Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Analysis of a Courtroom Fiasco Msg 1320 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Analysis of a Courtroom Fiasco Msg 1320 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: We are learning about the Lord Jesus in his agonizing
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Speaker 1: suffering and finally death by crucifixion these days. And so
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Speaker 1: I want to read for you a couple of passages
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Speaker 1: of Scripture from Matthew 26 and then John 18 as
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Speaker 1: we behold the anguished dimension of the Lamb together. Matthew 26,
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Speaker 1: beginning at verse 1. And it came about that when
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Speaker 1: Jesus had finished all these words, he said to his disciples,
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Speaker 1: You know that after two days the Passover is coming,
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Speaker 1: and the Son of Man is to be delivered up
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Speaker 1: for crucifixion. Then the chief priests and the elders of
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Speaker 1: the people were gathered together in the court of the
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Speaker 1: high priest named Caiaphas. And they plotted together to seize
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Speaker 1: Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they were saying,
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Speaker 1: not during the festival, lest a riot occur among the people.
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Speaker 1: Verse 14, then one of the 12 named Judas Iscariot
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Speaker 1: went to the chief priests and said, what are you
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Speaker 1: willing to give me to deliver him up to you?
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Speaker 1: And they weighed out to him 30 pieces of silver.
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Speaker 1: And from then on, he began looking for a good
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Speaker 1: opportunity to betray him. And then over in John 18,
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Speaker 1: verse 19. The high priest therefore questioned Jesus about his
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Speaker 1: disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered him, I have
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Speaker 1: spoken openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues
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Speaker 1: and in the temple places. where all the Jews come together,
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Speaker 1: and I spoke nothing in secret, why do you question me?
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Speaker 1: Question those who have heard what I spoke to them. Behold,
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Speaker 1: they know what I said. And when he had said this,
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Speaker 1: one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying,
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Speaker 1: is that the way you answer the high priest? Jesus
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Speaker 1: answered him, if I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of
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Speaker 1: the wrong. But if rightly, why do you strike me?
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Speaker 1: Annas therefore sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.
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Speaker 1: Tucked away in the folds of your bulletin today is
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Speaker 1: a chart of that I have put together on the
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Speaker 1: trials of Jesus because they tend to run together a little.
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Speaker 1: And since they are covered in various gospels in different ways,
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Speaker 1: this chart, I hope, will kind of guide you, even
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Speaker 1: though it's on two pages, kind of set it side
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Speaker 1: by side, have it ready over there in Matthew 26
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Speaker 1: and then on into John 18. Believers come together for
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Speaker 1: the simplicity of worship, hopefully not interrupted by needless words
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Speaker 1: and unimportant, non-essential talk. But we gather free of political
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Speaker 1: motives and open before the Lord for His leading and
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Speaker 1: instruction that we might guide our lives aright. God doesn't
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Speaker 1: adjust His standard to our lifestyle. We adjust our lives
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Speaker 1: to His truth. It just may be that you come
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Speaker 1: today in need of course correction. And I do. I
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Speaker 1: need this instruction today in how to live when going
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Speaker 1: through times that are unjust and unfair. And as our
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Speaker 1: Lord did, and in the midst of this study, which
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Speaker 1: in looking at a chart could seem very pedantic, it
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Speaker 1: is not that at all. It's a very appropriate and
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Speaker 1: practical study, as we will see by the time we
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Speaker 1: get to the end of it. We not only sing
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Speaker 1: to the Lord, we not only hear from His Word
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Speaker 1: and instruction, we also give to Him. And we do
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Speaker 1: so with gratitude for all He has given to us.
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Speaker 1: And His plan is that we do it appropriately, cheerfully,
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Speaker 1: proportionate to his giving to us. And because it is
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Speaker 1: an act of worship, it is what we do in
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Speaker 1: response to his presence in our lives. For his glory
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Speaker 1: is the purpose, the reason. Let's bow together for prayer.
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Speaker 1: So many things crowd into our lives, Father. Father, And
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Speaker 1: because they are loud and urgent, they often take the
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Speaker 1: place of the quiet things that are important and essential.
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Speaker 1: And it's in the silence of a room like this,
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Speaker 1: a gymnasium improvised into a place of worship, that we
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Speaker 1: find what we rarely find in a world that has
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Speaker 1: lost its way, and that is solitude and quietness. the
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Speaker 1: moving of your spirit among us to give us a
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Speaker 1: redirection for our lives, for we need that. Some find
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Speaker 1: themselves in desperate need of a fresh word from your truth.
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Speaker 1: I pray that will come today. Some come as the
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Speaker 1: climax of a week that has unfolded, bringing one wave
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Speaker 1: after another of testing and trial and And they come
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Speaker 1: bruised by adversity and hardship. Perhaps harsh words and unfair
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Speaker 1: feelings of judgment against them. How hard it is to
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Speaker 1: go on in times like that. We come not to
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Speaker 1: hear from a man, but we come to focus on
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Speaker 1: the man. Behold the man. as he was once announced
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Speaker 1: in his day, Christ Jesus. Behold the Lamb of God
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Speaker 1: who has taken away the sins of the world. We
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Speaker 1: come to focus on him. May all the other things
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Speaker 1: seem extraneous and unimportant as we focus on him, our Father.
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Speaker 1: We pray now that you will find favor behind the
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Speaker 1: giving of your people. in the heart where generosity is prompted.
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Speaker 1: And may you give us great wisdom, discernment, and integrity
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Speaker 1: in the using of these gifts given to your work
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Speaker 1: for your greater glory in the precious name of the
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Speaker 1: Lamb who was slain before the foundation.
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Speaker 2: Of the world.
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Speaker 1: We pray. We pray. And all the people said, Amen.
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ has been called a man of sorrows and
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Speaker 1: acquainted with grief. And since that is true, it seems
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Speaker 1: appropriate that we spend a little more than normal time
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Speaker 1: on the anguish and suffering preceding as well as including
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Speaker 1: his death by crucifixion. In doing so, I realize we
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Speaker 1: are moving into areas that are of, well, a little
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Speaker 1: more ignorance on our part because so much of it
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Speaker 1: revolves around Roman law and the Talmudic Jewish law as
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Speaker 1: it relates to the courtroom and all of those things
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Speaker 1: in the proceedings of law. And I think we will
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Speaker 1: find in this message and yet another how unfair it
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Speaker 1: how wrong, in fact, how brutal and merciless he was treated.
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Speaker 1: And in the midst of all of this, I hope
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Speaker 1: we come away with a renewed appreciation for the simple words,
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Speaker 1: he who knew no sin was made sin for us,
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Speaker 1: that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
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Speaker 1: It may surprise you to know that the whole subject
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Speaker 1: of the trials and the suffering and the crucifixion of
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Speaker 1: Jesus was really not headline news among the Roman people.
