Transcription

Connor:
You’re listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun and practical ways.

Chris:
Hey, welcome to the Bible Guys.

Jeff:
Yes. Hey, we have a very exciting segment today. He’s Chris and I’m Jeff. Yeah. And we are the Bible Guys.

Chris:
I was just laughing about it during the roll in because it says, let’s test Chris’s One Direction knowledge at this time. I leaned over to Jeff right before this started and I said, I don’t know a single One Direction. Well, maybe I recognize it if you were to sing it. Yeah. If I were to hear it.

Jeff:
I don’t know that I know any One Direction.

Chris:
I don’t know a single song, let alone a lyric, which means that this game is going to flop.

Jeff:
Okay, well, who knows? Maybe you’ll know some Bible verses, though. That might be the saving grace. That’s right. And then our topic today is one of the most important events in human history. Oh, the Bible part. Yeah, yeah. So there’s the crucifixion of Jesus, and we’re beginning that process. And then the resurrection are the two most important things, I believe, that have ever happened. And so It’s a really big one. But before we get into that, we always like to have just kind of a lighthearted segment. We take our faith very seriously. We just don’t take ourselves too seriously. And so today I’m going to either be reading from the Song of Solomon or lyrics from a One Direction song.

Chris:
Are you ready?

Jeff:
Number one, it said, I slept, but my heart was awake.

Chris:
I slept, but my heart was awake.

Jeff:
Is that a Song of Solomon lyric or a One Direction lyric?

Chris:
That could be either one, because that’s a great lyric of a line. I slept, but my heart was awake. I’m going to say One Direction.

Jeff:
It’s Song of Solomon. Of course it is. Number two, you turned around and stole my heart.

Chris:
No, that’s got to be One Direction. Yeah, that turned around. Stole my heart. Turned around and stole my heart. That doesn’t sound like a verse at all.

Jeff:
Nope, it’s not. No, I’m joking. It’s One Direction. Okay, good. Okay. I’m blinded because you’re everything I see.

Chris:
Okay, the thing that gives that away as a lyric, at least I think so, is the because. It’s trying to, I’m blinded because what?

Jeff:
You are everything I see.

Chris:
There’s no way that that’s a love notion, which again is all throughout Song of Solomon.

Jeff:
I was going to say, Song of Solomon is a love song.

Chris:
I know. It’s a whole series of love songs. But there’s no way that that was the conclusion of being blind. So I’m going to say lyric.

Jeff:
It is a lyric. It’s lyric from One Direction more than this. Yes. Okay. Fair is the moon, bright is the sun, majestic is the stars.

Chris:
The word fair and majestic lead me to believe that that’s possibly a verse. Is that a verse? Is that Song of Solomon?

Jeff:
Song of Solomon 6.

Chris:
Nice! There you go, man. You’re nailing it today.

Jeff:
I got, what, 3 out of 4? Yeah, I think so. You just, you missed the first one.

Chris:
The first one, yeah.

Jeff:
Okay. And then, I was sound asleep, but in my tears I was wide awake.

Chris:
Oh, that’s got to be a One Direction. Let me think.

Jeff:
uh i was what i was say it again sound asleep yes but in my tears i was wide awake that’s gotta be a one direction lyric Solomon was a good lyricist, man.

Chris:
In my tears, I was wide awake.

Jeff:
Yeah, he was, he is a writer, man.

Chris:
He is a writer.

Jeff:
He writes some love songs.

Chris:
Wow. Uh-huh. Hey, I gotta give him some props here.

Jeff:
Absolutely, man. That’s a big one. I wonder if he had the dance moves to back it up. Oh, I’m sure. Yeah, and hair. You think he had the hair?

Chris:
Well, how many wives and concubines did he have? He had 700 concubines and 300 wives. Okay, so they had 1,000.

Jeff:
1,000, yeah. I just can’t even imagine the monthly makeup expenses.

Chris:
The fact that he was the most powerful and the richest man and the wisest man in the world probably had something to do with that, I guess. Probably.

Jeff:
Okay, well, there you go, Chris. Which, by the way, it wasn’t bad. Three out of five, you’re batting 60%. Right, right. Or 600. That’s by far a Hall of Fame baseball career, if you could hit 600.

Chris:
It didn’t make multiple wives okay. No. Right? So the Bible never endorsed that.

Jeff:
No, God warned against it with the kings.

