Choosing Barabbas Over Jesus | Mark 15:6-15 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Series)

One of the most powerful prayers in all of the Bible is found in Psalm 73 verse 25 where Asaph tells the Lord, whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides you. Only those who have tasted of the goodness of the Lord and experienced his all satisfying presence can amen such a verse. There is truly no substitute for him in this life. No one, no thing can come close to bringing the needy human soul to this height of happiness and this depth of wholeness that only God can provide.

And I really hope and pray that every one of us in this place can genuinely say that knowledge of God and communion with God has no comparison. To walk with him, to talk to him, to sit alone at his feet and discover him. There is nothing else that can come close to the joy, the thrill, the fulfillment of that kind of pursuit. It is no wonder that the prophet Jeremiah said in Jeremiah nine twenty three to 24, thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might.

Let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boast boast in this, that he understands and knows me. That I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things, I delight, declares the Lord. Wisdom, might, riches do not come close to the one who knows him. And if you're there, then perhaps at one point in your journey, you have asked yourself this.

Why and how do people choose other things over this? How does someone reject a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? And I've I've pondered over that question many times, especially in the early years of my walk with Christ as I've observed loved ones and close friends and coworkers and classmates have such a tight grip on falsehood and idols instead of their creator and redeemer. And if you've wondered that yourself, then know this, that we're gonna arrive at some answers to this mystery. Because what we have before us in our main text today is a scene, a dramatic scene with a variety of characters who have this one striking trait in common.

They've renounced the Lord Jesus Christ and shockingly chose an inferior option. And as I meditated on what we're about to read, I realized that though these parties all had the same decision, They did so for different reasons. In other words, there were different factors at work that encouraged each of these parties to deny Jesus Christ. And we're gonna explore those reasons in detail, but let's first read this text and see how the stage is set for this strange decision to be made. Mark 15 beginning in verse six.

Please meet me in that place. And we'll read down to verse 15. Mark 15 verse six reads, now at the feast, he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them.

And he answered them saying, do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews? For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priest had delivered him up. But the chief priest stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, then what shall I do with the man you call the king of the Jews? And they cried out again, crucify him.

And Pilate said to them, why? What evil has he done? But they shouted all the more, crucify him. So Pilate wishing to satisfy the crowd released for them Barabbas and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Lord, we need your help with this word.

May the Holy Spirit be our portion and our help. And Lord, we just ask that not just the accurate explanation of this text, but the precise empowered delivery of this word would be as you wish. And, Lord, we do ask we all ask together that we would only see and hear your son, Jesus Christ. And so, Lord, do miracles today. We believe that your word can perform miracles, but we don't trust just in human words.

We need what first Thessalonians one five tells us. We need power. We need conviction. We need the Holy Spirit. And we ask and trust that that will be true today.

In Jesus' name, amen. Evidently, there was a tradition that Pilate established with the Jews during his reign, during his political career, and it's made known to us in this passage. Once a year, around the feast of the Passover, Pilate would release for the Jews any criminal that they would want to be free. Now we are not given any explanation for this custom, but we can guess. There's a strong guess to why Pilate instituted such a thing.

It's very likely because he wanted to be on good terms with the Jews, especially because when you look at, yes, in the bible, even in history, Pilate did not do a lot of things that made the Jews happy. And so this is one thing to give them some kind of relief, some kind of understanding that Rome is somewhat merciful. And so he gave them a level of supposed power and authority, though it was very limiting. And we see here that Herod, even in the bible, acted in a similar way. You don't have to turn there, but in Acts chapter 12, when we're told there that Herod killed James, the brother of John, he perceived that it pleased the Jews and so he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

So this is this is what Pilate is doing. He's doing what a lot of politicians like to do. He is promising them a yearly amnesty here to maintain and enhance his popularity and political standing. But on this particular Passover, things are different, very different. Pilate is known as a brutal man, a cold man.

But even a man like Pilate, after briefly investigating the Lord Jesus Christ determined he's innocent. He's not deserving of any of this. And you get the sense as you read the gospels that this man, yes, tough. Yes, powerful, yes, very indifferent to the Jewish people, is wrestling. He's wrestling with this specific case.

He doesn't wanna deal with it lightly. He doesn't wanna deal with it unjustly. And so you find him here now hoping to release Jesus. Hoping that through this custom, though the religious leaders are convinced that they want this man dead, perhaps the populace, the majority of the masses in their vote with this custom will overrule the religious leaders and they can't do anything about him. That is what Pilate is hoping for.