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Speaker 1: The Roman government simply put up with the Jews. Palestine
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Speaker 1: was a finger. of land they had walked over before
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Speaker 1: and still tread upon, and the Jews hated them for it,
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Speaker 1: but hardly as much as the Romans ignored them. And
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Speaker 1: this constant battle between the states, if you will, comes
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Speaker 1: to bear upon the trials of Jesus. Because as we
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Speaker 1: will learn, it wasn't one trial, there were six. Three
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Speaker 1: of them were Jewish and religious in nature. Three of
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Speaker 1: them were Roman or political in nature. In the first
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Speaker 1: three trials, the final accusation was blasphemy. But since the
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Speaker 1: Jews were not able to take someone all the way
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Speaker 1: to capital punishment because they were under Roman rule, they
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Speaker 1: had to work out a way to bring him before
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Speaker 1: the Romans because they had to say that capital punishment
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Speaker 1: was now deserved, which explains why he was crucified when
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Speaker 1: he died and not stoned. For the Jewish method of
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Speaker 1: capital punishment was stoning, but the Roman method was crucifixion.
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Speaker 1: There are many differences, and we're going to find them
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Speaker 1: out as we work our way through these messages on
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Speaker 1: our Lord's trials. Listen to the words of one who
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Speaker 1: writes a book entitled The Execution of Jesus, William Riley Wilson.
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Speaker 1: On a spring morning in about the year A.D. 30,
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Speaker 1: in a minor province on the fringes of the Roman Empire,
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Speaker 1: the resident Roman governor, completed brief judicial proceedings. Then he
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Speaker 1: turned a young man over to the attendant soldiers with
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Speaker 1: instructions that he be taken out to a nearby site
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Speaker 1: and executed. The governor had no way of knowing that
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Speaker 1: his instructions would change the direction of history. He would
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Speaker 1: have been stunned by the suggestion that But his decision
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Speaker 1: on an annoying and somewhat trivial problem, which had interrupted
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Speaker 1: his daily work schedule, would cause him to become better
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Speaker 1: known than all the Caesars and would make him an
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Speaker 1: integral part of a story which would profoundly influence the
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Speaker 1: lives of untold millions of people. Yet the death of
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Speaker 1: Jesus of Nazareth was to become one of those events
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Speaker 1: that which radically altered the course of human affairs. This
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Speaker 1: death and the conviction that Jesus had overcome it by
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Speaker 1: rising from the grave launched the faith around which the
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Speaker 1: spiritual life of Western civilization has revolved for 1900 years.
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Speaker 1: To us, it is the epical moment in history, but
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Speaker 1: not to people in the first century. He was just
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Speaker 1: another of many who claimed to be the Messiah, winding
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Speaker 1: up as he should have on a cross. Get rid
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Speaker 1: of him and all the other lunatics walking around claiming
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Speaker 1: to have come from God. There were many then, there
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Speaker 1: are even some today who make that claim. One of
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Speaker 1: my assistants said to me recently, we just got a
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Speaker 1: call from Jesus Christ. Oh, I said, really? It was
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Speaker 1: with our radio program, Insight for Living. And I said, oh, really?
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Speaker 1: And she said, yeah, does it seem right that he
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Speaker 1: ought to have a southern accent? He's living up in
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Speaker 1: Vermont now and he wanted to give you God's message.
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Speaker 1: You laughed just as they laughed in the first century
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Speaker 1: because Jesus was like another one of those nuts that
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Speaker 1: calls up saying, I'm Jesus and I've come from God
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Speaker 1: and I'm here to bring the answer to my people today.
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Speaker 1: And some followed him and many did not. But in
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Speaker 1: the midst of it all, interestingly, as Jesus proved himself
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Speaker 1: truly Messiah, the crowds began to grow. And with the
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Speaker 1: growing of the crowds, there was an intensity of hostility
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Speaker 1: against him on the part of the Jewish officials. And
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Speaker 1: they wound up literally not knowing what to do with
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Speaker 1: this man. Because his popularity was growing, which they couldn't
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Speaker 1: deny or stop. And yet his teaching was against them also.
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Speaker 1: whose authority was to them impeccable, important, essential for the
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Speaker 1: people of the Jews to survive. The result was this
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Speaker 1: dilemma between what do we do with this man who
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Speaker 1: claims to be Messiah and the people following him? How
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Speaker 1: do we get rid of him? How do we get
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Speaker 1: him out of the way without causing a riot? Matthew
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Speaker 1: chapter 26 puts all this in perspective. came about when
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Speaker 1: Jesus had finished all of these words. He said to
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Speaker 1: his disciples, you know that after two days, the Passover
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Speaker 1: is coming and the Son of Man is to be
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Speaker 1: delivered up for crucifixion. Now, we read those words and
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Speaker 1: they make all the sense in the world because we
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Speaker 1: see them now through the 2020 hindsight of history. But
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Speaker 1: in those days, they didn't understand it and they didn't
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Speaker 1: see it as a part of reality. you know I'm
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Speaker 1: on my way to be crucified. They didn't want to
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Speaker 1: believe that. They had heard it with their ears in
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Speaker 1: the upper room. They realized he was telling them those
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Speaker 1: strange words, but they couldn't bring themselves to believe it.
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Speaker 1: In fact, I'm convinced when they finally nailed him to
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Speaker 1: a cross and the disciples forsook him and fled, they
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Speaker 1: really thought they had believed in a hoax. And with
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Speaker 1: that in mind, you can understand how Peter could say
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Speaker 1: to his friends, let's go fishing. Let's just go back
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Speaker 1: to what we did at one time before we were
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Speaker 1: brought into this that we thought would lead to a kingdom.
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Speaker 1: You see how it is all convoluted by the perspective
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Speaker 1: of various individuals. To the general public, he's the one
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Speaker 1: who healed their diseases. To the Sanhedrin and the chief
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Speaker 1: priests and the elders of those days, he was the
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Speaker 1: threat against their authority. To the Romans, he was trivial
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Speaker 1: and unimportant, non-essential lunatic who needed to be gotten rid of.
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Speaker 1: But to a few, he was seen as truly the
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Speaker 1: Messiah worth following. These disciples didn't get the picture. He
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Speaker 1: told them they didn't get it. Now look at how
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Speaker 1: the scene changes in verse 3. Then the chief priests
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Speaker 1: and the elders of the people were gathered together in
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Speaker 1: the court of the high priest named Caiaphas. And they
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Speaker 1: plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill him.
