Summary: To give something good to someone who doesn’t deserve it seems irresponsible; it seems perhaps a little careless, maybe even—can I use this word?...reckless.

Barabbas, an Undeserving Recipient

Matthew 27: 17 – 20

Series: A Day in the Life of… (Easter Series)

To give something good to someone who doesn’t deserve it seems irresponsible; it seems perhaps a little careless, maybe even—can I use this word?...reckless. And I think most of us can understand that way of thinking because there’s something within us that hates injustice. It’s not just that bad things happen to good people; it’s also that good things happen to bad people. That doesn’t feel quite right.

Some of my favorite shows on television are shows like CSI, Homicide Hunter, Forensic Files, and Criminal Minds, shows where the bad guys get caught. I like that. I like it where the guy gets it in the end. There’s just something within us that cries for justice. We want to see good, responsible people rewarded and foolish, irresponsible people having to pay their price, reap what they sow.

I guess that’s one of the reasons that I, I really don’t like those game shows very much where people spin a giant wheel, and they clap and they say, “BIG MONEY!”, and in a moment they earn more than my annual income. Sorry honey, I know how much you love Wheel of Fortune and how much you love the fact that Pat Sajak is such a good political conservative. To be honest with you, that’s not entertainment to me. I mean, I find no pleasure in their happiness when it comes to winning money that way.

Instead of a show like Wheel of Fortune, or Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, wouldn’t you rather see a show…this is just an idea…called Wheel of Misfortune or Lose Your Inheritance? And really wealthy people like…I don’t know… Joy Behar or Sonny Hostin, or Ana Navarro, or Rachel Maddow, or Joe Scarborough, or Nancy Pelosi, or Tim Walz people who haven’t worked for their fortune, would come on the show and all they could do is lose their money. Wouldn’t that be great? I would set my DVR to record all the episodes of this show and watch Lose Your Inheritance over and over again.

Or what about this show? I was thinking…what about Extreme Makeunder? Hmmm? Where guys who are dating girls who are way better looking than them would have to bring in their beautiful girlfriends for a MAKEUNDER? So, they would like take off all their makeup and maybe give them some sort of cream that causes acne. They would yellow their teeth, and then for their revealing they would come out in sweatpants and a baseball cap…and be the kind of girlfriend that this average guy deserves. Isn’t there something within you that gets annoyed when great things happen to people who have done nothing to earn it?

…And yet that’s what happens with Barabbas. When we think of injustice, most of us seem to think of Jesus because here is this innocent man who is brutally killed…but what about Barabbas? What about this guilty murderer who is set free? That seems pretty unjust to me.

To be honest with you, we don’t know much about Barabbas. I was talking to my dad about this sermon series and told him that I was going to be preaching on Barabbas. There was silence on the phone and then dad said, “You know, we don’t really know that much about Barabbas.” And I said, “I know, but I think he would still kind of be a fascinating study.” Dad said, “Well good luck with that, Chris.” You know what? It turns out...this week as I was studying…it turns out that we really don’t know that much about Barabbas. We really don’t. If you put everything we know about him together, you’d have about one sentence, maybe two if you like to be a little repetitive. We don’t know that much about Barabbas.

But what we do know tells us enough that we probably wouldn’t care much for him if we would’ve been living in those days. Let me just give you the different adjectives that the gospel writers give to describe this man, alright? Matthew refers to him this way, as a notorious prisoner. Mark calls him a murderer and an insurrectionist. (An insurrectionist terrorist is what he calls him.) John refers to him as a thief. You get the idea. He’s the bad guy. He’s the guy you want to see get it in the end. If you’re watching a movie over the life of Barabbas, what keeps you going through the movie is the thought that in the end this guy is going to get nailed.

Now if you’ve seen most Easter pageants, or most movies that have been made over the life of Christ, Barabbas is kind of portrayed as this psychotic killer. I mean, he’s kind of shown as a madman, but that’s probably not as accurate. You see, Barabbas’ crimes were politically motivated. He wanted to overthrow the Roman government and their authority over the Jewish people. He’s not just this serial killer that goes around murdering. No, he tried to build this riot, cause this rebellion against Rome, and he was sentenced to death for his crimes.

