Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / True Prophecy - The Gospels
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Let us pray. And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter,
- 0:06Speaker 1: and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he
- 0:09Speaker 1: had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt
- 0:12Speaker 1: deny me thrice. Luke 22.61 Lord, when the pressure of
- 0:20Speaker 1: being a follower of Christ becomes too much for me,
- 0:25Speaker 1: strengthen my stance, so that I do not denounce you
- 0:29Speaker 1: like Peter did, Fortify my faith so that I may
- 0:35Speaker 1: stand resolute and sure that being close to you and
- 0:39Speaker 1: being associated with you is the best thing that I
- 0:42Speaker 1: can do. In the same way Jesus stood unafraid to
- 0:47Speaker 1: announce his identity, I too will be unafraid when I'm
- 0:51Speaker 1: asked who I am and what I've been called to do.
- 0:57Speaker 1: I will not shrink and I will not cower under
- 1:00Speaker 1: the pressure of the scrutiny and in the midst of
- 1:02Speaker 1: emotional and verbal beatings. I will not sway away from
- 1:08Speaker 1: what you've called me to be. For if I do
- 1:11Speaker 1: not stand up for myself, then who else will stand
- 1:15Speaker 1: up for me? May my strength come from your finished
- 1:19Speaker 1: work on the cross, Jesus. May my joy come from
- 1:24Speaker 1: knowing that you've made a way when there was no way.
- 1:29Speaker 1: I am declaring right now that the prophecy of greatness
- 1:33Speaker 1: over my life will materialize and flourish because you've taken
- 1:38Speaker 1: the weight of my shame and insecurities to the cross
- 1:41Speaker 1: of Calvary. It is there that the green light was
- 1:46Speaker 1: given for me to live and succeed. In Jesus' name. Amen.
- 1:56Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
- 1:59Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, Stay tuned for today's story,
- 2:03Speaker 1: brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
- 2:14Speaker 2: True Prophecy In our last story, we learned Judas' betrayal
- 2:20Speaker 2: of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was pursued
- 2:24Speaker 2: by armed men with swords and torches, yet the Son
- 2:28Speaker 2: of God was not the victim. He willingly went with them,
- 2:32Speaker 2: for he had a great thing to accomplish. The disciples
- 2:36Speaker 2: also fled in different directions, afraid of what might happen.
- 2:41Speaker 2: In this story, we will learn about Peter's denial and Jesus'
- 2:44Speaker 2: trial in front of the high priests and elders, as
- 2:48Speaker 2: inspired by the Gospels.
- 2:53Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
- 2:56Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
- 2:59Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
- 3:02Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
- 3:08Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
- 3:10Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
- 3:14Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
- 3:18Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
- 3:25Speaker 3: slash stress. In our previous episode, we heard how Jesus
- 3:29Speaker 3: prayed for the Father to release him from the coming
- 3:32Speaker 3: suffering of the cross, but how in that moment he
- 3:36Speaker 3: submitted his will to do the will of the Father
- 3:39Speaker 3: and to die on the cross for my sins, for
- 3:42Speaker 3: your sins, the sins of the world. We also learned
- 3:46Speaker 3: how Judas betrayed him and how Jesus voluntarily, willingly went
- 3:50Speaker 3: with those who seized him, knowing that in this God's
- 3:54Speaker 3: purpose and plan for his life would be fulfilled. Today
- 3:58Speaker 3: we'll hear how Peter denies Jesus just as the Lord
- 4:01Speaker 3: said he would, and we'll hear how Jesus is tried
- 4:04Speaker 3: for false charges before the high priest. Let's listen now
- 4:08Speaker 3: to today's reading of the gospel.
- 4:11Speaker 2: Arrested and bound in chains, Jesus was taken to the
- 4:15Speaker 2: house Annas, father-in-law to the high priest Caiaphas. While holding
- 4:20Speaker 2: him in custody, Jesus was brutalized and beaten. They put
- 4:25Speaker 2: a bag over his head to blind him. and delivered
- 4:28Speaker 2: blows to his head and face. Prophecy who hit you
- 4:32Speaker 2: this time, son of God! They scoffed as they hit
- 4:35Speaker 2: him again and again. Besides the grunts and wincing in pain,
- 4:40Speaker 2: Jesus remained silent. He was then taken before Annas. Hoping
- 4:46Speaker 2: that he would incriminate himself, Annas pointed to Jesus and
- 4:49Speaker 2: demanded he explain himself and his teachings. I have spoken
- 4:54Speaker 2: openly to the whole world, Jesus said. I taught in
- 4:58Speaker 2: the courtyards and the synagogues where all Jews come together.