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Speaker 1: Look at verse 5. This was their concern. But... They
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Speaker 1: were saying not during the festival, meaning Passover, not during
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Speaker 1: this time when the streets are full of people, lest
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Speaker 1: a riot occur among the people. Luke tells us in
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Speaker 1: chapter 22 that they were afraid of the people. These
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Speaker 1: people who were politicians at heart, though they wore religious names,
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Speaker 1: wanted to please the general public, as most politicians do,
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Speaker 1: those that want to get reelected. And these politician a
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Speaker 1: la religious leaders said, we've got to find a way
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Speaker 1: to get him out of here without causing a riot,
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Speaker 1: which explains why the preliminary hearings were all held at night.
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Speaker 1: The people were asleep. They were out of the way.
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Speaker 1: He could be arrested, brought quickly through trials, and finally
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Speaker 1: to the Roman governor before the people would even be
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Speaker 1: up for that next morning. And so, John chapter 18
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Speaker 1: picks up the story. Turn there. John 18. Jesus has
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Speaker 1: finished his upper room discourse. He has ministered to the
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Speaker 1: 11 faithful. Judas has gone out into the night to
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Speaker 1: carry out his awful deed of deception. We looked at
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Speaker 1: that last time. And how wonderful he must have seemed
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Speaker 1: to the chief priests and elders when he came knocking
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Speaker 1: at their door, willing to sign a contract for the
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Speaker 1: price of a common slave for 30 pieces of silver.
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Speaker 1: He'd sell him down the river. Perfect. Perfect. He knows
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Speaker 1: where he hides out. He will help lead us to him.
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Speaker 1: And in the middle of the night, we'll catch him,
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Speaker 1: arrest him, bind him, bring him before the authorities and
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Speaker 1: get him on a cross. Understand the events we're looking
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Speaker 1: at these days took place in a period between midnight
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Speaker 1: and 9 o'clock in the morning when he was nailed
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Speaker 1: to a cross, and on the cross from 9 o'clock
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Speaker 1: until 3 o'clock in the afternoon when he died. About 30,
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Speaker 1: about A.D. 30, according to the Gregorian calendar, probably April
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Speaker 1: 5th or 6th. Here we are in the middle of
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Speaker 1: the scenes where Jesus has come through the upper room discourse.
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Speaker 1: He's been to Gethsemane in prayer. He has come off
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Speaker 1: his knees, awakened Peter, James, and John, who were sleeping
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Speaker 1: through the time of prayer, you recall. And he looks up,
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Speaker 1: and in the distance, there is a mob called, in
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Speaker 1: John's Gospel, verse 2, Judas, who was betraying him, 18-2,
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Speaker 1: knew the place where Jesus had often met him there,
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Speaker 1: had met there with his disciples, and he, having received
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Speaker 1: the Roman cohort, here's a word we never use today,
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Speaker 1: It's a little ambiguous, even in the original language. It
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Speaker 1: could mean a group as small as 200 or as
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Speaker 1: large as 1,200. How large was the group? We don't
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Speaker 1: know exactly. This mob that came with swords and with
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Speaker 1: torches and with clubs, thinking they had a fight on
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Speaker 1: their hands. A little hint is given in the word
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Speaker 1: commander in verse 12. So the Roman clerics, and the
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Speaker 1: commander and the officers. This word translated commander, Kiliarch, means
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Speaker 1: leader of a thousand. Perhaps the group was as large
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Speaker 1: as a thousand. I mean, they really came in sort
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Speaker 1: of an overkill situation. knowing that they would no doubt
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Speaker 1: have a fight on their hands, perhaps meeting up with
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Speaker 1: a few people still awake at midnight or in the early,
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Speaker 1: early hours of the morning. They didn't know what they
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Speaker 1: would find, so they came ready to take him by force.
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Speaker 1: Two things stand out to me in the arrest of Jesus,
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Speaker 1: which is covered in verses 4 through 12. First of all,
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Speaker 1: he had had no sleep that night, but he never
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Speaker 1: once loses control of himself. Remarkable. Even through the torturous
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Speaker 1: proceedings in this kangaroo court that he's taken through, he
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Speaker 1: never once loses it, though he never had a minute
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Speaker 1: of sleep that night. The second thing that stands out
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Speaker 1: to me is his willing, submissive spirit, his response, which
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Speaker 1: was not to those people, though they were the ones
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Speaker 1: he submitted to. He really was responding in submission to
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Speaker 1: the Father's mission. That's why he came to this earth.
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Speaker 1: He came to die and he would need to submit
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Speaker 1: to these unfair authorities for that to transpire. Look at
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Speaker 1: how he handles it. Verse 4, Jesus, therefore, knowing all
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Speaker 1: the things that were coming upon him, went forth and
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Speaker 1: said to them, whom do you seek? Who's he talking to?
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Speaker 1: Look at verse 3, the Roman cohort, officers from the
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Speaker 1: chief priests and the Pharisees, came with lanterns and torches
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Speaker 1: and weapons. So he walks up to these people who
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Speaker 1: are ready for a fight, and he says, who are
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Speaker 1: you looking for? And they said to him, Jesus the Nazarene.
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Speaker 1: He said, that's me. I'm here. And verse 6 says,
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Speaker 1: when he told them, I am he, they drew back
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Speaker 1: and fell to the ground. They expected a fight and
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Speaker 1: he doesn't fight. He holds out his hands and says,
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Speaker 1: you need to, you need to cuff me. You need
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Speaker 1: to bind me. I'm here available to you. They couldn't
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Speaker 1: believe it. And so again, he said, as they picked
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Speaker 1: themselves up, verse seven, whom do you seek? And they said,
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Speaker 1: Jesus of Nazarene. He said, I told you I am he.
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Speaker 1: If therefore you seek me, let these go their way.
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Speaker 1: Probably meaning the 11. Don't hurt these followers of mine.
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Speaker 1: Let Let them go their way. You take me. I'm
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Speaker 1: willing to go with you. And you remember the scene
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Speaker 1: with Peter. We love Peter. There's some of us in
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Speaker 1: Peter and there's some Peter in us. He grabs his
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Speaker 1: sword and comes down on this dear soldier's helmet. It
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Speaker 1: glances off and cuts his ear off. And, you know, Jesus,
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Speaker 1: who spent half his time saying, Peter, looks over and says, Peter,
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Speaker 1: you know, put the sword up. And he gets the
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Speaker 1: ear and he puts it back on, which was no
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Speaker 1: mean task. Soldiers see that happen, but they've got one assignment.
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Speaker 1: That's to arrest him. It's so wonderful how Jesus maintains his,
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Speaker 1: if we can say it, his cool through the whole thing.