A Day in the Life of Barabbas

So, we’re going to look for just a few moments this morning at a day in his life, a day in the life of Barabbas. By the time Barabbas comes on the scene here’s what’s happened. Jesus is in his 6th and final trial. He’s standing before Pilate on a place that John calls The Pavement. Pilate has tried a number of different maneuvers to kind of get off the hook with Jesus. Pilate saw Jesus as a no-win situation, and he didn’t want to have to deal with Him. You see, on one hand, Pilate sees Jesus as an innocent man; he doesn’t want to sentence Him to death. But besides that, his wife the night before had this dream, and in this dream, she was warned to tell her husband, “Hey, have nothing to do with this man, this innocent man, Jesus. Don’t let His blood be on your hands.”.

So that’s what she tells her husband. Pilate doesn’t want to sentence Him to death. On the other hand, he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. If he doesn’t comply with their wishes, if he doesn’t do what they want him to do, then they could cause this riot among the Jews, among the people. And if word gets back to Rome that Pilate is unable to keep control of Jerusalem—oh, he’s in trouble, and he might very well lose his position as governor. So, Pilate tries a few things.

First Pilate says, “You know? Jesus is from Galilee and Herod is the ruler of Galilee; therefore, Herod…this is really his jurisdiction and his problem. I’ll send Jesus to Herod.”.

So, Jesus is sent to Herod. He’s already been beaten to some extent. Now, Herod’s kind of this playboy, a little bit of a party guy and he sees Jesus as little more than a sideshow freak. He’s heard these stories about this guy who can work miracles, so when Jesus comes on the scene with Herod, Herod wants a miracle. He wants to see something neat, and Jesus just totally ignores him. I mean, He doesn’t even speak to him. He just pretends like Herod’s not in the room. Herod quickly grows tired of Jesus and he sends Him back to Pilate. That didn’t work.

Second Pilate says, “You know? Maybe instead of killing Him, the people would settle down if I just had Him beaten really badly.”.

So, he orders for Jesus to be flogged. The Roman soldiers would get a cat-of-nine-tails (this whip with leather graded thongs and with metal balls and broken pieces of bone weaved into it), and they would whip Jesus, not just on His back but all the way down the back of His legs. They would start by just beating Him with these whips, and those metal balls would hit the skin and cause bruising, and the bruising would become deeper and deeper until the skin would be very light. Then they would change their technique and they would let the whip land on Him and it would rake His already severely injured skin off. 6 out of 10 men died this way…never made it to the cross…to the place of execution. Now Pilate brings this bloody, beaten Jesus in front of this great mob that has become angry. Surely this will appease them. Surely this will be enough. It’s not. They call again for His death.

So here we are at the 6th and FINAL trial. Pilate has one more card to play.

Matthew 27 tells us that it’s around this time of year during the Passover that the governor would have a custom of releasing one of the prisoners, one of the Jew’s prisoners, to the Jewish people. Now this would’ve been a custom that Pilate would’ve despised. Really, I mean the last thing he would want to do is put a Jewish, troublemaking criminal back on the street. But he would do this annually as a way to kind of calm the crowd. Yet this year, instead of seeing it as a problem, he saw it as a way out. He saw it as a solution to the problem of how to handle Jesus.

So thirdly, here’s what happened. Pilate thinks, “Hmmm, who could I put up against Jesus where I know they would choose Jesus and not the other guy?”.

Lots of prisoners he could choose from, but he chooses Barabbas. A number of people…he could’ve chosen the two thieves, either of the two thieves who died on either side of Jesus. They were guilty of more than stealing. (That wasn’t a capital punishment in those days.) But he chose Barabbas. Why?

Well, the Bible calls him a notorious prisoner, a well-known prisoner—not well-loved but well-known. People would’ve known who he was. Surely these people…though some of them, like Barabbas, tried to overthrow the Roman authority…surely, they wouldn’t want him back on the street. Besides that, Pilate knew that the people would’ve loved Jesus. I mean, he’d heard these stories about His teaching and His popularity with the crowd. It was just a week earlier the Triumphal Entry had taken place. Pilate reasons, “Surely they will choose Jesus over Barabbas.” So, he comes to the crowd, this angry mob, and he says, “Who do you want me to release to you?”

