only true Christians can say this, we win either way. Either way, we're the winners. We don't have to worry about it. We don't have to fret or fear or despair. God is absolutely sovereign over elections. I don't believe, however, that his sovereignty negates our responsibility as citizens to make our voice heard, especially, especially when one side is so clearly and obviously anti-Christ. And what do I mean by that? As I said, do be surprised when a professing Christian, a professing believer in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for sinners, do be surprised when they tell you they will vote for the party which goes against essentially everything Jesus Christ stands for. Again, we can start with the most obvious, and that is the murder of human beings made in his image. The democratic platform has become the baby murdering platform. The womb raider platform, and it's not just some wild accusation in hopes of riling up the conservative base here. No, this is by their own admission. This is a party not only advocates for, but runs on the platform of animal-like promiscuous sex, fornication, and child sacrifice under the guise of reproductive health and women's rights. to the point where Planned Parenthood set up an abortion and vasectomy bus outside of the Democratic National Convention. And as far as they were concerned, it was a success. Why? Well, a headline from the convention, Planned Parenthood's mobile clinic served approximately 25 patients over the first two days of the Democratic National Convention, including providing eight medication abortions and nine vasectomies. What I read there is eight babies were murdered outside of the Democratic National Convention. This was celebrated, championed, even campaigned upon. That's why I call the Democratic agenda the Antichrist suicide agenda. Because we're essentially seeing a people vote for their own destruction in the most basic sense by deceiving countless of women into literally killing their own children. You know, it's hard to have successive generations in a society when you're busy murdering your own offspring. But it goes beyond that. Morning after pills, vasectomies, they're against procreation because they're against the God who gave the command to be fruitful and multiply. They're okay with killing children because they know that children are a gift from God. because they know God is pro-baby, he's pro-child, pro-life even, all life even, but even outside of the womb. Many Western countries today, including Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Australia, offer voluntary euthanasia to anyone who wants to end their life. With parental consent, you can do it before the age of 18, and really for any reason. In Colombia, you can do it at 14 with no parental consent. And I got news for you. Democrats want that here as well. So, it's a suicide agenda. My body, my choice. I mean, the baby can't say that, of course, because they've been dehumanized into nothing more than fetuses, clumps of cells, or a bunch of tissue worth no more than hamburger meat. The Democrat Party has now become the anti-life party, which is why they want to destroy the nuclear family, which is why they push homosexuality. They're limiting our ability to reproduce. They push gay marriage, which is not even a real thing, by the way. Marriage was instituted by God, who made them male and female. Male and female, which apparently is no longer a thing anymore either, as we see the same politicians pushing the demonic lies of the transgender movement. This is where we begin to get into their advocacy for child mutilation, again, under the guise of healthcare. This abomination is just the beginning. We've also seen the resurrection of racism in their agenda, where everything is now viewed through the lens of skin color instead of content of character. But you don't dare call that out as they're also attacking free speech, for example. Don't even think about speaking out against illegal immigration, which, again, is a threat to our society. Our current elected officials aren't Avengers protecting us from evil. They are instigators of evil. They're the ones doing it. But don't say anything about it now. Don't say anything about the fully armed Venezuelan gang that has taken over some apartments 30 minutes that way from literally going door-to-door collecting rent. Don't say anything and don't worry. Contrary to video evidence and the mayor of Aurora confirming it's true, your governor, who wants to disarm you, by the way, says it's just a figment of your imagination. I love what one resident said, your figment is kicking in my door. But that's not the worst part. To quote a New York Post article from last week, quote, current administration loses track of 320,000 migrant children with untold numbers at risk of sex trafficking and forced labor. Quite the avengers we have here. It's not a figment of our imagination, governor. It's a consequence of you and Washington DC's demonic agenda. Again, how could anybody in the church vote for such wickedness? We haven't even talked about the major escalations all over the world, directly impacting churches full of believers and missionaries everywhere, China and Taiwan, the Koreas, Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, Russia, hundreds of thousands of lives lost, all in a bid to pump