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Rush to Judgment │ Msg 916 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: During jesus years of ministry, he revealed himself as the
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Speaker 1: son of God who had come as the light of
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Speaker 1: the world. However, as John wrote, the world did not
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Speaker 1: recognize him, and when he came to his own people,
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Speaker 1: even they rejected him. We read of that in John One,
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Speaker 1: Verses ten and eleven. John's fateful words became harsh reality
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Speaker 1: in the Six Trials of Jesus, in which we're able
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Speaker 1: to see both the world's inability to recognize Jesus for
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Speaker 1: who he was and the jews rejection of their messiah
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Speaker 1: and king. In the previous message, we examined Jesus' first
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Speaker 1: two trials. They were before Annas and Caiaphas. Now in
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Speaker 1: this message, we'll continue with the third trial before this Andhedron.
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Speaker 1: Then we'll walk with Jesus through his final trials before Pilot, Herod,
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Speaker 1: and then finally, for the last time again before Pilot.
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Speaker 1: I'm going to read portions from Matthew, Luke and John
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Speaker 1: which described Jesus' final four trials. Now, as I read,
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Speaker 1: I want you to place yourself in the scenes, and
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Speaker 1: I want you to feel the drama. Let's begin with
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Speaker 1: Luke chapter twenty two, verse sixty six. At daybreak, all
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Speaker 1: the elders of the people assembled, including the leading priests
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Speaker 1: and the teachers of religious law. Jesus was led before
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Speaker 1: this high council, and they said, tell us, are you
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Speaker 1: the Messiah? But he replied, if I tell you, you
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Speaker 1: won't believe me, and if I ask you a question,
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Speaker 1: you won't answer. But from now on, the son of
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Speaker 1: man will be seated in the place of power at
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Speaker 1: God's right hand. They all shouted, so are you claiming
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Speaker 1: to be the son of God? And he replied, you
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Speaker 1: say that I am. Why do we need other witnesses?
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Speaker 1: They said, we ourselves heard him say it. Then the
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Speaker 1: entire council took Jesus to Pilot, the Roman governor. Now
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Speaker 1: keep your finger here in luke, and turn with me
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Speaker 1: to John eighteen and find verse twenty nine. Upon seeing Jesus,
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Speaker 1: Pilot asked the Jewish leaders, now we began verse twenty nine,
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Speaker 1: What is your charge against this man. We wouldn't have
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Speaker 1: handed him over to you if he weren't a criminal,
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Speaker 1: they retorted, Then take him away and judge him by
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Speaker 1: your own law. Pilot told him only the Romans are
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Speaker 1: permitted to execute someone. The Jewish leaders replied. This fulfilled
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Speaker 1: Jesus' prediction about the way he would die. Now for
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Speaker 1: a few moments, flip back to Luke chapter twenty three,
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Speaker 1: verse six, and we'll pick up the account when Pilot
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Speaker 1: discovers Jesus is from Galilee. Oh is he a Galilean?
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Speaker 1: Pilot asked. When they said that he was, Pilot sent
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Speaker 1: him to Herod Antipus because Galilee was under Herod's jurisdiction
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Speaker 1: and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time.
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Speaker 1: Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus because
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Speaker 1: he had heard about him and had been hoping for
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Speaker 1: a long time to see him perform a miracle. He
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Speaker 1: asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer. Meanwhile,
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Speaker 1: the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood
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Speaker 1: there shouting their accusations. Then Herod and his soldiers began
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Speaker 1: mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe
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Speaker 1: on him and sent him back to Pilot. Now with
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Speaker 1: Jesus' final appearance before Pilot, Pilot presented him to the
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Speaker 1: bloodthirsty crowd who called for jesus death. To see this
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Speaker 1: turned with me to Matthew twenty seven, verse twenty. The
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Speaker 1: leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask
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Speaker 1: for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be
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Speaker 1: put to death. So the governor asked again, which of
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Speaker 1: these two do you want me to release to you?
