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Condemning The Innocent
Luke 23:1-25
January 3, 2021

This morning we come to the civil trial of Jesus.

As know, at this point, He has already been through 3 illegal and bogus trials before the Sanhedrin.
• Before Annas (John 18:19-24)
• Before Caiaphas at his house (Matthew 26:59-68)
• Before Sanhedrin (Luke 22:63-71)

All of them were corrupt and illegal, and they all had different motives behind them.
• Annas wanted to flex his muscle and show Jesus who was really in charge.
• Caiaphas just wanted Jesus condemned and to get their story straight.
• The Sanhedrin just wanted to put on a show for the general public.

Well now all that has been accomplished and there is one more phase to their plot and that is to take Jesus to Pilate.

There is a reason for this as well.
John 18:31 “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,”

The Jews wanted Pilate to kill Jesus.

INCIDENTALLY, this is another areas where the sovereignty of God shows up.

It sounds like the Jews had no power whatsoever to enact a sentence of death on someone, but that isn’t exactly true.

• After all, was His hometown not about to throw Him off a cliff?
• Where they not about to stone the woman caught in adultery?
• Will they not violently stone Stephen in a few months?

Even Paul would later testify about his evil deeds:
Acts 26:10 “And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them.”

Point is, the Jews put plenty of people to death.

The real issue is that they don’t want to do it during the Passover,
But MORE THAN THAT is the sovereignty of God
Who already ordained the method of Christ’s death.

Before crucifixion had ever even been invented, David wrote:
Psalms 22:16 “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.”

Jesus had already said:
John 3:14-15 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”

The plan was always for a crucifixion.
And for that Pilate would be needed.
So you see God still in charge through the entire process.

But none the less this morning we come to this civil trial,
And I will tell you that there are SO MANY ANGLES
That we can approach this from.

You can approach it from Matthew’s gospel
• Where the awful reality becomes visible that the people actually say, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”
• Matthew of course focusing on the far reaching consequence of rejecting Christ.

You can read it from Mark’s gospel
• Where you can see the great influence of the crowd.
• Mark’s gospel really shows how the mob intervened to kill Jesus.
• It wasn’t just Pilate, it wasn’t just the leaders, it was everyone who rejected Christ.

John’s gospel
• Gives us more of the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate than any other account.
• John really shows us the burden on Pilate and the dilemma he faced standing before the Son of God.

But, as you know, we are in Luke’s gospel and we want to stay true,
Not only to his narrative but to his purposes.

There are many things the other gospel accounts include here that Luke does not.
• Matthew mentions how Judas felt remorse and returned the money, Luke
does not.
• Matthew mentions how Pilate’s wife warned him to stay away from Jesus,
Luke does not.
• Matthew mentions how Pilate washed his hands, Luke does not.
• John mentions several conversations between Jesus and Pilate that Luke
omits.

Conversely, only Luke tells us that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod.

Now certainly we want to see the entire picture,
But we also want to make sure and
Grasp Luke’s point in including this story.

Well, fortunately, Luke’s point is really easy to spot.
In fact, Luke just circles it and circles it like a buzzard in the sky.

It jumps off the page at us when we read the narrative.
What is Luke’s main point?

JESUS WAS INNOCENT
He actually states if 4 times in the text.

Luke even has a genius way of demonstrating that,
In that he uses two notorious and hardened pagan leaders to declare it.
• Two men who could have cared less,
• And who had nothing to gain by saying it,
• Both proclaim that Jesus did not deserve to die.

That is Luke’s point.
It ties right back to what he has been saying since the upper room
That Jesus has been “NUMBERED WITH THE TRANSGRESSORS”.

Well let’s work our way through the text,
And then we can also make some application for our lives as well.

So let’s talk about the innocence of Jesus
#1 PILATE DECLARED IT
Luke 23:1-4

• Well, here we are, the Jewish trials are over
• Now they have come to Pilate so that they can get Jesus crucified.

Even though we are following Luke’s gospel,
I do want you to see the whole picture.

Before Luke’s narrative takes place what first happened is recorded by John.

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.”

• They bring Jesus to Pilate,
• The Jews won’t enter the Praetorium because they don’t want to be unclean and miss the Passover.
• Pilate comes out and asks what the charges are.
• They are a little caught off guard and basically say, “Just trust us, if we brought Him here then you can be for certain He is guilty.”
• Pilate doesn’t want to be manipulated so he turns them down.

It would be at this point that Luke’s narrative would pick up.
(2) “And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

All of those accusations are false.
• Jesus never mislead anyone, He only spoke truth.
• Jesus actually taught the opposite regarding paying taxes; He encouraged it.
• Jesus never declared Himself as a King that threatened Rome.

