The Victorious Death of Jesus
Matthew 27:45-53
April 7, 2013

As you know we are studying that tremendous section in Matthew’s gospel which chronicles the death of Jesus.

And as such we have sort of divided this out
To help better understand what Matthew is desiring to show us.

THE PLOT OF JESUS’ DEATH
• This was God’s plan, determining the exact timing of Christ’s death.
• It would occur during the Passover, the one time the chief priests did not want it to occur.

THE PURPOSE OF JESUS’ DEATH
• Forgiveness
• We saw it in the upper room and also in the garden

THE PARTICIPANTS OF JESUS’ DEATH
• Soldiers arresting with no charge
• Caiaphas illegally convening court and convicting Jesus
• Judas admitting he falsely betrayed innocent blood
• Pilate having his ruling ignored multiple times

THE PICTURE OF JESUS’ DEATH
• We saw this last week as everyone took part in mocking Him, heaping upon Him shame after shame

And now this morning we move to the 5th point in Matthew’s dialogue, which is:
THE POWER OF JESUS’ DEATH

We don’t typically think of death as a powerful thing.
People certainly didn’t think of death by crucifixion as a powerful thing.

And yet that is precisely what it was.
1 Corinthians 1:22-25 “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

To a lost world the cross looks weak and foolish,
But to those who are saved, the cross is wisdom and power.

And this is precisely what Matthew is showing us here this morning.

In fact Matthew takes special care to make sure that you and I see
The victory that was achieved through Jesus’ death.

And this is really the beauty of the cross.
It looks weak
It looks shameful

But looks can be deceiving.
For it is through His shameful, humiliating, and excruciating death
That He won the ultimate victory of the ages.

Often times throughout this study we have reverted back
To that famous 53rd chapter of Isaiah.

When we talked about His shame, when we talked about His suffering.
• We read that “He was despised and forsaken”
• We read that “we did not esteem Him”
• We read that “He was pierced through for our transgressions”
• We read that “He was oppressed and afflicted”
• We read that “He did not open His mouth”

And all of those are beautiful pictures of the substitutionary work
Of the Savior on our behalf.

But Isaiah 53 doesn’t end in humiliation.
Isaiah 53 ends in glory
Isaiah 53 ends in tremendous victory

Isaiah 53:10-12 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

The last stanza of that chapter is a stanza of victory.
• We see phrases like: “the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper”
• We see phrases like: “He will see it and be satisfied”
• We see phrases like: “My Servant, will justify the many”
• We see phrases like: “I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong;”

Those are statements of achievement
Those are statements of success
Those are statements of victory

Take another Old Testament prophecy regarding the cross
In Psalm 2 it begins with scorn and rage and an attack on Christ.

Psalms 2:1-3 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
But it doesn’t end there, it ends in victory.
Psalms 2:4-12 “He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

Take Psalms 118, it speaks greatly of the anguish and suffering of the Messiah.
Psalms 118:10-12 “All nations surrounded me; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished as a fire of thorns; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.”

But it ends in victory

Psalms 118:22-26 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.”

Take Psalms 22. It gives tremendous details about the suffering of the Messiah.
Psalms 22:1-2 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.”

Or
Psalms 22:13-18 “They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.”

But this Psalm doesn’t end in defeat, it ends in victory.

Psalms 22:28-31 “For the kingdom is the LORD’S And He rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive. Posterity will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.”

This is the overwhelming message of Scripture.
The Messiah may suffer, and the Messiah may die.
But it does not end in shame or death.

IT ALWAYS ENDS IN VICTORY

And that is precisely the point Matthew is making here.
He was innocent, yet He did suffer
And His suffering will end in victory.

And so this morning as we read the account of Christ’s death,
Recognize the victory that is achieved here.

There are 3 things.
#1 HE SUCCESSFULLY BORE SIN
Matthew 27:45-46

Last week we read and talked quite a bit about that great verse
In 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

And from that verse we talked about the concept of “IMPUTATION”

Christian doctrine hangs upon
The imputed righteousness of Christ.

We say that we are now righteous before God,
Not based on our own righteousness,
But based upon Christ’s righteousness imputed to us.

Christianity says when the sinner comes to Christ in repentance and faith,
Christ imputes His righteousness to their account.

Now, this is only possible based on the fact
That our sin has first been imputed to Christ.
We can only receive and enjoy His righteousness,
If He first receives and pays for our sin.

TO PUT IT SIMPLY:
If Christ didn’t receive our sin, then we didn’t receive His righteousness.

And that is what makes this truth on the cross so important.

For here we find Jesus suffering.
Not suffering as a martyr would suffer, but suffering as a sinner would suffer.

He is feeling the full blunt of God’s wrath, and He is experiencing
The tragic separation from God that sinners experience.

Look at the text.

(45) “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.”

Mark tells us that it was the third hours when Jesus was crucified.
So after hanging on the cross for 3 hours listening to the scorn of men,
Jesus then enters a new and greater phase of suffering.

“from the sixth hour” (that would be noon)
“darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.”

It is not possible that this was an eclipse,
the timing of Passover would not have permitted it.

Furthermore this was a three hour darkness, and no eclipse lasted this long.

RATHER, THIS A DIVINE REALITY OF GOD’S JUDGMENT.

When God first spoke into the universe He said, “Let there be light”

• Light then became a symbol of God’s presence.
• Jesus was even called “The Light of the World”
• At His birth a special star rested in the heavens.
• At His transfiguration He glowed in unapproachable light.

Conversely, darkness is associated with
The wrath and judgment of God.

We are all familiar with the plague of darkness in Egypt,
But beyond that, listen to the prophets describe God’s day of wrath.

Isaiah 13:10-11 “For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.”

Joel 2:1-2 “Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.”

Amos 5:20 “Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?”

Zephaniah 1:14-15 “Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness,”

Even in the New Testament, the imagery continues.
2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;”

Jude 6 “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,”
Even Jesus used this imagery.
Matthew 8:11-12 “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

It is obvious what is occurring as Christ hangs on the cross.
• God is angry.
• God’s wrath is being poured out.
• Judgment is taking place.

Now many have assumed that God’s wrath here is focused on Israel for their deep wickedness to crucify God’s Son.

And not to make light of this grave sin.
But we must remember Christ has already prayed
That God not count this trespass against them.

Furthermore, the very next verse makes it abundantly clear
Who was feeling the wrath of God.

It wasn’t those standing around the cross, it was the One on the cross.

(46) “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

Christ was filling the effects of God’s judgment.

WHY?
WELL, THERE IS ONLY ONE REASON.

He must really be taking our sin.
• Since we know by now that Christ was innocent.
• Since His innocence was validated by His resurrection

We can only come to one conclusion.
Christ is bearing sin, and God is judging it.

At this moment Christ is realizing the full separation
That sinners have experienced since the garden.

• Christ is feeling the shame of Adam and Eve with their heads down walking out of Eden.
• Christ is feeling the shame of the Israelites as they watch God move His tent outside the camp.
• Christ is feeling the shame of Ezekiel as He watched the glory of God depart from God’s temple.
• Christ is feeling the shame of separation from the Father.
And at this He cries out:
“Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Interestingly enough, this is the only time that Jesus ever called Him God,
And not Father.

The intimacy was gone. – Separation had set in.

Now, I can’t for even a moment fully grasp the implications
Of what is occurring here, let alone explain it to you.

I don’t understand how for the first time in eternity there was a separation in the trinity.

I don’t understand how Christ could be forsaken of the Father.
It is far bigger than me.

But what I do understand is that there is only one reason
Why it could have happened, and that is sin.

You can take courage this morning friends in realizing that
Christ’s righteousness is imputed to you,
For your sin was imputed to Him.

He successfully bore our sin.
#2 HE SUCCESSFULLY FINISHED HIS TASK
Matthew 27:47-50

Last week Matthew was very thorough in showing us
All the shame and scorn that were heaped upon Jesus.

• We heard Him brutally mocked by soldiers
• We heard Him baselessly mocked by travelers
• We heard Him bitterly mocked by religious leaders
• We heard Him blindly mocked by the thieves

And honestly I don’t know how He endured it.

Now, I know how you and I would have endured it.
We would have endured it
Because there would have been nothing we could do about it.

• If 600 soldiers surrounds you and wants to mock you, it is going to happen and there is nothing you can do about it.

• If they nail you to a cross and the people below you desire to mock you, there is nothing you can do about it.

But Christ could have…
• When those soldiers were mocking Him as the King of Israel, all He had to say was “I am” and they would have all bowed for real…but He didn’t.

• When those travelers told Him, “if you are the Son of God come down from the cross”, there are only about a million ways He could have…but He didn’t.

• When those religious leaders said, “Let God rescue Him”, He could have at once called His 10,000 angels…but He didn’t

• When those criminals mocked Him with the same words, He could have said, “Peace be still” and they would have instantly calmed down…but He didn’t

That means that the only reason He went to the cross
Was because He chose to.