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Speaker 1: The crowd shouted back Barabbas. Pilot responded, then, what should
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Speaker 1: I do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah? They
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Speaker 1: shouted back, crucify him? Why? Pilot demanded, what crime has
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Speaker 1: he committed? But the mob roared even louder, crucify him.
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Speaker 1: Pilot saw that he wasn't getting anywhere and that a
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Speaker 1: riot was developing, so he sent for a bowl of
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Speaker 1: water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I
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Speaker 1: am innocent of this man's blood. The responsible is yours,
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Speaker 1: and all the people yelled back, we will take responsibility
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Speaker 1: for his death, we and our children. So Pilot released
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Speaker 1: Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead
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Speaker 1: tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers
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Speaker 1: to be crucified.
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Speaker 2: By the time the first two trials had ended, Jesus
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Speaker 2: was bleeding and bruised. When As yet there was not
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Speaker 2: really any official verdict cast upon his life. All that
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Speaker 2: it transpired had transpired at the darkness, and therefore nothing
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Speaker 2: would be recognized as official by the Romans until he
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Speaker 2: had his audience before the Sanhedrin. Luke, chapter twenty two
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Speaker 2: records us in brief fashion, but perhaps the most complete
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Speaker 2: of the four Gospels, what transpired at about six o'clock
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Speaker 2: in the morning when they met in that council chamber.
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Speaker 2: Literally they met in the hall of hewn stone in
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Speaker 2: the temple, and on the temple grounds they were in
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Speaker 2: to do official business. Luke tells us in twenty two
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Speaker 2: sixty six that it was day Mark tells us it
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Speaker 2: was early in the morning, fifteen one. So we take
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Speaker 2: it that it was right at the hour of six o'clock,
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Speaker 2: the first hour they could meet officially. That they gathered
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Speaker 2: together in their semicircle fashion, working as a group to
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Speaker 2: carry out the accusation against Jesus that he was in
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Speaker 2: fact guilty. Understand that the supreme court of the Jews
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Speaker 2: was the Sanhedrin. They did what they discovered and declared
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Speaker 2: became law. It was never up for grabs, it was
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Speaker 2: never rethought. There was no such thing as going to
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Speaker 2: a higher court. There was no higher court, and therefore
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Speaker 2: when the Sanhedrin met and passed final judgment, it was
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Speaker 2: as the law of the Meds and the Persians, Jesus
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Speaker 2: was destined to the cross. Now just beginning reading with
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Speaker 2: me along at verse sixty six, just follow When it
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Speaker 2: was day, the council of elders of the people assembled,
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Speaker 2: both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away
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Speaker 2: to their council chamber, saying, if you are the Christ,
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Speaker 2: tell us. But he said to them, if I tell you,
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Speaker 2: you will not believe, and if I ask a question,
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Speaker 2: you will not answer. But from now on, the son
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Speaker 2: of Man will be seated at the right hand of
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Speaker 2: the power of God. To that, they responded, are you
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Speaker 2: the son of God? Then? And he said to them, yes,
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Speaker 2: I am. Their response, what further need do we have
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Speaker 2: of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from his
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Speaker 2: own mouth. I gather from this brief account that this
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Speaker 2: was the shortest of all the trials. It was definitely
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Speaker 2: a matter of law from this point on that he,
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Speaker 2: in their mind, was guilty. Aside from Nicodemus, who apparently
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Speaker 2: acquiesced in silence, they voted unanimously to take him to Pilot.
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Speaker 2: The charge was blasphemy, I remind you, but that would
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Speaker 2: not stand up in a Roman court. And therefore, between
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Speaker 2: the time that they dismissed and gained an audience with
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Speaker 2: the governor Pilot, they made plans to switch the accusation
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Speaker 2: to treason, and they claim that he was guilty of
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Speaker 2: overthrowing the government or attempting. So you'll notice on the
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Speaker 2: next verse, chapter twenty three, verse one, the whole body
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Speaker 2: of them arose and brought him before Pilot. Take the
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Speaker 2: time to go back to John's gospel. Let's leave Luke
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Speaker 2: and let's pick up this fourth trial in John chapter eighteen.