up the military-industrial complex and line the pockets of these politicians, which, again, both parties are guilty of. But on the left, it's far worse. lawlessness, two-tier justice, defunding the police, cashless bail, and an overall obvious disdain for this country's heritage and an all-out blitz to reimagine it. So again, considering all these things, you should be surprised when a professing Christian tells you that they will vote for the Democratic candidate. It is an anti-Christ agenda, anti-Romans 13 agenda. But again, you should not be surprised when the world votes for the Democratic Party. Why not? Well, Thomas reminded me of a verse last week, 1 John 5, 19, we know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. That's the key difference. We are of God, they are of the devil. I mean, it's really that simple. And I'm not talking about Republicans versus Democrats here. I'm talking about believers and unbelievers. The just and the unjust. The righteous and the unrighteous. Only those who have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone, according to the scriptures alone, for the glory of God alone, are of God. Everyone else, liberal or conservative, lies in the power of the evil one. The whole world lies in the power of Satan. He is the prince of the power of the air, the god of this world, the great deceiver. Jesus said he was a murderer from the beginning, does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and he is the father of lies. Which is why we shouldn't be surprised when the world chooses evil. And we have to ready ourselves for that now, for when at some point it inevitably happens, and on the grandest scale. It's going to happen sooner or later, you realize that, right, at the end of the world? I wanna give you an illustration of this very thing already taking place, maybe the greatest illustration in scripture. I want to direct your attention to a section of scripture that I feel is very relevant to our time and place as a very important, some even say the most important election in our history draws near, okay? I want you to turn with me to John chapter 18. Please turn there, you're gonna need to follow along. If you don't have a Bible, there's one in the seat in front of you. John 18. Where we see a people, a godly people, making an astonishingly poor decision after believing the lies of the enemy and being pressured by the religious leaders of their day. Now, I have to make it clear from the get-go. I'll say it three more times throughout this exposition here, but I am not equating the election with a choice between Barabbas and Christ, okay? I'm not equating this election with this choice presented before these people. I'm not equating the GOP or the Republican Party or the Republican candidate for president, for example, with the Lord Jesus Christ. There are some so-called evangelicals who do just that, who see him as some sort of a messiah figure. Well, I'm here to tell ya, that's blasphemy. It couldn't be any further from the truth. I'd even go so far as to say that the fact that these two human beings are the two choices we're presented with is God's judgment upon this nation in itself. I can think of many people in this country who I'd rather have as president. I can think of many people in this room right now who I'd rather have as president, myself not included, than these two options. So again, for the second time, I am not equating the Republican Party or their candidate with Christ. I must be clear on that. What I am pointing to, however, is how the world will almost always choose its own, naturally, but also how even professing godly men and women of this world are not exempt from being manipulated and exploited and outright deceived by the media and other sources into making absolutely irrational and ungodly decisions, even in the most obvious of circumstances. Okay, now, are you all in John 18? Good. I've taken the account of Jesus before Pilate from all four Gospels, each from a different perspective, but all reflecting this historical account, and I just kind of mashed them all into one. I'm gonna go quickly, but John 18 will be our base text, so you can follow along there, okay? I wanna look first at point one, the deception, starting in verse 28. John 18, 28. Then they, that is the Roman cohort, the officers and leaders of the Jews, including their chief priests, Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the praetorium, and it was early, and they themselves did not enter into the praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover, which I always thought was interesting here. They wouldn't enter the abode of a Gentile for fear of religious defilement, yet they were about to literally call for the death of God himself. This is utter hypocrisy. Note also how they are willing to lie without batting an eye, okay? Just like today, we see it. Verse 29, therefore Pilate, the governor of Judea, went out to them and said, what accusations do you bring against this man? They answered and said to him, if this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him to you. Well, that's not true. Jesus was the blameless one. He's the sinless one. No deceit came forth from his lips, no transgressions. He never deviated from the left to the right of his father's will in heaven. How could he? He was and is the very son