Palm Springs Drive Church of Christ

Palm Springs Drive Church of Christ

By Palm Springs Drive church of Christ Altamonte Springs FloridaReligion & Spirituality
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Palm Springs Drive Church of Christ episodes

  • Which Jesus?

    Series: N/A

    Service: Lord’s Supper Service

    Type: Lord's Supper Talk

    Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

    Which Jesus?

    If you have your Bible open, Matthew chapter 27 is a fitting place to begin as we direct our minds back to Jesus before the Lord’s Supper. The question that emerges from this chapter is simple on the surface, yet profound in its depth:

    Which Jesus do you want?

    Jesus Before Pilate

    When we last left Jesus in the story, He had already endured a long night. He had been examined by Caiaphas and the high priest. From there, He was sent to Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate examined Him carefully and found nothing worthy of death. Hoping to avoid responsibility, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who had long wanted to see Him perform a miracle. No miracle was given. Herod also found no fault in Him and sent Him back.

    Now Pilate was forced to decide what to do with Jesus.

    Matthew records that at this time, Pilate assembled the chief priests, the elders, and the crowd (Matthew 27:15–17). One of the Gospel accounts suggests that the crowd reminded Pilate of a custom he practiced during the feast: the release of one prisoner of their choosing.

    From Pilate’s perspective, this must have seemed like the perfect solution. He knew the religious leaders were motivated by envy (Matthew 27:18). Perhaps he assumed that if the crowd had come asking for a prisoner to be released, they would ask for Jesus. Pilate could release the innocent man and still appear to honor tradition.

    But Pilate underestimated the weight of the moment.

    A Question Deeper Than Pilate Knew

    Pilate stood before the crowd and asked a question recorded in Matthew 27:17:

    “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

    On the surface, it sounds like a straightforward choice. But this question carried far more meaning than Pilate realized.

    Barabbas, according to the Gospel accounts, was a notorious prisoner (Matthew 27:16). Mark and Luke tell us he had been involved in an insurrection and had committed murder (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19). Barabbas was guilty before God, guilty before Rome, guilty before his own nation, and guilty in his relationships with others.

    Guilty on every level.

    Jesus, on the other hand, stood innocent on every level. Pilate found no fault in Him. Herod found no fault in Him. He had committed no sin against God, no crime against Rome, no violation of Jewish law, and no offense against any individual person.

    Innocent on every level.

    From a purely judicial standpoint, the answer should have been obvious.

    But the question was far deeper than innocence versus guilt.

    Two Men Named Jesus

    Matthew 27:16 includes a detail that often goes unnoticed. Many ancient manuscripts identify the prisoner not simply as Barabbas, but as Jesus Barabbas. Some English translations note this in a footnote.

    If that reading is original, then Pilate’s question becomes even more striking:

    “Whom do you want me to release to you? Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

    Both men bore the name Jesus, which means “God saves.”

    So the crowd was not simply choosing between two men. They were choosing between two visions of salvation.

    How do you want God to save you?
    And what do you want God to save you from?

    Two Very Different Deliverers

    Barabbas represented a familiar hope. He was a man of violence, rebellion, and physical force. His name itself, “Barabbas,” means son of a father. He stood for an earthly struggle against earthly oppression, fought with earthly weapons, aimed at establishing an earthly kingdom.

    It was the kind of salvation many people wanted.

    Jesus who is called the Christ represented something altogether different. He was not merely the son of a man. He was the Son of God. He did not fight with swords or rebellion, but with love, grace, sacrifice, and truth. He did not promise an earthly throne, but a spiritual kingdom that would endure forever.

    The choice before the crowd was this:

    Do you want deliverance from physical oppression, or from spiritual bondage?
    Do you want a temporary kingdom, or an eternal one?

    A Choice Jesus Had Been Presenting All Along

    This was not a new question. Jesus had been asking it, in various forms, throughout His ministry.

    When a paralytic was lowered through the roof, the man came seeking physical healing. Jesus first gave him spiritual healing: “Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5). Then He healed him physically, giving him not only what he wanted, but what he truly needed.

    Jesus fed multitudes on more than one occasion, providing physical food for thousands (Matthew 14:13–21; Matthew 15:32–39). Yet later He warned the crowd that they were following Him merely because their stomachs had been filled, not because they understood the spiritual bread He offered (John 6:26–35).

    Even the disciples struggled to grasp this. When Jesus warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they thought He was talking about literal bread (Matthew 16:5–12). Jesus was speaking spiritually, but they were thinking physically.

    At a well in Samaria, Jesus offered a woman a different kind of water. Physical water quenches thirst only temporarily. The water He gives becomes a well springing up into eternal life (John 4:10–14).

    Again and again, Jesus pressed the same question:

    Do you want the physical, or the spiritual?

    Two Kinds of Treasure, Family, and Life

    Jesus taught that the same choice extends into every area of life. He warned against storing up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and urged His followers to store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19–21).

    He spoke of family in terms that challenged earthly priorities. Loyalty to Him, at times, would even surpass biological family ties (Matthew 12:48–50). Through His sacrifice, He was creating a spiritual family, purchased by His blood.

    Everything Jesus taught pointed toward this moment before Pilate.

    Now the choice was explicit.

    The Crowd Chooses Wrongly

    The crowd chose Barabbas.

    They chose the guilty man over the innocent one. They chose the physical over the spiritual. They chose a temporary hope over an eternal one.

    Pilate was left with a dilemma he had never anticipated. He had released the guilty man and was left holding the innocent. Hoping to satisfy the crowd without executing Jesus, he had Him scourged. Jesus was flogged severely. A crown of thorns was placed on His head. A purple robe was draped over His shoulders. Pilate presented Him again and insisted on His innocence.

    But the crowd cried out all the more: “Crucify Him!”

    And so Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.

    The Choice We Still Make

    Every Lord’s Day, as we gather around the table, we proclaim a different choice.

    We declare that we do not want the Jesus who saves us merely from discomfort, inconvenience, or earthly struggle. We want the Jesus who saves us from sin.

    We choose the Savior who brings spiritual deliverance.
    We choose the Son of God who fights spiritual enemies with spiritual weapons.
    We choose the kingdom that cannot be shaken.

    But biblical remembrance is more than recollection.

    When Israel remembered the Passover, they were not simply recalling an event. They were acknowledging how that deliverance shaped who they were and how they lived. In the same way, remembering Jesus means more than remembering what He did. It means examining how His sacrifice shapes our daily choices.

    Which Jesus Will You Choose Tomorrow?

    The decision Pilate placed before the crowd is not limited to one day in history.

    It confronts us daily.

    Will we live for physical security or spiritual faithfulness?
    Will our focus rest on houses, careers, possessions, and accounts, or on the eternal kingdom of God?
    Will we seek physical comfort above all, or spiritual transformation?

    Each time we partake of the bread and the cup, we reaffirm our answer.

    We choose the Jesus who saves spiritually.

    And then we ask ourselves the harder question:

    Did I choose Him yesterday?
    Will I choose Him tomorrow?

    As we continue to remember Jesus, may we thank God that He has opened our eyes to see the greater salvation. And may our lives reflect the choice we so boldly proclaim at His table.

     

    17 min

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