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Speaker 2: You must now think in different tones and terms. The
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Speaker 2: law is no longer the Talmud. The law now is
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Speaker 2: the Roman code of criminal procedure. And there were four
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Speaker 2: steps that they must follow to make this an accurate
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Speaker 2: court of law. We'll carry them through one by one.
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Speaker 2: And because John's gospel seems to make this the clearest
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Speaker 2: of the four, we'll use him just a moment on Pilot.
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Speaker 2: Pilot was an anti Semitic Spain born gentile. He was
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Speaker 2: appointed by Caesar to govern Judea. He would be what
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Speaker 2: we would call the governor of the state, though they
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Speaker 2: in those days had provinces. Pilot was a marked man
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Speaker 2: in the minds of the Caesar and also his court
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Speaker 2: in Rome, because of the number of revolutions that had
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Speaker 2: broken out under his rule. He had made some unwise decisions.
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Speaker 2: He had murdered some Jews, he had tightened the screws
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Speaker 2: of Roman requirements. He lacked diplomacy. Therefore, the state over
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Speaker 2: which he served was in a turmoil. Caesar, with tacit approval,
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Speaker 2: left him there as governor, but he was under investigation.
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Speaker 2: As best as I'm able to discover from study at
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Speaker 2: this particular time, the political maneuverings of the Empire are
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Speaker 2: beyond comprehension. But the simple fact is when the Caesar
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Speaker 2: began to look askance at your work, your days were numbered.
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Speaker 2: After his governing for a period of time, following the
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Speaker 2: trial and death of Jesus, he was banished to gaul
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Speaker 2: and while he was there he died a suicide. Pilot
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Speaker 2: was a very unstable man, and because of a few
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Speaker 2: political maneuverings on his part, he became the governor of
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Speaker 2: the province. Now there's no love lost between the Jews
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Speaker 2: and pilot. They hate him, and it comes out time
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Speaker 2: and again in the conversation and the court proceedings. Now
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Speaker 2: let's follow, beginning at verse twenty eight, Chapter eighteen. They
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Speaker 2: led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the pratorium. Probably this
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Speaker 2: is the word pratorium is a general word. Probably it
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Speaker 2: was at his palace where he sat in court, or
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Speaker 2: it could have been in some particular location designed for
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Speaker 2: courtroom procedure. The time was probably around six thirty seven
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Speaker 2: o'clock somewhere like that in the morning, and it was early.
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Speaker 2: John tells us they themselves did not enter into the
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Speaker 2: presctorium in order that they might not be defiled, but
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Speaker 2: might eat the passover. They were criminal in attitude, but
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Speaker 2: they were extremely legal in their religion. The law the
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Speaker 2: Talmud stated that no Jew entered a gentile court on
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Speaker 2: passover or he would be defiled. So they stayed out
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Speaker 2: of the court itself. And apparently he came out to
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Speaker 2: them verse twenty nine and did business. You'll find him
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Speaker 2: coming out and going back, coming out and going back
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Speaker 2: in a continued fashion. Now, the first law of the
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Speaker 2: criminal of Roman code in its procedure was accusation. That's
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Speaker 2: the first thing that Pilot covered. He wanted to know
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Speaker 2: verse twenty nine, what accusation do you bring against this man?
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Speaker 2: And they answered and said to him, if this man
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Speaker 2: were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him
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Speaker 2: up to you. That's a sarcastic answer. It is not
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Speaker 2: an answer to the question, but it tells you their attitude.
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Speaker 2: If he were not guilty, we wouldn't be here pilot.
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Speaker 2: Pilot answered and said to him, said to them, take
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Speaker 2: him yourselves and judge him according to your law. See
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Speaker 2: Pilot doesn't know that as a capital punishment underway. He
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Speaker 2: simply says, look, if it's a problem in your code,
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Speaker 2: you take him and you judge him. The Jews said
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Speaker 2: to him, we're not permitted to put anyone to death. Suddenly,
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Speaker 2: that changes the whole picture. After determining the accusation, which
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Speaker 2: apparently from the other Gospels, they declared he's guilty of treason.
