Mark 27:15-26

15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 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?” 18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. 19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. 22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” 23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” 25 All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. God is the Creator who created all things. He feeds, clothes and takes care of us. This is the love of the Creator. But man betrayed God’s love and sinned by listening to the devil, God’s enemy. Therefore man will face eternal destruction (Rev 20:10). God created man with a personality, and gave him the right to use everything in all of creation. There was only one thing that he was not allowed to do. The first man, Adam was to not eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he ate of it, he would surely die. If he didn’t eat of it he would live in happiness forever. God gave man free will to choose. If we, like Adam, listen to the devil, we sin and we will be cursed, die and go to hell and suffer there forever. But those who listen and obey God’s Word and believe in Jesus can go to heaven and live in the greatest joy forever (Rev 22:10-11). God sent his Word and Jesus to this world so that those who hear his Word can choose him. In the time of Noah, so many people were living in sin, but Noah chose to listen to God who told him to build an ark in order for him and his family to survive the flood. In Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot chose to listen to the Word of God and was able to escape with his two daughters from the destruction of the two cities by fire. But his sons-in-law and his wife were all killed. The greatest decision that we have to make is to go to heaven or hell. God said that if man ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die. But the devil said that if he ate it his eyes would be opened and he would become like God. Adam and Eve were deceived and it resulted in their eternal destruction. In the same way, man is still being deceived by the devil into choosing the flesh, fame, money and power rather than Jesus, the time of soul, heaven and eternal life. If man uses his freedom of choice to choose worldly things, his soul will die. But two thousand years ago Jesus was crucified on Golgotha for the salvation of mankind. There were two men crucified along with Jesus. The one accepted Jesus as his Savior, but the other didn’t (Luke 23:39-43). We will only have the opportunity to choose Jesus while we are in the flesh in this world. We cannot choose both God and the world (Mat 6:24). Do not be deceived by the devil. God gave us his Word of love, so we should use our freewill to choose him. Dear brothers and sisters, we should think soberly about this and choose well (Deut 30:16). We can choose either death and hell from the devil; or heaven and eternal life from Jesus. We must choose one.