of God. Yet here, the Jewish authorities say, we wouldn't have brought him to you, Pilate, if he weren't an ongoing evildoer. That's a lie. Leading to Pilate's reply in verse 31, take him yourselves and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to him, it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. in order that the word of Jesus, which he spoke, would be fulfilled, signifying by what kind of death he was about to die. Important to note, at this time, Jerusalem was under Roman occupation. Rome set the law and simply allowed the Jews to exist in that place and time, and not only exist, but to carry on with their religious practices, okay? But what this meant is that the Jews had to come to the Romans in case of certain significant situations. including exercising capital punishment, okay? And we see, right from the get-go, this is what the Jews were seeking. The death of the sinless one. But note, in order to fulfill that which Jesus spoke. More on that in a moment. In the meantime, they offer more lies and deception, retelling the testimony of false witnesses they stirred up at Jesus' mock trial in the house of the high priest. Luke says, when the religious authorities stood before Pilate, they began to accuse Jesus, saying, we found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a king. Back to John 18 verse 33. Therefore Pilate entered again into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, are you the king of the Jews? Matthew, Mark, Luke all say the same thing. Pilate asked him saying, are you the king of the Jews? He answered him and said, you yourself say it. John expands on this response in verse 34 with a declaration. Point two in your outlines. Jesus answered, are you saying this from yourself or did others tell you about me? Pilate answered, am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests deliver you to me. What did you do? Pilate's like, it wasn't us who brought you up on charges here. Now, the Romans were in cahoots, to some extent, with the Jews, as they were the muscle. The cohort went and arrested Jesus, but at the behest of the Jews, you see. The Jews are the primary antagonist and guilty party in terms of humanity's part in killing the Christ. Having said that, Pilate was also complicit in this, as we'll see. Pilate, are you the king of the Jews? Jesus, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be delivered over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here. In other words, he came first to establish a spiritual kingdom. Therefore Pilate said to him, so you are a king. Jesus answered, you yourself said that I am a king. In other words, yeah, you said it. And interestingly, Jesus says the same words to Judas when they're all sitting around the table and sorrowful after hearing that one of them was going to betray him. Matthew 26, 25, and Judas, who was betraying him, answered and said, surely not I, rabbi. Well, Jesus said to him, you yourself said it. In other words, yep, you said it. It's just like you said, Judas. Later in verse 63, the high priest said to him, I put you under oath by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the son of God. Jesus said to him, you yourself said it. In other words, yes, it's just like you said. Therefore Pilate said to him, so you are a king? Jesus answered, you yourself said I am king. Yes, it's just like you said, I'm a king. Then he says, verse 37, for this I have been born, for this I have come into the world. I have been born, that's his humanity, and I have been sent, that's his deity. I have been born, I have been sent. Why? To bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate says to him, what is truth? What a question. You take a poll on many college campuses today, you'll hear the people say there is no truth. There is no absolute objective truth. That's because it allows them to call what is evil good and what is good evil. This is the greatest deception of all, that there is no truth. But Jesus says, on the contrary, I was born and I was sent here to proclaim the truth. And what is this truth? Well, he is the truth. He is the way, the truth, the life. In terms of what? Of nobody coming to the Father except through him. And so you can see why Satan, the father of lies, doesn't want people to know the truth, which is evident in the next declaration, verse 38. When Pilate says, what is truth, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no guilt in him. So up to this point in the Gospels, we see repeated examples of Christ being declared innocent. First, we have the testimony of the father, right? This is my son. With him, I am well, what? Pleased, that's right. In other words, he is sinless in my sight. He has never sinned. He has lived up to my expectations perfectly. I am pleased with him. He is just in my sight. He is righteous in my sight. He can't say that about any of us in the absolute sense before our regeneration. We have all sinned and fallen short of his glory, of his pleasure, but not Christ. Yahweh says with him I am well pleased. And the disciples affirm this as well, both pre and post resurrection. Peter, Paul, John, they all said it. He is the sinless one, the holy and righteous Lord Jesus Christ. Not only that, but Judas Iscariot said it. I have betrayed innocent blood. Take your money back. He is innocent. And here is Pilate for the first of three times in John alone, with the authority granted him by God himself saying, Not guilty, okay? That's the verdict as far as Rome is concerned. Not guilty. Luke 23, four says the same thing. Then Pilate said to the chief priests in the crowds, I find no guilt in this man, none, for anything at all. At this point, Matthew says, and while Jesus was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. 