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Speaker 2: He claims to be another Caesar. He called him into
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Speaker 2: his council chamber verse thirty three. Therefore entered again. Remember
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Speaker 2: he went out, and now he is coming back in
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Speaker 2: again into the pratorium. And he summoned Jesus. The second
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Speaker 2: step in the Roman code was interrogation. After gaining an accusation,
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Speaker 2: then there is interrogation who. He began to probe and
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Speaker 2: search for evidence against the man. He said to him,
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Speaker 2: are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered, are
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Speaker 2: you saying this on your own initiative? Or did others
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Speaker 2: tell you about me? Pilot answered, I'm not a Jew?
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Speaker 2: Am I your own nation? And the chief priests delivered
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Speaker 2: you up to me? What have you done? So he's probing,
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Speaker 2: he's seeking evidence. He wanted to know if Jesus was
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Speaker 2: in fact in the process of overthrowing the government in Palestine.
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Speaker 2: Jesus answered, verse thirty six, My kingdom is not of
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Speaker 2: this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then
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Speaker 2: my servants would be fighting that I might not be
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Speaker 2: delivered up to the Jews. But as it is, my
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Speaker 2: kingdom is not of this realm Ah. Now there's an answer.
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Speaker 2: Are you trying to overthrow the government of Rome? Jesus answers,
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Speaker 2: my kingdom is not of this world. I'm a king,
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Speaker 2: but not of this world. If I were trying to
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Speaker 2: overthrow the government, my servants would be out there in
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Speaker 2: the streets fighting, carrying on a revolution. Torches, taking lives,
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Speaker 2: storming this temple, ruining this procedure. But you don't even
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Speaker 2: find my servants out there. The third process in the
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Speaker 2: Roman code was defense, and now Pilot, acting on behalf
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Speaker 2: of a defense attorney, begins to look at this side
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Speaker 2: of Jesus. By the way, in Roman law, much like
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Speaker 2: ours and our jurisprudence, is very much related to that
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Speaker 2: in its deepest roots, they required a defense attorney. But
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Speaker 2: you never find where Jesus was allowed that. So Pilot
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Speaker 2: acted in behalf of an attorney, and he looked at
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Speaker 2: it from that point of view Verse thirty seven. So
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Speaker 2: you are a king, Jesus answered, You say correctly that
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Speaker 2: I am a king. For this I have been born,
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Speaker 2: and for this I've come into the world to bear
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Speaker 2: witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth.
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Speaker 2: Here's my voice, Pilot said to him. What is truth?
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Speaker 2: Has nothing to do with the case, by the way,
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Speaker 2: except in innuendo. I think it has a lot to
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Speaker 2: do with Pilot's mindset. He was a very mixed up,
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Speaker 2: miserable man. In a matter of months he will be
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Speaker 2: taking his own life. He is in a quandary regarding
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Speaker 2: the whole area of objective, sound truth. And when he
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Speaker 2: hears this king, this heavenly king, talk of truth, he
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Speaker 2: just as an aside, says what's truth? And then after
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Speaker 2: coming back to his senses, he goes out again to
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Speaker 2: the Jews and says to them, I find no guilt
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Speaker 2: in him. The fourth step is a verdict, accusation, interrogation, defense,
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Speaker 2: and a verdict, and all four are acted out for us.
