LAUGH 'N LEARN

An Encouragement Ministry of Verde Valley Christian Church
Of Cottonwood Arizona
http://www.vvchristianchurch.net/

Issue # 276,    February 11,  2008

LAUGH

What NOT to give her for Valentines Day: 

• A box of chocolates, clumsily rearranged in an attempt to hide the fact you ate the caramel ones.
• Any food item with the words "diet", "light",  or "high fiber" on the label.
• Flowers from a hospital's gift shop--or worse, a mortuary's.
• Anything you ever gave another woman, including your mother.
• Any household appliance, power tool or other item from the harder side of Sears.
• A gift certificate.
• Cash.
• Anything you could have bought at the gas station mini-mart on the way over, even if you didn't.       
• An apologetic look and the words "That was today?"

Jim’s Manuscript

February 10, 2008

“Are All Sins Equal?”

Gospel of John Series

Text:  John 19:1-16

 Are all sins equal? 

When people in the office saw the title on my outline on Thursday morning, one person said, “Well that’s easy.  The answer is no.  Your sin is worse than mine.”

It is funny how we think isn’t it.  We evaluate others more harshly than ourselves.  We look at their action, and we excuse the same actions by our intentions.

I think this question is more intuitive than we realize.  It only gets a little complicated when we look at passages such as this:

James 2:8-11 (NIV) ⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

What’s the point of the passage?  Any sin can disqualify us from heaven.  Any sin makes us a lawbreaker.  Any sin makes us a sinner in need of a savior. 

But does that make all sins equal?  Today we run into some very clear words from Jesus that demonstrate to us that all sins are not equal. 

John 19:11 (NIV) Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

The best Jesus could say to Pilate was that there was a greater sin than his. 

Focus:  Apart from forgiveness, ANY sin disqualifies us from heaven, but all sins are not equal; greater sins have greater consequences.

I.                   It Only Takes One Sin To Be Guilty

We saw this in James 2:10.  We also learn later in James’s letter Pilate’s main failure.

James 4:17 (NIV) Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Pilate didn’t do what he knew was the right thing to do.  And why didn’t he?  He’s a coward!  Pilate’s sin is the sin of cowardice.  Pilate’s sin is the sin of trying to preserve his position, preserve his job, and preserve his pride.  He’s afraid of what will happen if he does what is right.  This leads to many other sins.  By trying to save himself he loses himself.  Jesus warned us about this.

Matthew 16:25 (ESV) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

A.     Pilate’s Sins Were Bad

Cruelty

John 19:1:  Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.

It was prophesied that this would happen.  It wasn’t only prophesied THAT it would happen, but also WHY it would happen. 

Isaiah 53:5 (ESV) But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

There are two sides to the why question—human and divine.  The human side is because of Pilate’s cruelty, but the divine side of the answer is that God had a plan and Jesus knew what he was in for and he accepted our “chastisement” for “our transgressions” willingly and knowingly. 

A Mockery of Justice

John 19:2-3: The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³ and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.

The Jews did not like Roman soldiers, so as you can imagine, the soldiers, in turn, did not like the Jews.  This was their chance to make fun of the Jews, and their “king”.  From the soldier’s perspective, the mockery wasn’t just toward Jesus personally, it was the result of all of their pent up frustrations toward this unruly crowd with whom they had many difficulties.

Picture the scene in your mind.  These soldiers think they are clever fellows.  They are laughing over their own wit and humor.  Snickering at the irony of the pathetic picture of a king they have created.

Do you realize what this little snapshot of suffering teaches us?

So Christ wore the mark of the curse which man's sin had brought upon the world.

—Spurgeon's Collected Sermons (Met. Tabern. Pul.)

Pilate Declared Jesus Innocent 3 times but treated him as Guilty (18:38; 19:4, 19:6)

John 19:4-6:  Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him."  ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" ⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."

Another Serious Miscalculation

Pilate had already failed to secure Jesus’ release by offering to release one of two prisoners--Surely they would choose Jesus over Barabbas--but they did not.  Since this failed, he thought if he had Jesus flogged, mocked, and mistreated, then they would see that he could not be a king, and that surely he had suffered enough, and they would take pity on him, after all, he was one of them, a Jew.  The effort backfired again. 