John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

• He stayed in the garden…
• He submitted to arrest…
• He allowed them to condemn Him…
• He let them mock Him…
• He chose to stay on the cross…

And even now, He is dealing with the pain of being forsaken by the Father,
And yet they still abuse Him.

“And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

There are two possibilities here.
1) They didn’t know what He said, and took the “Eli” as a literal call for Elijah.
2) They did understand, but chose to purposely twist His words

Most believe it was the second.
That even now, Christ was being mocked and reviled.

And yet, He endures.

We even get a special prophetic occurrence in verse 48.
(48) “Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.”

WHY DID HE DO THAT?

John 19:28-29 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.”

I love that verse.
He had already done so much.
He had already endured so much.

And yet, obedience was so important;
Fulfilling the prophecies was so important,
That before Jesus could die,
He had to fulfill what the prophets spoke and say, “I thirst”

Jesus is cutting no corners
Jesus is no stopping short
He is doing it just as He must.

And still they mock
Even as the man is giving Him a drink
(49) “But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.”

The crowd isn’t even merciful enough to let Him get a drink.
They want the man giving it to Him to get out of the way and let’s see if Elijah comes.

It was continuous mocking.

But Jesus never took their bait…
1 Peter 2:22-24 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

Jesus just endured, and fulfilled His calling.

Right up through verse 50
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”

We even know what He said:
John 19:30 “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

It is done! – Paid in full! – Completed!
That was victory.

In Jr. High I was forced to run the mile in track.
For me, just finishing was victory.
Have you ever been involved in a project like that?
“If I can just make it to the end and complete it…”

That was the type of race Jesus was in.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

That is what Jesus did here.
He finished His race.
He successfully finished His task.

He didn’t quit early He didn’t stop short
He bore every sin, He fulfilled every prophecy,
He endured every insult, He did what He came to do.

That is victory!

He Successfully Bore our Sin He Successfully Finished His Task
#3 HE SUCCESSFULLY SECURED OUR SALVATION
Matthew 27:51-53

Obviously these three verses spell out the victory in even greater fashion.

We know Christ bore our sin and we know He finished His task, but what did it accomplish?

His death obviously accomplished two things.
1) ACCESS TO THE FATHER IS GRANTED

“And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom;”

Man didn’t tear it, God did.
It was torn “from top to bottom”

WHAT WAS THE VEIL?
It was what separated the glory of God from sinful man.

No one was allowed behind the veil except for the high priest
Once a year and when he went, he had to take blood.

The whole point was that God was off limits.
TURN TO: HEBREWS 9:1-14

(VERSES 1-5) Describe the layout of the tabernacle.

(VERSES 6-7) Describe the priestly service

(VERSES 8-10) Describe the point

God was off limits.
Bring all the sacrifices you want, but God is still off limits.

(VERSES 11-14) Describes the effectiveness of Christ’s death

Christ did what had never been done.
He made God accessible.

HOW?
• He atoned for sin.
• He was the propitiation.
• And His blood was so acceptable that God no longer needed the veil

Access was granted!
We can now know God!

The second thing?
2) DEATH WAS DEFEATED
“and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”

People today often talking about Christ
Defeating death at His resurrection.

But it wasn’t the resurrection of Christ that defeated death,
It was the death of Christ that defeated death.

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Christ’s death defeated death,
His resurrection merely displayed the victory!

Death is the supreme consequence of sin,
And through His death Christ atoned for sin,
And instantly death was defeated.

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Three days later Jesus proved it by stepping out of the grave.

But you see now that Christ’s salvation worked,

For the second He died access to God was granted
And death was defeated.

• There was no waiting period,
• There was no delay while heaven rebooted,
• It was instant, it was effective, it was here.

Christ successfully secured salvation.

And because of that the writer of Hebrews would say:
Hebrews 10:19-22 “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Because Christ was successful, we can now draw near to God.
Because Christ was successful, we are assured of our sanctification

That was Christ’s victory!
• He Successfully bore Sin
• He Successfully finished His task
• He Successfully secured salvation

That is why we can sing, “O Victory in Jesus! My Savior forever! He sought me and bought me, with His redeeming blood! He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood!”

He really did it.

He took our sin
He paid it in full
He ushered in salvation

It may have looked like a terribly defeat,
But it was in reality a glorious victory!

1 Peter 3:18-19 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,”

And after He made that proclamation of victory:
He rose from the dead

1 Peter 3:22 “[He] is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

We praise God this morning because it worked!

The Undeserved Crucifixion of Jesus
Matthew 27:27-44
March 31, 2013

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

That verse really encapsulates the point and the beauty
Of the cross of Jesus Christ.

On one hand we have the DIVINE STANDARD.

Isaiah 28:17 “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place.”

God was very clear in the Old Testament that His standard was perfection.
If a man wanted to be pleasing to God, he must be perfect.

Psalms 24:3-5 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

The reality is without this sort of perfection,
No one ever enters the presence of God.

Jesus really summed this up better than anyone when He said:
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Or again:
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

So we have this divine standard.
God demands righteousness of every single human.

In fact, anything less than righteousness
Brings about the sure and certain wrath of God.

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

I recently heard a Rabbi on television saying how he believed that at the judgment God doesn’t expect perfection, only a passing grade like 65% or possibly even 62%.
But that is not what Scripture teaches.
Scripture teaches that God’s wrath is on all unrighteousness.

If Adam and Even can be removed from a garden just for eating a piece of fruit, then certainly we understand that God is serious about perfection.

So we see the divine standard.

The problem is that this divine standard runs directly into THE SINFULNESS OF MAN.

Every man is a sinner.
Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

Paul even summed that up in:
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

And we know this is true.
Whether you are a Jew with God’s Law given to you.
Or you are a Gentile with God’s Law written in the heart.

Every man must acknowledge that he has been less than perfect.
Maybe we all have different degrees in which we miss perfection,
Some being worse than others, but the reality is that none are righteous.

That really is the problem of humanity.
We have a righteous God who refuses to tolerate sin.
We have sinful men who cannot appease a holy God.

And this puts us in a terrible predicament.

Couple that with the fact that no unrighteous person will inherit the kingdom of heaven and we realize what we are up against.

Based on that reality, every single human
Is destined for eternal destruction, separated from God.

BUT:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

According to that verse, one who is sinless, took sin that wasn’t His own upon Himself, and then gave His perfection to those sinners in return.
1 righteous man traded places with many unrighteous sinners.
1 took the wrath of God for many,
So that they could enjoy the full presence of God.

It is the most glorious reality of all humanity.

The question we ask is: WHO IS THIS RIGHTEOUS MAN?
Well, as we have been studying through Matthew’s gospel,
That is precisely what Matthew has been showing us.

Everything surrounding Christ’s death pointed to His innocence.

In the garden, we saw THE STRANGE ARREST OF JESUS.
1 innocent man, being arrested by 1,000 soldiers.

Matthew 26:55 “At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.”

“Do you even know why you are arresting Me?”

Then we saw THE CORRUPT TRIAL OF JESUS.
The trial of Jesus before Caiaphas broke numerous Jewish laws
In regard to what a legal trial had to be.

• They couldn’t meet in secret
• They couldn’t meet during a feast
• They couldn’t listen to false witnesses
• They couldn’t force a man to testify against himself
• They couldn’t sentence him for 3 days.

All of those laws were broken to condemn Jesus.
• They met at 2am in Caiaphas’ house.
• They met during the Passover
• They actually recruited false witnesses
• They forced Jesus to testify
• And then immediately condemned and sentenced Him

It was a corrupt trial, and all it did was reiterate that Christ was innocent.
Matthew 26:59-60 “Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward.”

Then we had AN UNEXPECTED TESTIMONY.
We actually have Judas, the one who betrayed Him,
Returning to the priest and declaring that what he did was wrong.

Matthew 27:3-4 “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

Of course they didn’t listen and Judas eventually hanged himself.
And then AN IGNORED VERDICT

The chief priests escorted Jesus to Pilate,
And through the course of interrogation,
Pilate (no less than 4 times) publicly delivered a verdict of
“NOT GUILTY” in regard to Jesus.

And yet that verdict was routinely ignored.
The angry mob instead wanted the murderer Barabbas to be released.

Matthew 27:22-23 “Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”

THE POINT?
• Jesus is that innocent man we have been looking for.
• Jesus is that righteous one that we needed to be saved.

He was so righteous:
• The soldiers didn’t know why they were arresting Him
• The chief priests had to lie to convict Him
• His betrayer couldn’t bear the guilt of betraying Him
• And Pilate continually tried to set Him free

Jesus is the righteous One we need.

And so now we move into the 4th section on the death of Jesus.
We’ve seen the PLOT (it was God’s plan)
We’ve seen the PURPOSE (it was forgiveness)
We’ve seen the PARTICIPANTS (Soldiers, Caiaphas, Judas, Pilate)

Now we look at THE PICTURE OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST
Here is the event.