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Speaker 2: Right here. He says, I find no guilt. He's examined,
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Speaker 2: he's looked for it, and the only thing he finds
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Speaker 2: is some spiritual kingdom, and that's not going to affect
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Speaker 2: or threaten Rome. And he says he can have his
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Speaker 2: thing in that spiritual kingdom. He's not guilty of treason. Now,
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Speaker 2: turn right quick back to Luke twenty three, because Luke
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Speaker 2: is the only one that records the fifth trial. It
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Speaker 2: comes on the heels of the fourth and I want
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Speaker 2: to show you why it took place. Remember now the
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Speaker 2: verdict is I find no guilt. Now Luke twenty three,
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Speaker 2: Beginning at verse four, we pick up the same words
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Speaker 2: Pilot said to the chief priests and the multitudes, I
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Speaker 2: find no guilt in this man. But they kept on
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Speaker 2: insisting saying he stirs up the people teaching all over Judea,
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Speaker 2: starting from Galilee, even as far as this place. Oh. Now,
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Speaker 2: when Pilot heard the word Galilee, he had a genius idea.
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Speaker 2: You see, he didn't want this case to start with.
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Speaker 2: For him to pass judgment on Jesus would simply bring
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Speaker 2: another revolution, he felt, and he didn't need another one
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Speaker 2: in his record, especially on the thin wire which he
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Speaker 2: was hanging in the mind of Caesar. And so he
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Speaker 2: heard Galilee, and he asked the question verse six, is
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Speaker 2: this man a Galilean? When he heard that, he asked
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Speaker 2: whether the man was a Galilean?
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Speaker 3: And when he heard that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction,
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Speaker 3: he sent him to Herod, who himself was also in
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Speaker 3: Jerusalem at that time.
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Speaker 2: How you get the flow of thought. Here they are
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Speaker 2: in Pilot's court. They are listening to that verdict, and
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Speaker 2: suddenly Pilot, realizing that he cannot justify a guilty verdict, thinks, oh,
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Speaker 2: a Galilean, And he remembers Herod Antipus, by the way,
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Speaker 2: his lifelong enemy until this event, is visiting in Jerusalem.
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Speaker 2: Herod Antipus was the vice tit trarch of Galilee, and
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Speaker 2: he came down a passover time to be in that vicinity,
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Speaker 2: and Pilot thought, well, if he's a Galilean, let's let
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Speaker 2: the governor of Galilee handle this case, and so he
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Speaker 2: hurries him off to Herod. Now you've got to understand
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Speaker 2: something about Herod. Herod doesn't make the notorious headlines that
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Speaker 2: Pilot makes, but he's certainly not the kind of guy
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Speaker 2: you'd want your daughter to date. He's the one who
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Speaker 2: beheaded John the Baptist. He's the one who dealt with
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Speaker 2: vicious cruelty over his subjects, but he never did it
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Speaker 2: in a sensational fashion. Now, Herod has looked upon Jesus
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Speaker 2: as a magician through most of his of most of
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Speaker 2: Jesus' ministry, and he has been anxious to see Jesus
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Speaker 2: do a trick, to do a sign. And so it
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Speaker 2: says in Luke's Gospel verse eight, Herod was very glad
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Speaker 2: when he saw Jesus. He had wanted to see him
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Speaker 2: for a long time because he had been hearing about
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Speaker 2: him and was hoping to see some signs performed by him.
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Speaker 2: So he wanted to see some miracles, and he questioned
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Speaker 2: him at some length, But he answered him nothing. By
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Speaker 2: the way, you do not find where Jesus responds in
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Speaker 2: any way to Herod. It was no proceeding at all.
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Speaker 2: All Herod wanted was a game. He wanted a gesture
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Speaker 2: for his court. He wanted a clown. And when Jesus
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Speaker 2: wouldn't cooperate, we read that they mocked him as a king.