Let’s pick this up in Matthew 27, starting in verse 17. It says, “So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’” Now let’s push pause for just a second here; because Pilate refers to Jesus in an unusual way here. He says, “Do you want me to release to you Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” It’s as if Pilate is distinguishing Jesus, who is called the Christ, from some other Jesus. And I think that’s what’s happening.

According to many of the ancient manuscripts, Barabbas’ first name, his given name, was Jeshua, or Jesus, a very common name in those days. Many of the writers chose not to include his first name, just called him by his received name, his last name, Barabbas. But probably what happened is Pilate stood up and said, “Do you want me to release to you Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?”.

And it says in verse 18, “For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.” Pilate knew that the Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus’ popularity with the crowd; that’s why He’s been handed over to him. Surely the people wouldn’t go along with this.

But look at verse 20. It says, “The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ‘Which of the two do you want me to release to you?’ asked the governor. ‘Barabbas,’ they answered. ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify Him!’”.

Chuck Swindoll points out that Barabbas would’ve been imprisoned at a place called The Fortress of Antonia. This is where all the prisoners would’ve been kept in ancient Jerusalem. Now when Jesus was standing before Pilate, He was standing at, as I mentioned earlier, a place called The Pavement. This was an elevated stone area just outside the palace where Pilate would’ve stayed.

? Did Barabbas Know What Was Happening?

Here’s the question: How far is The Pavement where Jesus stands with Pilate from The Fortress of Antonia where Barabbas is being imprisoned? It’s about 2,000 feet. It’s a little less than half a mile. In other words…it’s too far…it’s too far away for Barabbas to hear what Pilate is saying to the crowd, but it’s close enough where Barabbas can hear what the crowd is saying back to Pilate.

Let’s try something. I think it’ll help us maybe hear what Barabbas would’ve heard from his prison cell. So, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m going to play the part of Pilate, and I’m gonna say to you, “Who do you want me to release?” And you’re going to answer back as a mob would, “Barabbas! Barabbas!” Then I will say, “What then should I do with Jesus?” And I want you to say nice and loud altogether, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Alright?

So, let’s try this. This is what Barabbas might have heard:

Chris: “Who do you want me to release to you?”

Audience: “Barabbas! Barabbas!”

Chris: “What then should I do with Jesus?”

Audience: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”.

That’s what Barabbas would’ve heard. He sits in prison and hears, “Barabbas! Crucify him!” and he thinks, “This is it.” The Roman soldiers come quickly approaching and he knows this is the end. He’s gonna be stripped naked and nailed to a tree. Knowing the kind of man Barabbas was, I’m sure the Roman soldiers were prepared for some intense and brutal resistance. Maybe Barabbas thought to himself, “They make take me down, but I’m taking a few with me. They may take me down, but I’m not going down without a fight.”.

? Somebody Else Took His Place

So, the prison door slams open and Barabbas sits there chained up, but he’s calmed. They come over to him, and the moment they unleash his chains he goes crazy. There’s a great struggle as he fights for his life, determined to take some of these soldiers with him. And he hears one of them say, “Jesus, you’re free! Barabbas, you’re free!” Barabbas takes a moment to let that sink in and one of the soldiers explains, “Somebody else is dying on your cross.”.

Barabbas stumbles out of his cell laughing just a little at the thought. “Who? Who is taking my cross?” “It’s Jesus who is called the Christ.” Now Barabbas knew who that was. He had heard stories. He knew the teaching. And that’s where our story ends. It’s really not the way I would’ve ended it had I been writing the story. I would’ve made Barabbas an innocent family man. How much more of a hero would Jesus be if when He died this innocent family man who had been wrongly accused and sentenced was set free? That seems so much nobler and more heroic to me.

But that’s not who Barabbas was. Barabbas WAS guilty. The gospel writers make that clear. They say this notorious thief is set free. Barabbas did nothing to earn his pardon. As far as we know, he didn’t even ask for it. There was no appeal for clemency; there was no promise of atonement; there was really no guarantee of good behavior in the future. He did nothing to receive this gift of life. He is completely and utterly undeserving.