And when we look at the cross through Matthew’s eyes
An obvious theme develops.

Matthew is overwhelmed by the wicked people surrounding Jesus
And is literally appalled by the way they treat Him.

This account really shows humanity at their worst.
We have a righteous man dying for them,
And yet all they can give Him is scorn and rebuke.

And Matthew shows us this scorn from 4 areas.
#1 THE BRUTAL MOCKING OF THE SOLDIERS
Matthew 27:27-37

Here we are once again reminded of the absolute brutality of crucifixion.

The cross was designed for enemies of Rome.
(A Roman couldn’t be crucified)

It was the most excruciating way imagined to kill Rome’s enemies
And thus squash any notions of rebellion by those who watched.

It was brutal.
And that is precisely the word for what these soldiers did to Jesus.

1) DESCRIPTION OF THEIR BRUTALITY (27-30)

(27) “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.”

A “Roman cohort” was 600 men.
And they have all found a new victim to brutalize.

This many soldiers could have their way with someone,
And that is precisely what they are doing.

Bear in mind that at this point Jesus has already been flogged severely.
It is quite possible that His back
Is already ripped open and He is bleeding heavily.

Now they gather around Him to mock Him further.
(28-29) “They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

• They make a mock robe out of a Centurion’s cape and put it on Him.
• Then they make a mock crown out of thorns and press it on His head.
• Then they take a reed to make a mock scepter and give to Him.

He must have been a humiliating site at this point.

“they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
You can hear them laughing, you can see their smirks.
It would have been humiliating.

And then in a moment:
(30) “They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.”

It was the picture of this king being overthrown.
They yanked His scepter away and began to beat Him with it.
It was mocking and it was brutality.

2) DEGREE OF THEIR BRUTALITY (31-32)

Jesus would have had to carry His own cross through the streets
To the place where they would crucify Him.

This cross would have weighed at least 200 pounds.
But they have beaten Jesus so severely
That He no longer has the ability to carry it.

(32) “As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.”

The story is included to show you that the beating has taken such a toll That He does not have the physical strength to carry His own cross.

3) DETACHMENT OF THEIR BRUTALITY (33-37)

(33-35) “And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.”

When they got to the site of His crucifixion
They offered Him “wine to drink mixed with gall”.

This wasn’t to numb the pain (the whole purpose was pain),
This was to make Him easier to nail to the cross without a fight.

But Jesus refused it.
And then they “crucified Him”.

They drove nails through His hands, they drove nails through His feet,
And then they raised that cross up and dropped it in the hole.

And when the cross hits the bottom,
The shoulders are pulled out of socket,
And a man literally dies of suffocation.

Only he can prevent his death
By raising up by pulling against the nails to get a breath.

The cross was designed to torture a person
Using their own innate will to live against them.

And according to Mark’s gospel they crucified Jesus at 9am,
He would hang there in agony until His death at 3pm.

So we have a brutally beaten man, hanging, cramping, and struggling, in agony on the cross.
And those soldiers are so sympathetic, what are they doing?

(35-37) “And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

They are sitting there watching Him and gambling for His clothes.
Talk about being detached!
Talk about being calloused!

They were brutal and didn’t even care.
What Jesus was going through didn’t even spark
The slightest hint of compassion or mercy.

It was brutal mocking.
They were killing Him and could care less as they did it.

The Brutal Mocking of the Soldiers
#2 THE BASELESS MOCKING OF THE TRAVELERS
Matthew 27:38-40

Here we find that two criminals were also crucified with Jesus.
It is highly likely that these were Barabbas’ partners in crime
Since Jesus was hanging on Barabbas’ cross.

And then the most peculiar scene
(39-40) “And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

These travelers would have been those traveling into Jerusalem
For the Passover feast.

Because it was so crowded many people had to stay outside of the city
Or in surrounding towns during Passover.

As they are taking their lambs in to the priest to have them killed
They take the time to stop and throw a little scorn at Jesus.

Undoubtedly these people had seen Him before.
• He had preached in their towns,
• Worked miracles among them,
• Many of these had probably eaten of the food when He fed the 5,000

And one has to wonder, why did they feel the need to add to the scorn?
I mean, what reason did they have to mock Him?

At the very least you would think that upon entering Jerusalem,
If you saw something like that occurring,
You’d want to pass by on the other side of the road and ignore it.

Not these people, they jump right in with the mocking.
It is really unwarranted.
It is the baseless mocking of the crowd.

#3 THE BITTER MOCKING OF THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS
Matthew 27:41-43

Now this we would probably expect.
They are mocking because they are trying to save face.

• Jesus had humiliated them.
• Jesus had exposed them.
• Jesus had openly called them hypocrites.

And now is their chance to get even.
Now is their chance to save face.

It is the old “He who laughs last…” mentality.
Sure He had had His day on Wednesday humiliating them in the temple,
But who’s laughing now?

They are proud to mock Him, they are proud to point out to the crowds
That Jesus was just another phony.

“He saved others; He cannot save Himself.”
(Ha Ha Ha Ha)

“He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.”
(Ha Ha Ha Ha)

“He trusts in God; Let God rescue Him now, If He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

They were asking, “Where’s your dad?”
“I thought your dad was God?”
“Where is He?”

Does your dad not love you enough to come help you off the cross?

It was all meant to destroy His reputation and save theirs,
It was the bitter mocking of the religious leaders.

The Brutal Mocking of the Soldiers
The Baseless Mocking of the Travelers
The Bitter Mocking of the Religious Leaders
#4 THE BLIND MOCKING OF THE THIEVES
Matthew 27:44

And this one really has to blow the mind.
Here were two criminals hanging on crosses next to Him,
And they actually join in on the mocking.

• Were they blind?
• Could they not see that they were also hanging on crosses?
• How could He be mocked even by those who were being condemned with Him?

This was the worst case of sinners throwing stones we have ever seen.

Now Luke’s gospel does reveal that one of the criminals comes to his senses and eventually confesses Christ, but it didn’t start out that way.

Matthew wants you to see that everyone around Jesus mocked Him.

He was innocent yet He was mocked by everyone, sinners, passersby, and bitter priests, even those dying with Him.

It was scorn, scorn, scorn, scorn
Mocking, Mocking, Mocking, Mocking

IS THAT REALLY HOW YOU TREAT AN INNOCENT MAN?
NO
That is how you treat the worst of sinners.

THEN WHY DID THEY DO THAT TO JESUS?

Because He was bearing our sin.
And bearing our sin also meant bearing our SHAME.

Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

Sinners aren’t just supposed to die for their sin.
Sinners are supposed to die humiliating and shameful deaths.

That is why Christ was shamed and humiliated.
He was treated as the worst of sinners because He was carrying our guilt.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

That means when you and I read of the mocking,
Just know it is what we deserve.

Because of our sin, we deserve to be brutally mocked, beaten and humiliated.

Because of our sin, we deserve to be baselessly mocked,
Even by people who don’t know us.

You don’t have to know a rapist to be appalled at his sin.
You don’t have to know a thief to be appalled at his sin.

And so the world doesn’t have to know us to be appalled at our sin.
We deserve to be mocked even by the outside world.

Because of our sin, we deserve to be bitterly mocked.
Our sin hurts people.

If you lie, or steal, or murder, or hoard, or malign, there is always a victim.

And those victims should rise and bitterly mock us
For all that we have done to them.

Because of our sin, we deserve to be blindly mocked.
Even other sinners should join in the attack.

Just because they are sinners also
Doesn’t mean our sin doesn’t deserve their scorn.
As a liar can I not scorn murder? As a murderer can I not scorn adultery?

The point is we are sinful and our sin deserves shame
From every person in the world,
Ranging from those who personally offended,
To those who just read about it in the paper.

Sin comes with enormous shame.

And that is the shame that Christ is bearing.
He is bearing the reproach that you and I deserve.

God imputed our sin and guilt to Him,
And God imputed His righteousness and glory to us.

Romans 3:21-24 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

He received our condemnation, we received His justification
He gets scorn, we get righteousness

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;”

That really is the unfathomable grace of Jesus Christ.

He was innocent, yet
• He took our sin
• He took our shame
• He took our separation from God
• He took our sentence to hell

We were sinful yet He gave us
• His righteousness
• His glory
• His access to the Father
• His home in heaven

“This the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross.”

It really is more than the human mind can conceive
Or the human heart can fathom.
But it is real none the less.

And this morning His offer of salvation still stands.

To all who will repent of their sin and trust in His atoning work,
They will receive His righteousness and be saved forever.

“Where the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small, love so amazing, so divine, demands my sole, my life, my all.”

 

 
This morning if you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ,
I invite you to do that.

If you have never placed your life in His hands,
I invite you to do that.