- 5:02Speaker 2: Nothing I have done or said has been in secret.
- 5:05Speaker 2: So let me ask you this. Why do you even
- 5:08Speaker 2: ask me these things? Immediately, one of the officers struck
- 5:12Speaker 2: Jesus on the face, demanding he speak to the high
- 5:15Speaker 2: priest with more respect. Jesus, face beginning to swell from
- 5:19Speaker 2: the constant beatings, spoke again, saying, If what I said
- 5:24Speaker 2: is wrong, speak up about it. But if what I
- 5:26Speaker 2: said is right, why do you strike me? Then Annas
- 5:31Speaker 2: sent him off to Caiaphas with Peter, trailing behind them
- 5:34Speaker 2: in the shadows. Outside the courts of the high priest,
- 5:39Speaker 2: there was a fire with people warming themselves beside it.
- 5:43Speaker 2: Peter sat down among them, warming himself and seeing if
- 5:47Speaker 2: he could spot Jesus from a distance. A small servant
- 5:50Speaker 2: girl also sat by the fire. She eyed him closely.
- 5:55Speaker 2: You were with Jesus, weren't you? Peter shrugged it off, saying,
- 6:00Speaker 2: Of course not. I don't know him. A little later,
- 6:04Speaker 2: someone else saw him and said, You are one of
- 6:06Speaker 2: his disciples. But Peter said, I am no such thing.
- 6:12Speaker 2: Moments passed, and Peter, feeling exposed, heard another person say, Certainly,
- 6:18Speaker 2: this man also was with him, for he too is Galilean.
- 6:23Speaker 2: But Peter said, I do not know what you are
- 6:26Speaker 2: talking about. Peter cursed out of fear and frustration, and immediately,
- 6:31Speaker 2: while he was still mumbling curses under his breath, the
- 6:34Speaker 2: rooster crowed. From a distance, Jesus turned his head. His face,
- 6:41Speaker 2: red and stained with blood, he locked eyes with Peter
- 6:44Speaker 2: and looked straight into his soul. In that moment, Peter
- 6:48Speaker 2: remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said
- 6:51Speaker 2: to him, Before the rooster crows today, you will deny
- 6:55Speaker 2: me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly
- 6:59Speaker 2: in shame. Jesus was placed in front of the Sanhedrin,
- 7:03Speaker 2: a court of religious and political officials. Jesus remained quiet,
- 7:08Speaker 2: observing the anger in his accusers' eyes. If you are
- 7:11Speaker 2: the Christ, tell us, they said. Jesus answered plainly, If
- 7:16Speaker 2: I tell you, you would not believe. If I asked
- 7:19Speaker 2: you whether you believed, you would not even give me
- 7:21Speaker 2: an answer. But I will say this. From now on,
- 7:25Speaker 2: the Son of Man shall be seated at the right
- 7:27Speaker 2: hand of God in power and glory. The council rose
- 7:32Speaker 2: out of their seats. Feeling as if they had trapped
- 7:35Speaker 2: him into confession, they asked, So you are the Son
- 7:38Speaker 2: of God then? You have said it, Jesus replied. You see...
- 7:44Speaker 2: They replied with applauding, What more testimony do we need?
