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The Value of One
Acts 8:26-29, “(26) And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. (27) And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, (28) Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. (29) Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”
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Grace that Saves
Text: Ephesians 2:4-9
(4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Luke 19:5-6, “(5) And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. (6) And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.”
Grace that Saves[1]
Series Overview – Letters from Prison:
Paul penned Ephesians and Philippians from prison to minister to the church. These two short books contain principles that give you power to live godly, in an ungodly world.
Grace, Simple Grace[2]
James Wilhoit shared the story of the birth of his second daughter and her battle with jaundice during her early days. For treatment, the doctor prescribed sunlight.
Thinking there was most likely a complex and difficult treatment to cure his newborn, he asked the doctor what could be done.
The doctor patiently explained that jaundice is caused by too much bilirubin [billy-rubin] in a newborn’s red blood cells, and light helps break down the excess bilirubin into waste products the kidneys can eliminate.
The cure really was as simple as sunlight, and all that the parents had to do was just sit their newborn in the sun.
And that’s exactly what they did: they placed her their daughter on a pallet of blankets in her diaper in front of the living room windows that welcomed large amounts of sunlight.
As the day would progress, her attentive and loving parents adjusted her position to keep her in full view of the sun.
As James Wihoit later wrote, “The cure did not depend on her but on her being kept in the light.”
Simple Grace – Grace that Saves
A year and a half earlier, James and his wife were walking through their neighborhood and crossed paths with another couple strolling with their firstborn baby girl.
On the sunny but cool March day, their neighbor’s child lay in a stroller covered by a canopy while snugly wrapped head to toe with only a small portion of her face showing. The other couple explained she had jaundice and according to her doctors should be out in the sun. Yet here she was outdoors, but not in the sunlight.
James now watching his newborn lay on their living room floor in full view of the sun realized:
“So often I come to God only revealing the tiniest patch of skin for his healing light. For me, the clothing that blocks the healing light of Jesus most often is my pride, seen in the form of denial—I deny that I need cleansing.”[3]
The cure does not depend on you, but on you keeping yourself in the light of God’s grace.
Rather than deny and refuse—or worse, try to manufacture—our healing, we can simply receive it.
God’s Grace is Offered to You
God has made His grace available to you even though you “had your conversation [conduct] in times past in the lusts of your flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.”[4]
Paul was clear, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” but all who come to Jesus in faith and obedience are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”[5]
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”[6]
Free – Undeserved – Unmerited Grace will save you from living a life governed by sin and a servant to satan.
God Grace is Extended to You Because of His Love
Paul told the Ephesians that Jesus has authority over “all principality, and power, and might, and dominion,”[7]
There is power in this world that exerts itself over you and draws you into an corrupt state, and while you have no natural power to defeat the devil and sin,
God does.
Because of “his great love wherewith he loved you,” He gives you the undeserved, unearned blessing (simple definition of grace) of His authority and power over the dominion of sin and the devil.
Grace that Saves is Free – Undeserved – Unmerited
God’s Grace Saves You
Because He loves you, He offers to rescue you and redeem you:
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;).”[8]
You may be hopeless and bound, but He offers you hope and freedom.
By yourself you are outmatched and incapable of conquering sin, the kingdom of darkness, and death.
Your religious activities can’t save you, and you don’t earn salvation by your good deeds.
Salvation is not extended to you because of how many hours you have prayed, meals you have fasted, money you have contributed.
Salvation is not achieved because of how many times you’ve read the Bible through, or how often you attend the church services.
These spiritual disciplines are indicators of a transforming disciple, but only God’s grace saves you.
Perhaps you have the mistaken notion that “I must do this particular spiritual activity to get God to love me.”
This type of mentality can turn God’s grace into something to be earned, yet this is entirely opposite of what grace means.
Grace is undeserved, unmerited and unearned.
Grace that Saves is a gift you receive.
It is simple grace, like setting a jaundiced baby in the sunlight so that she can receive the light.
Receive God’s Grace
The way to receive by faith the Grace that Saves is through the principle of humility.
1 Peter 5:5-7, “(5) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (7) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
There is a link between grace and humility:
- Humility acknowledges, “I am not perfect.”
- Humility understands your need for growth and improvement.
- Humility allows you to accept grace because humility allows you to truly repent.
Zacchaeus Received God’s Grace (Luke 19:1-10)
Luke alone of the Gospel writers records God’s grace extended to “a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich . . . and . . . little of stature” (Luke 19:2–3).
