Place: I.Hall 31:8:97
Reading: Matthew 27:1-2 11-26
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION IN THE WORLD
If you and I had seen the original of that great painting, " Christ before Pilate," we would have marvelled at the way in which the artist makes the figure of our Lord Jesus stand out against the howling mob behind Him and the Roman Governor before Him. Everything else
was bedlam. Only the Saviour was calm. He was being tried, but actually they were on trial. My .... it was always like that. Do you recall that once they sent officers to arrest Him, but He arrested them. " The officers answered, never man spake like this man."
( Jn 7:46 ) When His enemies came to arrest Him in the Garden, He spoke, and they fell to the ground. Pilate did not know it but he himself was on trial.
And as he confronted this strange and silent prisoner, he gave expression to " The most important question in the World,"" What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ." ( 27:22 ) That decision every person must make FOR or AGAINST. It is impossible to do nothing about Jesus Christ. Not to decide FOR Christ is to decide AGAINST Christ, but decide we must. And that choice settles forever every man's destiny in time and eternity. My .... the dilemma that Pilate faced is the dilemma that every person faces. God says to every man, " I gave My Son for you what are you going to do with Him ?" And everything, yes, everything in this world and the next depends on your answer. No wonder I have called this, " The most important question in the World." It is that because of three reasons. It concerns:
(1) THE GREATEST PERSON WE CAN EVER KNOW
" What shall I do then with JESUS which is called CHRIST ?" ( 27:22 ) Nearly 2,000 years after Christ walked on earth he is still the centre of attraction. Some love Him, others hate Him. On radio and television, in schools, magazines, the workplace, and sportsgrounds, His name is taken in vain, even ridiculed and blasphemed. Yet, in all of history, Jesus Christ, is unique and towers above those who want to trample on Him. " What shall I do .... Christ ?" Why must every person answer that question ? What is it about Christ that lays such a claim on every heart ? Well, the Bible clearly indicates that Jesus Christ is fully God ( 1:23 )
and since He is God everyone is obligated to respond to Him. Here is (1) Did you notice we are told two things about the Lord Jesus in this question ? For e.g.: have
(a) HIS MISSION: Expressed in the word JESUS:
What does that name Jesus mean ? It means Saviour.
" Thou shalt call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins." ( 1:21 ) " What shall I do then with the Saviour ?" My .... do you believe in His mission ? What did He come for ? He came to deal with sin. He came to put away sin. He came to seek and save that which was lost.
Have you ever acknowledged that He needed to come for you ? Have you ever acknowledged before God that you are a sinner, a lawbreaker, a rebel ? How many times have you broken God's law ? How many times have you sinned against God ? My .... this message is about the fact that you need a Saviour. You don't need a church: ordinance: creed, you can have all these and go to hell. Do you know what you need today ? You need a Saviour. " What shall I do .... ?" (a) and then we have:
(b) HIS COMMISSION: Expressed in the word CHRIST:
Christ in the Greek, Messiah in the Hebrew and it means Anointed. Christ is the " Anointed One." The One set apart by God to be the Saviour. " What shall I do then with the One who is Anointed and Appointed by God to be the Saviour ?" My .... God has appointed noone else. There is not a priest on earth who can forgive your sins: not a pope: not a pastor. There is only one Person who can forgive your sin and that is Jesus Christ. " What shall I do .... ?" (1) My .... do you know Christ ? I'm not asking do you know Him in an intellectual: mental: academic way .... do you know Him as the one who has dealt with the sin question in your life ? Do you know Him in a saving, personal way ? (1)
(2) THE GREATEST ISSUE WE CAN EVER FACE
We will face no greater issue on earth than this issue.
" What shall I do .... ?" Now Pilate would rather not have had to deal with this whole issue at all, but here we see despite himself he is forced to face eternal issues and make a personal decision regarding Jesus Christ. That he had general knowledge of the facts we can be certain for there was nothing that happened in the
" provinces," that was not reported in the " palace."
