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S1 E37: Who Will Testify for Jesus · First Baptist Church of Tampa Sermons

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: As you're being seated, we return this morning to the Gospel of Mark.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: So if you would take out a copy of God's word, open it up, turn it on, however you may have brought it with you this morning, and join me in Mark chapter 14.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: This morning, we're going to pick up in verse 53 towards the end of that chapter.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 14, verse 53.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a Bible, there are some in the pew back there in front of you, and we're going to be on page 914 in that Bible.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't own a Bible, that is our gift to you.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Please take that one with you.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: I get asked almost weekly, do we ever give out Bibles?
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I would tell you, every week we give out Bibles because somebody needs a Bible and we are blessed to be able to give them that gift.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: So page 914 in that pew Bible this morning.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Mr.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Smith, would you please take the stand?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So help you God.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: In our courtrooms, we need truthful witness, because in our courtrooms we're depending upon justice to be done.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: And for justice to be done, truth needs to be told.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: As we come to this section of Mark's gospel, we find Jesus Christ, our Savior, on trial.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: He has had a busy week this last week of his earthly ministry.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: He'd come into Jerusalem riding on the back of the foal of a donkey in a great processional where people were crying out, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: He had gone to the temple and he'd cleansed the temple and turned over the money changers' tables.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: He said, This is supposed to be a house of prayer, and you've turned it into a den of thieves.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: He spent a couple days just in confrontation with the religious leaders of the time, them trying to trap him into doing or saying something that would cause him trouble.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: He has observed the Passover meal with his closest disciples.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: He's revealed to them that one of them would betray him, and that one who is going to betray him left that meal, and then Jesus instituted what we now call the Lord's Supper.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Taking an Old Testament institution of a Passover meal, reminding the nation of Israel of how they had been delivered from slavery from a Passover lamb, a lamb that had been sacrificed and the blood spread over their doorposts, so that when the death angel came he would pass over, Jesus said, That now commemorates my body and my blood, which will deliver you from your sin.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus then took his disciples, and as they were walking towards a garden called Gethsemane, he told them, Some of you, in fact, all of you, are going to abandon me.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: One of you is going to deny me.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to deny that you even know my name.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to deny that you've ever met me.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus went into a garden and he began to pray.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: He told his disciples, stay here and pray so that you do not fall into temptation.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then he went deep into that garden and he fell into deep prayer with his father.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And as we saw him praying, we acknowledged, he said, Father, if there's any way for this cup to pass, yet nevertheless, not my will be done, but your will be done.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Father, this cup of wrath that I must drink for the world, I don't want to drink it.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be separated from you.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to feel sin in my life.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to feel the impact of sin upon our relationship.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yet, nevertheless, that's why I am here.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: I am here to drink this cup so that they will not have to.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, let your will be done.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: As Jesus was praying that prayer, Judas, one of his disciples, led a cohort of Roman soldiers and the religious leaders into the garden, and he betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus was dragged away for trial.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: As we pick up in Mark chapter 14 this morning, we're going to hear and read about that trial in Mark's gospel.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Mark wants us to see the witnesses that were present in this trial.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Some witnesses who were silent because they had distanced themselves from Jesus, some witnesses who gave false witness because they wanted to somehow profit from the situation, some witnesses who were hypocrites and became cruel.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And some witnesses, at least one, who gave true faithful witness to.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: When things get tough, when Jesus is oppressed, when people speak against Jesus, what type of witness will I be?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you're willing and able, would you stand with me as we read from God's word?
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: We stand because we acknowledge this isn't just the words of man, these are the words of God written to us.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Peter had followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now the chief priests and the whole council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put him to death, and they were not finding any.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: For many were giving false testimony against him, but their testimony was not consistent.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Some stood up and began to give false testimony against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, Do you not answer?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: What is it that these men are testifying against you?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: But he kept silent and did not answer again.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: The high priest was questioning him and saying to him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, I am, and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, What further need do we have of witnesses?