Furthermore we would note that NONE OF THOSE CHARGES
Where the reason they just condemned Him before the Sanhedrin;
Which was blasphemy.

But none the less, they make some accusations against Jesus
That would have been serious accusations to Pilate.

So, outside the Praetorium
Pilate sought to address the issue quickly and get it over with
By immediately turning to Jesus and asking if the charges were true.

(3) “So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

Matthew’s gospel gives a little more insight into this PRELIMINARY OUTDOOR DEPOSITION.

Matthew 27:11-14 “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.” 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?” And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.”

• Jesus did acknowledge being a King,
• But He would not comment on the other things and Pilate was amazed.

There would be no quick outdoor trial,
Pilate would have to investigate further.

Now at this point,
• Pilate would have taken Jesus into the Praetorium to interrogate while the Jews waited outside.
• This would allow Pilate to ask and Jesus to answer more freely.

John 18:33-38a “Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

• So Jesus corrects Pilate regarding His purpose as King and for the first time confronts Pilate regarding the truth.
• But Pilate wants nothing to do with a conversation regarding truth.
• Instead, Pilate reaches a decision.

Pilate goes back outside to the chief priests:
(4) “Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”

AND THERE IS THE OFFICIAL VERDICT.
• I have heard your accusations.
• I have questioned Him extensively.
• Here is my verdict, “Not Guilty”

And this was Pilate, who I assure you, had no concern whatsoever
About incarcerating or crucifying insurrectionists.

If Jesus had been guilty, or even had He been adequately suspected, Pilate would have had absolutely no qualms killing Him.

The fact that Pilate rendered a verdict of “Not Guilty”
Is remarkable proof that He was in fact innocent.

But the Jews were not about to take that answer from him.

Pilate Declared It
#2 HEROD CONFIRMED IT
Luke 23:5-19

So after coming back out and declaring Jesus innocent
THE JEWS GO NUTS.

(5) “But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting form Galilee even as far as this place.”

• They immediately begin to shout their appeal
• They talk about the widespread influence of Jesus.
• They accuse Him of insurrection, not only in Judea but also in Galilee.

Now at this point, Pilate realizes that
There is someone else who can help in the investigation.

It just so happens that Herod was in town.

(6-7) “When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time.”

“Herod” here is Herod Antipas.
He is the son of Herod the Great who was the one who was alive at the birth of Jesus who killed all the Hebrew boys in Bethlehem.

• Herod Antipas is the Herod you read about the rest of the time in the gospels.
• He is the one who had the affair with his brother Philip’s wife,
• He was rebuked by John the Baptist and beheaded John as a result.

Herod intersects with Jesus two other times in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 9:7-9 “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.”

Luke 13:31-33 “Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’ “Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.”

Herod had long since been interested in Jesus
But had never been able to get an audience.

But today that opportunity arose.
(7-11) “And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time. Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.”

What is obvious about the narrative is that
It is clear that Jesus under-whelmed Herod.

• Perhaps he was expecting Jesus to confront him like John had done…
• Perhaps he was expecting a mighty military leader or noble king…
• At the very least he was hoping to see something miraculous…

But Jesus had no interest in putting on a show before Herod.

WHAT DOES OCCUR HOWEVER IS THAT
The Jews try like crazy to get Herod to deliver a guilty verdict.

“the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently.”

But Herod won’t do it.
Instead he settles simply for mocking Jesus as a paper king.
• He treats Him with contempt.
• He mocks Him.
• He dresses Him up.
• He has his fun and he sends him back to Pilate.

An interesting sub-point that Luke includes is that (12) “Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.”

The point is that it echoes that these men were in agreement.
It had never happened before, but today they found common ground.
Oddly enough they unified on the fact that Jesus was innocent.

So, after sending Jesus to Herod,
Pilate convenes the Jews together once again.

(13) “Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people,”

And interesting note is at this point,
• Before Pilate gets a chance to tell them that Herod agrees that Jesus is
innocent,
• Matthew records that Pilate gets an urgent message.

Matthew 27:19 “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.”

No doubt Pilate is ready to put this whole Jesus trial behind him.

So this time Pilate FORCEFULLY & DEFINITIVELY renders his verdict.

(14-16) “and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. “No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. “Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”

You can hear Pilate’s tone and seriousness there.
• I told you, He’s not guilty.
• You argued so I sent Him to Herod.
• Herod agrees, He’s not guilty
• I’m not going to put Him to death.

But, if it will make you happy,
“I will punish Him” before I “release Him.”