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Speaker 2: The chief priests and the scribes were standing there using him, vehemently,
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Speaker 2: trying to break him down. Herod with his soldiers, after
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Speaker 2: treating him with contempt and mocking him, dressed him in
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Speaker 2: a gorgeous robe and sent him back to Pilot. Now,
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Speaker 2: back at the palace, Pilot is enjoying a breakfast and
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Speaker 2: probably thinking, whew, that's over, and he looks out his
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Speaker 2: kitchen window, and wouldn't you know it, there came Jesus
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Speaker 2: back bound robed as a king. And it was obvious
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Speaker 2: to Pilot that Herod was not in any cooperative mood. However,
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Speaker 2: the event, Luke says verse twelve, brought them together as friends,
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Speaker 2: that is, Herod and Pilot. They became friends with one
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Speaker 2: another that very day, or before they had been at
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Speaker 2: enmity with each other. Now it's time for us to
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Speaker 2: sort of wrap it up in the last trial, and
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Speaker 2: I have just seen some things recently I had not
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Speaker 2: seen before. Pilot did not want to declare him guilty,
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Speaker 2: and so he tried several avenues to get out of
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Speaker 2: that verdict. Go back to John, no, let's take let's
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Speaker 2: take Matthew. Matthew twenty seven, twenty seven, verse eighteen, verse fifteen. Now,
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Speaker 2: the first option that Pilot took, according to John we
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Speaker 2: won't look at it for sake of time, was that
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Speaker 2: he would rough him up and did release him. They said, no,
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Speaker 2: that won't do. In fact, he says, I will punish
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Speaker 2: him and then I will release him to you. They said, no, crucify.
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Speaker 2: So the second option was he would opt out. He
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Speaker 2: would let them release Jesus and carry Barabbas trial through.
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Speaker 2: After all, Barabbas was a notorious criminal. According to verse
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Speaker 2: fifteen of Matthew twenty seven, at the feast, the governor
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Speaker 2: was accustomed to release for the multitude any one prisoner
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Speaker 2: whom they wanted. That was a custom that they carried
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Speaker 2: out at Passover. They were holding at that time a
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Speaker 2: notorious prisoner called Barabbas. See the word notorious. The Greek
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Speaker 2: word means marked he was a marked man. As best
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Speaker 2: as I can feel it. Barabbas was a murderer. He
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Speaker 2: was an insurrectionist. He was guilty of sedition. He was
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Speaker 2: then hell trial. He was in fact bound in prison
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Speaker 2: awaiting death by crucifixion. It was a capital crime he
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Speaker 2: had committed. Here was the one guilty of treason. And
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Speaker 2: so this known criminal, this marked man, this notorious, evil
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Speaker 2: person named Barabbas. Pila thought, well, if I put Barabbas
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Speaker 2: next to Jesus, surely they'll say, well, release Jesus, don't
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Speaker 2: release Barabbas. But it turned on him. They said, I
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Speaker 2: take Barabbas. We want to see this one crucified. Now.
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Speaker 2: I want to digress just for a moment, and time
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Speaker 2: is very precious, but I want you to see something
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Speaker 2: that perhaps you've not seen before. It relates to Barabbas.
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Speaker 2: His name, bar Abbas is an interesting name. Bar means son,
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Speaker 2: Abba means father. It seems like a misnomer, son of father,
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Speaker 2: But in those days, famous rabbis were frequently referred to
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Speaker 2: as the fathers of the community where they served. It
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Speaker 2: is possible tradition bears it out that this man was
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Speaker 2: a rabbi's son who had gone sour. He was a
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Speaker 2: rebel against the very things that his father stood for
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Speaker 2: in the government are at least among the populace. And Barabbas,
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Speaker 2: standing against everything his father defended, was now taken prisoner
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Speaker 2: and was held bound, no doubt, at the Fortress of Antonia.