But information about Jesus Christ is one thing, Confrontation with Jesus Christ is another thing. Pilate was now confronted with the Saviour, faced with this issue of what he would do with Christ. You see this was
(a) AN INDIVIDUAL ISSUE:
" What shall I do .... ?" ( 27:22 ) Pilate was the only one who could answer this question himself. How tragic that after asking the right question he chose the wrong response. For " he delivered Christ to be crucified."
( 27:26 ) And do you know something ? We are told that within seven years of his deed, a broken destitute man, removed from high office by the Governor of Syria, alone and unwanted by Caesar, Pilate went out into the darkness of the night to hang himself. His body was found by a workman. He met the Saviour and refused to trust Him, and now it is dark, awfully dark.
My .... do you realise that this is a personal issue ? Who can answer this question for you. The verdict is yours.
What will YOU do with Jesus Christ ? You need Him:
(1) IN LIFE: For life is both haphazard and dangerous without Jesus Christ. We need Christ to deliver us from past sin: present temptation, and evil enticements in the future.
(2) IN DEATH: Who knows when the curtain will finally close on your life ? The tree from which your coffin will be constructed may already have been felled.
Ill: Verna Wright, professor of rheumatology at Leeds University, was once asked on television, " What does Christianity offer which nothing else offers ?" His reply was " Comfort for a dying man." My .... if you accept Christ as your Saviour, He promises to be with you, as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
(3) IN ETERNITY: For there is life after death and both heaven and hell are taught in the Bible. " What shall YOU do then .... ?" ( 27:22 ) (a) But it also:
(b) AN INESCAPABLE ISSUE:
For you cannot pass it to someone else. Is this what you've been doing ? Are you trying to pass this question to someone else ? Are you saying, " Let my wife decide. Let my husband decide. Let my children decide, but I am not deciding." This is exactly what Pilate tried to do.
He sought to EVADE the issue. When the Jews first brought the Lord Jesus to him, he said, " Take ye Him, and judge ye Him according to your law." ( Jn 18:31 )
In other words " Case dismissed. This, is a religious issue and I am not interested in religious issues." Pilate simply did not want to get involved.
He sought to evade the issue. Is this what you are trying to do ? Like Pilate have you heard about the miracles Christ has wrought ? ( souls saved ) Have you heard about the change Christ has brought to home's and families ? Would you even go as far as to acknowledge that Christ is faultless and innocent ( Jn 19:6 ) But that's as far as it goes. This issue concerning what you will do with Jesus Christ must be evaded at all costs. But my .... this question is INESCAPABLE, you can never get away from it. It comes back to haunt you. Its haunting Pilate tonight in hell. " What shall I do .... ?" Do you recall Pilate sought to DISMISS the issue ? He sent the Lord to Herod.
He discovered that Jesus came from Galilee and joyfully he sent Christ to him. " This has nothing to do with me, after all let Herod face the issue." ( Lk 23:7 ) But it did not work. Sure, Herod had to face the issue for everyone has to. But soon Christ was back. Can you see Pilate now ? He has retired from the Judgment Seat .... he has gone to his room .... he has gone to rest. But soon the servants are hammering at the door and they say, " Jesus Christ is back for judgment .... back with a blood thirsty mob calling for His blood." My .... you may seek to absorb yourself in business: pleasure: sin but still this pressing question will keep coming back.
" What shall I do .... ?" Some of you are saying, " I'll wait to see what Herod will do with Christ: what my neighbour: my husband: my boyfriend will do with Christ ?" But the more you seek to EVADE the issue, the more it bounces back. " What shall I do .... ?"