If you have never let Him have your sin, so that you can have His righteousness,
I invite you to do that.
And if you have, I don’t have to tell you what to do.
No doubt the gratitude is already overflowing in your heart.

And that is why we are here.
We come to worship Christ for bearing our shame.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

The Ignored Verdict of Pilate
Matthew 27:11-26
March 24, 2013

As you know we are studying that important section in Matthew’s gospel
Which outlines the death of Jesus.

And as we are working our way through this section,
We have already seen some important points.

THE PLOT
Namely that God was doing this.

Isaiah 53:10 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”

This was God’s predetermined plan, carried out by wicked sinners,
Just as Peter made clear.

Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”

So we understand the plot behind the cross,
And that only magnifies the love that God has for us.

The cross was His idea, redemption was His doing.
He truly did so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
He demonstrated that love, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

The fact that the plot was God’s reminds us that God is by nature a Savior

THE PURPOSE
And that purpose is forgiveness

As Jesus sat in the upper room, partaking of the final Passover,
He told the disciples to eat the bread which was His body
And drink of the wine which was His blood.

Matthew 26:28 “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

There is no confusion regarding why Christ did what He did.
He endured the wrath of God and the wicked schemes of man
Just so that sinners could be forgiven.

Without the cross there is no forgiveness for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

“This the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us,
Took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross”
THE PARTICIPANTS

As was mentioned before God was the architect of the cross,
And yet the plot was carried out at the hands of sinful men.

Wicked, greedy, jealous, and even cowardly men, actually played a part
In dipping their hands into the innocent blood of Christ.

Everything we have seen in looking at the participants is really appalling.

We saw THE STRANGE ARREST
• 1,000 to arrest one innocent man
• A traitor giving a fervent kiss
• A disciple trying to fight
• Dedicated followers all fleeing in fear

We saw THE CORRUPT TRIAL
• Meeting at night, in secret
• The gathering of false witnesses
• No prayer, no fasting, no delayed sentence

Incidentally during this time we also saw:
THE EXPECTED DENIAL OF PETER
THE TESTIMONY OF APOSTATES AND HYPOCRITES

And through all that we have seen
Matthew’s point is becoming unmistakably clear.

As I have told you before, Matthew wrote his gospel with the single purpose of proving to Israel that Jesus is in fact the Messiah.

That is why he spent so much time on things like His lineage and prophetic birth.

Matthew is proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

And under that purpose it is very important for Matthew to prove
That Jesus died as an absolutely innocent man.

Now, we know why it is important that Jesus was innocent.
HE WAS A SUBSTITUTE.

You can’t pay the debt of another if you are paying your own debt.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

We understand that if He hadn’t been innocent of all sin,
Then our debt before God would remain, and we are hopeless.

Incidentally that is what makes the resurrection so important,
In that it proves the innocence of Christ.
After all the strange arrest, and the corrupt trial,
The resurrection would be the one area
In which true justice was finally served.

The prison where Jesus was sentenced (death) could not hold Him.
He was innocent.

But for Matthew it is important to prove that,
Not just because it is foundational to salvation,
But also because Matthew understood how Jews viewed the cross.

And that was this:
Isaiah 53:1-4 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

• Isaiah saw it coming from a long way off.
• Isaiah saw a Savior
• Isaiah saw the Arm of the Lord

But then Isaiah began to see a problem,
Namely that the people of His day would not recognize Him as a Savior.

To them He was not stately or majestic.
To them He had no attractive appearance.

And the result was instead of being worshiped,
He would be despised and rejected.

And on the day He would die, Isaiah knew what people would think.
“Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

Matthew knew what Isaiah knew; that was after the death of Christ,
The Jewish world would only think He died
Because secretly He must have been a sinner.

It must have been God who was angry at Him,
Why else would He suffer like this?

Well Isaiah also gave us that reason.
He suffered not because He was a sinner, but because we were.
And when He took our sin,
It required a great punishment at the hand of God.

Isaiah 53:5-6 “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

He was punished all right, but not for His own sin.
He was punished for us.

And yet Matthew knew that the masses would fail to see that.
Matthew knew that the masses would only think He died on the cross
Because He was a sinner, no better than the thieves He hung between.

And so a major part of Matthew’s gospel is to prove to Israel
That Jesus Christ was in fact innocent.

And He has already done a pretty compelling job.

In the garden we have Jesus asking the soldiers:
Matthew 26:55-56 “At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me. “But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.”

We already saw how much corruption it required just to be able to get a conviction at His trial.
Matthew 26:59-60 “Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward,”

We even have Judas declaring that He was innocent.
Matthew 27:3-4 “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

But Matthew has truly saved his most compelling evidence for last.

For in the case of Jesus’ condemnation,
Jesus was actually declared innocent in the Roman court of law
By one of the most ruthless tyrants to ever sit on a judgment seat,
And yet that ruling would be completely ignored.

That ruthless tyrant? Pilate

Are you familiar with Pilate?

Philo (A Jewish historian) wrote that Pilate had “vindictiveness and furious temper”, and was “naturally inflexible, a blend of self-will and relentlessness”.

Pilate had been governor for about 5 years.
During that time he had clashed with the Jews like none before him.

On one occasion he deliberately offended the Jews by having his soldiers carry banners into Jerusalem with Caesar’s likeness on them. Since the Jews thought this to be idolatry in the form of graven images, they persistently asked Pilate to remove them.

Pilate then herded them into an amphitheater and threatened to cut off their heads if they did not desist.

On another occasion Pilate forcefully took money from the temple to build an aqueduct, when the Jews rioted, Pilate sent soldiers dressed like civilians to slaughter the protestors.

On another occasion Pilate made shields at Ft. Antonia that bore the emperor’s likeness, again infuriating the Jews.

Beyond that we read of one offense in Scripture:
Luke 13:1-3 “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

I tell you all that because when you read the gospel accounts
You might get an idea that Pilate was a compassionate soul
Who just hated to see a man unjustly convicted.

No, Pilate was ruthless.
In fact, non-Christian historians who have studied Pilate actually use his normal aggressive and hostile demeanor to say that he never would have acted as was depicted in the gospel accounts.

The point, this man was no softy.
• This man had no qualms about shedding blood.
• This man had no love loss for Jews.
• And he was not a man particularly in love with justice.

And so the fact that this man was so convinced of Jesus innocence
That he issued a verdict of “Not Guilty”
Is a huge admission of Jesus’ innocence.
4 things
#1 PILATE’S AMAZEMENT
Matthew 27:11-14

Matthew actually picks up in the middle of this trial.

John 18:28-32 “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.”
Somewhere around 5am Jesus is led to Pilate, and Pilate actually did the right thing by asking, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”

Jesus couldn’t be put on trial unless His crime was stated.
And of course there was no crime,
The Jews just sort of pressure Pilate into hearing the case.

The reason they were able to do this is because those aforementioned incidents with the Jews had actually gotten Pilate in quite a bit of hot water with Emperor Tiberius, and Pilate was in danger of losing his position.

But he listens simply because he is in a bit of a fix.
And that is where Matthew’s gospel picks up.

Pilate actually begins to interrogate Jesus himself.
(11) “Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”

Pilate’s objective was not to find out if Jesus had broken Jewish Law.
Pilate’s objective is to find out if Jesus was a threat to Rome.
Odds are good Pilate already knew He wasn’t.

Pilate would have had to know about Jesus,
And Jesus had in reality been a model citizen.

• He had taught men to submit to a Roman centurion’s request to
walk a mile, in fact Jesus said to walk two.

• He had taught Jews to pay taxes to Caesar.

• And when the Jews did try to make Jesus King (John 6) He went
and hid Himself from them.

If Jesus was guilty of any kind of insurrection
It most certainly wasn’t against Rome.

• The only place Jesus had ever attacked was the Jewish temple.

• And the only people Jesus had ever rebuked were the Jewish
leaders.

Pilate had to know that Jesus was no threat, but he is asking anyway.

Perhaps the Jews could see that Pilate was half-hearted in his attempts to condemn Jesus so they start throwing in their own accusations.

(12-13) “And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?”
So the Jews chime in to accuse Jesus,
And Pilate looks to Jesus for a response.

(14) “And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.”

The word “amazed” there literally means “to marvel”

Pilate had had a many a man stand before him facing death
And I’m sure he had heard every excuse and plea in the book.

But he had never seen one like Jesus.
• Jesus was innocent
• The accusations were obviously bogus
• And Jesus had no need to defend Himself, so He didn’t.

And the implication here is that
Pilate is convinced that Jesus is innocent right then and there,
And he is blown away that an innocent man
Would refrain from defending Himself.

According to John’s gospel Pilate then questioned Jesus privately in the Praetorium, and there was convinced that Jesus was innocent.

John 18:38 “And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.”

Pilate knew he was innocent, and delivers his first verdict.