And if you have any doubt that this is what he wants, let me quote to you Luke 23 verse 20. It's a very brief verse just to prove my point. It says there, Pilate addressed them once more desiring to release Jesus. He wanted to set this man free. And you see with the combination of the gospel accounts how even in providence, there are different ways that Pilate perceived that he had to he had to try to disassociate himself with this.

You remember his wife had a dream about Jesus and she approached Pilate and says, I have nothing to do with this man. But what do we read? Pilate never releases Jesus. Instead, he releases a man named Barabbas. Who is this Barabbas?

We don't know much about him, but what we do have suffices in verse seven. He is a rebel. He was in prison. He had committed murder, but he was not just a murder. He was part of an insurrection.

An insurrection is a violent uprising against any authoritative body or government. And to do that at this time warranted a death sentence. In another gospel account, we're told that Barabbas was a notorious criminal. He was a famous prisoner. Ironically, his name Barabbas means son of the father.

And what do you have here? You have the people choosing a murderer, though son of the father instead of Jesus, the sinless son of the heavenly father. How could this happen? How could bloody Barabbas receive pardon while Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, face a horrific death? Simple answer.

Barabbas was the people's choice. Staggering, isn't it? Indeed it is. And I wanna present to you in this brief time before we break bread together at least three reasons why the people exchange Jesus for Barabbas. And what you're going to realize is that the very same reasons that explain why the people did this will also give some kind of commentary to why people today, maybe even in this room, are replacing Jesus for another option.

Number one, some people reject Jesus, replace Jesus because they want to be their own God. Look at verse nine and ten again with me. And he answered them saying, do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews? For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priest had delivered him up. Pilate wasn't dumb.

He was a smart man, a strategic man, and he could read people at least to an extent. And at this point, he could easily pick up that this whole proceeding was fueled by one thing, jealousy. It's not very difficult to see how this is boiled over because of envy. In fact, most people who are envious tend to expose themselves. When they resent somebody else for something that they have or something that they do, they tend to reveal themselves in a way that they might not even realize.

And one of the ways that they do that is they desperately try to find something in that person to denounce and it is indeed a reach. And they wanna do so in order to disqualify that person in one way or another. And that's exactly what these Pharisees are doing. But Pilate isn't buying it. He sees right through it and he understands that this is personal.

This is not about law. This is not about righteousness. This is about insecurity. This is about power. This is about position.

But why? Why are the Jews envious of Jesus? He healed. He restored. He forgave.

He fulfilled. Well, it's clear. There are at least two things that Jesus Christ of Nazareth possessed that these religious leaders lacked. Two things. Number one, authority.

Number two, popularity. Authority and popularity. You have to understand that before Jesus Christ arrived on the scene, these religious men were esteemed as the pious theologians and experts. They demanded and they secured the praises of the people And all that would change in such a short amount of time because now this rabbi from Nazareth comes and he performs miracles and he does so with great power, unparalleled ability. And his teachings, his words even compel the crowds.

They would make him have people wait out in the wilderness for three days without eating because they wanted to hear what he had to say and they wanted to see what he can perform. And so what these Pharisees and the Sanhedrin and the chief priests and elders knew and enjoyed was taken away from them. Do you remember what the Pharisees said in reaction to Jesus when he healed? More than just healed when he resurrected Lazarus from the dead. Let me remind you, and if you wanna see with your own eyes, you can.

In John chapter 12 verse eighteen and nineteen. In John twelve eighteen and nineteen, it says here the reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. What sign? He raised Lazarus from the dead. That's authority.

That's power from heaven. Christ had the spirit without measure and so people were coming to him flocking to him because he had done this sign, authority. But look at verse 19. So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.

That's popularity. And these Pharisees looked at one another and they couldn't help but confess it. Look what's happening. You're losing. We're losing.

The world is going after him. And because they realized that this was being taken away, they determined we're gonna get rid of him. That's how the Pharisees felt. This man is robbing us of what we ultimately desire. That's why they say you are gaining nothing.

And what was it that they ultimately desired? Praise, prestige, power. And they lusted after that so much that they are willing to kill for it. Do you know why some people reject Jesus? Because they feel that if Christ takes his rightful place in their hearts, that he will take something from them that they really want to keep.

They see Jesus Christ as an obstacle more than a treasure, as a hindrance more than as a savior, as an intrusion more than a glorious intervention. Someone that threatens their self made image, their ambitions that give them purpose and worth, their cherished relationships, the resources that they invested blood, sweat, and tears in, and, oh, this one. We can't forget about this one. Right? Their favorite sins.