We quickly see how others around him knew him:
- Zacchaeus most likely “presided over other tax-gatherers, received their collections and transmitted them to the Roman government.”[9]
- Zacchaeus, a Jew, was not liked by other Jews because he chose to for the Romans.
- As a publican he was treated as a traitor to his people.
- Not only that, but it seems he had charged his fellow Jewish citizens extra on their taxes to profit from the surplus. He was getting rich off them.
- Zacchaeus was not well liked in Jericho.
- When the people saw that Jesus was going into Zacchaeus’s home, “they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner” (Luke 19:7).
- Zacchaeus fit the description of an individual walking “according to the course of this world…fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.”[10]
- Zacchaeus had risen to the top of the ranks of swindling tax collectors, and he abused his authority by getting rich off the hard-earned money of others.
- They labeled him, scorned him and rejected him.[11]
Jesus Spent Time with Zacchaeus
The crowd was not wrong in their assessment of Zacchaeus; the earthly labels were certainly true of him, but they were not the truest thing about him.
From a purely physical and tangible perspective, he was indeed a sinner.
Thankfully, God’s view of you is not from an earthly perspective; He sees your truest identity—God created you in His image, for His purpose, by His design.[12]
God’s actions toward you are not motivated by label you or others apply, but by His love.
The crowd responded to Zacchaeus through the lens of earthly labels, leading them to hatred and rejection.
Their view of Zacchaeus kept them from associating with him, accepting him, loving him, and acting in grace toward him.
Jesus chose a different way. He chose to view Zacchaeus from a heavenly perspective.
Jesus graciously invited Zacchaeus into a loving relationship.
Jesus chose to accept him, not reject him.
He chose Grace that Saves motivated by His great love.
When you receive God’s Grace you will cherish your time with Him:
- Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully into his home.
- Here was someone who looked beyond his faults and earthly labels to truly see him and he certainly cherished this life altering moment.
- Put yourself in Zacchaeus’s shoes for a moment:
- You know what your life is like.
- Your selfish ambition has produced misguided efforts.
- You have made decisions you wish you could remake.
- You long for a change, for healing, for reconciliation, for a chance to make things right.
- You feel ashamed because you are guilty.
- And now, walking into your living room, Jesus willingly chooses to look beyond all of that.
- He accepts you, treats you with kindness, respect, and dignity, and offers you an invitation to repent so He can forgive you.
- His grace is undeserved, you don’t deserve this, but here He is spending time with you anyway.[13]
Jesus offers you that same grace-filled invitation he offered to Zacchaeus.
He is inviting each of you into a deeper relationship with Him.
Daily He presents you with an invitation to spend time with Him.
He sees you through the lens of love and grace.
He sees your wholeness, despite your brokenness.
Such actions from Him are undeserved and unearned, but here He is inviting us anyway.
That’s Grace that Saves!
How do you respond to Grace? REPENT.
Zacchaeus climbed a tree in order to see Jesus, which was an outward demonstration of his willingness to do whatever it took to see Jesus.
Although he was living a life he may not have been proud of, he was willing to lay aside his pride, and humble himself, in a beautiful step toward repentance.[14]
“And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold” (Luke 19:8).
Zacchaeus’s statement was evidence of deep sorrow and a desire for change in his life and he was choosing to live life with a different attitude and mindset.
This deep inner change led to generosity instead of selfishness and restitution to the people he had wronged. For Zacchaeus, and often for us, true repentance requires restitution. The actions and behaviors that follow our repentance indicate we are now living differently.[15]
After Zach repented Jesus said, “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham”[16]
Jesus knew he was the chief among the publicans and his exploitation of the poor had made him rich, but he repented and then Jesus identified Zacchaeus as a son of Abraham.
Zacchaeus, and the people watching, were reminded that God sees past your earthly defining labels. They do not define you.
Only God defines you, and He sees you through the lens of His grace.
Grace that Saves
[1]Source: God’s Word for Life. (Lesson 1.1) Series 1: Letters from Prison – By Grace Ye Are Saved. PPH. 3/2/2025.
[2] Ibid. (James Wilhoit. Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered).
[3] Ibid.
[4] Eph. 2:3. Personalized.
[5] Rom. 3:22-23.
[6] Titus 2:11-14.
[7] Ephesians 1:21.
[8] Ephesians 2:4–5.
[9] Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible. Luke 19:2.
[10] Eph. 2:2-3.
[11] Source: God’s Word for Life. (Lesson 1.1) Series 1: Letters from Prison – By Grace Ye Are Saved. PPH. 3/2/2025.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Luke 19:9.