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 marveled greatly. Now whether Pilate was marveling at Christ's bravery or beginning to think how he was gonna get out of this, I can't be sure. We do know that Pilate wasn't exactly the best governor or human being, actually. He was crass, corrupt, cold, and cruel. He was essentially placed there through connections by marrying the right person, and he'd made many a blunder during his time as governor, including aggravating the Jews to the point where they kept going around him to Tiberius Caesar and saying, this guy's gotta go, he's no good. Pilate was a constant thorn in the side of the Jews, and the Jews were a constant thorn in the side of Pilate, yet Tiberius Caesar always seemed to side with the Jews at Pilate's expense, and by this stage of his career, he was basically one slip up away from being removed from his position and executed, that's what they used to do with the governors, which what actually happened in Pilate's life a few years after this is he was forced to commit suicide at the order of the next Caesar, Caligula. Okay, but at this point, as Christ stands before him, you have to understand that Pilate is desperate to appease the Jews so they don't run off to Tiberias again. So he asked Jesus, now according to Mark's gospel, you answer nothing? See how many accusations they bring against you. But Jesus made no further answer, so Pilate marveled. Luke says, at this point, the Jews kept on insisting, spewing more lies, saying, he stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, even as far as this place. Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether this man was a Galilean. When he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself was in Jerusalem during those days. But guess what? Herod sent him right back to Pilate. Pilate, who Luke says, then summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people and said to them, you brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion. Behold, having examined him before you, I have found in this man no guilt of what you are accusing him. No, nor has Herod, for he has sent him back to us, and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him. Here is yet another witness and testimony to Christ's innocence. So we have Yahweh, we have the disciples, we have Judas, we have Pilate, now Herod, all saying he's innocent. Pilate says, nothing deserving death has been done by him. And yet, what is perhaps among the greatest gutless acts of self-preservation, this governor says in Luke 23, verse 16, Therefore, I will punish him and release him. Punish him? For what? Well, again, Pilate has to appease this mob somehow, right? And he has a great idea here. Look at John 18, 39.3. When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no guilt in him, but you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you wish then that I release for you the king of the Jews? So they cried out again, saying, not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber, and thus we have the decision, namely, of the people. And here's where there's some similarities to our place in time. This crowd, these Jewish people, no doubt very godly men and women in the external sense anyhow, are about to make a conscious decision of their own free will, excuse me, of their own will, of their own volition, of their own accord, which, by the way, they would be held fully accountable for. Yet, one they are responsible to make, considering all the evidence before them. Evidence which includes, on one hand, Jesus Christ being a sinless, guiltless man, not worthy of death, which was verified by both Pilate and Herod. And on the other side, someone they knew was evil. Someone they knew had committed robbery and violence, insurrection and even murder. And yet, they woke up that morning not knowing what would happen. They got all riled up by religious propagandists and they made their decision. We vote Barabbas. Okay? Now, I'm going to say again for the third time. I'm not equating this decision in its fullest sense to the upcoming election. That would not only be foolishly untrue, but blasphemous. The sinless one, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God, the Son of God, God incarnate is so vastly greater than the greatest human being who has ever or will ever live that it's not even close to being in the same ballpark or league or sport. I'm just saying. Here we have a bunch of people who would call themselves religious Jews, now being given the option of someone they know is good and right and true and has never sinned, but has only shown love and mercy and grace to everyone who he has come into contact with in society, and really another who will most certainly be a detriment and a danger to society immediately upon his release. And yet, they cry out because of being emotionally manipulated, because of buying the lives of their leaders, not