Sermons – Redemption Church

Sermon notes 👇

Barabbas is seen in all four Gospels.

It’s interesting to me that Barabbas’s name literally means “son of the father.”

So, when Pilate gave the crowd a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, they choice a violent man - a murderer - whose name meant son of the father.

Meanwhile, they were clamoring for the death of the true Son of God - the true Son of the Father.

It’s evil that Jesus was betrayed by a close friend.

It’s evil that the religious leaders sought to kill Jesus, and even more so in the name of righteousness.

It’s evil that Pilate overlooked justice for the sake of his own power.

It’s evil that an innocent man was murdered…while a guilty man was set free.

But there it is…

A guilty man was set free. The guilty man was pardoned, and the innocent man was condemned to death.

And we are all that guilty man set free by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Gospel of Barabbas is this: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)

Sermon notes 👇

What part of Jesus as Lord and Savior are you willing to believe?

What parts do you struggle with?

John 18:1-27 has to do with Jesus’s arrest, but there is another story intertwined with it, and it is that of Peter denying Jesus 3 times…just as Jesus foretold.

As these two scenarios are contrasted, we are guided to recognize and confront some of our own areas of disbelief.

In the Gospel of John, we’ve seen 7 times where Jesus has claimed particular things about who He is, using “I AM” language…

I Am the Bread of Life (6:35)

I Am the Light of the World (8:12)

I Am the Gate for the Sheep (10:7)

I Am the Good Shepherd (10:11)

I Am the Resurrection (11:25)

I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6)

I Am the True Vine (15:1)

And there are 6 other times where Jesus simply uses this language of “I Am” to identify Himself….

And this passage we see the 7th time, and it is sort of this culmination…

In John 17, Jesus just prayed this prayer that we now know as the High Priestly Prayer…where He clearly identified Himself as God Himself…

Then He responds to those who have come to arrest Him saying…”I Am He”...essentially uttering this name of God to identify Himself as the Jesus whom they seek.

Jesus identifies Himself as “I Am.”

Peter rejects being identified with Jesus, denying Him, using the language of “I am not.”

Ironically, Peter’s denial of Jesus also held the confession he needed to believe - a confession John the Baptist made in the first chapter of the Gospel of John - “I am not the Christ.”

Jesus is strong and able and holds all power, He cannot lose it. We are completely weak and unable without Him.

When are you going to put your trust in Him entirely?

When will we find our confidence in Him, even when it seems dangerous to us?

That’s our prayer and our confession this morning, turning Peter’s denial into John the Baptist’s confession…

I am not the Christ. Jesus is.