Pilate must have been thinking something along these lines.  Luke’s account confirms it.

Luke 23:16 (NIV) Therefore, I will punish him and then release him."

Luke 23:22 (NIV) For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."

So he hopes to cause the crowd to think Jesus has been punished enough.

B.      But There Are Greater Sins Than His

II.       All Sins Are NOT Equal

Bloodthirsty Rejection

John 19:6 ⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."

The Reason He Must Die

John 19:7  The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

In effect, the Jewish leaders are saying, “We tried to show you from your Roman point of view why he should die, but if you cannot see this, then try looking at it from our religious point of view.  He must die because he claims to be the Son of God!” 

People today often make such statements as “I believe Jesus was a good teacher, but I do not believe he was the Son of God.”  Those people need to see that Jesus left them no such middle ground.  “Good men” (if they are men only) do not claim to be God.  It is for this claim that Jesus was crucified.  You either will hate him for this claim, or you will believe his claim.  He does not give you the option of saying, he was a very wise man but that is all.  And history does not give us the option of saying he never made such a claim.  If he never made such a claim we are utterly at a loss as to explain why he was crucified.  We are also at a loss as to explain how the Christian movement exploded into being and rapidly grew in a matter of weeks after his crucifixion!  There was no stopping this movement though its enemies desperately attempted to thwart it!

Pilate’s Fear

John 19:8 ⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,

His wife’s dream added to these fears.

Matthew 27:19 (NIV) While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."

“Today” leads us to wonder if it was in a vision, or dream.

Add to this fear the fear of riot…the fear of consequences of a decision, regardless what that decision is.

Pilate’s Fearful QUESTION

John 19:9 ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.

Pilate wants to know from Jesus himself, is he really the Son of God?  But Jesus remains silent on that question.

The Reason Jesus was Silent

Isaiah 53:7 (NIV) ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

In addition to the fulfillment of prophecy, there may be a very practical reason for his silence.  Did Jesus know that if he answered Pilate at that moment, a direct and clear answer, he may NOT have been crucified?  Jesus’ obedience and self discipline in this moment of silent obedience to God’s will amazes me.

Doesn’t Pilate see how his own words condemn him?  All along he has tried to remove the responsibility for this decision and put it elsewhere, but here, he realizes he could release, or crucify Jesus.  Jesus says nothing.  Jesus is silent.  There will come a day, judgment day, when a sentence toward Pilate will be spoken about his responsibility, the very responsibility that he is saying Jesus does not realize.  Jesus knows.  Jesus is silent.  Jesus lets Pilate take the course that his heart is leading him to take while understanding that had he himself spoken the right words at that moment he could put a stop to it.  That is why he says what he says in his next reply.  It ISN”T PILATE who has authority and is in charge of this moment.  God has given him the authority of the moment, and is letting it take its course knowing the heart of Pilate.  Just as he knew the hardened heart of Pharoah and applying just the right pressures to make room for his glory to be demonstrated, he knows the heart of Pilate and allows the events to unfold as they did, cooperating with the will of Pilate’s soiled heart.

There is a warning against pride here of course.  When you are your own authority, and do not look to a greater authority, watch out when YOU decide what to do, based on YOUR authority and YOUR feelings, alone.

The Sin Of Pride…No Autocrats Survive Judgment Day

I dare say, most people live as if they are the gods of their own choices and destiny.  We are not made to function as autocratic rulers of our own lives.  When we function that way we are cast adrift and will dash our lives into the rocks when we hit the first storm.

John 19:10-11 (NIV) ¹⁰ "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" ¹¹ Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

All sins are not equal.  

Some sins are greater and carry a stiffer judgment.  There are many passages that speak about stiffer judgments.

James 3:1 (NIV) Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

I can honestly say, this is not one of my favorite passages.  Is this reason for me to quit accepting the responsibility God has given me?  No.  I must not use this verse as a reason to avoid teaching.  God has given me this charge.  But this verse is like the reminder Jesus is giving Pilate.  There is a greater authority he must remember.  I also must teach always remembering the greater authority.  I must always measure anything I teach against that greater authority.  Teachers’ sins can cause many to sin.  There are greater social consequences for the failures of teachers.