Pilate said, I will make a deal with them it is the Passover." He had this notorious criminal, a man whose hands were stained with blood. Barabbas was his name and so Pilate said,
" Whom will ye that I release unto you ?" ( 27:17 ) And back the cry, " Not this man but Barabbas." And my .... the issue was back with Pilate. INESCAPABLE ! " What shall I do .... ?" My .... you will never get away from this question, no matter how long you live. This question has got to be answered. You will be answering it today and tomorrow, and every day of your life you will be answering this question. For this issue is (a) (b) And it is:
(c) AN IMPORTANT ISSUE:
For what you do with Jesus Christ settles forever every man's destiny for glory or despair. Do you realise your eternal destiny depends upon what you do with the Lord Jesus ? If you leave Christ our of your life, you'll spend it in Hell, take Christ as your Saviour and you'll spend eternity in Heaven ! Perhaps you're saying, " I will neither accept Christ or reject Chrsit I will do nothing with Him." But my .... there is no neutral ground. If you are not for Christ you are against Christ. ( Matt 12:30 )
Ill: At a meeting one evening a little card was handed out to all who attended. On one side the question was asked, " What must I do to be saved ?" The answer was given, " Believe .... saved." On the other side this question was asked, " What must I do to be lost." And the answer was given. " NOTHING." My .... leave Christ out of your life and you'll be lost forever. (1) (2)
(3) THE GREATEST CHOICE WE CAN EVER MAKE
What is the greatest choice you can ever make ? Its to trust Christ and be saved for the great eternity. Now what are you options ? Well, you can HATE Christ as the Jewish leaders did. You can REJECT Christ as the fickle crowd did. You can MOCK Christ as Herod did. You can GET RID of Christ as Pilate did. Or, you can TRUST Christ as the dying thief did. (3) I notice in this passage some VOICES that would encourage you to make that choice. For one thing there is:
(a) THE VOICE OF CHRIST:
Do you know that Christ witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate ? ( 1 Tim 6:13 ) What did Pilate do ? He did not listen. He asked a question. " What istruth ?" ( Jn 18:38 ) But he did not wait for the answer.
My .... the voice of Christ is sounding in your heart to day by the Holy Spirit. The voice of Christ is sounding in your heart by the voice of this Book: by the voice of this preacher. (a)
(b) THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE:
For Pilate desperately tried to find a way by which to deliver Christ for his conscience told him that this man was Innocent. In fact on three occasions it is recorded that he says, " I find no fault in Him." ( Jn 18:38 19:4-6 ) Is your conscience speaking to .... this .... ?
You know it is wrong to reject Christ, to turn your back on the Son of God. My .... is your conscience inciting you to trust the Saviour ? (a) (b)
(c) THE VOICE OF CHRISTIANS:
According to ancient tradition the wife of Pilate was Claudia Procula. She was a convert to Judaism who later became an ardent Christian. And as Pilate was considering the case of the Saviour, he received an urgent message from his wife: " Be careful, Pilate this man is a just man." ( 27:19 )How many of you unsaved .... have the voice of Christian relatives ringing in your ears ? Is it the voice of a saved wife and she has pleaded with you sir, to come to Christ ?Is it the voice of a mother ? Father ? Child ? Friend ? Is that voice ringing in your ear this .... inciting you come to the Saviour ?
" What shall YOU do .... Christ ?" My .... you cannot leave Him alone. You cannot wash your hands of this matter. Pilate tried that ( 27:24 Deut 21:6 )He called for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the multitude in a vain attempt at self-absolution. But this was an empty gesture for there is no water on earth able to remove our responsibility for what we do with Jesus Christ. Ill: An artist pictures Pilate in hell washing his hands and crying out in anguish, " Oh they will never be clean, they will never be clean."My .... if you reject Christ as Pilate did you'll be crying out in hell, " I heard the gospel, I felt the call of the Holy Spirit, I put off the matter of my salvation and now I am lost evermore."
" What shall YOU .... ?" The verdict is yours: the time is now. What will you do with Jesus Christ ?
" What will you do with Jesus,
Neutral you cannot be
Some day you will be asking,
What will HE do with me ?"