Categories
Your Choice
Text: John 18:40, “Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.”
John 18:28-40
(28) Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
(29) Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?
(30) They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. <<they were defensive>>
(31) Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:
(32) That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.
(33) Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
(34) Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
(35) Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
(36) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
(37) Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
(38) Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
(39) But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
(40) Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
Charles Jackson French was a twenty-three-year-old African American from Arkansas who just before World War II enlisted in the Navy.
During the war, French served as a cook on the USS Gregory, a high-speed transport that patrolled the South Pacific.
On patrol, near the Solomon Islands, on the night of September 4, 1942, Japanese submarines surprised the Gregory and opened fire. Before the night was over, the Gregory was sunk.
Fifteen survivors, including Charles French, floated helplessly on the dark waters in an inflatable raft, and things got even worse.
Enemy ships opened fire on the life raft. So, Seaman French made a choice and tied the raft’s rope around his waist and jumped into the dark waters as his feet brushed up against the fins of teeming sharks.
French swam for eight hours in the deep, towing the raft alone against the tide to make sure it never came within range of the distant gunfire.
Charles Jackson French made a choice that saved fourteen souls at the risk of his own life.
At Gethsemane Jesus chose to follow the will of the Father .
It was on the cross where Jesus took our place.
It is your decision to choose Jesus, or someone…something else.
You can decide to choose Jesus, no matter the choice.
It is Your Choice[1]
Jesus’ sacrificial choice was made for everyone.
Barabbas = “Son of Abba.”[2]
Barabbas is the New Testament equivalent of a “John Doe.”
The name literally means “son of a father,” which is not really a name. It essentially means “any man.”
Jesus’ death was a substitution, a sacrifice, for “any man.”
- If any man thirst, let him come unto me…[3]
- …If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.[4]
- I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.[5]
- Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.[6]
- Any man, or woman, who determines to choose and come to Jesus
- Deny = “to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.”[7]
- Take up your cross = “Embrace the will of God, however painful, daily, hourly, continually.”[8]
- Follow me = become Jesus’ disciple
- Sacrifice is the common denominator for all men who will come after Jesus.
- Any man, or woman, who determines to choose and come to Jesus
What Does It Mean to Sacrifice?
Sacrifice is the choice you make to willingly lose or give up something personal what that cannot be regained.
The loss of something irreplaceable will not come back for the purpose of reconciliation, understanding or appeasement = Sacrifice
Jesus chose sacrifice by blood: “He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Matthew 27:42; Mark 15:31). He chose not to save Himself.
Sacrifice frees the recipient but binds the one who is sacrificing.
“Sacrifice is the language of Heaven.”[9]
Jesus’ Body Was Prepared for Sacrifice
A man who had lost his right arm rolled up his sleeve to reveal the gnarled remnant of his arm. Only four inches of mangled skin and cartilage remained below the shoulder. He held up the stub of his arm and said,
“A lot of people feel sorry for me. They try to look away and make sure I don’t see them looking at me funny. But you should not feel sorry for me. You know why God gave me the arm I lost? Because God knew I’d be in a car accident one day and my son would be sitting next to me. And just as a shaft of metal was headed for his face, I would have that right arm to shield his face and take the blow. I lost my arm; shards of metal went straight through the bone. But that arm saved my son. That’s why God gave me a right arm. That was its main purpose. He gave it to me so I could give it away to save the boy. No, don’t feel sorry for me. No man’s right arm has ever served a better purpose. A son for a right arm. I would do the same thing every time. And when I wake up in the morning and feel the arm I’ve lost, I give glory to God for the son it gained.”
Look at Hebrews 10:4-7,
“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he [Jesus] cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”
- “…a body hast thou prepared me” = David’s messianic prophecy in Psalm 40.
- These words are attributed to Christ, the Son of David “when he cometh into the world, he saith.”
- God in flesh, the incarnation, Jesus Christ came for one purpose – to redeem us through His sacrifice and bring reconciliation between God and Man:
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”[10]
Only Jesus’ Sacrifice Would Work
The sacrifice of animals in the Old Testament was insufficient. They could not solve the problem of sin; they could not save Man from the ravages of sin.
So a body was made—a body for God Himself, but to what end?
The Spirit of God is omnipotent; He can do anything by mere decree.
That is why He chose the limitations of flesh, a body, because for a sacrifice to be a true sacrifice it must free the recipient while binding the one who sacrifices.