Let’s not just put the pressure on teachers.  I’m not the only one on the hook. 

The more you know,-the more you understand of the mind and will of God,-the greater is your transgression when you sin against him.

—Spurgeon's Collected Sermons (Met. Tabern. Pul.)

Jesus taught that there are different measures of judgment.  All negative judgments are not set at the same degree.

Matthew 7:2 (NIV) For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Here are some other passages demonstrating that there are different levels of consequences for different levels of wickedness connected with sin.

Luke 12:47-48 (NIV) ⁴⁷ "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Matthew 11:20-24 (ESV) ²⁰ Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹ "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you."

Why will these cities be judged more severely than Sodom?  Because they have seen the works of Jesus and rejected him.  Why is Pilate’s sin less grave than these Jewish leaders?  Because he has not seen Jesus do what they have seen him do, or heard Jesus say, what they have heard him say. Neither has he been prepared by the scriptures as they have been prepared. 

John 1:11 (NIV) He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

Why Annas’ and Caiaphas’ sin was greater. 

Hypocritical religious pretenders are judged more harshly than the ignorant autocrat. Ignorance is more excusable than the self-willed defiance of the well informed.  Ignorance is more excusable than rebellion. 

1 Samuel 15:23 (KJV)  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.  What is witchcraft? It is religiosity turned 180 degrees in the opposite direction of God.  Rebellion is a willful turning in the opposite direction of God’s will.

A.  There are Levels Of Sinfulness 

Let me just give you 3 levels as a sampling of the idea.

1.  The Deceived 

Here is something noteworthy.  If you are deceived, you probably do not know it.  You are living according to some lies that you do not know are lies.  Hence, you are deceived.  Pilate has come to believe there is no absolute truth.  Decisions are relative.  Decisions are to be made based on political or personal expediency.  He’s deceived.

2.  The Rebellious 

The rebellious are worse than merely the deceived because those who are deceived do not know they are deceived; but those who are rebellious may in fact know they are on the course of rebellion.  Being knowingly bad is worse than being bad ignorantly.

3.  The Rebellious Who Hide in the Robes of Righteousness

There is a third class that is worse still, the rebellious who hide in the robes of self-righteousness!  The worst of the worst are those who argue that their wickedness is actually righteousness or zeal for righteousness.  They are convinced their wrong is right, and convince others to follow in their wicked paths!  Such is the case here, and Jesus describes whose sin is greater. 

The Ultimate Rejection Caused by the Willful Rebellion of UNBELIEF

I wouldn’t want to be in the Annas’ or Caiaphas’ shoes on judgment day. 

Pilate’s guilt is lesser than the greater guilt of Caiaphas, because the greatest guilt of all is the sin of UNBELIEF.  Did you notice that Pilate is afraid when they say Jesus claimed to be the Son of God?  Pilate is closer to believing that Jesus is the Son of God, than Caiaphas who has seen the works of God and called them the works of Beelzebub, Lord of the flies, the chief of demons, Satan himself.  Pilate has become more and more awed by Jesus and his responses to the pressures, questions, and tortures.  Pilate is afraid because he believes there is something to Jesus’ claim.  That’s why he takes him again and asks Jesus where he comes from.  He wants to hear the claim from Jesus himself.

Determined Unbelief

This leads me to tell you about the greatest guilt of all, or the greatest sin of all.  That is the sin of determined unbelief.  When someone is given all the evidence that something is holy and pure, but they call everything that is holy and pure, evil and wicked, that is the unforgivable sin.  That is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  Let me explain.  When the Spirit of God is testifying to the truth and goodness of Jesus, and everything is reinterpreted as coming directly from hell instead, interpreted as the greatest deception of all, instead of the greatest good of all, what else can be done to turn those determined unbelievers around?  Nothing.  Miracles can’t do it.  They become convinced the miracles are performed by the power of Beelzebub.  Teaching can’t do it.  The teaching is called clever deception.  Thus they filter every overture of good out to be bad.  Left with such a determined filter, their sins remain, and nothing can be done about it.  Again, let me say it. The greatest sin is the sin of unbelief that leads one to the place of determined rejection of Jesus Christ.  That determined rejection which calls every overture of good, evil, has no way to be reached.  A determined rejection cannot be forgiven because there is no way to effect belief, and acceptance, and repentance.  And that was the sin of Caiaphas and the other Jewish leaders.  These very ones who charged Jesus with blasphemy, are in fact guilty of the one and only unforgivable sin, they are blaspheming every work of the Holy Spirit demonstrated by Jesus.  There was nothing more Jesus could do to convince them.  Rising from the dead doesn’t convince them!