Chris:
Don’t do it. Right, don’t do it. But he did it anyways, because people in power in his day did that. Right. So he thought, hey, we’re allowed to do it.

Jeff:
He was living like the world. That’s right. Yes. So Matthew chapter 27 is where we’re at today.

Chris:
And I have to throw one more comment in there. Isn’t it interesting how the wisest man in the world, his one downfall was women. It was his downfall.

Jeff:
That’s right.

Chris:
So interesting.

Jeff:
So really how smart are we?

Chris:
Right. If we still can’t figure out women. That’s right.

Jeff:
Still can’t figure it out. Okay. Matthew chapter 27, verse 15. Then we’re also looking at Mark chapter 15, Luke 23, and John 18. Yeah.

Chris:
So at this point for the rest of this series, most of these are going to be probably in all four Gospels.

Jeff:
A lot of them, yes. So here we go. It says in Matthew chapter 27 verse 15, now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd, anyone they wanted. This year, there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas. As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, which one do you want me to release to you, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called the Messiah? He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy. Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message. Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night. Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. So the governor asked again, which of these two do you want me to release to you? And the crowd shouted back, Barabbas. Pilate responded, then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah? And they shouted back, crucify him. Why? Pilate demanded. What crime has he committed? But the mob roared even louder, crucify him. Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing, and so he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours. And all the people yelled back, we will take responsibility for his death, we and our children. So Pilate released Barabbas to them, and he ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, and then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. In Mark chapter 15 verse 6 it says, One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual. Would you like me to release to you this king of the Jews? Pilate asked, for he realized by now that the leading priest had arrested Jesus out of envy. But at this point, the leading priest stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. Pilate asked them, then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews? And they shouted back, crucify him. Why? Pilate demanded. What crime has he committed? But the mob roared even louder, crucify him. So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead tipped whip and then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. Luke chapter 23 verse 13 says, Herod came to the same conclusion and said him back to us, nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty. So I’ll have him flogged and then I’ll release him. And then a mighty roar rose from the crowd and with one voice they shouted, kill him and release Barabbas to us. Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government and for murder. Pilate argued with them because he wanted to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, crucify him, crucify him. For the third time he demanded, why? What crime has he committed? I have no reason to sentence him to death. So I’ll have him flogged and then I will release him. But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified and their voices prevailed. So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. As they had requested, he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder. But he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished. And then in John 18 verse 38 it says, remember when he says, I speak the truth to you? My kingdom is all about the truth. What is truth? Pilate asked. And then he went out again to the people and told them, he is not guilty of any crime. But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this king of the Jews? But they shouted back, no, not this man. We want Barabbas. Barabbas was a revolutionary. Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, and the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. Hail, King of the Jews, they mocked as they slapped him across the face. Pilate went outside again and said to the people, I’m going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said, Look, here is the man. When they saw him, the leading priests and temple guards began shouting, Crucify him! Crucify him! Take him yourselves and crucify him, Pilate said. I find him not guilty. The Jewish leaders replied, By our law, he ought to die, because he called himself the Son of God. When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, where are you from? But Jesus gave no answer. Why don’t you talk to me? Pilate demanded. Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you? Then Jesus said, you would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin. Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar. When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that was called the stone pavement in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover, and Pilate said to the people, Look, here is your king. Away with him, they yelled. Away with him. Crucify him. What? Crucify your king? Pilate asked. We have no king but Caesar, the leading priest shouted back. And then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. And so they took Jesus away.

Chris:
There’s a lot in there, isn’t there?

Jeff:
Yeah.

Chris:
Yeah, so, I mean, we’re talking about the crown of thorns, we’re talking about purple robes, slapping him in the face. Cat and nine tails. Cat and nine tails that are lead-tipped.

Jeff:
Barabbas.

Chris:
Barabbas. Oh, goodness gracious.

Jeff:
What is truth. I mean, this is, every one of these four, our listeners should go back and read all four of these passages, right? And just unpack, because every one of these passages has different details.

Chris:
So, you know how we, We plan Easter’s. Oh, I probably shouldn’t say this just in case we decided to do it, but 99% chance we’re not going to do it.

Jeff:
I think this is after or right before Easter.

Chris:
Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I’m talking about an Easter idea that we’ve never done ever. Nobody’s ever done. It’s just an idea I had one time, but I don’t think, I don’t think Harris will ever do it.

Jeff:
Well, let’s not tell anybody. You might.