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Speaker 1: And he said, put up the sword, verse 11, the
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Speaker 1: cup which the Father has given me, shall I not
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Speaker 1: drink it? That's where his focus was. You can submit
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Speaker 1: to unfair treatment if you know the Father's will is
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Speaker 1: being unfolding, is being unfolded. Keep that in mind. That
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Speaker 1: has to do with our application today. By the way,
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Speaker 1: when they bind him, isn't that interesting that though he
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Speaker 1: willingly gives himself to them, they arrest him, verse 12,
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Speaker 1: and they, we read, they bound him. They tied him up.
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Speaker 1: Probably tied his hands behind his back. From this moment on,
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Speaker 1: he's no longer a free man. Until he breathes his
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Speaker 1: last on the cross, he is a property of the state.
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Speaker 1: He's a pawn in their hands. condemned before he ever
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Speaker 1: stood trial, railroaded through the most fallacious, unfair set of
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Speaker 1: trials in the history of jurisprudence. There is brutality, as
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Speaker 1: we will see. There is prejudice. It's a kangaroo court.
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Speaker 1: And not once does he lash out against them. He
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Speaker 1: more often than not remains silent and handles their treatment
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Speaker 1: in a model fashion. I want to point out some
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Speaker 1: of the specifics of the trials that were completely ignored.
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Speaker 1: It goes back to both Roman law as well as
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Speaker 1: the Jewish law. Let me just spell them out. According
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Speaker 1: to law, no arrest could be made for a capital
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Speaker 1: crime in the hours of darkness. They arrested him in darkness.
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Speaker 1: The law was ignored. No arrest could be made for
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Speaker 1: a capital crime based on information given by a follower
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Speaker 1: or colleague of the accused. It was Judas who kissed him.
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Speaker 1: They ignored that piece of law. As was true of
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Speaker 1: the arrest, so the trial. It was not to be
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Speaker 1: held in the hours of darkness according to Roman law
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Speaker 1: and Jewish law. It was to be held during daylight
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Speaker 1: and never before only one judge and never without a
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Speaker 1: defense attorney. All points were ignored. All three. Furthermore, the
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Speaker 1: members of the Jewish court, after hearing the testimony of
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Speaker 1: the accused and the words said against him by true witnesses,
25:24
Speaker 1: none of which were ever used, by the way, the Sanhedrin,
25:28
Speaker 1: which was the Supreme Court of the Jews, was to
25:30
Speaker 1: make its judgment, leave the place of judgment without a sentence,
25:35
Speaker 1: and for two days, They were to remain alone and
25:39
Speaker 1: separate from one another, then come back having slept on
25:42
Speaker 1: it and make their verdict and declare the sentence against
25:47
Speaker 1: the crime. That also was ignored. In the language of
25:50
Speaker 1: the code of criminal procedure, this was their instruction as
25:54
Speaker 1: a member of the Sanhedrin. They were to eat light
25:56
Speaker 1: food during these two days and nights. They were to
25:59
Speaker 1: drink light wines. They were to sleep well. And once again,
26:04
Speaker 1: they were to return and hear the testimony against the accused.
26:08
Speaker 1: Then and only then shall you render a vote. By
26:12
Speaker 1: the way, the vote was to be taken from the
26:14
Speaker 1: youngest to the oldest. So the oldest would not intimidate
26:18
Speaker 1: the younger ones voting among these who sat on the court.
26:22
Speaker 1: They sat in a semicircle in their place of responsibility
26:26
Speaker 1: so that they could watch one another and hear one
26:28
Speaker 1: another more easily. And the younger ones placed their votes
26:32
Speaker 1: first and the older ones followed. None of that was followed.
26:35
Speaker 1: The entire process was a fallacious experience in the study
26:41
Speaker 1: of law. Jesus allowed all of it to unfold, though
26:44
Speaker 1: he at times did remind him of the law, and
26:48
Speaker 1: he suffered dearly for it. For example, to begin with,
26:51
Speaker 1: they brought him before Annas. Look at the verse before
26:56
Speaker 1: us in John 18, verse 13. They led him to
27:01
Speaker 1: Annas first. This is a good time to pull out
27:05
Speaker 1: your chart. Sounds like a course at Dallas Seminary, doesn't it?
27:09
Speaker 1: We now have a chart on all the trials of
27:11
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. I find that if you can put things
27:14
Speaker 1: in a chart form, you can follow them along a
27:17
Speaker 1: lot more easily. So fit them together so that they're
27:21
Speaker 1: across the page from one another. You'll observe all six
27:24
Speaker 1: of the trials. The first was before Annas, the ex-high
27:28
Speaker 1: priest of the Jews. which is where we are in
27:33
Speaker 1: John 18. Caiaphas was his son-in-law. He was the ruling
27:38
Speaker 1: high priest of the Jews at the time. Then the
27:44
Speaker 1: whole body, the supreme court of the Jews, was called
27:47
Speaker 1: the Sanhedrin. They were the ruling men of Israel. And
27:51
Speaker 1: their word, their verdict, would have to be declared and
27:55
Speaker 1: their sentence in order to bring him before the Roman officials,
27:59
Speaker 1: who alone could... validate the accusation and take him and
28:05
Speaker 1: send him to a cross. Then, as we'll see next time,
28:08
Speaker 1: was Pilate the governor of Judea, followed by Herod Antipas,
28:11
Speaker 1: who really played around with him. It wasn't really that
28:15
Speaker 1: serious a trial, sort of a mock trial. And then
28:18
Speaker 1: they came back to Pilate, as we'll see in our
28:20
Speaker 1: next message. The scriptures are there. The accusations are there.
28:24
Speaker 1: Notice the legality in every case. The trials were illegal.
28:28
Speaker 1: We explain why. He's never... proven guilty, he's found or
28:33
Speaker 1: declared guilty. Never once is there a true witness who
28:38
Speaker 1: finds something against him that he could be held for
28:42
Speaker 1: in the words of the law. He did not come
28:44
Speaker 1: to do away with the law, but to fulfill it.
28:46
Speaker 1: They had no one who could stand against him. And
28:49
Speaker 1: that frustrated them only more, only the more as time passed.
28:53
Speaker 1: Who was Annas? Chapter 18 of John, verse 13, they
28:58
Speaker 1: led him to Annas first. You'll find this interesting, and
29:02
Speaker 1: it may bring a smile to your face, that Annas
29:04
Speaker 1: was sort of the high priest emeritus. By now, 70
29:08
Speaker 1: years old, he is the one who was in charge
29:11
Speaker 1: of turning the temple into a mercenary gathering. Remember Jesus,
29:15
Speaker 1: who took the whip and drove them out of the temple,
29:18
Speaker 1: not wanting the money changers to be in the place
29:20
Speaker 1: where there should have been only prayer and worship? Annas
29:24
Speaker 1: was the one who had set up the whole mercenary scene.