So Pilate’s amazement testifies to the innocence of Jesus.
#2 PILATE’S ATTEMPT
Matthew 27:15-18

What actually happened is upon declaring that he found no guilt in Jesus,
The chief priests said He stirred up all the people starting from Galilee.

When Pilate heard that Jesus was a Galilean he found the best way to rid himself of Jesus, and that was by sending him to Herod.

However, after a mocking, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.
So Jesus was still Pilate’s problem.

And Pilate is stuck in the trial of a man he knows to be innocent.

In fact verse 18 makes it clear that
Pilate had a clear handle on what was going on.

(18) “For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.”

Pilot was under no misconceptions as to what was going on here.

And because of this, Pilate had a brilliant idea.
(15-17) “Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

Pilate would ask the people who they wanted,
Only this time Pilate would pick the candidates.

He has already declared that he finds no guilt in Jesus, but it is far better for his reputation if he doesn’t have to make the decision himself.

So Pilate stands two men out.
• One is Jesus, whom Pilate knows is innocent.
• The other is a notorious criminal named Barabbas.

Pilate must have thought this to be a no-brainer.
Certainly the people would not want
This dangerous criminal loose on the streets.

Pilate did this because Jesus was innocent.

Pilate’s Amazement Pilate’s Attempt
#3 PILATE’S ARGUMENT
Matthew 27:19-23

Again Matthew has left out some of the dialogue.

When Jesus came back from Herod, He was clothed in a fancy robe,
And Pilate actually had Jesus scourged a little.

The plan here was actually to try and satisfy this bloodthirsty crowd with a mere flogging, and hopefully to spare Jesus life.

But the flogging did not satisfy them.
John 19:5-7 “Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

At this point Scripture teaches that Pilate became afraid.
Upon hearing that Jesus says He is God, Pilate is afraid.

And so Pilate actually took Jesus again into the Praetorium.

John 19:8-13 “Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.”

So Pilate had already decided that Jesus is innocent.
• Pilate has declared Jesus innocent on several occasions.
• Pilate had tried to rid himself of Jesus.
• Pilate had even made several attempts to release Him.

But the Jews won’t have it.

So Pilate, overcome with fear,
Gives in to the mob and comes out to the judgment seat.

And that is where we find him here in Matthew’s gospel.
Only once Pilate sits on the judgment seat
He is about to have his world rattled yet again.

(19) “While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”

And when this woman said she suffered, you can certainly believer her.
I would venture to guess that sending messages to Pilate
While he sat on the judgment seat was not a general practice.

This woman knew He was righteous.
And this woman acted out to deliver Him.
In fact she wanted Pilate to get as far away from Him as possible.

And certainly Pilate tried even harder at his push for Jesus’ release.

But the chief priests were working just as hard.
(20-23) “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”

It was a tense moment for Pilate.

• He had here an innocent man
• He had here a king
• He had here the Son of God
• He had here a righteous man
• Herod wouldn’t deal with him
• His wife warned against him

And Pilate is stuck.
He would love to release Jesus, but the crowd won’t have it.

At least four times now Pilate has delivered a verdict of not-guilty,
And yet his verdict continually gets ignored.

Pilate’s Amazement Pilate’s Attempt Pilate’s Argument
#4 PILATE’S AFFIRMATION
Matthew 27:24-26

Vs. 24 reveals the reason for Pilate’s actions more than any other.
“When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”

If Pilate released Jesus, he ran the risk of starting
Now his fourth riot with the Jews.

Having already been severely warned by Tiberius not to start another, Pilate now had to choose between Jesus’ life and his own.

And at this moment Pilate chose his own life.

Pilate again declared Jesus innocent
And even attempted to declare his own innocence in the ordeal.

“I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”

Pilate is doing everything he can to absolve himself of any guilt.
He washes his hands (A Jewish custom)
And actually thinks this makes him clean.

(25) “And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”

Israel was broken off on this day, and have since suffered greatly for it.
They still await their day of reconciliation.

And with that Pilate consents.

(26) “Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”
And after reading of this account there is no doubt to any who read
That Jesus was innocent.

• We knew it in the garden
• We knew it before Caiaphas
• We knew it when Judas returned the money
• We knew it with Pilate

Jesus was an innocent man.
And this made Jesus the only suitable sacrifice for sin.

And we must yield our lives to Him.
Or, we can be like Pilate.

I’ve told you before that this was not Jesus’ trial.
This was Pilate’s trial.

No one was going to stop the mob.
Even if Pilate had set Jesus free, they still would have killed Jesus,
They would have just done in spite of Roman law.

Pilate wasn’t facing whether or not to save Jesus’ life.
Pilate was facing the decision of whether or not to die with Him.

To release Jesus was certain to cost Pilate everything.
And that was a price Pilate wasn’t willing to pay.

The people told Pilate to crucify Him.
And that is exactly what Pilate did.
“he handed Him over to be crucified.”

What about you?
• The world says to crucify Jesus.
• The world says to have nothing to do with this righteous man.
• The world says if you set Him free you are no friend of Caesar.
• The world says we have a law and by that law He must die.

On the other hand Jesus says,
“Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.”

So who are you going to listen to?
The world? – which is to deny Christ.
Or Christ? – which is to become an enemy of the world.

Pilate listened to the world and crucified Jesus.

Oh sure he washed his hands, that was a nice outward religious ceremony
To help him feel better about himself.
Pilate may have felt better about himself for the moment,
But eternity bears the punishment for those who deny Jesus.

BUT TO BE SAVED WE DON’T DENY HIM, WE DENY OURSELVES.
WE CONFESS HIM.

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Pilate knew that, he just wouldn’t stake his life on it.

IN FACT PILATE ACTUALLY ASKED THE PERFECT QUESTION

Look back up to verse 22.
“Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who called Christ?”

What will you do with Him?

• Will you demand his death?
• Will you acknowledge His innocence, but distance yourself from His scorn?
• Will you come down off your judgment seat and take your place beside Him?

What will you do with Jesus?

Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

 

The Testimony of Apostates and Hypocrites
Matthew 27:1-10
March 17, 2013

Still dealing with the PARTICIPANTS surrounding the death of Jesus.
• Judas – The Strange Arrest
• Caiaphas – The Corrupt Trial
• Peter – The Expected Denial

(This morning we look at two we have already seen again)

Often times when we talk about our relationship with Jesus,
We talk about the importance of self-examination and genuine devotion.

Paul himself said:
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

Peter said:
2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;”
Paul and Peter both knew that just because
A person claims allegiance with the church,
Does not necessarily indicate that they are genuine believers.

James had this same concern:
James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

John also understood this reality:
1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

Jude also knew they were there:
Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

Not everyone who claims to be God’s child,
Or even who attaches themselves to the church,
Or even claims to follow Jesus is a true believer.

Jesus taught us this early on.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

And we have talked a great deal about this reality.
Not everyone who identifies themselves with God is in fact a child of God.

In reality we have two types of people who are guilty of this.
• One is the Apostate
• The other is the Hypocrite

While all apostates are hypocrites, not all hypocrites are apostates.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
• While both failed to ever have true faith…
• While both claim to have true faith…

The apostate eventually denounces the faith,
Whereas the hypocrite remains in their state of hypocrisy.

WHY?
While both are frauds, the apostate is conscious of his crime,
Whereas the hypocrite is deceived about himself.

An apostate is wolf in sheep’s clothing,
He knows he is false, and yet remains in order to fulfill a goal or a desire (either of worldly gain, or to destroy the cause from within)

A hypocrite is a phony,
But often times they don’t realize it themselves. Their religious façade has been so well performed that they have been able even to convince themselves of their genuineness.

The reality however is that both are in grave danger.

And we have heard Jesus speak of both of them.

IN REGARD TO HYPOCRITES
Jesus has frequently denounced the religious leaders of His day.

Who could forget the browbeating they took
In chapter 23 of Matthew’s gospel.

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

AND YET JESUS HAS ALSO SPOKEN REGARDING APOSTATES,
Namely Judas.
In John 6:70 Jesus called him a devil:
John 6:70 “Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”

In John 17:12 He called him the son of perdition:
John 17:12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”

In Matthew 26:24 He said it would be better if Judas had never been born:
Matthew 26:24 “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

Jesus knew who the real enemies of His kingdom were.
• He knew about the hypocrites who put on a show and were self-deceived.
• And He knew about the apostates who were wolves in sheep’s clothing waiting for their worldly opportunity to present itself.

In our text this morning we see the filth of both.

At this point in Matthew’s gospel, both have shown their truest colors.
We have seen their filth and we have smelled their stench.

• Whether it was Judas fervently kissing the face of Jesus…
• Or the Sanhedrin breaking every law known to them to gain a conviction…

We have seen these men at their worst.

And in our text this morning we see them again.
And this time, not only do we see deeds that confirm what they really are,
We also see the unintentional testimony they both performed.

One thing we are certain of is that Satan is merely a puppet.
What he determines for the worst, God turns into something good.