Chris:
All right, fine. Well then how about this then? How about, let me just say this. The idea that we are Barabbas, right? Like I love that idea.

Jeff:
Yeah, so Barabbas was sentenced to die, and Jesus died in his place.

Chris:
Right. Yeah, so we are Barabbas. So we’re the ones that are pardoned.

Jeff:
Yeah, there was an old movie that a Christian college back in the day made a movie and it was all about being Barabbas. And it kind of parallels Jesus’ rise to fame and Barabbas’ rise to fame. And then the two of them standing together, Barabbas assuming then he’s a good guy. I’m a bad guy. This is it for me. And instead Jesus dies in his place. A pretty, pretty amazing story.

Chris:
Yeah. Well, you know what? I’m going to say my idea because even the thousand people who listen to this, many of them aren’t connected to heritage. And certainly if we do this idea, it’ll be years down the road. So here it is. I had this idea of doing a modern, like a post resurrection investigation where this guy’s going around and he’s investigating whether Jesus truly was the son of God. And every time that he talks with somebody, they said, yeah, he was the son of God. He was he rose again. And he’d say, no, it can’t be true. And he was indignant and he was just angry. And then and then he would talk to somebody else and they say, yeah, I saw him walking on the road to, you know, you know, and he says he said, no, no, no, he can’t be true. He can’t be alive. There’s no way. And then finally it comes to like this big tension point where, uh, you know, I’m really cutting through a lot of this, but it comes to a tension point where somebody confronts him and says, why, why, why are you saying that it can’t be true? He says, because it means if he’s alive, that means that he truly was the son of God. Like, yeah, but why is that a problem? And then he collapses and says, because I’m Barabbas. Yeah. Right. So Barabbas then becomes a convert. Yeah.

Jeff:
Historically, there is within some Christian historical beliefs that Barabbas did become a believer.

Chris:
Which is what gave me the idea.

Jeff:
Yeah, that’s cool. So the note about Barabbas, this is really amazing. The note about Barabbas in Luke chapter 23, it says, who was Barabbas? Jewish men had names that identified them with their fathers. Simon Peter, for example, is called Simon, son of John. Barabbas is never identified by his given name. In this name, Barabbas is not much help either. Bar-abbas means son of Abba or son of daddy. He could have been anybody’s son. or nobody’s son, right? And that’s just the point. Barabbas, son of an unnamed father, committed a crime because Jesus died in his place. Barabbas, the son of any man, committed a crime because Jesus died in his place, the son of God. This man was set free. We too are sinners and criminals who have broken God’s law. Like Barabbas, we deserve to die, but Jesus has died in our place for our sins and we’ve been set free. We don’t have to be very important people to accept our freedom in Christ. In fact, thanks to Jesus, God adopts us all as his own sons and daughters and gives us the right to call him our dear father.

Chris:
That’s what it says Galatians 4. Yeah. Yeah, that’s very interesting. Isn’t that fantastic? It’s fantastic. It’s the breakdown of Barabbas’ name, which is son of daddy, which is us, right? That’s a perfect representation of us.

Jeff:
We’re a son of any man, right? And we need, or a daughter of any man. And that’s Barabbas. Nobody’s significant except he’s a murderer and insurrectionist. And that’s what we are, right? We’re insurrectionists against our creator. We committed mutiny against our creator.

Chris:
Right. And how ironic that, think about this, they crucified Jesus, and Pilate says no, and then what does he say? He says, they tried to blackmail Pilate, and they said in John chapter 18, but Pilate tried to release him. They said, if you release this man, you’re no friend of Caesar because anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar. So here’s what they’re doing. They’re saying that you have to crucify Jesus because he’s an insurrectionist. Right. Right. But Jesus wasn’t. Right. He’s trying to pull off a coup. He’s trying to pull off a coup. And yet they released

Jeff:
The insurrectionists.

Chris:
The insurrectionists. So what does it mean? It is even more symbolic that Jesus died for our sins. He paid the price. In this particular case, it’s so specific, and I’ve never even had this thought before, until just now, that Jesus was actually tried and sentenced for the actual crime that was broken that Barabbas did. That’s right. Isn’t that crazy? And that’s so symbolic of Jesus paying for our sins specifically. That’s right. So it’s our sins. That’s the reason why Jesus was on the cross.