? We Are All Undeserving Of God’s Grace

Does that sound familiar? It should. It should because with all of us God has been just as irresponsible. He’s been just as irresponsible with His love, and He’s been just as careless with His compassion, and He’s been reckless with His grace, giving it to those of us who deserve it the least. Of all the characters that surround the crucifixion, this is the one we know the least about but the one we have the most in common with. If I were going to choose one person that I would have to be, I would have to be Barabbas, this guilty man who Jesus died for.

You see, what Jesus did for Barabbas, He did for us to an even greater degree.

Romans 3:23 says that all of us, every single Christian in this room, has sinned. In other words, we’ve all been found guilty, all of us. Romans 6:23 says the wages of that sin, the sentence for our sin, is death. So basically, what that means is we’re all doomed to this eternal damnation for all eternity. We’re all doomed here on earth to basically living on death row. But the Bible says God loved us so much that He sent Jesus down to serve our sentence. He sent Jesus down to pay our price, to take our penalty upon Himself; to die on our cross.

So, Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death but…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And all we do is accept it.

So, What Happened To Barabbas? Some Speculations…

This is all we know about Barabbas. This is where his story ends. He’s never mentioned again in Scripture. We’re left to speculate about what might have been with Barabbas. Lots of people do this. As I was reading about his life, I learned that many writers like to imagine how this story could have ended. Many people like to speculate on how things might have gone. Can we do that with the few minutes we have left? Can we just kind of imagine what Barabbas did next? How do you think he responded? What do you think he did after he was released from prison? Let’s consider a few different scenarios.

Scenario #1: Barabbas Turned Himself In:

One scenario I read explained it this way. They said Barabbas was so guilt-ridden over this innocent man who had died in his place that he turned himself in to the Roman authorities and he insisted on paying for his crimes. He insisted on serving his sentence. So, in this scenario Barabbas is pictured as an undeserving recipient who foolishly refuses. He’s offered freedom, but he chooses prison. He’s offered to have the chains taken off of him, but he says, “No, I’ll leave them on. This is what I deserve.”.

Do you know anybody who responds that way to God’s grace? They just say, “I couldn’t accept a gift like that.” I think there are some people who foolishly refuse God’s great gift for this reason: It seems too good to be true. Don’t you think that’s right? I mean, we’re kind of taught that you don’t get something for nothing and this whole thing of God’s free gift to us of salvation, it just seems…seems too good to be true.

I don’t know if you saw this interview or heard about the following situation. It was on The Today Show. Matt Lauer did this interview a few years ago. Here’s what happened. H&R Block, the tax firm, offered this promotion where customers could sign up for a drawing to win $1 million as they would come in to have their taxes done. There was one couple, Glenn and Gloria Simms, from Seal, New Jersey. They came in to have their taxes done, they signed up for this drawing, and they won! They won the $1 million! But when H&R Block called them to tell them this great news, they thought it was a scam and they hung up on them.

Well, over the next few weeks H&R Block continuously tried to contact these people and they called numerous times. They sent special notices in the mail. The Simms would hang up and they’d trash the special notices. Finally, a representative for H&R Block calls and says, “Listen, the deadline for accepting this $1 million prize is quickly approaching. There’s going to be a segment on The Today Show that tells the story of you refusing to accept this $1 million prize.” Well, at that point Mr. Simms decided, “Maybe I should investigate this.”.

So, he did. He investigated it and the next week he was on The Today Show explaining to Matt Lauer that he and his wife had gone in and received and accepted this $1 million prize from H&R Block. I want to read to you the last thing that he said on the show. He said, “‘From the time this has been going on,’ H&R Block explained to us, ‘we really wanted a happy ending to all of this.’ They were ecstatic that we finally accepted the prize.”.

Look, Jesus has purchased this incredible gift for you and for me, and He is just…patiently waiting for you to accept it. He has sent you messages, and I know that some of you have been given them and it’s not an accident that you’re here today. Maybe somebody has come back into your life, or maybe something has happened to you and He’s gotten your attention maybe for the first time in a long time. He just desperately wants you to accept this gift. If you would, He’ll just…be ecstatic.

I think some people refuse the gift because they feel too guilty. They’ve seen baptisms in church. Maybe you listen to the invitation every week and you hear the offer of forgiveness, and you think, “Well, yeah…but not for me, not after what I’ve done.”.