And even here, Matthew shows us how even
These apostates and hypocrites united together
To pay tribute the PERFECTION and SALVATION of Jesus.

So let’s look at these men, see what they are,
And then even listen to their testimony.
#1 THE APOSTATE JUDAS
Matthew 27:1-5

Now the text begins with us again picking up the flow of events.

At this point Jesus has been betrayed, arrested
And has already endured 3 trials.
Matthew has only focused on one of them.

The first trial John told us about,
That when Jesus entered the courtyard, before He was taken to Caiaphas, Annas actually intercepted Him and sought to determine charges against Him first.

The second trial is the one we studied in Matthew’s gospel.
It was that illegal trial at about 2am, when every judicial law they had was broken in order to gain a conviction of Jesus.

The third trial is the one Luke tells us about,
Which was really more of a puppet trial meant to cover their tracks in regard to having met illegally in the middle of the night.

Luke says:
Luke 22:66-71 “When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying, “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. “But from now on THE SON OF MAN WILL BE SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND of the power OF GOD.” And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.” Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

This trial occurred during the day.
Having already come to an agreement (but illegally)
It was necessary to present an appearance of legality
So they held another sham trial, this time in the council chamber.

That was the third trial.
Jesus is now being led away to His FOURTH trial.

(1-2) “Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.”

The reason they are taking Jesus to Pilate
Is because they do not have the authority to put someone to death.

John 18:31-32 “So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.”

So all of this is sort of falling into place.
• Jesus has been falsely arrested…
• Jesus has been falsely accused…
• Jesus has been falsely condemned…
• Jesus is about to be falsely executed…

But you follow the timeline.

And that is where Matthew takes us back to what is occurring with Judas.
Now in looking at Judas, the apostate,
There are three things I want you to understand about apostates.

All three are evident in Judas.
1) INEFFECTIVE THEOLOGY (4)

“saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

I merely want you to recognize here the truth about Judas’s theology.
JUDAS KNEW JESUS WAS INNOCENT

Furthermore Judas had seen that crooked trial under Caiaphas.
(3) “when Judas…saw that He had been condemned”

Here is what that means.
• Judas knew the witnesses were false.
• Judas knew the accusation about Jesus tearing down the temple was wrong.
• Judas knew that when Jesus claimed to be God, He actually was.

Judas has lived with Jesus intimately for 3 years.
• Judas tasted the wine that had previously been water.
• Judas ate the fish and the bread that had been multiplied.
• Judas saw Jesus walk on water.
• Judas was in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm.
• Judas saw the demons leave
• Judas saw the sick restored
• Judas saw Lazarus walk out of the tomb

Judas had a more intimate understanding of Jesus than anyone here.
He knew Jesus was sinless.
He knew Jesus was the Messiah.
He knew Jesus was God’s Son.

This whole agreement to betray Jesus was NEVER ABOUT
Judas trying to expose a person he was suspect of.

This betrayal was about Judas fulfilling his carnal desire for more money.

Judas knew who Jesus was.
JUDAS JUST DIDN’T CARE

See, Judas is like every other apostate in the church today.
Their theology never makes it from their head to their heart.
The facts are there, the faith is not.

Peter describes them like this:
2 Peter 2:14-15 “having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;”
And the fact that they know the truth, but fail to believe it
Actually makes them in far worse shape than a normal unbeliever.

2 Peter 2:21-22 “For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

That was Judas.
He had an ineffective theology.
He knew who Jesus was, He just never submitted to Him.

Let me show you something else about Judas and all apostates.
2) INCOMPLETE REPENTANCE (3-4)

(3-4) “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

Now, if you read the King James version
It actually says that Judas “repented himself”

But that is a bad translation of the phrase.

The word for repentance in the Greek is METANOEO, which means “a genuine change of mind.”

The word here is MEAMELOMAI, which only means “to feel sorrow or remorse.”

Now, the idea is that the sorrow should lead to repentance.

Remember what Paul said?
2 Corinthians 7:10 “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
And there you have the explanation.
Judas has the sorrow of the world, not the sorrow of God.

Judas had incomplete repentance.
• He felt bad.
• He knew what he did was wrong.
• He had remorse.
But do not confuse that with genuine repentance.

Genuine repentance would have had Judas
Running to Jesus for forgiveness.

All Judas is doing is returning the money,
Because he wants to quit feeling bad.
In his mind, if he can return the money, then he won’t feel bad anymore.
Judas has incomplete repentance.

And friends I have to tell you,
We see plenty of this in the church today as well.

We have plenty of people who feel bad about their sin,
Especially when they get caught,
But instead of approaching Christ to ask His forgiveness
They merely do something religious to try and sooth their conscience.

It is sort of like Simon the Magician when Peter exposed him.
Acts 8:20-24 “But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

He didn’t care about his sin.
He wasn’t concerned about his offense to God.
He just wanted relief from the consequence.

That is Judas.
He knew he sinned, but he never took it to Jesus.

In fact, all Judas did was take the advice of the priests.
They said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

And there is a third fact about apostates, that we see in Judas.
3) INSUFFICIENT SACRIFICE (5)

There we actually have Judas with two sacrifices.
The first was his money, the second was his life.

It is impossible to get inside the head of Judas
And know for certain what he was thinking.

• However it is evident that at least on one hand he thought returning the money would help his guilt.

Apparently it did not,
Because Judas’s conscience still drove him to suicide.

It is quite possible that Judas sought to appease wrath on himself.

We are actually taught today that one of the reasons people commit suicide is because they feel they deserve more punishment than they have received.
It could even be that this was behind Judas’s confession.
By Jewish Law, since Judas confessed to being a false witness, he should have been crucified instead of Jesus.

When this plan didn’t work, it may have been that Judas,
Decided to bring that same shame upon his own head
In the only way he knew how.

He was going to curse himself by hanging himself on a tree.

Regardless of what his motives or thoughts were in regard to this action.
IT WAS NOT ENOUGH

Death does not bring freedom from the penalty of sin,
It only secures it.

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”

Judas did not appease God’s wrath on his sin by committing suicide.
In reality suicide was only another sin (self-murder)

All of these in false religions who think that committing suicide in the name of religion goes further in securing for themselves a better resurrection have succumbed to the same lie Judas bought.

Physical death does not eliminate and eternal debt.
When Judas died, the real judgment began.

There is only One who can pay man’s sin debt, and that is Christ.
Judas will spend eternity in hell, and never satisfy God’s wrath.

His payment for sin was insufficient.
There is still a debt to pay.

THAT WAS THE APOSTATE.
And those in the church today, who know they do not trust Christ,
But remain anyway for their own carnal reasons,
Must understand what Judas did not.

Apart from Christ they cannot be saved,
And in rejecting Christ they only secure their punishment.

BUT, IT IS NOT AS THOUGH THEY HURT CHRIST.
Judas, even in His betrayal and suicide, still managed to testify to Christ.

Judas, testified that Christ was in fact innocent, sinless,
And accurate in his claims to be the Son of God.
God used the mouth of an apostate to glorify His Son.
The Apostate Judas
#2 THE HYPOCRITICAL PRIESTS
Matthew 27:6-10

Here is that second group of frauds
We find associating themselves with God’s people.
Like the apostate they are phonies,

But unlike the apostate, they may not know it themselves,
But may in effect be self-deceived.

But we also learn three things about them.
1) UNBELIEVABLE HYPOCRISY (6)

This really is quite extraordinary when you think about it.
Judas wanted to return the money and they didn’t want to take it.

(6) “The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.”

Are you joking me?
Since when did they start caring about what was lawful?

• They just paid a man to false condemn a known innocent man out of the
temple treasury…
• They then held the most crooked trial in Jewish history…

And now, all of a sudden they draw the line at taking the money back?

Like a church paying a hit man out of the general fund to kill the preacher,
And then refusing to accept a tithe from someone who won the lottery.
This is hypocrisy in its finest form.

What it reveals is that they have lost all sense
Of righteousness and genuine religion.

They are themselves deceived.

I’m sure at the moment they felt very pious
For refusing to put that money in the treasury.

They didn’t mind condemning an innocent man,
But they sure felt good about themselves for keeping the finances clean.

Does it not just make you sick?

People don’t care about what God cares about.
But they will take you to task over the littlest insignificant details.
Jesus explained it like this:
Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

That is hypocrites, they can’t even see how pathetic they look

Let me give you another fact about them
2) UNINTENDED TESTIMONY (7-8)

These men, in their self-righteousness, decided not to keep the money,
Instead they bought a field.

(7-8) “And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.”

The Potter’s field would have been a place where the pottery community
Would have gathered clay for the making of their pots.
It was purchased here in order to bury strangers.

But if you will notice, they did not escape the testimony.
• The field wasn’t called the strangers field.
• The field wasn’t called “Strangers Cemetery”

Acts tells us:
Acts 1:19 “And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.”