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: You have heard the blasphemy.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: How does it seem to you?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And they all condemned him to be deserving of death.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Some began to spit at him and to blindfold him and to beat him with their fists and to say it to him, Prophesy.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And the officers received him with slaps in the face.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, as we gather together today, we do so with your word in our hands, and with our hearts and minds open, so that we might learn from your word.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that you might teach us.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Teach us what we don't know.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Enlighten us on what we don't understand.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Draw us into a closer relationship with you, Father.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Change what needs to be changed.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Father, it hurts as we read these words and see how the son that you sent to die in our place was treated.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: How he was mistreated, how he was lied about, how he was beaten.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: And this is just the beginning of the mockery, and yet it hurts for us to see it.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot imagine the sorrow that you and he went through to accomplish our salvation.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, let us remember that as we stand to testify before you as your witnesses.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, let us be faithful witnesses to our faithful Savior.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: The religious leaders of Jesus' day had been looking for an opportunity.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: They had already long since determined that they didn't need to just deal with Jesus, they needed to destroy Jesus.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: And yet Jesus was very popular amongst the people.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: And during this time of Passover in Jerusalem, there would have been a city teeming with people, and they did not want to cause a riot.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted to keep it low-key.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so they agreed with one of Jesus' disciples, a man named Judas to betray him.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: And Judas found a perfect opportunity there in the Garden of Gethsemane, a place where Jesus often went to pray, a secluded place, a quiet place.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: And he brought those leaders to Jesus.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted to take him overnight.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted this to be nice and quiet.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted to condemn Jesus to death and they wanted to execute Jesus, but they didn't have the authority to do so.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: The religious leaders did not have the authority to carry out capital punishment.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: They had to go to their Roman captors.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: They had to go to the Pilate who was the governor of that area.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And Pilate only received business early in the morning when it was still cool in the day.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so they needed to expedite this trial to condemn Jesus so that they might present him to Pilate the next morning.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: To do so, they had to set aside their own rules.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: They had to set aside their own traditions.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: They had to set aside their own sense of what was right and wrong.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And what the gospels record for us was not a trial, it was a travesty.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: We might refer to it as a kangaroo court.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: They had already predetermined his guilt.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: They had already predetermined that he needed to die.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: They just now had to come up with some reason to do it.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: They had to fabricate information to get that done.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not surprised by this.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: He's not surprised by any of this.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is all part of God's plan.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: He will be on the cross the next day.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: He has been pushing for this the whole time.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And Mark tells us about some witnesses that we see in this text, witnesses who are supposed to be there to present truth so that justice will prevail.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: The first set of witnesses that we see are silent witnesses who have distanced themselves from Jesus.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: When Jesus was arrested in the garden, his disciples scattered.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: They ran.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: They fled, just like Jesus had told them they would do.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: You are going to abandon me.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: You are going to desert me.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: No, Jesus, we will never do that.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: A couple hours later, the authorities show up, they arrest Jesus, and they scatter as quickly as they can.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Mark tells us that there was one who ran away so quickly, they grabbed him by the tunic, it ripped off, and he ran away naked because he was so afraid.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is what their response was.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: They ran away.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: But Mark tells us that there was one who followed, and we have to give Simon Peter some credit here.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: The rest are scattering.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Simon Peter followed the processional that has arrested Jesus.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: He follows them all the way to the courtyard of the high priest where they are going to put Jesus on trial.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: But notice the wording that Mark uses.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't follow closely.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't get right in next to Jesus.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't get amongst the soldiers.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: He followed at a distance.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: He followed at a distance he felt was safe.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: In Luke's gospel, he unpacks this a little bit further.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because we're told that in that courtyard he became cold, and so he went over to a fire to warm himself by the fire.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: And this one who had told Jesus just that evening, I will never abandon you, I will never deny you, even if I have to die for you, I will do so.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus told him, Peter, you don't even know what's going to happen tonight, my friend.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Before tomorrow morning when the rooster crows, you're going to deny you even know me three times.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: And Luke records for us that as he's sitting around that fire, a little slave girl comes up to him and says, Hey, you're one of his disciples.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And Peter said, No, I'm not.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Go away.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: A little while later, another man sitting around that same fire said, Hey, I believe you're one of his.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And for a second time, Peter said, No, I'm not.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Luke says, a little while later, a third man came up and said, I know you're one of his.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're from Galilee, I can tell.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, I don't know what you're talking about.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And immediately Luke records that a rooster crowed, and Jesus, who was being led through that same courtyard, turned and looked at Peter.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the phrases in the Bible that haunts me.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Not in a negative way, but it just is so vivid to me that when Peter denied Jesus for the third time, Jesus locked eyes with Peter, and I've often wondered, what did that face look like?
