The Sermon Nobody Is Preaching On Good Friday (Choosing Jesus Or Barabbas) | Matthew Maher |

Nothing grieves the heart of God as much as the person or religion that keeps people from the heart of God

Matthew 23:13

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

They are door-keepers keeping people from the Door!

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Faith that stresses DO keeps you from faith that confesses DONE

Matthew 23:14

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”

False religion exploits the exposed. True religion ministers to those who mourn.

Matthew 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Matthew 23:15

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

Zeal without the harness of heaven produces anything from legalism to religious terrorism

Matthew 5:5

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Matthew 23:16

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’”

False religion is often full of lies and semantics. True religion hungers and thirsts for righteousness.

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 23:23-24

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

Jesus does not condemn their majoring on the minor. He indicts them for completely missing the matters that are major.

Matthew 5:7

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

The mercy we show is in direct proportion to the mercy we know

Matthew 23:25-26

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.”

The religionist puts such a heavy emphasis on external presentation. Meanwhile, Jesus is solely focused on the hearts condition.

Matthew 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Matthew 23:27-28

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

A whitewashed life may appear righteous, but the influence pushes people away from Jesus.

Matthew 5:9

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Matthew 23:29-30

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’”

Matthew 5:10-12

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

If you desire to be more like Jesus, then don’t be surprised when you get questioned by “Nicodemus,” persecuted by “Caiaphas,” betrayed by “Judas,” rejected for “Barabbas,” and you end up suffering next to “Dismas.”