Some people, I think, refuse the offer because they feel pretty good about themselves. They compare themselves to people around them and say, “I don’t know. Do I really need a Savior? I’m doing pretty well.” It’s hard…it’s hard to save a person who doesn’t know they’re drowning. But many people foolishly refuse. I don’t know. Maybe that’s what Barabbas did.

Scenario #2: Barabbas Stayed The Same:

There’s another scenario that imagines that Barabbas went on to commit more murders. Do you think that was it? That he went on and led this rebellion against Rome and just went back to his old way of life? So, Barabbas is pictured as this undeserving recipient who ungratefully receives. Maybe that’s what happened. He receives this gift of life from Jesus, and he just goes back to his old way of living. That happens too, you know. When we receive such undeserved grace, such an incredible gift, how is our life NOT changed by that? Yet, you know some people who’ve heard the stories since they were children and they’re fully aware…they’re fully aware of the sacrifice that was made for them, and yet it’s as if nothing happens.

I guess I wonder if maybe Barabbas started off well. You know he started off determined to live a good life, but before long he was just back to his old ways. Maybe that’s what happened to you. You watched The Passion of the Christ and you thought, “Some things are gonna change.” Have they?

Or you come to church on the weekend and you think, “I’m gonna do some things differently. Some things are gonna be different in my life.” How long does it take before its business as usual? One of the reasons we take communion on a weekly basis in our worship service is we need to be reminded of this sacrifice that was made on our behalf, so our life will continually reflect this grace, this gift that we’ve received.

Scenario #3: Barabbas Tried To Earn Grace:

Another scenario is that Barabbas, upon receiving this incredible gift, he goes out and he tries to earn it, he tries to be worthy of it. He says, “Well, if I can be good enough, if I can do enough good; then maybe I can pay Jesus back for what He’s done for me.” So, Barabbas is pictured as this undeserving recipient who proudly repays. He says, “I’m not going to take a handout. I will earn this.” And his life becomes driven by a duty to payback Jesus. Some of you in this room are responding to the grace of Christ just that way: You are trying to earn it.

Maybe you’ve seen the movie Saving Private Ryan? The movie has quite a bit of violence and language, but it has done a lot for some of the people in my generation. It has given them a more appropriate appreciation for the great sacrifices made for our freedom during World War II. The movie begins with a group of Army Rangers led by Tom Hanks’ character named Captain Miller. These Army Rangers are given an assignment to go out, find and rescue Private Ryan.

So, they go deep into enemy territory trying to find him and many of the Rangers die along the way. When they finally get to where Private Ryan is holed up, they discover that there’s one last battle to fight before they can return him home.

They decide the best way to be Rangers is to stay and fight this battle with him and then to return him home after the battle is over. But the battle is fierce and most of the Rangers die.

At the end of the movie, Tom Hanks’ character, Captain Miller, has been shot and he’s on this bridge and he’s dying. Private Ryan comes over to him and he leans in close to this man who had sacrificed everything for his freedom, and Captain Miller said two final words to Private Ryan. The final two words he speaks are these (He whispered them into Private Ryan’s ear). He said, “EARN THIS.”, And then he died.

The last scene of the movie pictures Private Ryan as an old man now. He comes to this veteran cemetery to visit the graveside of Captain Miller and he is wondering if he’s earned it. I want to share with you what is said as he tries to convince himself that he’s been worthy of the sacrifice, as he tries to convince himself that he has earned it.

Private Ryan (talking to Captain Miller’s grave): “To be honest with you I wasn’t sure how I’d feel coming back here. Every day I think of what you said to me that day on the bridge. I’ve tried to live my life the best I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that at least in your eyes I earned what all of you have done for me.”.

Mrs. Ryan: “Ed?”

Private Ryan: “Tell me I have led a good life.”

Private Ryan’s wife: “What?”

Private Ryan: “Tell me I’m a good man.”

Titus 3:5 says, “God saved us, not because of any good work that we ourselves have done (not because we’ve earned it), but because of His own mercy He saved us.”.

Every other world religion says, “Earn this!” You have to work for it. You have to be good enough, and if you do enough good things…If you pray five times a day, give alms, fast, take a pilgrimage, use a prayer wheel, don’t eat certain foods, observe the Sabbath or one of the numerous other possibilities…if you do enough good, then maybe…maybe at the end of time when you stand before God, your life will be measured in His scales and maybe…maybe you will have done enough good. Earn this!