29:28
Speaker 1: It was called Annas Bazaar. So when Jesus came against it,
29:33
Speaker 1: he really, really came against Annas, who had put it
29:36
Speaker 1: all together. Let me just cut to the chase. He
29:39
Speaker 1: was like a leader of a mafia. He had the
29:42
Speaker 1: religious overtones of responsibilities, but in heart, he was a
29:46
Speaker 1: man wholly corrupt. Annas wanted to see him first. And
29:53
Speaker 1: they come to Annas with him about one o'clock in
29:56
Speaker 1: the morning. Isn't it interesting? In all of these cases,
29:59
Speaker 1: everybody is awake. Does that seem a little bit suspicious
30:04
Speaker 1: to somebody sitting here today? And at one and two
30:07
Speaker 1: and three and four in the morning during the trials,
30:10
Speaker 1: those who are responsible for the trial are wide awake
30:13
Speaker 1: and ready to meet. They have all been tipped off.
30:17
Speaker 1: There is a conspiracy that has gotten underway against Jesus,
30:20
Speaker 1: and they knew tonight's the night. Be ready. Don't sleep.
30:24
Speaker 1: When you get a word from the messenger to come, come,
30:28
Speaker 1: because we have Jesus caught, and he's brought on trial.
30:31
Speaker 1: Annas is awake. He stands in front of Annas, the
30:35
Speaker 1: father-in-law of Caiaphas. Verse 19, the high priest, he's called here,
30:42
Speaker 1: as we would call President Reagan, President, or as we
30:45
Speaker 1: would call the late President Johnson, President Johnson, they called
30:48
Speaker 1: him still the high priest, though he was the ex-high priest,
30:52
Speaker 1: questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teachings. Notice
30:55
Speaker 1: the two things he questioned, his disciples and his teachings.
31:03
Speaker 1: What about this heresy you're teaching, and what about these
31:06
Speaker 1: followers of yours? Verse 20, Jesus answered him. By the way,
31:12
Speaker 1: there's no defense attorney. It's illegitimate. It's at night. It's illegal.
31:18
Speaker 1: He should never have appeared before one judge but a group.
31:22
Speaker 1: It's illegal. Nevertheless, he answers, I have spoken openly to
31:25
Speaker 1: the world. I've taught in synagogues and in the temple
31:29
Speaker 1: where all the Jews came together. I spoke nothing in secret.
31:32
Speaker 1: There's no clandestine plan in my procedure. I have done
31:36
Speaker 1: what I have done out in public. And then he
31:38
Speaker 1: reminds them of the law. Why do you question me?
31:42
Speaker 1: Knowing the law, he asks the good questions. He reminds Annas,
31:51
Speaker 1: this 33-year-old upstart, reminds the 70-year-old mafia chief of the
32:01
Speaker 1: rules of law. Bring in the people who heard what
32:06
Speaker 1: I said. See what they say about me. All of
32:09
Speaker 1: a sudden, Annas is standing there with egg on his face.
32:12
Speaker 1: And an officer standing by, verse 22, decides it's time
32:16
Speaker 1: to give Jesus a blow. So he punches him in
32:19
Speaker 1: a court before people who have not brought an accusation
32:25
Speaker 1: against him are proven anything wrong. Jim Bishop is a
32:30
Speaker 1: wonderful writer on the day Christ was born and another
32:33
Speaker 1: book on the day Christ died. My copy looks like
32:36
Speaker 1: I've been dragging it behind my car. I love this book.
32:40
Speaker 1: It kind of puts it in today's language. Listen to Bishop.
32:44
Speaker 1: Under the rules of trial procedure, Jesus knew, and so
32:47
Speaker 1: did Annas, that it was against the law to solicit
32:49
Speaker 1: the testimony of any except witnesses and corroborators. Besides, under
32:54
Speaker 1: the law, no prisoner had to undergo preliminary examination. Question
33:00
Speaker 1: those who heard what I said. You see, he said patiently,
33:05
Speaker 1: they know what I said. One of the guards walked
33:08
Speaker 1: around in front of Jesus and smashed his face. Is
33:13
Speaker 1: this the way you answer the high priest? The guard said,
33:17
Speaker 1: Jesus shook his head to clear the effects of the
33:20
Speaker 1: blow and said to the guard, if I was wrong
33:24
Speaker 1: in speaking this way, then prove me wrong. But if
33:28
Speaker 1: I was right, then why do you strike me? Old
33:34
Speaker 1: Anna smiled and shook his head. He got up and
33:37
Speaker 1: ordered Jesus sent to Caiaphas. Isn't it interesting that Annas
33:45
Speaker 1: doesn't have an answer? He knew the law. He deliberately
33:49
Speaker 1: ignored it. And Jesus reminds him of it, and they
33:54
Speaker 1: resort to brutality to silence Jesus. How unfair. How illegal.
34:01
Speaker 1: How wrong. How wrong. Annas, verse 24, sent him bound
34:10
Speaker 1: to Caiaphas, the high priest. Caiaphas, interesting man. Did you
34:21
Speaker 1: know he was the one who first thought of killing Jesus?
34:25
Speaker 1: Did you know he was the one of the group
34:26
Speaker 1: that said, let's do it that way? Go back to
34:28
Speaker 1: John 11, verse 47. You're in John 18, back John 11, 47.
34:31
Speaker 1: Becomes fascinating as you as you work your way through
34:37
Speaker 1: the story and bring in all the evidence from the
34:41
Speaker 1: gospel writers, some adding this, others adding that. Look at 1147.
34:46
Speaker 1: Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council
34:49
Speaker 1: and were saying, what are we doing? It's the first
34:53
Speaker 1: on his question they've asked himself. What in the world
34:55
Speaker 1: are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
34:59
Speaker 1: If we let him go on like this, All men
35:02
Speaker 1: will believe in him. And look at their concern. And
35:05
Speaker 1: the Romans will come and take away both our place
35:08
Speaker 1: and our nation. I mean, we'll be overthrown. Rome is
35:11
Speaker 1: already a little testy regarding all of us Jews. What
35:17
Speaker 1: if he leads this insurrection? What if people really believe
35:20
Speaker 1: him and he builds this following? What's going to happen
35:23
Speaker 1: to us? And what would happen to our state? Our nation?
35:27
Speaker 1: Our nation. Verse 49, a certain one of them, Caiaphas,
35:31
Speaker 1: who was high priest that year, said, you know nothing
35:34
Speaker 1: at all, nor do you take into account that it
35:37
Speaker 1: is expedient for you that one should die for the
35:39
Speaker 1: people and that the whole nation should not perish. Caiaphas says, wait, wait, wait.