It's as simple as that, my friends. In John three nineteen, we are told that this is the judgment that has come to the world, that light has come to the world, but people loved darkness rather than light for their works are evil. Saying, why do what why do people turn their back on Jesus? You ready for this deep insight? They love something else more.

Their idols, their sins, their autonomy, their ability to govern, the sense of freedom that I have nobody who is telling me what to do. And if you think that this is a new thing in our day, no, no, no, it's ancient. It's been there since the beginning. So there are some people who reject Jesus like these Pharisees because they feel as though if I invite Jesus in, he's gonna take over. No.

I'm not trading this. I'm gonna protect it. And if protecting it means that I have to choose Barabbas over Jesus, give me Barabbas. Number two, why do some people reject, replace, deny, choose an inferior thing over Jesus? Because some people are impressionable and easily persuaded.

Come here and look at verse 11 in Mark 15. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. Stirred up the crowd. In Matthew's account in 27, Matthew twenty seven twenty, we're told that the chief priest and the elders persuaded the crowd. They persuaded the crowd.

Now you have to remember that this setting is in Jerusalem and it's very, very, very likely that most of the people who were in that crowd before Pilate this morning were also there a few days earlier chanting honor and praises for Jesus as he entered into Jerusalem on a donkey. Now most of us are familiar with that insight. The same crowd that said, Hosanna, the same people who said, crucify him. But have you ever just sat and meditated on how this happened? How were they able to switch so easily?

How were they able to change their minds? Especially because, check this out, there was no investigation made on their part. There there's no idea here that there was reflection and contemplation and compare comparison. No careful analysis at all. They just accepted whatever they were being told from supposed trusted voices.

And I make the case today that this crowd reflects the masses who put little to no thought on the claims of Christ and Christianity. And because of such negligence and apathy, they ignore and ultimately deny Jesus Christ. I've seen it throughout the years, especially in those days where we evangelize on the streets for many months. And you ask people, why do you believe what you believe? And here's what you get.

This is what I saw at least on so many occasions. Again with apathy, I I don't know. I just, you know, guess this is just how I grew up. Why do you believe what you believe? I don't really thought about it.

I get like, look, we all have our truth, I guess, and this is my truth. Listen, if you think like that and you're sitting here today, please, I say this in love, eternity is too long to be wrong about this. Well, I just read a book and I just heard this guy, oh, this guy that I looked up to said this and I thought it was pretty convincing. No scrutinizing of the legitimacy of things. No thought like, if Jesus Christ claims to be Lord and savior of the world and he is not my Lord and savior, why?

Why isn't he? What convinced you to be on this side? Millions, millions are like this. Just whatever is the newest thing, just going with the crowd. This This is what I heard.

This is what I've been taught in my living room, in my classroom. No challenge, no push back, no litmus test, no pondering, no reflection. Just, oh, this is what? Okay. Yeah.

Your soul. Are you gambling with eternity? You are gambling with eternity. And this crowd is a sobering illustration of how susceptible we are. We all are to believing lies.

And even believing them to be absolute truth. You know, when I was musing over this part, I wondered if there was any way to know what the Pharisees said, what they whispered with their slippery snake like tongues to whip this crowd up in a frenzy. And you know what? I believe there is a major clue in this very chapter that we just read together, at least this section of the chapter. Look back at verse seven.

And among the rebels in prison who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. He was not just a murderer, he was an insurrectionist. You know what that means. Right? That Barabbas was a Jewish man who was part of a revolt aimed at toppling the oppression of the Roman regime.

So in the eyes of the Romans, Barabbas is a man worthy to be put to death. But in the eyes of the Jewish population, it's very likely that he was seen as a hero. Now, you have to remember that most of the Jews at this time were so attracted to Jesus because he very likely going to fulfill the political aspects of the messianic promise. But on this morning, what they saw, I'm sure deflated whatever misguided hype they had. Because the same Jesus who healed people with his hands and commanded demons to flee with his word is now standing sheepishly at the mercy of Rome, bloody with dry spit on his face and hair.

This is the one that we've been shouting about just a few days earlier. Look at him. All Pilate has to say is he's done and he's done. And I have a hunch that these clever Pharisees took advantage of this. And so they split up and they went to pockets of people and they began to remind them, your hopes in this Jesus being the son of David, look at it.

