Handling Our Guilt
Kingdom Come (Matthew) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Lord’s Supper
Lord’s Supper
Every 5th Sunday, we join together for the Lord’s Supper.
While Jesus ate with His disciples on the night He was betrayed He took two common parts of their meal and infused them with deep and powerful meaning. Bread and wine (juice in our case)
For 2000 years now, Christians have gathered regularly to take this meal as Jesus instructed us.
We do this during family Sundays because it is an opportunity for families to share this meal together.
And since this is a meal for those who have trusted in Jesus for salvation, this is also an opportunity for moms and dads to share with their children the significance of Jesus’s body and blood for their sins.
So if you are not a Christian and have not given you life to Jesus, we would ask you to let the elements pass.
It is a meal of remembrance, as we remember the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our sin.
It is a meal of reflection, as we reflect on the cost of our sin and the grace of God to forgive us.
It is a meal of renewal, as we renew our commitment to love and worship the one who died in our place.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Let’s finish with the Chorus to Give Me Jesus.
Guilt is Innately Human
Guilt is Innately Human
You have heard the verse from Romans 3- Romans 3 23
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
It is the opening verse of the Romans Road, a common way to share the Gospel with others.
Every person who has ever lived since Adam and Eve in the garden has been a sinner.
We all have an rebellious heart toward God and pursue our own way in opposition to the way God has designed us and called us to live.
So, since we have all sinned, guilt lives in all of our hearts.
Deep inside all of us is the sense that we have done something wrong, that we have broken a law, committed a crime, or not lived as we should.
Guilt is a part of the human condition. Something we share regardless of where, when, or to whom we were born.
And so, what are we to do with our guilt? How do we deal with the reality of our guilt?
That is the question I want to look at in this passage today.
At the beginning of Matthew 27, Jesus is turned over to the Romans Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate and, after telling us what happened to Judas after betraying Jesus, we now we pick up in verse 11 as Pilate questions Jesus.
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him. Jesus answered, “You say so.” 12 While he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he didn’t answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how much they are testifying against you?” 14 But he didn’t answer him on even one charge, so that the governor was quite amazed. 15 At the festival the governor’s custom was to release to the crowd a prisoner they wanted. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Who is it you want me to release for you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew it was because of envy that they had handed him over. 19 While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of him.” 20 The chief priests and the elders, however, persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to execute Jesus. 21 The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” “Barabbas!” they answered. 22 Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?” They all answered, “Crucify him!” 23 Then he said, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they kept shouting all the more, “Crucify him!” 24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!” 25 All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified.
How do we deal with our guilt?
How do we deal with our guilt?
I want to focus on three faulty ways we try to deal with our guilt and end by sharing the only way we can successful deal with our guilt.
First, the faulty:
1) The INTELLECTUAL Approach
1) The INTELLECTUAL Approach
Jesus now stands before Pontus Pilate, the one the Roman Emperor has given the responsibility to rule over the region of Judea.
His job is to determine if what the Jewish leaders are accusing Jesus of is actually true and whether or not He has broken a Roman law, which would bring Pilate into this situation.
Not every crime committed in Judea required Roman authorities to get involved and it seems like Pilate’s desire is for this particular situation to be handled quickly and with as little involvement from him as possible.
He asked Jesus “Are you the King of the Jews?”, giving Jesus the opportunity to deny the accusation brought against Him.
If He denies, then Pilate can send Him back to the Jews.
If He says yes, then he can move things along and get on with his day.
But Jesus’s response leaves him stunned. Matthew says “Amazed”.
Jesus in a sense says “Your words not mine.”
And then Jesus goes silent. Matthew tells us that from then on Jesus doesn’t utter a word until He is hung on the cross.
Pilate’s job here is to find out what is true.
Is this man in front of him guilty of what He is being accused of? Or is the angry mob accusing an innocent man?
John records the exchange with a bit more detail.
37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Jesus says the His purpose of His life is to testify to the truth.
Through His life and His words Jesus represents truth.
Jesus’s non-answer is actually a profound one.
Someone’s opinion of His doesn’t change who He is or the message He proclaims.
Pilate’s response to Jesus is telling John 18:38
38 “What is truth?” said Pilate.
That is a profound question, isn’t it?
Pilate seems to be suggesting that truth may not be something that can actually be determined.
He seems to be saying that maybe truth is subjective, not absolute.
That it is somehow personal, determined by an individual or a society based on what best fits them.
Now I am stretching Pilate’s words a bit here, but it does seem like absolute truth is Pilates goal here.
Pilate represents a common perspective in our world.
The idea that truth is relative, depending on the person, the circumstances, and the culture around it.
What is true for you doesn’t necessarily mean that it is true for me.
And to speak as if your truth is more true than my truth is considered intolerant and hateful.
This is one way we can handle our guilt.
By redefining truth or denying absolute truth exists.
Guilt requires there to be absolute, objective truth, otherwise what is the the law being broken, the right being violated, or the wrong being committed?