this man, but Barabbas. Which interestingly means son of father. Bar, son of. Abba, Abbas, father. So you have the son of a father and the son of the father. and they choose the wicked son. Mark confirms this, as does Matthew. The crowd went up and began to ask him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. And Pilate answered them, saying, do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews? For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the people, the crowd, to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. And what happens, what Pilate says next is always the most sobering acknowledgement of Christ's innocence to me. I can hear his voice tremble in this next question. He knew he was participating in a monumentally significant, yet monumentally unjust act. And answering again, Pilate was saying to them, then what shall I do with him who you call the king of the Jews? And they shouted again, crucify him. Leading Pilate to say to them, why? Why? What evil did he do? That's a Roman governor asking that. A wicked, rude, arrogant, pagan governor with no ties to Christ at all. With no comprehension of his being the Messiah of God saying why? Why would you do this to him? It doesn't make sense, people. But they all shouted. And he shouted all the more, crucify him, crucify him. Matthew 27, 15, excuse me, 25, 26, same thing happened. With even greater warning, which might be why Pilate was so shocked at their reply. Now while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message saying, I have nothing to do with that righteous man, for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of him." Yet another declaration of innocence. Another one. She says, don't have anything to do with this man. I'd give you some, you husband, some application, but we don't have time. Matthew goes on, he shares his perspective, he says, They were crying out all the more, saying, let him be crucified. Now 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. And all the people answered and said, his blood be on us and on our children. Then he released Barabbas for them. They chose Barabbas. Now, we happen to live in a Barabbas-choosing culture today, don't we? Why? Well, one author put it best. Tom Skinner, in his book, Words of Revolution, said this, Barabbas is the guy who is going to destroy the system. Barabbas was going to burn them out. Barabbas was going to kill them. Why would they want Barabbas? Well, it's very simple. If you let Barabbas go, and he starts another disturbance or another riot, you can always call out the National Guard, the federal troops, or the Marines to put this thing down. All you have to do is push a few tanks into his neighborhood. You can squash whatever he's up to. You can find out where he's keeping his guns and raid his apartment. You can always stop Barabbas. But the question is, how do you stop Jesus? How do you stop a man who has no guns, no tanks, no ammunition, but is still shaking the whole Roman Empire? How do you stop a man who, without firing a shot, is getting revolutionary results? They figured there's only one answer, get rid of him. They made the same mistake people have made down throughout the history of man. They thought you could get rid of the idea by getting rid of the man from whom the idea comes. So, they said, we can get rid of Jesus. We don't want him to rule over us. Barabbas would never actually, excuse me, Barabbas would never really ask to run your life. Barabbas would exploit you, but he wouldn't ask to run your life. Jesus would ask to run your life. Jesus would ask for the right to rule over you, and that's the problem. Hear this. Men would rather be enslaved to tyranny than let Jesus rule their lives. They would rather be exploited than let Christ determine their lives. So they said, give us Barabbas, end quote. Maybe among the best quotes ever. They made their decision under the sway of the evil one, right? So again, Matthew said Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, get this, after having Jesus scourged, he delivered him over to be crucified. John then goes into a bit more detail, including another, excuse me, examination by Pilate immediately after the scourging. Okay, this is point four, the derision. John 19, verse one, Pilate then took Jesus and flogged him. When soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, put a purple robe on him, and they were coming to him and saying, hail, king of the Jews. They were giving him slaps in the face. We've talked about this flogging before, the scourging before. You know, scourging was extremely common in the time of Christ. Its purpose was to bring prisoners to the point of death without going all the way, just before nailing them to the cross. Though, in many cases, prisoners would die in this process alone, as this phlegm, it's called a Roman phlegm, would have hunks of metal or glass or bone on the end of these leather whips, and they would rip out not only hunks of skin, but teeth and eyeballs, pieces of ribcage, In the case of Jesus, they would have stripped him of all his clothes, tied his arms around a wooden post or stone column so he wouldn't be able to defend himself, of course, and then with all their might, like a baseball bat, they would swing these strips across his naked body, causing major blood loss in the process. Now, a