- 7:48Speaker 2: We have heard it from his own lips. Who will
- 7:51Speaker 2: deny it? Caiaphas, the high priest, then ripped his robes
- 7:55Speaker 2: in passion. They believed to have caught Jesus red-handed of blasphemy,
- 8:01Speaker 2: claiming to be God, yet they did not truly understand
- 8:04Speaker 2: they were the ones acting as their own gods. As
- 8:08Speaker 2: Adam and Eve in the garden, these priests rejected the
- 8:11Speaker 2: gods standing directly in front of them. The court agreed
- 8:15Speaker 2: with the high priest and condemned Jesus to death. The
- 8:19Speaker 2: high priests and elders had decided early in the morning
- 8:23Speaker 2: how they wanted to kill Jesus, so they carried him
- 8:26Speaker 2: to Pilate's to make his death officially sanctioned by the
- 8:29Speaker 2: Roman government. Miles away, Judas caught word of Jesus' sentence. Judas'
- 8:36Speaker 2: betrayal began to truly sink in, and the conviction of
- 8:39Speaker 2: his heart grew more and more unbearable. He ran back
- 8:43Speaker 2: to the high priest and the council, throwing the thirty
- 8:46Speaker 2: pieces of silver back at them, for he thought that
- 8:49Speaker 2: returning the money he earned by betraying Jesus would wash
- 8:53Speaker 2: him clean. Only one thing would truly wash him clean,
- 8:57Speaker 2: and Jesus was about to endure it. Judas was not
- 9:02Speaker 2: the first to choose his own greed over the worship
- 9:04Speaker 2: of his king, yet the guilt of putting the Son
- 9:07Speaker 2: of God to death was far too much for him
- 9:10Speaker 2: to bear. The darkness that had compelled him to betray
- 9:13Speaker 2: Jesus now caused him to betray himself. In the middle
- 9:18Speaker 2: of the wilderness above a canyon, Judas tied a noose
- 9:21Speaker 2: to a tree, put it around his neck, and jumped. Immediately, Judas'
- 9:28Speaker 2: head and entrails laced the canyon floor. He shed his
- 9:32Speaker 2: own blood that day. Yet his own blood would not
- 9:35Speaker 2: atone for his sins. No man's blood can right the
- 9:39Speaker 2: wrongs of evil. Yet the blood of Christ would.
- 9:49Speaker 3: We begin today's scripture with Jesus in chains. The anger
- 9:53Speaker 3: of those who oppose him is spilling out in the
- 9:55Speaker 3: most disgusting of ways as he is bound and beaten
- 9:58Speaker 3: for no reason. He is yet to be tried for
- 10:02Speaker 3: his so-called crimes, let alone found guilty. But his body
- 10:06Speaker 3: is already being broken by those who wanted him gone.
- 10:11Speaker 3: Their hatred for Jesus is palpable. We can feel it
- 10:14Speaker 3: as they mock him, covering his face and striking him,
- 10:17Speaker 3: then telling him to prophesy to reveal who hit him
- 10:20Speaker 3: It was brutal. It was unnecessary. It was so ungodly.
- 10:24Speaker 3: It was cruel. Jesus maintained his composure, however, asking them
- 10:30Speaker 3: to tell him what he had said or done that
- 10:32Speaker 3: was wrong. And of course, he knew that he had
- 10:35Speaker 3: done nothing wrong. Jesus is without sin. But at that point,
- 10:40Speaker 3: it didn't matter to these who hated him. They weren't
- 10:43Speaker 3: interested in listening to him or bringing about any substantive accusation.
- 10:48Speaker 3: He was then sent away to Caiaphas, the high priest,
- 10:51Speaker 3: and Peter followed closely behind. The other disciples had scattered.
- 10:55Speaker 3: They had run away, but Peter stayed fairly close by.
- 10:59Speaker 3: Perhaps he would stick with Jesus after all. But then
- 11:02Speaker 3: we heard, as he warmed himself by a fire, those
- 11:06Speaker 3: near him asked him if he wasn't one of the
- 11:08Speaker 3: men of Jesus. Peter denied it, which was his first denial.
- 11:13Speaker 3: Later on, someone else asked, and Peter again vehemently denied it.
- 11:18Speaker 3: that he was a follower of Jesus. Two down, one
- 11:20Speaker 3: to go. But those near him weren't convinced, and soon
- 11:24Speaker 3: someone else insisted that he was one of the followers
- 11:27Speaker 3: of Jesus. Peter, then fearing for his safety in life,
- 11:30Speaker 3: protested loudly, even cursing, I do not know him, I
- 11:34Speaker 3: swear I don't, he shouted in frustration. And just then
- 11:38Speaker 3: the rooster crowed. Peter's head hung in shame and wept. Jesus,
- 11:44Speaker 3: of course, was right all along. Peter was no better
- 11:47Speaker 3: than the rest of them. He denied the Lord not once,
- 11:50Speaker 3: not twice, but three times. We then find Jesus before
- 11:55Speaker 3: the Sanhedrin, the council of religious leaders and political officials.