If we just deny there is a way that is right, then we don't have to feel guilty since there's nothing we can be held accountable to.
Here is the problem, just because we say that water isn’t wet, doesn’t make it not wet.
Just because I feel like robbing Walmart next week and I don’t think it is wrong doesn’t make it right.
Regardless of how hard we try, we can’t change the reality that there is a way that is right and a way that is wrong.
And when we live our lives outside of the way that is right, guilt is the result.
Neither Pilate or the Jewish leaders could change the reality that Jesus was innocent and that all He had said and done was true.
2) The SOCIAL Approach
2) The SOCIAL Approach
Matthew tells us in verse 15 that it was customary at the Passover feast to release one by the choice of the people as a way of commemorating what happened on the Passover in Egypt.
Pilate sees that this man and the crowd that brought Him here isn’t going to be a simple to solve as he would have liked.
So he sees his opportunity in a man named Barabbas.
Matthew calls him a “notorious prisoner”.
Luke tells us he was a part of a rebellion that tried to overthrow the Roman rule in Judea.
And in the process it seems Barabbas and his companions stole some things and killed some people.
Needless to say, Barabbas was a well-known criminal in Jerusalem.
Pilate thinks he will be the perfect person to put up with Jesus.
Surely the people will chose this seemingly harmless Rabbi instead of the hardened, ruthless killer Barabbas.
But he was seriously mistaken.
In the crowd, the chief priests and elders were working the mob, convincing them to ask for Barabbas’s release and demanding that Jesus be executed.
So when we asks for their answer, there is a clear and resounding call for Barabbas to be released.
The man everyone knew to be guilty without doubt is released and the one clearly innocent was to be condemned.
Barabbas really has a quite minor part to play in this story.
He never speaks, we don’t really know all the details of how he ended up in prison, and we don’t know what happens to him after he is released.
But what is clear is that Barabbas was a guilty man.
It is believed that the two men crucified next to Jesus were actually Barabbas’s co-conspirators.
And it seems logical to assume that the cross that Jesus is nailed to later in the day was meant to be Barabbas’s cross.
Barabbas represents another way we try to deal with our guilt.
By redirecting the blame to someone or something else.
“I wouldn’t lose my temper if my co-workers were easier to get along with, or if my kids behaved better, or if my spouse were more considerate.”
“If I didn’t have so many things to do, and if the people around me weren’t so slow, I would never become impatient!”
“If you knew what that person did to me, you would understand my bitterness.”
When our behavior or attitude is because of someone else, then we don’t have to feel guilty.
Barabbas was the guilty one, but Jesus was to take his cross.
3) The PHYSICAL Approach
3) The PHYSICAL Approach
Pilate’s plan hadn’t worked and the crowd was growing more and more out of control.
The pressure was mounting, and he had to do something.
So Pilate takes some water and begins washing his hands in front of the crowd.
The Jewish crowd would have understood this symbolism.
Washing was a regular part of their lives.
He was washing the guilt from his hands.
“I am innocent of this man’s blood.”
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent.
He knew what was happening was an injustice.
But he was too big of a coward to stop it.
So he symbolically washes his hands.
That water didn’t have the power to free Pilate from his culpability to the injustice he was allowing to happen.
It probably made him feel better, at least for the moment.
Plus, it made him look better to those that were watching.
And whatever gods he believed in were probably pretty satisfied with him.
The final way we try to deal with out guilt is through physical means.
Whether we drown our guilt in a bottle of booze or some other mind altering chemical.
Or we escape into some form of entertainment.
Or we busy ourselves with religious duties.
We find things that make us feel better in the moment or make us look good to those who might be watching.
But nothing really fixes our guilt right. We have to keep coming back again and again.
None of these strategies, so common to man, actually work to free us from our guilt.
So how do we handle our guilt?
Through Jesus.
Jesus TAKES our GUILT.
Jesus TAKES our GUILT.
Matthew is intentional to show us the glory of Jesus in this passage.
As the accusations are brought against Jesus, Matthew tell us: Matthew 27:14 “14 But he didn’t answer him on even one charge...”
Imagine hearing all the accusation and knowing He was innocent of them all.
He doesn’t defend himself or argue His case, He just stays quiet.
And as a guilt man is freed and He is sentenced to death, He doesn’t fight and He doesn’t call out the injustice.
He stands quietly condemned as the guilty man goes free.
Then He is beaten, in one of the most gruesome and painful ways.
He didn’t try to get away or yell for them to stop.
He stayed quiet even as He was beaten.
He did all of this for us.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. 4 Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.
Jesus took the place of Barabbas, but on the cross he will take the place of those who put their faith in him for the forgiveness of sins.
This passages show us how ugly and costly our sin truly is.
But even more, it shows us how far Jesus would go and how much he would endure in order to purchase the freedom of rebellious sinners and to free us from the guilt that plagues us.
What will you do with your guilt?
How will you handle it?
Bring it to the cross!
