170409SundayReport

23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let
him be crucified.
Pilate now allows cowardice to overrule his sense of justice.
He now does what politicians are so adept at doing, he passes the responsibility for the
coming evil to his tormenters.
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.
Do you blame Pilate? Would you have done better?
HAVE you done better?
We are Pilate, the Jewish leaders, and Barabbas wrapped up into one entity.
Like Judas, we have sold out our Lord for personal gain, pride, and sin. We claim to be
His friend, yet we denounce Him through our witness among our friends who ridicule
Godly values.
Our sins have made us like unto the Jewish leaders in that they have led to the necessity
of His dying for us.
We are like Pilate in that we put up a good illusion of doing justice and righteousness,
yet we fail to live up to the model, and we pass the responsibility for our failures to others.
We are, especially, Barabbas because we deserve death for our sins, but Christ has died
in our stead and paid the penalty of death for us.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
And Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Have we accepted Christ as our Redeemer?
Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion
Descanso, California
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained
in the forewords above.
Consider these words from the Collect:
… thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh,
and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should
follow the example of his great humility; Mercifully grant, that
we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be
made partakers of his resurrection…
In the Collect, we acknowledge God sent His Son to be our
Savior. Think about that, the Creator, Lord and Master of the
Universe sent His only Son to live amongst us and not just provide us with instruction
and leadership, but to give His earthly life as a one time sacrifice for our sin that we might
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