September 28, 2025

Luke 23:1-25

Beauty for Ashes, Diamonds for Dirt

Sunday Sermons

In the early morning hours of what we now call Good Friday, Jesus was taken by the religious leaders to stand trial before Pontius Pilate. In Luke’s account, Jesus speaks only five words when He responds to Pilate’s question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” and says, “It is as you say.” We come to a crossroads in this account: Courage and cowardice converge; actual authority and power are displayed through silent suffering; and Jesus, being entirely innocent, willingly exchanges His life for the life of a convicted criminal and takes his place on the cross. What looks like a victory for Satan ends up being the masterstroke of God’s Divine plan of rescue and redemption for the human race. Join us as we study Luke 23:1-25, and read about the Great Exchange, our sin for the righteousness of Christ!

Speaker

Matt Pierson

Series

The Gospel According to Luke

Go to Series

Scripture

Luke 23:1-25

Topics
Community Life Growth & Discipleship

Sermon Notes

Luke 23:1-25

Beauty for Ashes, Diamonds for Dirt

Pastor Matt Pierson

“To our times in particular, then, the account which Luke gives of the last hours of Jesus’s earthly life brings a much-needed assurance. The most diabolical of all the schemes of Satan was not only countered at every point by a superior plan of God’s devising. It was actually woven into that plan, and made to serve its ends. And if that was what God could do with the master-plot of hell, then there can be no evil which he cannot in the end turn to blessing.”
Michael Wilcock, The Bible Speaks Today, Luke

1. Jesus held all power and authority, yet used none of it

“Total injustice, met by total, silent suffering. Jesus is in control of the proceedings. It is Pilate, it is Caiaphas, it is the reader who is on trial. Jesus is the one with moral authority at His own trial, majestic in silence.”
-Michael Green, The Message of Matthew

2. Jesus, substituted for Barabbas, reflects the entire gospel in microcosm

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:4-5

“The concept of substitution may be said, then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man…Man claims prerogatives that belong to God alone; God accepts penalties that belong to man alone.
John Stott, The Cross of Christ

3. Our prison doors have been opened- how will we respond?

“Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
-John 6:37

“Are you willing? Are you willing to be saved? Can you say, ‘Now, Lord, I am willing to be saved, give me a new heart. I am willing to give up my sins. I am willing to be a Christian. I am willing to believe and willing to obey…’ Then you are freely invited to come, if you are but willing.”
Charles Spurgeon

“If we are true Christians, let us daily lean our souls on the comfortable thought that Christ has really been our Substitute, and has been punished in our stead. Let us freely confess that, like Barabbas, we deserve death, judgment, and hell. But let us cling firmly to the glorious truth that a sinless Savior has suffered in our stead, and that believing in Him the guilty may go free.”
J.C. Ryle

“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21

Discussion Questions

  • Herod was only interested in Jesus’ ability to perform miracles. Do we ever want Jesus to do things for us, looking to Him as a cosmic concierge?
  • Pilate let the crowd compel him, against his better judgment, to allow Jesus’ crucifixion. When faced with difficult decisions, do we stand firm in what we believe, or do we let the loud voices of the crowd overwhelm us? Are we more concerned with what people think of us than the truth?
  • What is the difference between power and authority? In what ways does Jesus display both of these attributes to the fullest?
  • Do we truly grasp the fullness of freedom that we have in Christ? How are we living this out?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs

“Christ Our Hope In Life and Death“ by Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker and Matt Papa
“His Mercy Is More“ by Matt Boswell and Matt Papa
“Before The Throne Of God Above“ by Charitie Lees Bancroft and Vikki Cook
“Amazing Grace“ by John Newton
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used by Permission. CCLI License #2003690

Call To Worship: Bless the Lord

Leader: Bless the Lord at all times; let His praise continually be in your mouth.
People: My tongue shall tell of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.

Leader: Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!
People: We will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that he has done.

All: You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, and there is no God besides You!

Confession of Faith:

The Apostles’ Creed – I Believe in the Holy Universal Church, part 3
Article III. “I Believe in the Holy Universal Church”
ACNA, Q. 97, 98, 99

Leader: Why is the Church called “holy”?
People: The Church is holy because the Holy Spirit dwells in it and sanctifies its members, setting them apart to God in Christ and calling them to moral and spiritual holiness of life.

Leader: Why is the Church called “catholic”, or universal?
People: The Church is called “catholic” or universal (“according to the whole”) because it keeps the whole faith it has received from the Lord, in continuity with the whole Church, in all times and places.

Leader: Why is the Church called “apostolic”?
People: An apostle is one who is sent. The Church is called “apostolic” because it holds the faith of the first apostles sent by Christ. In continuity with them, the Church is likewise sent by Christ to proclaim the Gospel and to make disciples throughout the whole world.

Classic Prayer: William Barclay 1907-1978

O God, our Father, bless those for whom life is unhappy. Bless those who are underpaid and overworked, those who never have enough, and who are always tired. Bless those who are always taken for granted, and who are never thanked, or praised, or appreciated, as they ought to be. Bless those who have been hurt by life, those who have been wounded by the malice of their enemies, or by the faithlessness of their friends. Bless those who have been disappointed and must start again. Bless those for whom life is lonely and empty, because someone they loved has died. Bless those whom illness or weakness has compromised them, or laid them aside. Bless those who are worried about those they love. Thou knowest the needs of each one of us, and Thou knowest the secrets of our inmost hearts. Help us to cast all our burdens upon Thee, certain that Thou carest for us, and sure that Thou wilt help. This we ask for Thy love’s sake. Amen.

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