You think this is your savior? If you really want liberation, which is all this is what they really wanted, freedom, liberty. If you really want liberty, your best option out of the two is Barabbas because he proved it before. He was willing to put his life on the line to overturn Rome. So why don't we give him another chance?

Look at Jesus. He didn't do anything like Barabbas. Barabbas is our better option. Pick him. Do you see?

I was gonna make this a separate point but I'll just say it here. The reason why some people choose something else over Jesus is because they believe that something else has something better to offer than Jesus. Barabbas has more promise. That there are better saviors out there, that there are better masters out there including yourself. And I was going to say that Barabbas here, though he did promise something, it was cheap and limiting.

I hope you know this well, and if you don't, let me tell you this good news. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can offer a lasting and meaningful healing restoration and forgiveness. Because what he brings reaches the innermost parts of your being, a redemption from the penalty and the power of sin. No other option can grant that. And yeah, there is an allurement out there.

Many allurements just like Barabbas was enticing. But what kind of comparison is there? No comparison. Oh, I was reading this late last night and this text came to mind. Let me share it with you in Isaiah 55 verse two where the prophet says on behalf of the Lord, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food. Look at that second line. Doesn't it move your soul? Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and labor for that which does not satisfy? How many are doing that?

How many maybe there's somebody in here you're laboring. People outside of Christ are working very hard to know satisfaction. You understand that, right? They're not doing it aimlessly. So there's a quest out there.

There's a universal quest that people are on to know this kind of completeness. The sense of serenity and wholeness that I I have weight to my life now. I'm not just floating around here. I actually have a sense of purpose. That's something that people are searching for and working hard for.

And they try to find it in career paths. They try to find it in having as many children as they can. They try to find it in even ministerial positions. They try to find it in money. They try to find it in their bicep size.

They try to find it in health. They try to find it in influence. They're looking for something and they're investing and paying whether that's money or health or energy or relationships. I need I need to be satisfied. And here's the prophet who says, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which is not satisfied?

In other words, you're not gonna find satisfaction apart from what? The last part, listen diligently to me. That's where you're gonna find your satisfaction. Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food. Rich food.

Okay. Oh, well, you piqued my interest now. I am looking for satisfaction. And I can say that confidently about perhaps some here because I myself at 20 was looking for satisfaction. I know what it's like to hunger and have that ache in your belly.

So you peaked my interest. What does it cost? Do I have to go to school for it? Do I have to What kind of investments? Do I need a guru?

What what what what? What does it cost for me to know the satisfaction? The price is found in verse one. Come everyone who thirst, come to the waters and he who has no money come buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. It's free.

There is no price tag attached to it. There is not anything that you have to do to yourself or for yourself. In light of the gospel, Jesus Christ paid the price. He shed his blood in order to wash your heart and to make it a home for the presence and the glory of God to abide in. He made a way.

And what you do is you realize that, yes, your soul needs saving. It needs your your record of sin to be dealt with, but your soul also needs satisfaction and Christ provides it. And when you realize the price that has been paid, you come and you open your hands and you receive it and not only do you receive a theoretical idea or a confession or a worldview, you receive satisfaction. God the Holy Spirit will make his way in your life where you know you know. In the same way that you know you're full when you stuff your face, you will know there's something in the innermost part of my being that's settled and it's free.

That's why we as Christians call this the good news. Not one penny, so to speak, needs to be reached for. Everything has been covered by the cross of Christ. But unfortunately, some people don't even wanna look into the claims that I'm making. You know, if we really believe we are people of truth, then we are not intimidated by scrutiny.

Take it. Don't take my word for it. Take the bible. Look at these things. Examine them and see if they're true.

Some people unfortunately are so impressionable, so easily persuaded, so mindless, just want to float around in life and not consider the implications of their existence of death, of afterlife. And that's a shame because unfortunately, it's many of them just like this crowd. Let's come to our final thought of why some people replace, reject, deny, choose an inferior option to Jesus. Some people some people are afraid to choose Jesus because of the potential repercussions. Come back to Mark 15.

Let's read the final verses together. Verse 12. And Pilate again said to them, then what shall I do with the man you called the king of the Jews? And they cried out again, crucify him. And Pilate said to them, why?

What evil he has done. But they shouted all the more, crucify him. So Pilate listen to this devastating phrase. So Pilate wishing to satisfy the crowd released for them Barabbas and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. You know how you're supposed to rightly understand this?

So Pilate wishing to satisfy himself satisfied the crowd. Say, what do you mean? Turn to this passage to understand. In John chapter 19 verse 12, when Pilate was so close to giving the word to say, set the Nazarene free. We read this in John nineteen twelve.