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: What did the face of Jesus say to Peter?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it was, I told you so, Peter.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: I told you you were going to deny to me three times.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think there was anger.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think there was, there was, I think it was just simple compassion and love pouring out of the eyes of Jesus towards his brother who had just denied knowing him.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Three times he denied him.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Three times he failed him.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: The rest of the disciples, they've deserted, they've scattered.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Peter has now denied him.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: But his failure doesn't start in the courtyard of the high priest.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: His failure started back in the garden when Jesus said, Pray so that you don't fall into temptation.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: And he didn't recognize the temptation, so he slept.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: He was not vigilant.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so he followed, but he followed at a distance.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps he thought, if I just keep my distance, no one will notice me.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps if I just keep my distance, I can see Jesus.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: He's not far away, but I'm not too close to where I might actually get in trouble.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever stood around a campfire?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us have had that experience.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: You get nice and toasty right up next to the campfire.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you stand too close, you get really toasty, so you back away a little bit.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: But the further you back away, the cooler it becomes, and the heat becomes less, and the light becomes less, and if you keep backing up, you won't feel the light or the heat at all.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be standing in darkness.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Some of us, unfortunately, I'm afraid, are a little bit like Simon Peter.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: We want to follow Jesus.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: But we want to follow him at what we consider to be a safe distance.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be able to see him.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be able to call on him should I need him.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't want to be so close where I might draw attention to myself.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want my life to look so different from everybody else that people go, oh, that guy's a Christian.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to cause myself trouble by walking too closely.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't want to be one of those Christians.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I follow at a distance.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: The problem when we follow at a distance is we grow cold.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: And when we grow cold, we need to be warmed.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: And we often try to find warmth at the wrong fire when we grow cold.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Simon Peter, who should have been standing beside Jesus, defending Jesus, was off in the distance around a fire he never should have been around.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And when he was around that fire, he denied knowing Jesus not once, not twice, but three times.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: I wonder if we were to ask ourselves, how closely am I following Jesus?
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: Would we have to admit that we're just kind of following it at a nice safe distance?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of keeping it at an arm's length.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to draw too much attention to myself at the office.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to do draw too much attention to myself on campus.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want people to look at me and it might cause me some trouble.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I I love Jesus.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna follow from here.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: These first witnesses were silent because they were too distant to say anything.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: They were afraid to say anything.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: The second set of witnesses that Mark draws our attention to, we see in verses 55 through 59, and these are false witnesses.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the distance that the first witnesses led to fear and silence.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: The false witnesses, their dishonesty produced confusion.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: During the night, this is the middle of the night, by the way.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus has been in the garden for several hours praying.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: They've come in the middle of the night.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: They've dragged Jesus to the high priest's home for this trial, and now they have to put on a trial.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: And what you needed a trial is witnesses.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so the high priest and the religious leaders go out and they try to find those who would speak against Jesus to give some kind of accusation, to give some kind of some something they could work with.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe he he blasphemed or he had done something, and so they went out and tried to find witnesses who would speak against them.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they they struggled to find anybody.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, they found some who were willing to say some things, but Mark tells us that they were inconsistent.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Their testimonies contradicted one another.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: They weren't true.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Some of them were distorting the truth, saying, Hey, I remember the time Jesus said he's going to destroy the temple, tear it down, and he would rebuild the whole temple in three days.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Jesus was referring to his body and the resurrection after three days, but they were distorting the truth, and even in that they couldn't get their story straight.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: They were getting frustrated because they couldn't get these witnesses to cooperate their story, and so Matthew chapter 26 tells us that they went out and bribed people to come in and give testimony against Jesus.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Come in and tell things about Jesus that are false, that are wrong.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: Why in the world would people do that?