- 12:00Speaker 3: They were questioning Jesus, but not to find the truth.
- 12:03Speaker 3: They were just looking for an excuse to kill him.
- 12:06Speaker 3: So they ask if Jesus claimed to be the Messiah.
- 12:09Speaker 3: In other words, was he the one that God had promised?
- 12:12Speaker 3: Was he truly who he claimed to be? Jesus responded,
- 12:17Speaker 3: that even if he told them the truth, they would
- 12:19Speaker 3: not believe. Some people, even when confronted with real truth,
- 12:25Speaker 3: will refuse to believe it. God will not force you
- 12:28Speaker 3: or anyone else to believe, but he invites you to believe,
- 12:32Speaker 3: and you can believe and trust in Christ. Here's what
- 12:36Speaker 3: Jesus said in Luke 22, 69. But from now on,
- 12:41Speaker 3: the Son of Man shall be seated at the right
- 12:43Speaker 3: hand of the power of God. Jesus was making a
- 12:47Speaker 3: clear statement. Here is the truth and nothing but the truth.
- 12:51Speaker 3: He is the Savior, the Son of God. He is
- 12:54Speaker 3: God Almighty who is seated on the throne of the universe.
- 12:59Speaker 3: This is the truth, the plain truth and the facts.
- 13:02Speaker 3: But rather than believe the facts and embrace the truth,
- 13:05Speaker 3: the council saw this as blasphemy and decided this is
- 13:09Speaker 3: all the proof we need. Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest,
- 13:13Speaker 3: condemned Jesus to death then send him away to Pilate
- 13:16Speaker 3: to have the Roman government confirm the sentence and carry
- 13:19Speaker 3: out the execution. Jesus was condemned to death not only
- 13:24Speaker 3: by the Jews, the religious people, but the Gentiles as well.
- 13:29Speaker 3: No one could claim innocence in the shedding of the
- 13:31Speaker 3: righteous blood of Jesus. And in the same way, that
- 13:35Speaker 3: same blood that would be shed on a shameful Roman
- 13:38Speaker 3: cross would bring salvation to the whole world, to the
- 13:42Speaker 3: Jews as well as the Gentiles. all who would believe
- 13:45Speaker 3: in him. We then heard how Judas, upon hearing of Jesus' condemnation,
- 13:50Speaker 3: was filled with remorse and went out and hung himself.
- 13:55Speaker 3: When Judas was faced with his own sin, the one
- 13:59Speaker 3: whom Jesus called the son of perdition went out and
- 14:02Speaker 3: took his own life. And he is in hell today
- 14:06Speaker 3: because of what he did, because he rejected Jesus and
- 14:09Speaker 3: even betrayed him. Peter, on the other hand, wept bitterly.
- 14:13Speaker 3: He was so ashamed that he had sinned against the
- 14:16Speaker 3: Lord and denied him and denied him again and again.
- 14:21Speaker 3: But Peter was truly a Jesus man, and he would
- 14:25Speaker 3: soon be restored to a relationship with the Lord, and
- 14:28Speaker 3: he would be a part of changing the world. Dear God,
- 14:32Speaker 3: thank you for today's scripture and the reminder that in
- 14:36Speaker 3: the case of Peter, that our failures do not have
- 14:39Speaker 3: to define us, that we can come back to you.
- 14:42Speaker 3: even when we have denied you. Thank you that because
- 14:45Speaker 3: of what you endured for us on the cross, that
- 14:48Speaker 3: we can find forgiveness, restoration, and renewal in Christ. And
- 14:52Speaker 3: it is in the saving name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
- 14:57Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
- 15:01Speaker 3: Before we go, I want to let you know about
- 15:03Speaker 3: a unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today.
- 15:08Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
- 15:12Speaker 3: that it will help you conquer the daily tasks and
- 15:14Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
- 15:18Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
- 15:22Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.