35:47
Speaker 1: You men need to understand. There's a simple answer. Put
35:51
Speaker 1: him to death. Save the nations. I love it that John,
35:58
Speaker 1: 60 years after the fact, looking back on it, adds
36:01
Speaker 1: this comment. Verse 51. Now this he did not say
36:07
Speaker 1: on his own initiative. But being high priest that year,
36:10
Speaker 1: he prophesied Jesus was going to die for the nation.
36:13
Speaker 1: And not for the nation only, but that he might
36:15
Speaker 1: also gather together into one the children of God who
36:18
Speaker 1: were scattered abroad. Interesting perception that John adds when he
36:24
Speaker 1: writes this letter 60 years later. From that day on,
36:27
Speaker 1: they plan together to kill him. Caiaphas is Anna's son-in-law,
36:33
Speaker 1: equally corrupt and sinister of heart, who first thought of
36:37
Speaker 1: killing Jesus. Now you've got to see the scene as
36:40
Speaker 1: it unfolds in Mark chapter 14. Let's go back there. Okay,
36:45
Speaker 1: Mark 14 verse 53. Come on now. Some of you
36:51
Speaker 1: are saying, oh honey, go turn. You watch. You follow along.
36:54
Speaker 1: He's Swindoll's going on and on. Come on, let's go together.
36:58
Speaker 1: Mark 14, 53. Let's help this whole thing make sense.
37:03
Speaker 1: He first went to Annas. Annas didn't know what to say,
37:05
Speaker 1: so he bound him after having him struck by this officer.
37:09
Speaker 1: And now he goes with blood across his face in
37:12
Speaker 1: front of Caiaphas. Again, they're all awake. As we're going
37:16
Speaker 1: to see, Caiaphas is surrounded by members of the Sanhedrin.
37:19
Speaker 1: None of them are in bed. Verse 53, Mark 14.
37:24
Speaker 1: They led Jesus away to the high priest and all
37:26
Speaker 1: the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together.
37:31
Speaker 1: Drop down to 55. Now the chief priests and the
37:34
Speaker 1: whole council, that's the Sanhedrin, that's the Supreme Court, kept
37:37
Speaker 1: trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put him to death. See,
37:40
Speaker 1: it was a prejudiced court in the middle of the
37:42
Speaker 1: night without a defense attorney, with no witnesses. They were
37:46
Speaker 1: finding none. Well, they found some who witnessed, verse 56,
37:51
Speaker 1: many were giving false testimony against him. They had that
37:54
Speaker 1: set up. saying, we heard him say, I will destroy
37:58
Speaker 1: this temple made with hands, and in three days I
38:01
Speaker 1: will build another made without hands. Not even in this
38:05
Speaker 1: respect was their testimony consistent. The high priest arose and
38:09
Speaker 1: came forward and questioned Jesus. He should have been questioning
38:12
Speaker 1: an attorney, but he questions Jesus, also illegal, saying, do
38:16
Speaker 1: you make no answer to what these men are testifying
38:19
Speaker 1: against you? But he kept silent and made no answer.
38:22
Speaker 1: Is that a remarkable thing? He doesn't defend himself. He
38:26
Speaker 1: stands silent before his accusers. Isaiah said he would do
38:30
Speaker 1: that eight centuries earlier. As a lamb before his shearers
38:35
Speaker 1: is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. This is
38:38
Speaker 1: exact fulfillment of that statement of prophecy. He kept silent
38:43
Speaker 1: and made no answer. Again, the high priest was questioning him,
38:46
Speaker 1: saying to him, are you the Messiah? The word Christ
38:49
Speaker 1: means Messiah, anointed one. Are you the Messiah, the son
38:53
Speaker 1: of the blessed one? Now he answers, I am, and
38:57
Speaker 1: you shall see the son of man sitting at the
38:59
Speaker 1: right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven.
39:03
Speaker 1: And Caiaphas fell on his knees and worshiped him. Are
39:06
Speaker 1: you kidding? He tore his clothes. He couldn't stand it
39:10
Speaker 1: that this man would speak such blasphemous words. He tore
39:16
Speaker 1: his clothes. And said, what further need do we have
39:20
Speaker 1: of witnesses? That's kind of a quick way to bypass
39:24
Speaker 1: the law. We don't need any witnesses. He's already guilty.
39:28
Speaker 1: It's still night. so they have to wait until dawn
39:33
Speaker 1: because the Romans certainly would ask have you gone through
39:35
Speaker 1: the proper procedure as a group of law-abiding Jews as
39:40
Speaker 1: you bring the case before us Jesus answers his accusers
39:44
Speaker 1: correctly they still turn against him now watch It is
39:48
Speaker 1: very interesting when they come together. Verse 64, you've heard
39:56
Speaker 1: the blasphemy. How does it seem to you? And they
39:59
Speaker 1: all condemned him to be deserving of death. Nobody went home,
40:03
Speaker 1: ate light food, drank light wine, spent two nights thinking
40:07
Speaker 1: it over. They said, guilty. Take him to the court.
40:13
Speaker 1: And some, verse 65, this is interesting, began to spit
40:17
Speaker 1: at him. and to blindfold him, and to beat him
40:21
Speaker 1: with their fists, and to say to him, prophesy, who
40:25
Speaker 1: just struck you? What's my name? The officers received him
40:30
Speaker 1: with slaps in the face. One man writes, the judges
40:33
Speaker 1: came down from their seats, walked up to Jesus, and
40:36
Speaker 1: spat in his face. Others clenched their fist and hit him.
40:41
Speaker 1: He said nothing, though some of the blows no doubt
40:43
Speaker 1: caused him to double over. For such highly placed, respected
40:47
Speaker 1: religious leaders of Judaism, the acts of these dignitaries were
40:51
Speaker 1: most degrading. Having done the deed, having come to terms
40:58
Speaker 1: with what they wanted to see happen, namely that he
41:01
Speaker 1: would be pronounced guilty, they led him to the chamber
41:08
Speaker 1: as dawn occurred. Luke 22, verse 66 says, Luke is
41:14
Speaker 1: a stickler for details like this, 2266, when it was day.
41:19
Speaker 1: It's now daytime. We can now say it was a
41:24
Speaker 1: legal trial. The council of elders of the people assembled.
41:28
Speaker 1: This is the third trial. There was Annas. There was
41:30
Speaker 1: Caiaphas with a portion of the Sanhedrin. Now we have
41:34
Speaker 1: the full body of men gathered together, chief priests, scribes,
41:38
Speaker 1: and they led him away to their council chamber. And
41:41
Speaker 1: they said, if you are the Christ, tell us. He
41:44
Speaker 1: said to them, if I tell you, you will not believe.
41:47
Speaker 1: And if I ask a question, you will not answer.
41:49
Speaker 1: But from now on, the son of man will be
41:51
Speaker 1: seated at the right hand of the power of God.