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: Why would people give false testimony about a man who had never done anything but good for people?
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Why would they accept a bribe like they had with Judas?
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Judas accepted a bribe to turn Jesus over.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why would people accept this bribe?
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think they did it because I think they misunderstood the prophet.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: They thought that that little bit of cash that this world promised them was greater than the reward that Jesus promised them.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: They thought that what the religious leaders could give them would profit them more than a relationship with Jesus Christ.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: There are still false witnesses in the world today, you know that?
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: There are still those who speak against Jesus Christ.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Some do so because they have been deceived.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Others do so because they think they can profit off of it somehow.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: They have bought the lies of the enemy that the things of this world are greater than the things of God.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: The kingdoms of this world can offer you more things than the kingdom of God can.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: There are many false teachers and false witnesses against Jesus Christ all over the place.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Some of them are obvious, some of them are less obvious.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: But the false witness that bothers me more is my own life.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: The false testimony that bothers me more than those who openly speak against Jesus is.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: The false testimony that often falls in my own life.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because a faithful testimony isn't just what I say with my lips, it's what I do with my life.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: And oftentimes I will claim Christ as a savior and not live as if he's my savior.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: There are times when I will claim God's grace and still try to earn his favor by my works.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: There are times when I say, man, I have the peace of God in my heart, and then anybody who sees me sees me wrestling with every little issue that comes into my life.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: There are times when our witness is more than what we say with our lips.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's what we do with our lives.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm a follower of Christ.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you don't look any different than the rest of the guys on my team.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: You don't talk any different.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: You don't act any different.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm a Christ follower.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you cheat on your job just like everybody else around here cheats in their job.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm a Christ follower.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I couldn't tell it by the things you watch and the jokes you tell.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus needs witnesses.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: He needs witnesses to stand up and proclaim with their lips that Jesus is Lord and that He does provide grace and mercy and peace, and He can change your life, but He needs more than our words, He needs our lives.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Some witnesses are silent because they've distanced themselves by fear.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Some offer false testimonies, some with their words and some with their actions.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: As this whole thing was falling apart, the high priest took it upon himself.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: He recognized we're not getting anywhere with these contradictory testimonies.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're not getting anywhere with these people that we bribe to tell us.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: They can't even get their story straight.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so he stepped in and he says, I'm gonna take over.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: And he began to question Jesus himself.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And he says, Do you not say anything?
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna respond to any of these accusations, you're gonna remain quiet.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 53 tells us that that's exactly what he was gonna do.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like a like a lamb led to slaughter, he did not say a word.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: But then the high priest pressed Jesus a little bit.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: And in Matthew's account, it says that the high priest said, I adjure you by the Most High to tell me.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, he put him under a religious oath, a solemn oath.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, hey, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one?
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: The high priest with his own mouth said, Jesus, are you the Messiah?
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are you the Christ, the Son of God?
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus does not measure the room to see the temperature, to see, well, should I answer this straight out or not?
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: How is he going to respond if I tell him the truth?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus just in confidence and in courage and in conviction, he simply says, I am.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: I am.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: There have been many times when Jesus had healed somebody.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: And they wanted to go and proclaim, hey, Jesus of Nazareth healed me.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And he told them what?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Don't tell anybody.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: Don't tell anybody.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: He was with his disciples.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: They saw miracles, and he said, Don't tell anybody.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: There were many times when he did that, and he said, My hour has not yet come, and now his hour had come, and it was time for everyone to know who he was.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so he said, Absolutely, I am the Christ, the Son of the living God.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't stop there.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: He says, You need to know this too.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: And he took Psalm chapter 110, and he took Daniel chapter 7, and he says, You need to know this.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: You are going to see the Son of Man sitting in power at the right hand of God, and he is going to return on the clouds.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus wanted them to know this.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Today I am standing condemned by a bunch of sinners.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: Today you are standing in judgment over me.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: You are a sinner condemning the Son of God.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: But one day, one day you need to know who I am.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: And one day you need to know that I will be seated at the right hand of my Father.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: I will be justified.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: I will be glorified.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: I will be verified.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then he's going to turn and tell me, Go.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: And when I return, I will not be standing before you in judgment.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: You will be kneeling before me in judgment one day.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus had the courage to stand before the opposition, knowing exactly what his response was going to lead to.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: He had no doubt in his mind, I'm going to say I am.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: This guy is going to freak out, and they are going to kill me.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: But he had courage.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: He had conviction because he stood on truth and he trusted his father that he would protect him in the midst of the truth.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Revelation chapter 1, verse 5 says, Jesus is the faithful witness.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: He is the faithful witness because he always teaches the truth.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: He always tells us what is right.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: He teaches us with clarity.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: He teaches us with courage.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: He's not trying to manipulate.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: To just tell the truth.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: Will we be a witness?