Everyone in Jerusalem knew what purchased that field.
Everyone in Jerusalem knew it was bought with blood money.

That field is an enduring testimony
To the fact that Christ was sinless and yet murdered anyway.

I doubt that was the intention of purchasing that field,
But it was testimony none the less.

So it is even today, hypocrites have an unintentional testimony.
Even their hypocrisy will be used by God as a means to glorify Himself.

In a strange way, the hypocrisy of these men
Only manages to magnify the true righteousness of God.

Remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus then went into those “You have heard, but I say” sermons.

They were all hypocrites, and yet all their hypocrisy did
Was make the righteousness of Christ look that much greater.

Hypocrites don’t save themselves,
But they do unintentionally glorify Christ

I’ll give you another attribute we see here
3) UNMISTAKEABLE FULFILLMENT (9-10)

Now let me help clarify the discrepancy here.
Matthew says this is the word of Jeremiah,
Whereas these prophecies clearly came from Zechariah 11:12-13.

WHAT GIVES?
The answer is found in the Jewish division of the Old Testament.

They divided it into 3 sections, The Law, The Writings, and The Prophets
Jeremiah was the first prophecy in the prophets section, and therefore often times all the prophets were referred to under his name.

Regardless of this, we see these hypocrites, unwittingly
Fulfilling a prophecy they probably had not even thought about.

TURN TO: ZECHARIAH 11

I told you last week that Zechariah 11-13 is very prophetic of Christ.
Chapter 11 actually deals with His rejection on earth at His first coming.

(Verses 4-8)
• There we see the incarnation, the attempt and drawing Israel, and Jesus’ frustration with the religious leaders of His day.

(Verses 9-14)
• There we have the rejection of Jesus, and in turn the rejection of Israel. We even get the payment price of His betrayal.

If you read on verses 15-17 you will find that the next shepherd
Israel will get will be a false shepherd or Anti-Christ.

BUT THE POINT IS that by fulfilling that prophecy
They revealed Jesus as the true Shepherd,
And themselves as the rebellious sheep.

Zechariah prophesied it, and now they fulfilled it.
Even in their hypocrisy, they managed to fulfill the plan of God.

AND THAT IS REALLY THE POINT.
We have here the ultimate apostate and the ultimate hypocrites.

And because of their wickedness,
They will be judged and punished for all eternity.

And this is a message all in the church need to understand today.
• Being in the church is not enough.
• Being religious is not enough.
• Half-way repentance is not enough.
• Remorse over sin is not enough.
• Religious zeal on some commands is not enough.

These men had all that, and were still not pleasing,
Because they did not fully trust Christ.

And yet the beauty of this passage is that
Regardless of their apostasy, and regardless of their hypocrisy,
They could not keep from bringing glory to Christ.

In short, through their deception and wickedness
They only managed to condemn themselves.

Yes, Jesus is on the way to the cross.
But in three days He will have conquered death and it will be over.

Judas however, just entered a condemnation that he is still enduring.
The chief priests would shortly follow.

They didn’t stop Jesus, they only hurt themselves.

And it reveals the real underlying theme
To this entire section regarding Jesus’ trial.

It’s not really Jesus who is on trial.
• It was Judas
• It was Peter
• It was Caiaphas
• It was Annas
• It was the Chief Priests
• It is soon to be Pilate and Herod

Determining who Jesus is, is not the issue.
THE ISSUE IS when asked to either confess Him or crucify Him,
All of these men (except Peter) chose to crucify,
And they only cost themselves.

When given the opportunity to choose to submit to Christ or deny Him,
Choose to submit, for He is the only way to be saved.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

The Expected Denial of Peter
Matthew 26:69-75
March 10, 2013

As you know we are presently studying the section in Matthew’s gospel
That highlights the death of Jesus.

It certainly matters who Jesus is.
And it certainly matters what Jesus did.
His death is the event that makes all others worth talking about.

We have presently seen:
• THE PLOT (God determined it all, wicked men fulfilled it)
• THE PURPOSE (forgiveness)
• THE PARTICIPANTS
• Judas (The Strange Arrest of Jesus)
• Caiaphas (The Corrupt Trial of Jesus)

And this morning we look at Peter in what we are calling
“The Expected Denial of Peter”

Now of course the reason it is expected
Is because Jesus said it would happen.

The other reason we expect it is because if you look at Peter’s life
You can literally see this event coming from a mile away.

Peter was walking totally in the flesh, puffed up in his own ability,
Not worried about any outcome,
And thus a prime candidate for total humiliation.

For the theological significance of this event we need to go back to the scene just after the Lord’s Supper and listen to what Jesus said:

Matthew 26:31-32 “Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘ I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

Jesus is there quoting from Zechariah 13:7

TURN TO: ZECHARIAH 13:7-9
Chapters 11-13 are all very prophetic about the life of Christ.

Chapter 11 – reveals His incarnation, struggle with the religious leaders, betrayal, and even the cost of His betrayal (30 pieces of silver)

Chapter 12 – reveals the salvation of Israel in the end, when they look on the One they pierced.

Chapter 13 – reveals the effects of Israel’s salvation as they have a total disdain for false prophets.

But the part of the passage Jesus quoted came in verses 7-9
It is a poem, and speaks again to sacrifice
That would purchase Israel’s pardon.

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd”
• This is God actually calling for the death of Messiah

“And against the man, My Associate”
• The word “Associate” there in the Hebrew actually refers to a family member, and thus confirms Messiah’s deity.

“Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.”

The idea is that the striking of the Shepherd would be so severe,
That all those little sheep He came to care for would be scattered.

This is not just the disciples, but literally all Israel.
The difference is that Christ re-gathered His own after His resurrection.

But this defection, even by Peter and the 12
Points again to the horror and the agony of the death of Christ.
None but Christ could endure it.
None but Christ could bear it.
And He must bear it alone.

That is the theological significance here.

But beyond that we see the actual denial of Peter.
And in Peter we see a man convinced of his own strength,
Yet displaying his enormous weakness.

And we would be foolish to miss such an opportunity
To examine what it is that causes us to fall to temptation.

Let’s quickly look at our text this morning, it is not complicated.
#1 PETER DENIES
Matthew 26:69-70

• We know that Pete has traveled as far as the courtyard and that it was in fact John who spoke to the gate keeper and got Peter in.

• Jesus has already had his pre-trial with Annas, and is presently in the midst of that corrupt trial of Caiaphas that we saw last week.

• Meanwhile Peter is just waiting by the fire to see the outcome.
“and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

I find this interesting.
I can imagine Peter being ready for a soldier or one of the temple police,
But no doubt Peter was not ready for this subtle attack from a servant girl.

(Leave it to Satan to attack outside the realm of our preparation)

She accuses Peter of being with Jesus.
And Peter “denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

Incidentally when you put all the gospels together
You realize that each of Peter’s denials there was a great deal more said
Than is recorded in the gospels.

That is pictured here in the fact that it was the servant-girl who approached him and yet “he denied it before them all”

No doubt there was a bit of a conversation,
But Peter is adamant that he was not with Jesus the Galilean.

Denial #1
#2 PETER DENIES WITH AN OATH
Matthew 26:71-72

Now we recognize that the denials are starting to escalate in intensity.

But here again we are faced with yet another servant girl,
And she again makes an observation that Peter doesn’t like.

“This man was with Jesus of Nazareth”

But Peter is ready to deny again.
“And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”

All Jews considered all oaths to be taken in the presence of God,
No matter if God’s name was actually mentioned or not.

So without stating, Peter was in effect saying, “I swear in God’s name that I don’t know the man.”

This would have been an ultimate example
Of taking the name of the Lord in vain.

Furthermore you may remember our study on the sermon on the mount
That this was the only type of oath that a Jewish person took seriously.

They could break vows on the temple, or on their home, or even on their own life, but a vow taken in the name of God was considered binding.

The point is that Peter is invoking
The biggest lie he can possible come up with.
He takes an oath that he does not know Jesus.

Denial #2
#3 PETER DENIES UNDER A CURSE
Matthew 26:73-74

And now the stakes seem to be rising.

Apparently Peter failed to satisfy the crowds with his previous answers,
Because now the remainder of the bystanders approach him and say:

“Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.”

Peter was like a New Yorker trying to blend in at the Turn Around café.

His Galilean accent was all too distinguishable.
He might could deny knowing Jesus, but he couldn’t deny being from Galilee.

And since they figured Jesus to be the Galilean,
They were seriously doubting Peter’s claims not to know Him.
The evidence is stacking against Peter here.

And as Peter feels the noose tighten around his neck,
He produces the most adamant denial yet.

“Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!”

More specifically Peter was pulling down curses on his own head.

In effect he was saying, “If I am lying may God strike me dead and destroy me forever in hell!”

It was as about as drastic as a man could get.

Peter not only denied, he denied under oath,
And he denied under penalty of death and hell.