Jeff:
Which is the entire idea of the lamb. Yeah. Right. When, when John the Baptist said, behold, the lamb of God who takes us into the world, they would take their sin and symbolically place it on that lamb. Now that lamb is guilty of that sin symbolically, and then the lamb would be sacrificed. But it happens exactly that way, with the Lamb of God standing next to the Son of Man. Right. The Son of Amen. Son of Amen. Jesus is the Son of Man, right? And He’s the Son of Amen.

Chris:
Isn’t that amazing? It is amazing. The symbolism here is fabulous. And then, of course, you know, I just I get so angry in my spirit when it says the Pharisees and the religious leaders persuaded the crowd to say, give us Barabbas and crucify him. So, you know, people who think that it’s just an angry crowd who just gets caught up in emotion. Well, that’s probably true. But here are the Pharisees, man, just doing… They’re being manipulated with false news. Everything they can… Right. Have you ever seen that clip where all the news stations say the exact same wording? It freaks you out, doesn’t it? And it’s like, that’s when I realized, I was like, oh, we’re more like Cuba than I thought. Yes. Right. Because you and I went to Cuba. Right? And we know that… Many times? Yeah, yeah. And we know that, like, that’s a dictatorship and all that, and it didn’t feel free at all. And then I saw all those news clippings of all the newscasters saying the exact same words. And I was like, hmm, this is not… I’m feeling like some sheep here.

Jeff:
So that’s what happens, is they convince the crowd Right. And that’s why we talked a couple days ago.

Chris:
And probably threatened. It said persuaded.

Jeff:
Right. So a couple days ago, they had both sides of this argument now. They have three things really work to their favor. One, they were able to have the entire Sanhedrin convict him of blasphemy. that would turn a big chunk of the crowd against Jesus at this point. Boy, we never saw that in Jesus, right? And of course, Jesus didn’t commit blasphemy, but that’s what they convicted him on. And so a big group of that crowd would go, oh my goodness, well, we can’t support a heretic, right? And then some of them were, we don’t want problems with Rome, right? And so, hey, I’ll just get behind, let’s get rid of that guy. And then they pick an extremely popular insurrectionist, Barabbas. So the Jewish people didn’t look down on him. He was kind of a folk hero. This is like, let Robin Hood go. That’s kind of how they would have viewed him. And so they have these three things that worked to their advantage. Apparently he committed blasphemy. We don’t want trouble with Rome. And he released to us Robin Hood. And it’s those three things together that I think these priests and Pharisees and religious leaders are able to shift that whole crowd so quickly. It’s so fast. They turn and it’s because, you know, they had worked the crowd so well.

Chris:
Yeah, because anybody who was challenging Rome as like a person who rises up against that power, like as either a zealot or insurrectionist, they would be a hero because all the Jewish people wanted out from under the thumb of Rome. So anybody who challenged that is a friend.

Jeff:
Right. So then, you know, to just kind of wrap it up, he beats, he has Jesus beat, even though he doesn’t feel he’s guilty, but he has Jesus beat with, and we know Jesus was beat to where he didn’t even look human anymore, is what the Bible says.

Chris:
Let’s say he’s barely recognizable as a man.

Jeff:
Yeah, 40 stripes save one would have been the legal limit, right? So 39 times with this cat o’ nine tails ahead. Oftentimes there would be nails or here it mentions the lead tips and it would just slice you open. And the guys that use the whips were experts at just carving you up. That was the whole point was to beat you almost to death.

Chris:
And Pilate said, it said over and over, he said he was insistent. He said he demanded of them because he said, no, I’m going to, I’m going to have him whipped and I’m going to release him back. And that’ll be the, that’ll be the punishment.

Jeff:
And that’s enough, right? So you, you, you priests and Pharisees, that should be good, right? We’ll just beat the stuffings out of him, right? Teach him a lesson. And then that’s fine. I don’t want to kill him. And instead, uh, you know, Yeah, he surrenders to it. He surrenders to it. And so the agony, the devastating punishment that Jesus is taking for our sin on behalf of Barabbas and we’re all Barabbas from here all the way to the cross is just, it’s, it’s now, you know, why Jesus was saying, God, let this cup pass for me. He didn’t want the physical agony, but he’s about to be separated from his father for the first time. And that those things together where he becomes sin for us, it’s just a devastating thing. So thank God. Well, we’re going to continue with Jesus’ treatment with the soldiers tomorrow, right? And how they’re going to rough Jesus up and lead him away to be crucified.

Chris:
All right. Well, don’t look forward to reading that, but it is important. So we will see you then on The Bible Guys.