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: We have silent witnesses who distance themselves by fear.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: We have false witnesses who, distracted with confusion, we have the true witness in Jesus Christ.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then I want you to see in 63 through 65, we have a hypocritical witness that resulted in cruelty.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus has been led to the home of the high priest.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: The high priest at this time was a man by the name of Caiaphas.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: He had been high priest from AD 18 to AD 36.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: He had about three more years on his reign at this point.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: He was the son-in-law of a former high priest by the name of Annas.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Annas had been taken out of the role of high priest by the Romans.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: We don't really know why.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: He probably abused it.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Being a high priest in this time was a family business.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Annas' sons and his sons-in-law all filled the role.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: And not only was it a business, it was a profitable business.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: The markets that were in the temple that Jesus turned over the money changers' tables, remember those?
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: Where they made money off of the animals that they had to buy and sacrifice in exchange rates for the money?
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: That market, you know what it was?
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: It was called Annis's market.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because the high priest had turned an opportunity to introduce people to God into an opportunity to make a profit.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: And now Jesus is standing for his son-in-law, who is named Caiaphas.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: And as Jesus proclaims, I am the Christ, I am the Son of God, and one day you're going to see me seated at the right hand of my Father, and one day I am returning in judgment.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: He freaks out.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I don't know any other way to describe what Caiaphas does here, but he throws a hissy fit.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: He starts to scream and he tears his robe.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: He tears his robe, and this is ceremonial and it is contrived.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: It is him trying to feign indignation, self-righteous indignation.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness, this is a blasphemer.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness, this man is so unworthy.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: This man who has profited off the temple his entire life.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: This man who couldn't care less whether Jesus standing before him was actually the Messiah or not.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was inconvenient for him for Jesus to be the Messiah.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, he didn't want him to be the Messiah, because if he was the Messiah, it would mess his family business up.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: And he would rather have the prophets of this world than the Messiah standing before him.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: And he began to cry out, do we need any other witnesses?
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need any other witnesses.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need he said it himself.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: Aren't we all in agreement?
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: And they took a vote, and they unanimously, the whole San Edrid, 70 of them, said, He's guilty.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: Not one dissenting voice.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's interesting.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: Mark doesn't record, neither do the other gospel writers record, that he paused for a moment to consider what Jesus said, whether it was actually true or not.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: He'd already determined his decision.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: He'd already made up his mind.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: And he didn't need to be confused with any facts.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: They had to marshal evidence against Jesus.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: They had to make stuff up.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus' lordship was inconvenient to them.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: It was inconvenient.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because if Jesus was who he claimed to be, it was going to change everything.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, today, the lordship of Jesus is still pretty inconvenient sometimes.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we don't want to be confused with the facts about Jesus because if I accept that Jesus is who he claims to be, then I have to change the way I live.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want to do that.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to give up the things of this world.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to give up the things that I think I enjoy doing.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm just going to.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: Their self-righteousness, notice what it turns into.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: They begin to mock Jesus.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: They begin to abuse Jesus.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: They slap him, they put a blindfold on him, they punch him.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: And they say, Hey, prophesy, which one of us did?