Listen to what John Stott writes. He says, “The repeat of promises in The Koran for the forgiveness of a compassionate and merciful Allah are all made to the meritorious whose merits have been weighed in Allah’s scales, whereas the gospel is the good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross not the scales.” Did you get that? The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross; it’s not the scales.

Reader’s Digest had an article about a 67-year-old man named Bill who had given over 100 pints of blood. There’s no doubt many people have had their life saved by this man’s kindness. But I was fascinated by Bill’s motivation. Listen to what he says to Reader’s Digest. He says, “When the final whistle blows, and St. Peter asks, ‘What did you do?’ I’ll just say, ‘Well, I gave 100 pints of blood.’ That ought to get me in.”

I don’t know. He might have just been having fun, but if Bill is counting on giving 100 pints of blood to get him to heaven, then Bill is trusting in the wrong blood.

Romans 3:24 explains that we are “justified freely (freely) by His grace through the redemption (through the payment) that came by Christ Jesus.” God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, as a substitute through faith in His blood. But maybe Barabbas decided he was going to earn it and pay it back.

Scenario #4: Barabbas Accepted Grace:

One last thing, one last legend, and this is kind of the one I hope is accurate. It describes Barabbas as an undeserving recipient who humbly accepts. I’d like to think that’s the way it happened, you know? That he would’ve stayed to watch this drama play out. I think that had to have been the case. I mean, don’t you think that curiosity would’ve gotten the best of him, wanting to see what this man looked like who was dying on his cross? Maybe he stayed in Jerusalem that day and didn’t run off into the hills and hide. Maybe he fell in with the crowd and he waited to see this man who was dying in his place…

…and then he sees Jesus. Jesus is carrying a cross up to Calvary, and maybe Barabbas just whispered to himself, “That’s my cross! That’s my cross.”. Maybe he stuck around long enough—I don’t know—but maybe he did stick around long enough to see the Roman soldiers slamming the nails through the hands of Jesus, and maybe he said to himself as he just instinctively grabbed his own hands, maybe he said, “Those nails were meant for me.” And he closes his eyes and he looks down. He has his head down and he can still hear the pounding of the nails put through the feet of Jesus. Maybe he just opened his eyes and it hits him, “This man died in my place!” And once you see that and once you believe that you’ll never be the same again. Your only response is to live this grateful, joy-filled life.

It’s ironic to me that in the movie Saving Private Ryan the last two words the Ranger speaks are “Earn this.” It’s ironic to me because for the last 200 years, do you know what the motto has been for Rangers? The last 200 years the motto for Rangers has been Sua sponte, Latin for “I chose this.” How much difference would that have made in Private Ryan’s life as he would’ve knelt down to Captain Miller, if he would’ve said, “Sua sponte. ‘I chose this. I volunteered for it. You don’t have to pay me back for this?’”.

That’s what we have. The man who died for our freedom said, “I chose this,” instead of “Earn this.” When you look to the cross of Christ, He never says, “You earn this.” He never says, “Look what I’ve done for you; now you get out there and gut it out for me.” He says, “I volunteered for it. You don’t have to pay anything for this. All you need to do is humbly accept this…my gift to you.”.

Jesus Died In YOUR Place. Now You CHOOSE How The Story Will End.

I don’t know. I’d like to think that’s how it happened. But I don’t know…I don’t know if that’s how the story went, but I know that’s how the story could go, because I’m talking to a room full of Barabbasses. Jesus died in your place. Now you choose how the story will end.

And please know this: If Jesus were to whisper two words to you…I mean, if there were just two of them…before He would die, I think maybe the two words He might choose are, “ACCEPT THIS.” Accept it. It’s foolish to refuse it; you can’t possibly earn it; there’s no way we deserve it—so would you just accept it?

If you haven’t accepted His sacrifice for you, if you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior and been baptized into Him, if you’ve been putting that off—would you let this be the moment when you just humbly accept His gift to you? Or maybe you’re already an immersed believer but you don’t have a church home. We would love for you to come down and place your membership with this body of believers. If you’d like to place your membership here at Seaford, I’d like to meet you right down front as we stand together and as we sing.