He is adamant that he does not know Jesus.

“And immediately a rooster crowed.”

The prophesy was accurately and completely fulfilled.

#4 PETER REMEMBERS
Matthew 26:75a

“And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

It may have been that Peter was filled with such fear and concern
That he never had really thought about what he was doing as he denied.

But the second that rooster crowed,
Peter’s mind instantly went back to the upper room.

Matthew 26:33-35 “But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.”

It probably seemed like a strange statement at the time,
That Jesus would use a rooster as the sign of Peter’s denial.
But none could deny how obvious it was now.

That rooster crowed and Peter realized what he had done.
He had failed the Lord.

Peter was not just one of the disciples,
Peter was the leader of the disciples.

Matthew 10:2 “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;”

Matthew unequivocally called Peter “The first”.
That Greek word does not indicate first chronologically (Peter wasn’t)
It indicates first in importance or rank.

Peter was the leader of the disciples.
That is why Peter was always the one speaking up to Jesus.

He was the closest to the Lord.
While Jesus taught all the disciples, there were times of specific teaching that were reserved just for Peter.

• Like the conversation about paying taxes in Matthew 17
• Or in Luke’s gospel when Jesus reveals that Satan has demanded to sift
Peter like wheat

Peter was the closest disciple.
Peter was the leader.
And here on this night, the closest disciple,
Not only fails to witness on His behalf,
But adamantly denies Him three times.

And that truth sunk deep into Peter’s heart as that rooster crowed.

#5 PETER WEEPS
Matthew 26:75b

“And he went out and wept bitterly.”
This is what we call remorse.
This is what we call defeat.

At this moment the reality about who Peter really was
Hit Peter squarely in the face.

Now, we could all take a moment and throw our shots at Peter,
But the reality is we have all had times like this in our lives.

• Times when our sin is revealed to us…
• Times when we fail to obey…
• Times when we cave under the pressure…

And we hate those things about us so much
That we are literally broken before the Lord in despair and regret.

I’ve certainly had those moments of failure and regret and shame.
And I would venture to say that every believer has.

Peter failed.

But the issue we need to deal with is WHY Peter failed.
The issue we need to touch on is why we fail in such moments.

If we want to learn anything valuable from this story,
We need to learn how not to fail in those situations.

Before we get to Peter, I want to take you to an important passage about temptation in Scripture.

TURN TO: 1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-13

Now obviously we can’t spend an enormous amount of time here,
But the lesson is so important.

Paul starts with an illustration from Jewish history.
(Read Verses 1-5)

So we have there a very religious people.
• People who had experienced the Protection of God through the sea
• People who had experienced the Pattern of God in Moses
• People who had experienced the Provision of God with manna
• People who had experienced the Presence of God with the rock of Christ

In short these people were as experienced in religion as one could get.
• They had seen, touched, and tasted it all.
• They had painted blood on the doorpost
• They had walked through the red sea
• They had done it all.

And then the shocking statement.
(5) “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.”

So despite having all that religious experience,
They were still not pleasing to God and they were killed in the wilderness.

Now obviously participation in religion
Does not equal acceptance before God.

BUT ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT PARTICPATION IN RELIGION DOES NOT GUARANTEE VICTORY OVER TEMPTATION.

Now when remembering the tragedy of those Israelites,
Paul makes two examples for us to learn from.

1) DON’T CRAVE EVIL (6-10)

And obviously that was one of their problems, and an explanation
As to why the failed so miserably despite all their closeness to God.

They failed God because they craved evil.
Idolatry, Immorality, Insurrection

And this is one of the reasons we stumble during trials and temptation.
It is because we desire the wrong things.

This would be what it means to walk according to the flesh.
• When you walk according to the flesh you desire the things of the flesh.
• When you walk according to the Spirit you desire the things of the Spirit.

And desiring the things of the flesh will cause you to stumble.
Temptation is the way Satan snares the believer.

And if you want carnal things, then rest assured that Satan
Will offer them to you in order to cause you to stumble.

If you crave evil, you are prone to stumble.
James 1:13-15 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

All Satan does is reach into his bag of temptations and throw them at you to see what will stick, and when something turns your head he focuses in on it.

This is the easiest way to stumble and fall into sin before God.
Just crave worldly things.

That is why Scripture so emphatically tells us not to love the world.
• Not to seek mammon or money
• Not to long to get rich
• Not to lust

Love for the world just opens up a target for Satan to tempt you,
And that is one reason why believers stumble and fall.

They walk according to the flesh and they fall.

Now there is another reason believers fall to temptation.

Don’t crave evil
2) DON’T BE ARROGANT (11-13)

Again, they are an example to us.
And the overall warning?

“Therefore let whim who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

In other words, on that day you feel invincible you had better watch out,
Because it is then that you are ripe for the picking.

It is the old adage:
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

If you are arrogant and assume that you will never stumble,
Then you are a prime candidate for Satan to attack.

Pride and arrogance are weaknesses when it comes to temptation.

WHY?
Because Satan can only be defeated in God’s strength, not yours
And if you are certain you are strong,
Then you are less likely to depend upon God.

SO BELIEVERS FALL TO TEMPTATION WHEN THEY CRAVE EVIL THINGS AND WALK IN THEIR OWN STRENGTH.

Let’s give EXHIBIT A – Peter

Flashback with me for a second.

Matthew 16:21-23 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

There we have Peter craving the world
Not to mention Peter has the audacity to rebuke Jesus.

Matthew 17:3-6 “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.”

Here Peter is presumptuous.
What made him think his voice needed to be heard on that mountain.

Matthew 18:1 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Peter is mentioned by name, but certainly he was in on the conversation
As to who was the greatest.
Again we see him seeking the wrong things.

Matthew 18:21 “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Here Peter is self-righteous
Actually wondering how often he has to forgive his sinful brothers.
(note he isn’t worried about his own forgiveness, just how often he has to give it.)

Matthew 19:27 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

Again Peter just seeking the things of the world,
Wanting to know what he can get out of following Jesus.

AND THEN LOOK AT PETER RECENTLY
Matthew 26:31-33 “Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”

There Peter is over confident and even argumentative with Jesus.
Matthew 26:34-35 “Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.”

Here Peter continues to be stubborn and arrogant

Matthew 26:38-41 “Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Here Jesus has told him to be in prayer, not just for Jesus,
But that he might not enter into temptation,
And yet Peter didn’t feel the need for prayer.

Matthew 26:51-52 “And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.”

Peter is impulsive, seeking to bring about a desired end
By the result of his own strength.

Matthew 26:57-58 “Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.”

And here the overconfidence of Peter shows up,
Actually following Jesus into the lion’s den.

See, when you read the denial of Peter it can at first be shocking That Peter, the first, would actually deny Jesus.

But when you look at Peter’s life, and especially the last 24 hours,
It isn’t surprising at all.

Peter is walking completely and totally in the flesh.
• He wants earthly glory
• He trusts fully in his own strength
• He sees no need for prayer
• He really thinks he can handle it on his own

And that friends is a recipe for failure and stumbling and denial.

Temptation is not fought in the flesh.
If you face temptation, and you try to will yourself against it,
You will fail every time.
Temptation is only defeated through the Spirit of God
And relying upon the strength of Jesus Christ.

Many of you have been studying Hebrews in Sunday school,
And what tremendous truths we have learned there about temptation.

Hebrews 2:14-18 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

Hebrews 4:14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Christ is the victory over temptation.
Christ is the One we cling to and lean on.
Not our own strength, but His.

But if you are determined to leave Christ out of it,
Namely because you want the things of the world,
Then you are on a course for failure.

And that is where Peter found himself.
He walked in his own strength, and he failed miserably.

But now let me give all who have stumbled the good news.
Mark 16:5-7 “Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘ He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'”

Jesus was willing to give Peter a second chance.

We all know what it is to fall and fail.
It is important that you also know that if you have fallen,
That God offers forgiveness and the hope of victory in the future.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And what an effect this had on Peter.
Just a few months ago Peter, clothed in self-righteousness, was asking Jesus, “How many times shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?”

But after being humbled by sin and forgiven by Jesus,
Peter instantly found himself preaching a different message.

Acts 2:36-39 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

And that is the message for you as well.
If you want to overcome temptation,
You will have to quit seeking the things of the world (Satan’s bait)
And you must quit relying on your own strength.

Draw near to Jesus.
Cling to Him in prayer.
Put on the gospel armor and stand.

And if it is too late and you’ve already stumbled,
And you feel the bitter weeping of Peter,
Then know there is forgiveness.

• It is forgiveness purchased by the One Peter denied.
• It is forgiveness purchased by the One we betrayed in our sin.
Such is the glory of Jesus.

 

This morning if you have never drawn near to Him,
Let me encourage you to do so.

Repent of your sin, and run to Jesus.
He is the victory over sin in this life.

On your own, you will never conquer it.
Hebrews 4:14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”