From then on, Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, if you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. Read between the lines. This is a threat. This is a threat that's being made against Pilate.

In essence, what they're saying is this, if you release this Jesus who claimed to be a king, then you are challenging and betraying the authority of Caesar, making yourself an enemy. You want us to report you to Caesar after you release this man who claims to be a king? Pilate understood the threat. And Pilate understood I am not willing to get myself in that kind of trouble. And so this was really the final thing that pushed Pilate over the edge.

It boiled down to this, my friends, self preservation. He caved since he could not imagine facing Caesar with such accusations. But do you know what Pilate overlooked? Something that some people perhaps even here are overlooking. Pilate will one day stand before God.

Never mind standing before Caesar. Who's Caesar? He's gonna stand before God. You know, history tells us that in AD thirty six, Pilate made another very unwise decision. He called for an ambush against some Samaritan worshipers who were making pilgrimage to Mount Gerasim, and he slaughtered them at the foot of that mountain.

And so great was this slaughter that the Samaritan leaders called to the governor of Syria, and this all ended up having Rome recall Pilate and remove him from his position. We're not certain what happened to Pilate after this, but he just seems to fade from the public scene. And more than one historian tells us that eventually Pilate, the same Pilate who years before that had Jesus of Nazareth put to death ended up committing suicide. However, this man may have died, one thing is for certain. He has an appointment with the judge of all the earth.

And the same one who thought he had the fate of Jesus in his hand will have his eternal fate in the hand and the decision of Jesus. There are some people who do not want to choose Jesus because they are afraid, and so they go with Barabbas. They fear what it might cost them in this life, what their family might say or do, how their spouse might react, what their employer might say, what their childhood friends because some of them are Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or gay activists or agnostics. What what will they say if I become a true follower of Jesus? Never mind what Caesar has to say.

God is gonna get the last word and God's word is all that matters. If you really frame your life, especially this decision in light of eternity, you find a lot more courage and boldness and strength. If you're limiting yourself and your understanding of what happens in this life based on your decisions is especially with the most important decision in your life, you're setting yourself up for unnecessary obstacles to the greatest way of life you can imagine. And who cares? Honestly, In this day of age, you should be more bold than ever.

Look at the craziness of the world out there. Look at what you get when you deny God over time. If anybody has a reason to be embarrassed, it's them. So here's Jesus Christ who in his love for me was willing to be exposed and hung on a cross. And I'm ashamed publicly to say I serve him, far be it from me.

Far be it from me. Let the world deny Christ. He died for me, by his grace I will live for him. Some people though can't see it that way. They're so earthbound.

They fail to remember that one day your breath is gonna give up and you're gonna leave everybody behind. And on that final day, everybody will be in the backdrop. The only one that will take center stage is the one who came and died on the cross for you. That's where it's all leading to. And I have determined and I hope you have determined to make your decision based on that reality.

Oh, much more can be said. You can imagine. But let me end it by saying this. This portrait offers us more than just an exhibition of the depths of man's wickedness and depravity, that they're willing to choose a Barabbas over Jesus. I argue that what you have at the same time here is an incredible manifestation and demonstration of the love of God.

You're saying how? Because although the religious leaders had a say, and although the crowd was persuaded, and although Pilate finally gave in, the one who really had a choice in this matter was Jesus Christ. I lay down my own life. No one takes it from me. No pilot, no crowd, no Pharisees.

I make a decision to do this. So ultimately, the destiny of Christ is up to Christ. So you know what Christ does in this moment? He lets Barabbas go free, and he willingly chose to take his place. This is a gospel picture, my friend.

The guilty are made innocent while the innocent one is made guilty. What's the story about Barabbas? Yeah. It is about how people are willing to choose for different reasons something inferior to Christ, but it's also, more importantly, a picture of how Jesus was willing to take this man's place as a precursor of taking a place for all those who put their faith and trust in him. He can take your place if you have not yet repented and believed on him.

A verse came to my mind that I wanna read to you in closing before we relish and rejoice over this divine exchange in the gospel. It's what Jesus said, and I I want you to see it. So if you haven't turned your bibles much today, turn it to this place in John 14 verse 30. And I think this will be a wonderful way to prepare ourselves for this ordinance. John fourteen thirty, Jesus says, I will no longer talk much with you for the ruler of this world is coming.

Look at this last part. He has no claim on me. Have you ever thought about that? The ruler of this world. He's not talking about Rome.