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Speaker 2: I don't know if you've got a map in the
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Speaker 2: back of your Bible, but I do. And back in
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Speaker 2: the last section, if you have a map, find the
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Speaker 2: city of Jerusalem and locate the Fortress of Antonia as
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Speaker 2: it relates to the Temple of Herod. And something regarding
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Speaker 2: Barabbas is just going to sort of jump out on
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Speaker 2: you tonight, So be ready. Jerusalem. Right in the on
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Speaker 2: the easternmost section, you will find the temple. That's where
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Speaker 2: they met in a place called the Pratorium. If you
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Speaker 2: look to the north northwest you will find the Fortress
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Speaker 2: of Antonia, probably no more than a thousand feet from
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Speaker 2: the temple, perhaps fifteen hundred, not very far. Barabbas was
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Speaker 2: incarcerated at the Fortress of Antonia, waiting crucifixion. It was
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Speaker 2: just a matter of time. The crossbeam was already made
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Speaker 2: for him. They were meeting in the temple grounds called
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Speaker 2: the Pratorium in the text. Now, with that geography in mind,
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Speaker 2: some fifteen hundred feet between the two places, Barabbas would
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Speaker 2: be far enough away not to hear the small talk,
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Speaker 2: but close enough to hear the crowds. Now back to
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Speaker 2: Matthew twenty seven. I want you to hear what he
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Speaker 2: heard verse twenty one. The governor answered and said to them,
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Speaker 2: which of the two do you want me to release
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Speaker 2: for you? And the mob responded, Barabbas, okay, let's say
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Speaker 2: it together, just the one word, all right, nice and loud, Babas.
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Speaker 2: You could hear that fifteen hundred feet away. They didn't
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Speaker 2: have a PA system, so I'm sure that no one
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Speaker 2: could hear the question, whom do you wish that I
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Speaker 2: released to you, Jesus or Barabbas. Now notice a little
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Speaker 2: further on, Pilots said to them, what then shall I
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Speaker 2: do with Jesus who is called Christ? And they all said,
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Speaker 2: say that together, let him be crucified. Now, wait, you're
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Speaker 2: saying it like you're in church. Okay, let's do it
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Speaker 2: together in sort of antipanal fashion, if we could call
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Speaker 2: it that. Let's just be in unison. Read the text
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Speaker 2: as it was. I'll read Pilot's part and you'll read
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Speaker 2: the crowd's part. Okay, and we'll do it together. Now
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Speaker 2: let's go back to twenty two. Pilot said to them,
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Speaker 2: what then shall I do with Jesus, who is called
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Speaker 2: the Christ? They all said. He said to them, why,
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Speaker 2: what evil has he done? But they all kept shouting
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Speaker 2: all the more. Now Barabbas is over in jail. He
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Speaker 2: has heard his name, and he has heard the crowd
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Speaker 2: twice say let him be crucified. And verse twenty five
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Speaker 2: tells us all of the people said answered and said,
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Speaker 2: let's do it together. His blood be on us and
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Speaker 2: all our children. Now that's what Barrabas heard. I have
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Speaker 2: a feeling he woke up that morning, bound waiting for death.
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Speaker 2: He heard the crowd call his name and then say
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Speaker 2: let him be crucified. It is my opinion personally that
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Speaker 2: no one appreciated the whole scene that occurred like Barabbas did.
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Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, the scripture tells us verse
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Speaker 2: twenty six, they released Barabbas for them. Can you imagine
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Speaker 2: the guard coming shuffling down the hallway, jingling the keys,
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Speaker 2: clanging the door, turning the lock with that click that
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Speaker 2: I'm gonna squeak the door opens. I mean, what can
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Speaker 2: you expect if you were Barrappus, that's the end. And
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Speaker 2: they said you're free. Why someone else bears your cross?
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Speaker 2: Who Jesus? As a matter of fact, I never find
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Speaker 2: any record for it, but I have a feeling that
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Speaker 2: someone attended the crucifixion that day who, like no one
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Speaker 2: else in the entire crowd, identified with what was happening
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Speaker 2: on a cross made for him. Jesus Christ died, made
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Speaker 2: for a common criminal who deserved death, and here he
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Speaker 2: was free, able to be out in that land forever
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Speaker 2: removed from punishment. Verse twenty seven tells us, then the
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Speaker 2: soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and
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Speaker 2: gathered the whole Roman cohort around him, and they stripped
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Speaker 2: him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after
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Speaker 2: weaving a crown of foreigns, the verse concludes, they mocked him, saying,
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Speaker 2: hail King of the Jews. Interesting, we won't turn to
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Speaker 2: it for the sake of time. But John's Gospel concludes
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Speaker 2: in this transitional section, Pilot asked, shall I crucify your king?