This Rejection leads them to places they never dreamt they would ever venture! 

John 19:15 (NIV) But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.

This is too true!

In rejecting Christ's rightful control over their lives, the religious leaders claimed Caesar as king. They acknowledged a human power that they thought would guarantee their own status. Instead, that power destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and killed 500,000 Jews. The next generation paid dearly for the sins of their leaders.

Today people still refuse to let God have any control or influence over their decisions. They make choices based on short-term goals. They grasp present "benefits" without regard for the long-term costs. We must not give allegiance or cooperation to leaders and systems that have no regard for God's authority. Who or what holds the position of king in your life?

—Life Application Bible Commentary

More Self-Condemning Words

Matthew 27:24-25 (NIV)  ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"  ²⁵ All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

Pilate wanted to release Jesus, but the power block that opposes him and threatens him were determined to reject Jesus.

B.  Don’t take comfort in any “At least I’m not as bad as them”  comparisons

Even though Jesus said Pilate’s sin was lesser than their greater sin, I would not want to be in Pilate’s shoes either.  He may not be cast into the hottest place in hell, furthest from the presence of God’s goodness, but I don’t think based on the information we have here, he ever crossed over to life either.  The shallowest place in hell is NO PARTY.  It is a continuous state of weeping and gnashing of teeth, a state of eternal judgment condemned to a position away from God and separated from all that is good.

Even if Pilate’s sin is not AS bad, Jesus makes it clear that Pilate also is in sin.  Pilate also is rejecting what he knows to be right, in favor of doing what is personally expedient for his political position.

Nevertheless, will you pause with me and take note of what Jesus says to his torturer. 

C.  Take Comfort In The Forgiving Christ

How kind Jesus is to pity even Pilate.  How kind to speak softly of Pilate’s sin. 

Jesus is so tender he often pleads for the sinner.  We hear him from the cross say, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  (Luke 23:34)

Don’t you think it remarkable that Jesus pleads this for his murderers in the middle of their cruelty to him?  He thinks of them.  He does not want his Father to hold this against them.  He knows their doom if his Father does hold this against them.  This causes me to shudder and stand in awe.  I shudder at how terrible the result of dying in an unforgiven state must be, and I stand in awe of how great Jesus’ love is to reach out to even his torturers.

Parable of the Debtors (Luke 7 is what the Care Group Study is on this week)

There is hope here!

We Are All Debtors, but Some Have A Greater Debt Forgiven

There are varying degrees of guilt.  Varying measures of judgment in response to the varying degrees of guilt.  There are varying degrees of debt.  Some are in deeper debt toward God than others.  Jesus tells the parable that shows that the one who is forgiven much, is expected to forgive much.  (Luke 7:41).  The one who truly recognizes how great his forgiveness is, is the one who is the more grateful!

John 19:11 ¹¹ Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

Jesus is still trying to move Pilate away from the precipice above the pit of hell where Pilate lives.  There is hope for even Pilate!  And some ancient traditions say he and his wife converted sometime after word got to them that Jesus rose from the dead, though I don’t know if these are reliable sources.  It will be interesting to know when we get there.

Pilate Tried But He Couldn’t Do It

John 19:12-16 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." ¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.  ¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

NO DECISION IS A DECISION…

What about you as you TODAY hear the merciful words of Jesus, and see his amazing love?  Will you reach out to take the hand of the forgiving savior as he is reaching out to you today?  Will you take comfort in the forgiving Christ and move away from the cliff’s edge, move away from the disaster of facing eternity without a savior?

RESPONSE

What does it mean for you to reach out your hand and take his today…How do you need to trust him?  What sin or compromise do you need to let go of, so you can take his hand?