He's not talking about Caesar. He's not talking about Pilate. He's not talking about Caiaphas. He's talking about Satan who is known as the prince of the power of the air. And at this time, he was beelining it towards Jesus Christ thinking that he had some say and some claim on him.

And here's what Jesus says, he has no claim on me. That means many things, but let me drive this one point. What Christ is getting is that Satan had no legal claim on Christ. He has an accusation against every single one of us since Adam. There is sin in us.

There is sin that we've performed, that we have done that gives Satan some ammunition to use to even come before the throne of God and say, he deserves your wrath. She deserves your judgment. But when it came to Jesus Christ, Satan could find nothing. Nothing. No thought, no word, no deed, no reaction, no action, no misaction, nothing.

And Jesus could confidently say, this is a declaration of his perfection. He has no claim on me. He has no say in my faith. I'm spotless. I'm perfect.

I'm the exact imprint of his nature, God's nature. And we rejoice in that because we say, yes, he is perfect. He is God who became man. But you have to understand something with the complete story of the bible. Jesus says he has no claim on me, but then we're told that through the transaction of faith, we receive Christ's righteousness.

Paul uses the word that we are clothed in his righteousness. He uses the word that we are hidden in Christ. So positionally, not because of our own merit, not because of our own efforts, but positionally. When Jesus says he has no claim on me, we can also say he has no claim on us. Because we belong to him.

You're saying, oh no. You're taking this too far. No. No. I'm saying this is exactly what the gospel is.

And Paul said in his own way in Romans eight thirty three, who then can condemn the elect for this God who justifies. Nobody can nobody can condemn us. Nobody can change our position before God even Satan himself. Because of what Christ has done, he has no claim. He has no claim.

That is a legal truth. That is something that nothing can obliterate. It has been set for eternity if you truly belong to him. That's how secure we are in him. He has no claim on me.

I'm talking to a people today who are ready to take some bread and drink from the cup, who believe with all their hearts, I'm free. That even if Satan with all his hoards of demons choose to whisper in my ear or even make an attendance before the throne of God to say, condemn him, destroy him, get rid of him because of what Christ has done on my behalf. There is no claim against me. Totally free, totally redeemed, totally secure because of Jesus Christ, our savior. Let's pray.

Help us Lord rejoice in that truth. Especially for those who have truly been born again, who love you, who long for you, who desire you, but feel as though their performance might cause them to doubt. Their justification. Help us remember, Lord, today that it's what you did on our behalf that wins our righteousness. And Lord, if there's anybody here today who does not believe on you, trust in you, who has not yet chosen you, reveal to them the reasons why and show them that these reasons do not compare to who you are and what you have to offer.

May faith be born in the hearts of even one person here who has not trusted in Christ, who has not surrendered their lives to the lordship of Christ. And so, Lord, we thank you. We wanna sing your praises today as we reflect on the fact that we are redeemed and that there is no accusation that could be made against us forever and ever. We thank you. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Amen. As the praise team comes up, it is my duty to exhort you in this manner. For those who, you may not be a Christian, we welcome you. We're so glad that you can join us at this church service.

But this, what we're about to participate in, is reserved for Christians, for people who have put their faith and trust in Christ and who are following him. And so we ask that you would just respectfully observe as people approach this table and receive these elements, but we also want to look at you and say, oh, we hope that one day you can join us at this table. And the way that you can enjoy this meal is when you understand your need for Christ. Christ died for you. He wants to forgive you of every single sin that you've ever committed.

He does not delight in the death of the wicked, the Bible says. He delights more in granting mercy. And in his love, he wants to wash you and cleanse you and transform you. And the way that takes place is not through religious formalities. It's not through jumping hoops.

It's from you just realizing your need, confessing with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead. It's a personal decision that you make. You between you and God, even in this very room, can take you from death to life. A believer, you're here to do something in honor of Christ and help of your faith. As you approach this table, positionally, you are reminded that I am saved, but also Christ wants us to come in an honorable manner.

And so if our practice knowingly is not aligned to our profession, it's better for us to stop and to reconcile with our brother, repent of our sins before we rush mindlessly to this table. And so I encourage you now even as we sing, reflect on your heart, reflect on your life. This doesn't mean that you have to be perfect because this whole table is meant to tell you you're not perfect. Christ is perfect. But if there is any sin that you know of that you have not repented of and you're holding on to for whatever reason, let go of it before you grab hold of anything here.

That will honor Christ more than anything else. Now let's stand together, shall we? Let's worship the Lord before we worship at the table.