Sister Sharron Sunday School 3/8/15

Sister Sharron Sunday School 3/8/15

I tried to look into the heart of the people in this account.  When people do a play of this, it is called the “Passion” play.  I think of the mob.  How important it is that we not be carried away with that!

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Our perfect example is Jesus.  He was crucified, not for himself, but for our sins.

Luk 23:12  And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.

They went from hatred to love one for another.  The common factor is that they were against Jesus.  The same with people around us.  They may be at enmity with one another, but all at once when we take a stand, they are friends.

Judas at one time was one of the disciples.  How could he have fallen away?  He did not overcome when he knew better.  That is how dangerous it is when we don’t.

Mat 27:1  When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:

Mat 27:2  And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

I read that he had to walk about a mile to go to where Pontius Pilate was.  Pilate was rough, with a haughty spirit.  He was willful, and covetous.  He knew Jesus was innocent but did not have the integrity to take a stand.  He feared the mob of the people would turn on him.

Jesus was led as a lamb to the slaughter.

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

How many times when we are wounded to the core, wronged, have we kept silent?  Jesus didn’t answer a word.  It wasn’t for Himself, it was for us.

Mat 27:3  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

We should always do our best to teach the reaping, the end of the matter.  Judas felt bad.  Thirty pieces of silver surely wasn’t worth Jesus’ life.  It was pitiful.  How greedy!  Judas never overcame the greed. 

It makes one wonder because of how Judas felt the guilt, “How could anyone spend that time with Jesus and not love him?”  People in their little box thought that Jesus was a king come to rule.  Maybe Judas felt that Jesus needed a little catalyst. 

If Judas spent 3 years with Jesus and then lost out, how careful we ought to be that we not lose out with God! 

The Romans were very cruel.  If you lived under that type of stress and danger who wouldn’t want a deliverer?  The disciples’ hearts just did not have the perception of why Jesus came.

How could people that were with Jesus not love Him?  People do that all the time today.  People that throughout the ages have sat under the true message and so to speak in the midst of God, and as time goes on they get lukewarm, or something comes up in the message that they rebel against. 

I saw how cruel sin can be.  It boggles my mind that my children would go out into it.  People that have been with us and turn away?  It doesn’t make common sense.

Mat 27:4  Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

Judas knew Jesus, he knew how he worked and lived and knew in his heart of hearts that Jesus was innocent.  He repented but did not repent unto salvation.  “I have betrayed innocent blood.”

People in the past have felt bad but not repented unto salvation.

Mat 27:5  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Mat 27:6  And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

Mat 27:7  And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

Mat 27:8  Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

Mat 27:9  Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;

Mat 27:10  And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.

Judas came to that point but at that point it was out of his hands.  They wouldn’t take back the money.  They couldn’t use the blood money.  They used it for the potter’s field.  They were heartless.  “It is not our problem.”

People that don’t believe that you can live free from sin every day deny the power of God.  Judas couldn’t recover what he had lost.  When people get saved, they can recover to an extent.  If I were to backslide and ruin my reputation in the community and my job, would I be able to recover that? 

I see it in my family, the things that they have destroyed in their lives, if they were to get saved, they would live with that the rest of their lives.  There is a real losing in sin.

Mat 27:11  And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.

Mat 27:12  And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

Mat 27:13  Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

Pilate was hoping that Jesus would come up with a way that would help alleviate this horrible situation.

Mat 27:14  And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Mat 27:15  Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

They would release a prisoner to humor the Jews.

Mat 27:16  And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

Mat 27:17  Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

Mat 27:18  For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

Pilate thought Barabbas was so evil that the people wouldn’t want him to be freed but would rather choose Jesus.  Envy is like jealousy.  We have to be careful.  It seemed in my life at one time that others could do things better than I could and I envied others.  I am glad that I never gave into it.  It is an evil thing. 

The chief priests and others were jealous of Jesus because they wanted the applause of the people as they felt that Jesus had. 

Mat 27:19  When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

His wife might have been more honorable than Pilate.  She sent a warning to him that God probably had given her.  “Don’t do anything to Him.”

Mat 27:20  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

See where this decision came from to destroy Jesus?  It came from the jealousy of the chief priests and elders.

Mat 27:21  The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

Mat 27:22  Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

This was not according to human reasoning.  Even Pilot thought they would do better than that.

Mat 27:23  And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

Here is where Pilate in his heart just gave into the mob.

Mat 27:24  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

How innocent was he?  He was guilty.  We cannot put our guilt on someone else or claim innocence through our guilt.  It is human psychology to blame someone else for your own guilt.  It doesn’t work.

People still want a ritual that will absolve them from guilt.  It still happens today that people make up another rule when they don’t want to be guilty.

Mat 27:25  Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

They said, “Let the guilt be on us and our children.” They didn’t know what they were saying.

Mat 27:26  Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

They whipped him with a whip with pieces of bone and metal in the ends of it.

Mat 27:27  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

Mat 27:28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

Mat 27:29  And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

They mocked him.  The reed was as a scepter.  (I thought of Esther.  It all depended on the king holding out the scepter.)  They were saying, “Here is your scepter! You are a king.”

Mat 27:30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

Mat 27:31  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

The thorns in the crown I assume were thick and firm and would pierce his head.  Then they smote him with the reed.  He was human and it hurt him.

Mat 27:32  And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

Later they banned the crucifixion because it was so cruel.  They would strangle pirates before crucifying them because it was so cruel.  They asked Simon to carry the cross, they didn’t want Jesus to die on the way but that He would feel the crucifixion.  Jesus was coming to a point where he wasn’t going to be able to bear it.