lot of folks say, well, he received the You know, 39 lashes, the 40 less one, but that was according to Jewish law. You see, the Romans had no such law. Okay, there were no limits to the number of lashes given by the Romans, especially for someone charged with sedition or leading an insurrection against Rome and her emperor. And Jesus had already claimed to be a king, didn't he? You yourself has said so. That's what he said. Now these guys had a special disdain for Christ, which no doubt was carried out to the fullest extent in the scourging process. But in the meantime, they're scourging him. Matthew and Mark also say that they went on to strike him repeatedly with a reed. Mark says they spit on him. I've asked this before. Have you ever been having somebody spit in your face? It's one of the most degrading and shameful acts a human can experience. Not only that, they knelt down in faux homage to him. They stripped him of this robe that they had put on him, put his clothes back on him, led him out to crucify him. Just a side note, don't you find it interesting how these guys were mocking him and kneeling to him, bending the knee to Christ, even confessing with their mouths that he was a king, yet they didn't believe it in their hearts? Well, they believe in him now, don't they? Yeah. Unless they repented and truly believed before their own death, it's too late. The reality is, he was a king, and he is a king. He was the king of the Jews. He will return as the king of the Jews, as well as the king over every other king of every other nation, and yet here they mock him as a faux king. Then, shockingly, in John 18, verse four, excuse me, John 19, verse four, It says that Pilate came out to the crowd again and said to them, before, behold, I am bringing him out so that you may know that I find no guilt in him. In other words, he's saying, listen up. I want to warn you concerning what you're about to see. Walk through those doors. Here's your viewer discretion advised sign. He suffered enough. Wait until you see him and remember for the third time, I find no guilt in him. Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns, the purple robe. Pilate said to them, behold the man. Behold the man. Surely, surely this is enough to satiate your lust for his death. But no. Verse six, when the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out saying, crucify, crucify. Pilate said to them, take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him. The Jews answered him, we have a law. By that law, he ought to die because he made himself out to be the son of God. And this, my brothers and sisters, this is where I want to encourage you all. Yes, encourage you all this morning. Verse 8.5, this is the predetermination. Therefore, when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid. He entered into the praetorium again and said to Jesus, where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, you do not speak to me. Do you not know that I have authority to release you and I have authority to crucify you? And here it is, Romans 13, 1 Peter 2. Jesus answered, you would have no authority over me unless it had been given to you from above. For this reason, he who delivered me to you has the greater sin. Here's what that means. regardless of who gets into office this November, is inaugurated this coming January, ultimately it was the Lord that put them there for whatever reason. Ultimately, they won't be there because of us, or stuffed ballot boxes, or faulty voting machines. It won't even be because of the global elite who quote-unquote select presidents. Ultimately, they don't have that level of authority. It's Yahweh who puts rulers in positions of power. It's Yahweh who raised up Pharaoh for a purpose, to demonstrate his power. It's Yahweh whom Daniel says removes kings and establishes kings. It's Yahweh who brought Nebuchadnezzar to take the Jews into captivity, who ended up himself saying Yahweh's dominion is an everlasting dominion. and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. It's Yahweh who has declared the end from the beginning, Isaiah 46, meaning he not only knows, but has declared and already appointed every single king, president, ruler, and authority until the end of time. Evidence by his calling, a bird of prey from the east, Cyrus, who went on to deliver Israel out of captivity, restore them to their land. And it was Yahweh himself who gave Pilate his authority, also for a purpose, namely to crush his son and redeem his people. We, as Christian men and women who know the truth, don't have to sweat who's in office, okay? Yahweh is absolutely sovereign over the elections of a nation in the very same way He is absolutely sovereign over election in salvation. But even in salvation, we still have the responsibility to believe and trust and follow Him, don't we? In the same way, in the same way. I believe, the elders believe, we have a responsibility and a privilege at the moment anyhow to vote. to vote. So, choose wisely. Choose wisely. That's our message. God is sovereign over elections, so choose wisely. And then, don't sweat it, because it's already been divinely determined anyhow. Amen? Amen. Well, as you all know, Pilate buckles. He compromises. He gives in, he caves to the mob despite the warning of not only his wife, but his own conscience. He caves