41:55
Speaker 1: And they all said, are you the son of God then?
41:57
Speaker 1: He said, yes, I am. And they said, what further
42:02
Speaker 1: need do we have of testimony? For we have heard
42:04
Speaker 1: it ourselves from this, from his own mouth. And the
42:08
Speaker 1: whole body is an unfortunate chapter break here should flow
42:10
Speaker 1: right into verse one. Then the whole body of them
42:13
Speaker 1: arose and and brought him before Pilate, and the civil
42:16
Speaker 1: court begins. No actual witnesses, no attorney allowed, no evidence,
42:24
Speaker 1: no proof, closed minds, prejudiced heart, no appropriate proceedings, no break,
42:32
Speaker 1: no proper voting from the youngest to the oldest, none
42:35
Speaker 1: of the above. And he's marched in front of Pilate
42:40
Speaker 1: with a whole new accusation, treason. Treason. Isn't that interesting?
42:45
Speaker 1: You know why? Because blasphemy wouldn't hold water in a
42:48
Speaker 1: Roman court. Blasphemy of which god? Romans had multiple gods.
42:54
Speaker 1: So if you go before the Roman court, you must say,
42:57
Speaker 1: he really claims to be the king of the Jews.
43:00
Speaker 1: And he's going to overthrow the rule of Caesar. And
43:03
Speaker 1: that got their attention as they changed the accusation to treason.
43:07
Speaker 1: But that's next time. I made a few comments in
43:11
Speaker 1: my notes here. as we turn our attention to the
43:14
Speaker 1: one under arrest unfairly, who was bound and put on
43:19
Speaker 1: trial unjustly, who endured insults and false accusations and brutality silently,
43:26
Speaker 1: who was humiliated and abused brutally, publicly, who was pushed
43:30
Speaker 1: through trials illegally and finally nailed to a cross and
43:34
Speaker 1: left to die painfully. That's the one we're focusing on. Now,
43:39
Speaker 1: the reason I spit that out so quickly is because
43:42
Speaker 1: I have a feeling that in a gathering this size,
43:45
Speaker 1: a number of you have known what it is to
43:47
Speaker 1: be abused, treated unfairly, taken advantage of, hurt. Perhaps you
44:02
Speaker 1: have heard words that have stuck in your brain like
44:06
Speaker 1: shrapnel and you can't get them out. Perhaps what was
44:11
Speaker 1: done against you was done in secret and at night.
44:17
Speaker 1: It's very possible that the mistreatment you have gone through
44:20
Speaker 1: and the humiliation that has followed it has left you
44:25
Speaker 1: feeling dehumanized, as I heard someone say recently. Remember I
44:32
Speaker 1: said to remember Peter was in the scene but sort
44:35
Speaker 1: of following at a distance? That's another study. Peter. Peter.
44:40
Speaker 1: who after the crucifixion and after the resurrection saw it
44:44
Speaker 1: all in a whole new light and was forgiven and
44:48
Speaker 1: came back to Christ and beautifully forgiven, he was led
44:51
Speaker 1: to be the one who would lead the early church
44:53
Speaker 1: in its first steps of existence. Someone said when the
45:00
Speaker 1: cradle of the church first rocked, Peter was pushing it,
45:04
Speaker 1: rocking the cradle of the early church. Peter.
45:07
Speaker 2: Peter.
45:09
Speaker 1: And as time passed, by the time he was an
45:11
Speaker 1: old man, shortly before his death, he wrote a letter
45:15
Speaker 1: where he reflected on what he had seen in these
45:17
Speaker 1: unfair trials. I want you to look at a scene. Look,
45:21
Speaker 1: you've got to turn. 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2.
45:25
Speaker 1: It's worth a look. Verse 20. Because I want to
45:29
Speaker 1: tie all of this in with what may have been
45:32
Speaker 1: for you a dehumanizing experience. 1 Peter 2, 20. What
45:41
Speaker 1: credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated,
45:44
Speaker 1: you endure it patiently? But if when you do what
45:47
Speaker 1: is right and suffer for it, you endure it. This
45:53
Speaker 1: finds favor with God. Now hear me out. This finds
45:59
Speaker 1: favor with God. For you have been called for this
46:02
Speaker 1: purpose since Christ also suffered for you. leaving you an
46:06
Speaker 1: example for you to follow in his steps, who committed
46:12
Speaker 1: no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth.
46:17
Speaker 1: And while being reviled, we've already seen some scenes where
46:20
Speaker 1: he was reviled. While being reviled, he did not revile
46:24
Speaker 1: in return. While suffering, he uttered no threats whatsoever. who
46:30
Speaker 1: kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. That's the secret.
46:35
Speaker 1: That's how he could do it. He kept entrusting himself
46:39
Speaker 1: to him who will ultimately judge righteously. And in his heart,
46:44
Speaker 1: in his mind, as he took the blows and heard
46:47
Speaker 1: the unfair words, and ultimately had his hands and feet
46:51
Speaker 1: nailed to a cross, he entrusted himself to him who
46:54
Speaker 1: judges righteously. He himself bore our sins in his body
47:00
Speaker 1: on the cross that we might die to sin and
47:03
Speaker 1: live to righteousness. For by his wounds you were healed.
47:07
Speaker 1: That's marvelous truth. Heal spiritually from the sins that have
47:14
Speaker 1: plagued you all your life. And I want to suggest
47:17
Speaker 1: by application healed emotionally from the wounds and bruises of
47:22
Speaker 1: your own unfair past. For you were continually straying like sheep,
47:29
Speaker 1: but now you've returned to the shepherd and guardian of
47:31
Speaker 1: your souls. Take heart, men and women. Take heart. Someone
47:43
Speaker 1: has said, where was God when that Holocaust unfolded and
47:50
Speaker 1: all of those unrighteous, unfair, prejudicial acts were carried out
47:54
Speaker 1: against God's people And someone else has answered the same
47:58
Speaker 1: place he was when his son was nailed to a cross,
48:02
Speaker 1: carrying out his profound, inscrutable plan that someday we will
48:08
Speaker 1: understand in perfect panoramic understanding. That's why it says in
48:17
Speaker 1: the song, Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.
48:21
Speaker 1: Sin left a crimson stain. He washed it all white
48:25
Speaker 1: as snow. Leaves nothing for you to earn or to deserve.