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Speaker 2: And they answered, we have no king. But Caesar Jews
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Speaker 2: answered that we have no other king on earth, Caesar.
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Speaker 2: One man writes, when the Romans first came to Palestine,
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Speaker 2: they took a census in order to arrange the normal
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Speaker 2: taxation to which subject people were liable. And there had
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Speaker 2: been the most bloody rebellion because the Jews insisted that
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Speaker 2: God alone was their king, and to him alone they
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Speaker 2: would pay tribute. But when they screamed out to Pilot,
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Speaker 2: we have no king but Caesar, it must have taken
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Speaker 2: Pilot's breath away. He must have looked at them in
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Speaker 2: half bewilderment, half cynical amusement. These Jews were prepared to
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Speaker 2: abandon every principle they had in order to eliminate Jesus.
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Speaker 2: It is a terrible picture. Never in history was the
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Speaker 2: insanity of hatred so vividly shown. The trials of Jesus
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Speaker 2: Christ are now history. Time has run its course, and
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Speaker 2: they have been covered by the sands of time. More
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Speaker 2: than likely today your eyes have been open to one
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Speaker 2: or two insights that you had not thought of before.
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Speaker 2: And I want to say that this whole subject bears rediscovery.
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Speaker 2: If you want a project, I suggest to serious students
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Speaker 2: of the scripture that you simply take the gospel accounts
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Speaker 2: of the trials, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. And
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Speaker 2: you digest, then, don't let your mind wander to any
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Speaker 2: other section of scripture. In your times with the Lord.
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Speaker 2: You simply plumb the depths as much as you can
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Speaker 2: of what Jesus Christ endured. It is my opinion that
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Speaker 2: you will come away with a renewed, profound appreciation for
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Speaker 2: what the Savior endured on your behalf. I am of
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Speaker 2: the opinion that if he were here to day, it
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Speaker 2: would only be a matter of time before the same
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Speaker 2: sort of thing would happen all over again. Civilization, with
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Speaker 2: all its sophistication and prosperity, nevertheless bears the marks of depravity.
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Speaker 2: And it is our delight to live for and honor
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Speaker 2: the one who went to trial for us and bore
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Speaker 2: our sins in his own body on the tree.
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Speaker 1: I want us to close this message in prayerful reflection
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Speaker 1: and communion with our Lord, our Father. Some listening to
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Speaker 1: my voice today have never come to know your son
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Speaker 1: as their savior and Lord, and for them especially I
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Speaker 1: pray today. I pray that you would, in a wonderful
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Speaker 1: and unique way, reveal to them the importance of their
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Speaker 1: coming to know Jesus, your son as their savior. I
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Speaker 1: pray that your spirit will go to work in their lives,
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Speaker 1: and that you would keep them restless and uneasy until
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Speaker 1: they have found that peace they long for and a
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Speaker 1: deep sense of rest that only you can provide through
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Speaker 1: your son, Jesus Christ. Remind us again that it is
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Speaker 1: not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
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Speaker 1: according to your mercy that you save us. Thank you
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Speaker 1: for all Christ went through on our behalf, though he
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Speaker 1: deserved none of it and we deserved all of it.
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Speaker 1: Thank you that He did this for each one of us.
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Speaker 1: And in light of that, we, with great gratitude, vow
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Speaker 1: in reverence and worship before our savior, Jesus Christ, who
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Speaker 1: died that we might live and now lives, that we
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Speaker 1: might be able to live beyond death, passing from this
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Speaker 1: earth into Your presence and eternal life. These things we
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Speaker 1: pray in the aim of Jesus our Savior. Amen.
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Speaker 4: The preceding message Rush to Judgment was copyrighted in nineteen
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Speaker 4: seventy six, nineteen eighty seven, two thousand, and twenty eighteen,
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Speaker 4: and the sound recording was copyrighted in twenty eighteen by
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Speaker 4: Charles R. Swindall, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication
43:22
Speaker 4: of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
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Speaker 5: OH in the U s.
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Speaker 1: A, the mid
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