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're the Son of God.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us which one of us hit you.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: Begin to mock him.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: They hand him off to soldiers who are going to carry him away.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: They continue the mocking, they continue the beating.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it carries on while the entire time until he's on the cross.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: We have witnesses who are silent because they distance themselves by fear.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: We have witnesses who are false, either with word or with action.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: We have the one true testimony of Jesus Christ who was courageous to stand on truth.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: And we have the hypocritical witness of the so-called religious leaders who found the truth of Jesus to be inconvenient to their lifestyle.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, I want you to see this.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth group of witnesses Mark does not mention.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't mention them because they're not there.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think because they weren't invited to be there.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: The Sadducees and the Pharisees, the religious leaders, the scribes went out and they said, Go gather some people who are going to speak against Jesus.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be going out there and find anybody who's going to speak for him.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Just bring the people in that are going to speak against him.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need to hear anybody standing up saying Jesus is a good guy.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need to hear anybody.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: But can you imagine?
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Surely there were people in Jerusalem that day who would have stood up for Jesus.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: Surely there were some like the man who was lame and four of his friends took him to Jesus and cut a hole in the roof and lowered him down to Jesus.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: And now a man who had been lame his whole life was up and walking around.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: Surely that man wanted to be there to defend Jesus.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's a man who had been born blind.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus healed him.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: They said, Who healed you?
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: The man named Jesus, how did he do it?
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what I know.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was blind.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now I see.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: How did that happen?
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: He did it.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: Surely that man wanted to be there that day.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: The woman caught in adultery, where they were all about to stone her, and Jesus said, Whoa, whichever one of you is without sin, you cast the first stone.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: I bet that woman would have wanted to be there.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: I bet Zacchaeus, a man who was just trapped in greed and in money, had been delivered by Jesus.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: I bet Zacchaeus would have climbed down out of his little tree to go to defend Jesus.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: What about a man named Lazarus who had been dead for three days?
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus brought him back to life.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: I bet Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha, if they would have been invited, they would have been there.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: But they weren't.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: Their voices were silenced.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: They weren't allowed to come in.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: They weren't allowed to give testimony.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: We live in a country.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: We have freedom to say pretty much whatever we want.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: We live in a country where we have freedom of religion to practice whatever religion we understand to be right.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: And we as Christ followers know that we follow the one true living Savior, His name is Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, the life.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: He has died for us, he has resurrected for us, he has redeemed us for all of eternity.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: And we have the opportunity and the freedom and the commission and the mission to tell everyone about it.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: And yet we keep our mouths silent.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we've watched and we've allowed it to happen that the church and Christians are being pushed further and further to the periphery of society.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: Where we are not allowed to speak into society anymore.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: We are considered bigots.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's all, for the most part, from a misunderstanding of something we know as the separation of church and state.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_00: Separation of church and state was never designed to keep Christ's followers and the church out of the public square.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: It was never designed to keep Christ's followers and the church into speaking into government.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: It was never designed to keep Christ's followers and churches out of politics.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: Never was it designed to do that.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: It was designed to do the exact opposite.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was designed to keep government and politics out of corrupting the church or out of creating a state-mandated church.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: And yet we keep backing up and backing up and backing up, and we allow them to silence the one voice that is necessary to speak into the troubles of this world.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: We do not need to allow our voices to be silenced because we have the greatest message that can ever be shared.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we need to share it every opportunity we can with our neighbors, with our coworkers, with our neighborhood, with our city, with our nation.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: We can do that with our words, we can do that with our actions, and yes, we can do it with our votes.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: And Christians, we need to vote.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: Don't allow your voice to be silenced.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be pushed to the outside.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: Who will testify for Jesus?
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: Who will give a word?
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: Can I get a witness?
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: That says a lot, doesn't it?
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: Will we allow our voices to be silenced?
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: Will we follow him at a distance and out of fear not speak up?
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: Will we allow our lives to contradict what our voices say and give confusing testimony about God's grace and God's peace in our lives?
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: Will we be hypocrites?
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: And make a big deal about other people's sin while we're living right in the middle of our great big old own sin.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: Or will we be like Jesus?
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: Who just stands on the conviction of our faith?
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: Man, Jesus was faithful to the cross.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: He was faithful to us.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_00: Will we be faithful to him?
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: He was faithful for his mission.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: Die for us.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now do you know this?
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: He's given us a mission.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know what our mission is?
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's simple.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: Go tell people what you know.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's what a witness is.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: A witness just tells people what they know.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus was faithful to his mission.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: Church, will we be faithful to ours?