48:31
Speaker 1: You come to him in your unrighteousness and he who
48:34
Speaker 1: bore those sins for you will turn your unrighteousness and
48:39
Speaker 1: credit to your account perfect righteousness. But there's more. It's
48:46
Speaker 1: very probable that in your dehumanization of the past, you
48:51
Speaker 1: went through things that were not only unfair but scandalous
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Speaker 1: and absolutely wrong. And they have bruised you. They have
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Speaker 1: wounded you. The easiest thing in the world for you
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Speaker 1: to think is, how can I someday get even or
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Speaker 1: get back? It's the most natural thought, but Jesus does
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Speaker 1: neither and can help you from doing neither. As a
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Speaker 1: matter of fact, I have come to the place where
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Speaker 1: I believe that even such... experiences are part of breaking
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Speaker 1: us to a place of submission to him and his
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Speaker 1: plan where he can use us as he would never
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Speaker 1: have otherwise used us as Alexander Solzhenitsyn said while laying
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Speaker 1: on rotting straw in the gulag he said I came
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Speaker 1: to the realization that There was a God. And so
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Speaker 1: looking back, he said, I praise you, prison, for having
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Speaker 1: been in my life. What a statement. He didn't deserve
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Speaker 1: the prison. But the prison made him into the man
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Speaker 1: he became. V. Raymond Edmond has written a fine little
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Speaker 1: book called The Disciplines of Life. And in it, he
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Speaker 1: covers a number of different kinds of disciplines. And the
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Speaker 1: chapter called The Discipline of Despair is a masterpiece. In it,
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Speaker 1: he quotes from the late, great George Matheson of Scotland
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Speaker 1: in what he wrote in Thoughts of Life's Journey. Listen
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Speaker 1: to Matheson. My soul, reject not the place of thy prostration.
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Speaker 1: It has ever been the roving room for royalty. Ask
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Speaker 1: the great ones of the past what has been the
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Speaker 1: spot of their prosperity. They will say, it was the
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Speaker 1: cold ground on which I once was laying. Ask Abraham,
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Speaker 1: he will point you to the sacrifice of Isaac on Moriah.
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Speaker 1: Ask Joseph, he will direct you to his dungeon. Ask Moses,
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Speaker 1: he will date his fortune from his danger in the Nile.
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Speaker 1: Ask Ruth, she will bid you build her monument on
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Speaker 1: the field of her toil. Ask David, he will tell
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Speaker 1: you of his songs that came in the night. Ask Job,
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Speaker 1: he will remind you that God answered him out of
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Speaker 1: the whirlwind. Ask Peter, he will extol his submission in
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Speaker 1: the sea. Ask John, he will give the palm to Patmos.
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Speaker 1: Ask Paul, He will attribute his inspiration to the light
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Speaker 1: that struck him blind on the Damascus road. Ask one more,
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Speaker 1: the Son of Man. Ask him whence has come his
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Speaker 1: rule over the world. He will answer, from the cold
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Speaker 1: ground on which I was lying. The Gethsemane ground, I
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Speaker 1: received my scepter there. Thou too, my soul, shalt be
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Speaker 1: garlanded by Gethsemane. The cup thou fain wouldst pass from
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Speaker 1: thee will be thy coronet in the sweet by and by.
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Speaker 1: The hour of thy loneliness will crown thee. The day
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Speaker 1: of thy depression will regale thee. It is the desert
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Speaker 1: that will break forth into singing. It is the trees
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Speaker 1: of thy silent forest. that will clap their hands. When
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Speaker 1: God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an
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Speaker 1: impossible person and crushes him. And it is in the
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Speaker 1: crushing that character emerges to be used for His greater glory.
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Speaker 1: I'd like us to bow together, please. Just close your
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Speaker 1: eyes where you're sitting. Without a proper perspective, God could
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Speaker 1: come out in this whole thing looking terribly sadistic. That's
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Speaker 1: not it at all. It is the Father's will to
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Speaker 1: prepare us to be useful in time, these days in
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Speaker 1: which we live, and then ultimately to meet Him in glory,
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Speaker 1: understanding His Son and all that He endured for us.
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Speaker 1: Perhaps the only thing in your life that would get
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Speaker 1: you anywhere near understanding the life of Jesus is your suffering.
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Speaker 1: You're not righteous as he was righteous. You didn't come
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Speaker 1: from heaven as he came from heaven. You haven't the
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Speaker 1: power of the living God as he does. You don't
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Speaker 1: in yourself, but you have sufferings. That's why Paul calls
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Speaker 1: it the fellowship of his sufferings. If you've never in
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Speaker 1: your life come to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith,
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Speaker 1: you've never come to the level ground at the cross,
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Speaker 1: this is the time to come. This is the time.
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Speaker 1: And you understand in coming that you come to receive
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Speaker 1: the gift that the death of Christ provides for you, fully,
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Speaker 1: completely paid on your behalf. And you come by faith,
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Speaker 1: exchanging your unrighteousness and wickedness for his righteousness and holiness.
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Speaker 1: That begins what is called the Christian life. You don't
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Speaker 1: begin it before you come to the cross. And then
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Speaker 1: having come, we begin to live out the life God
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Speaker 1: planned for us which includes those harsh, rugged, unexplainable experiences
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Speaker 1: that work together for good to those who love God
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Speaker 1: and for the glory of His purposes. Right where you're sitting,
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Speaker 1: turn your life over to Him. right where you're sitting,
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Speaker 1: release the revenge and the rage. Ask Him to take
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Speaker 1: it all and to use it for His good and glory.
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Speaker 1: How grateful we are, our Father, that in coming the
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Speaker 1: burden is rolled away and the rage is replaced by
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Speaker 1: With a purposeful existence. And the release of all of
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Speaker 1: those horrible, torturing thoughts and memories. As the gallery of
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Speaker 1: our mind is clear of blame and shame. You're able
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Speaker 1: to make us into men and women as you would
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Speaker 1: have us to be. Forgive us for the wasted years.
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Speaker 1: of fighting for our own rights, determined to have our
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Speaker 1: own way, intimidating and overpowering in all of that phony
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Speaker 1: expression of self-will, and give us the same secure silence
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Speaker 1: of the Lord Jesus who endured such contradiction of sinners
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Speaker 1: against himself. Cause only good to come from this message,
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Speaker 1: our Father, as we have seen again our model, the
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Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, in this setting of brutality and illegality and
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Speaker 1: unjust treatment. Give us afresh and anew a perspective on
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Speaker 1: life that is above and beyond the world around us.
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Speaker 1: I ask this, believingly, In Jesus' dear name. And everybody said, Amen.
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Speaker 2: The preceding message, Analysis of a Courtroom Fiasco, was copyrighted
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Speaker 2: in 1999, 2000, 2008, and 2023. And the sound recording
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Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 2023 by Charles R.
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Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc.
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Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide Duplication of copyrighted material for
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Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited. In the preceding message, Charles Arsondal, Inc.
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Speaker 2: is grateful for permission to quote excerpts from the book
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Speaker 2: The Day Christ Died, copyrighted
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Speaker 1: In 1957 by Jim Bishop.