Sermon Direct Link
4/3/26
Rev. Clint Smith
On this solemn day, one word echoes through the story of the cross: delivered. The religious leaders delivered Jesus over to Pontius Pilate. Their motives were not pure—Pilate himself perceived it clearly: “it was out of envy” (cf. Mark 15:10). Envy can disguise itself as righteousness, yet underneath it corrodes truth and blinds the heart.
Pilate, though unconvinced of Jesus’ guilt, still delivered Him over to be scourged and crucified. Pressured by the crowd, he chose approval and self-preservation over justice. The same voices that demanded freedom for Barabbas cried out for Jesus’ death. Humanity’s brokenness is laid bare—how easily we exchange truth for comfort, conviction for convenience.
At the cross, the chief priests mocked Him: “He saved others; He cannot save Himself” (cf. Mark 15:31). What appeared to be weakness was, in truth, divine purpose. Jesus did not lose His life, He gave it (cf. John 10:18). As Scripture declares, “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16).
A profound irony is that those who delivered Jesus to death were themselves in desperate need of deliverance.
The chief priests, the crowd, Pilate, every one of them stood in need of the very salvation Jesus was accomplishing. Had they believed the Gospel, He would have delivered them, from sin, from death, and from eternal separation from God.
Joseph of Arimathea stands as an example for us. While others rejected and abandoned Jesus, he determined to honor Him publicly. He took His body down from the cross, wrapped it in fine linen, and laid it in his own new tomb (cf. Matthew 27:57–60). Even in death, Jesus was still being “delivered,” this time into the care of one who loved Him.
This is the Good News: the very One who was handed over to suffering death on the cross, now delivers all who place their faith and trust in Him, calling them to be His disciples.