Jesus, God in flesh, limited Himself to a body for the purpose of sacrifice:
Philippians 2:5-8, “(5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
He humbled Himself.
His body had to depend upon a human mother. His body was susceptible to microbes, sweated through fever, was nourished by mere water, and required a blanket for warmth.
His body could misjudge a step and fall, forget the name of someone He met last week, and be crippled by grief.
His body would lose its freedoms to the men He made and be fastened with nails to a tree He grew.
His body would bleed, His lungs suffocate, His body would die – a choice He made for you…for me…a willing sacrifice.
When Jesus, God in flesh, met the blind, His touch healed them and gave them sight.
With one word, Jesus raised a child from the dead: “Little girl, get up.”[11]
Lazarus lay in a tomb for four days, Jesus called him by name, and he came out the tomb.
He spoke to the lepers and they were healed and cleansed.
But to heal you of your sins, Jesus could not just speak your sins away.
He could not wish your sins away, touch your sins away, or command your sins away.
No, your sins required a body:
“A body hast thou prepared me” (Hebrews 10:5).
His Body!
Like the father who sacrificed his arm to save his son, Jesus chose to sacrifice His body for you: “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19).
Because we do not like pain, if it were up to us we would have been tempted to prepare a body that would have withstood the pain of sacrifice before it was formed in Mary’s womb:
- A body with a forehead that would not feel thorns and a back that would not feel the soldiers’ whip.
- Hands and wrists without nerves that would not feel the pain of the iron nails penetrating them.
- A tongue made that would not swell, be parched, or need to beg for water.
But this was not the will of God. God Incarnate assumed a body just like ours:
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Hebrews 2:18, “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”
Succour = aid, relieve
You Should Rejoice in Jesus’ Sacrifice for You
How should we respond to Jesus’ sacrifice? We should rejoice.
Without the cross, we have no hope, but thanks to the cross and the empty tomb, we have hope of salvation.
Our sins can be forgiven, and we can be made right with God.
Jesus was not caught or trapped by scheming Roman soldiers or jealous chief priests—He willingly laid down His life for us.
He lived His own words: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for his friends” (John 15:13).
On Jesus’ Last Day He Ministered to Others
What would you do it were your last day to live?
- Would you go to a place you have always dreamed of going?
- Would you see something you have always wanted to see?
- Would you eat your favorite meal?
- Would you talk you your favorite people?
- What would you do if you knew you only had one day left?
What did Jesus do? He chose to serve, minister, and love others:
He washed His disciples’ feet; prayed all night for them; healed the ear of the man who came to arrest Him; carried your cross to Calvary; pardoned a thief while nailed to your cross and took him to Paradise; had compassion on His mother and the disciple who was with her; forgave all His murderers.[12]
On the day of His sacrifice at Calvary, Jesus chose to give Himself, to sacrifice Himself, all day long.
Billy Cole said, “God’s reward for sacrifice is more sacrifice.”
Before Jesus chose the ultimate sacrifice of Calvary He had to choose other little sacrifices beforehand.
Those ongoing sacrificial choices led Him to choose to sacrifice His life for YOU.
Sacrifice is Your Choice, It is Trading Your Will for God’s Will
You, like Jesus and His apostles, have been called to a life of sacrifice:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).
Just as a body was prepared for Christ, your body has been prepared for you to make a choice to sacrifice yourself, or to choose convenience, complacency, mediocrity.
Some problems cannot be solved by wishing them solved, or praying them away.
Some problems require you to lay down your comfort, convenience, security, safety, health and wealth.
Some problems require your body.
“A body hast thou prepared me.”
On that dark Passover weekend, Jesus died so Barabbas could live.
History has no record of Barabbas after that fateful day, but your story is still being written.
Today, as on Jesus’ last day, you have a choice: Jesus or anything else in this world.
You must get this choice right – – Your Choice
Choose abundant life.
Choose eternal life.
Choose to live for the one who died for us.
Choose Jesus.
[1] Source: God’s Word for Life. Lesson 3.3 – Jesus, or Barabbas? PPH. 2/16/2025.
[2] Strong’s Hebrews and Greek Dictionaries. G912.
[3] John 7:37.
[4] Luke 9:23.
[5] John 10:9.
[6] Mathew 8:34.
[7] Thayer’s Greek Definitions. G533
[8] Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible. Matthew 8:34.
[9] Ken Gurley
[10] Galatians 4:4-5.
[11] Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56.
[12] John 13; 17; 18; Matthew 27; Luke 22; John 19, Luke 22
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 