to the threats of the Jews once again. Pilate caved to the bloodthirsty mob. Matthew even says he washed his hands of it. What a coward. I love what Spurgeon said on this act. He said, ah, Pilate, you cannot rid yourself of responsibility by that farce. He who has the power to prevent a wrong is guilty of the act if he permits others to do it, even though he does not actually commit it himself. Pilate was complicit, okay? The Jewish leaders were complicit. They will be held fully accountable. Judas was complicit. The guards were complicit. The people, the people who chanted for Barabbas, they were complicit. They all played a part, and they all, unless they repented and believed in the gospel, are being held fully accountable and are now paying the ultimate price for what they've done. Yes, even though they acted, under the sovereignty of God. Don't ever forget that even though all these human agents played their part, ultimately Christ was crucified, not because of their actions and demands, but in order to fulfill the scriptures and his words. He knew what was coming, right? Matthew 26 to, you know that after two days the Passover is coming. The Son of Man is to be delivered over for crucifixion. John 3, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. They will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify Him. And on the third day, He will be raised up. And that's exactly what happened. On the first day of the week, when the women came to the tomb to anoint Christ's body, they could not find it, right? Then two angels said to them, why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified. And on the third day, he will rise again. All this to say, in what seems like the world's darkest hour, and it was, In the sovereign will of the Lord Most High, he brought redemption to his people through the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He secured eternal life for a people that he had called so great a salvation from before the foundations of the earth. He knew this hour would come. Jesus knew this hour would come. That's why they couldn't kill him until that moment that everything was just right. Everything was just right for him to fulfill the scriptures and the perfect plan of redemption that had been established from before time began, which is exactly what Peter tells the Jews at Pentecost. This man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to the cross. Human sovereignty, human responsibility, divine sovereignty, they're both there. He delivered him over by his foreknowledge, a predetermined plan, you nailed him to a cross by the hands of lawless men, put him to death. But God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for him to be held in his power. My brothers and sisters, do not sweat this presidential election. Vote, stay informed, find balanced news sources if you can, But don't get caught up in the madness and the fear-mongering. Trust in the sovereign Lord. Maybe even for the first time today, if you're here with us and you don't know the Lord, trust in Him today. Trust in His word. Trust in His gospel of grace, I plead with you. Trust in His perfect will for His people. Trust that all things, yes, Even suffering under the weight of an ungodly leadership is all a part of his working all things together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. If I could give you a word of encouragement today, it would be to trust in God. Trust in Yahweh. Do not trust in man. but trust in Him and Him alone with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, yes, even in the world of politics, acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight. Trust in the sovereign will of the Lord. Surround yourself with people who trust Him as well. Praise His holy name for giving you a peace which surpasses all understanding and then tell others how they can have that peace as well. Continue to preach the gospel of Christ and him crucified to everyone you encounter, especially your children and your loved ones, but also to all people, regardless of nationality or gender or age or political affiliation. Preach the gospel to the worst of the worst, the lowest of the low, and beg the Lord to extend the same amazing grace to them as he did to you, for he is absolutely worthy of their praise as well as yours. Amen? Amen. Let's do that now as Noel comes up with the music team and closes us in musical worship. Well, our Heavenly Father, we're so thankful for today. We're so thankful that we live, at least at this point, in a nation where we can gather together as your body, as your flock, as your bride, as your people. as a people who love you dearly for the amazing grace you've extended to us and worship your holy name. We know that our brothers and sisters around the world don't have this ability at times, so we pray for them. We pray, Lord, for our people here. I pray that you would ease in the anxieties they have drawn near to them in this season and give us all a faith and a trust in you that is immovable. And we know that only comes from you. We love you, Lord. We're so thankful for your gospel. We're so thankful for your predetermined plan to send your son into this world to die for our sins. We're so, so thankful for your word that reveals it to us and your spirit. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name, amen.