Pilate sounds done with it doesn’t he?
• Jesus is innocent, it is obvious, let it go.
• Case closed.

And we even know that AT THIS POINT,
Pilate has another plan about how to release Jesus.

John 18:39-40 “But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.”

And that is what Luke reveals.
(17-19) “[Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]
But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!” (He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city, and for murder.)”

It seemed like a good plan.
• Jesus was innocent.
• But for good measure I’ll go ahead and punish Him.
• And to sort of double down, I’ll make Him the prisoner I release at the feast.

But the crowd (as Mark reveals) won’t have it.
They’ve been stirred up by the chief priests.
They want Jesus killed.

AND IT HAS GOTTEN SO OUT OF HAND
That they actually ask for “Barabbas” to be released;
Who incidentally was exactly the sort of man Jesus was being accused of.

They wanted Jesus killed for inciting people,
But they want a known insurrectionist like Barabbas released.

It is all very hypocritical.

But you see now Luke’s point.
• Two tyrant rulers and both declare Jesus “not guilty”.
• Jesus is innocent.

Pilate Declared It, Herod Confirmed It
#3 THE CROWD REJECTED IT
Luke 23:20-25

• Twice now Pilate has declared Jesus innocent
• Herod has confirmed it.
• Pilate had the plan of releasing Jesus as their token prisoner
• They didn’t want to hear it.

So Pilate actually begins to plead on behalf of Jesus.

(20-23) “Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!” And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt demanding death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.”

Now we’ve got trouble.
• Pilate knows Jesus is innocent.
• Pilate’s wife has already warned him not to mess with Jesus.
• We have a mob forming, and Pilate is losing control.

Pilate has one more plan to try and get Jesus released.
If he can flog Jesus severely enough,
Maybe it will appease this blood-thirsty crowd.

And that is what he does.
John 19:1-7 “Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” 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.”

Well the flogging didn’t work.
Jesus bloodied and mocked Jesus but the crowd wants death,

(23) But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.”

LUKE DOESN’T MENTION IT
(but I want you to see the entire story)

AT THIS POINT PILATE GETS REALLY SCARED
John’s gospel tells us that Pilate would then take Jesus back inside again.

John 19:7-12 “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.” 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.”

Pilate is caught.
• He knows Jesus is innocent.
• He knows the crowd wants Him dead.

What is Pilate’s option?
• Condemn an innocent man to save face
• Confess this innocent man and be judged.

Make no mistake, Pilate cannot save Jesus from death.
That is the plan of God.

But at this moment Christ is asking Pilate
To in effect suffer with Him.

So Pilate goes back out again to the people
• He again tries to release Jesus,
• This time the crowd threatens Pilate. “If you release this Man, you are no
friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes
Caesar

And Pilate caved.
(24-25) “And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered Jesus to their will.”

John’s gospel reads:
John 19:13-16 “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. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.”

Matthew records:
Matthew 27:24-26 “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.” And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”

As we said, we could easily talk here about the trial of Pilate.
Pilate, (like the Sanhedrin), was on trial before God and Pilate blew it.
He knew Jesus was innocent
But chose to crucify Him anyway to save His own skin.

And we certainly would remind everyone that when Jesus calls us,
THE CALL IS CLEAR.
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

• The call to follow Jesus is a call unto death.
• Death to self certainly.
• Death to body, possibly.
• It is a call to go against the grain of this world and confess the One the world
hates.

You may think Pilate’s circumstances are unique,
But this is the struggle every sinner faces when faced with Christ.

YOU MUST DEAL WITH HIM.
You must confess Him even when the world is howling against Him.

PILATE DID NOT.
Pilate KNEW Jesus was innocent and CHOSE to crucify Him anyway.

And People still do that today.
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

• There are people today who are enlightened to the truth about Jesus.
• There are people today who know He is the sinless Son of God.
• There are people today who know He is the Savior.

But because there is shame and ridicule and persecution
They join the mob and “they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

THAT IS WHAT PILATE DID.

That is what the crowd did as well.
• This crowd that just 4 days ago declared Jesus to be the Messiah.
• They were in the parade, they cried “Hosanna”
• This crowd that two days ago sat and listened to Him teach in the temple.

And here they are, despite the evidence choosing to crucify Christ.

Peter would later address them.
After Peter healed a man and the crowd was amazed, Peter said:
Acts 3:12-15 “But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”

You “disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you”

It was a heinous crime.
• Christ was innocent
• Christ was not guilty
• Christ was Holy
• Christ was Righteous

But you rejected Him anyway.

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

It is no small sin to know the truth about Christ and reject Him.

But this morning I hope you see that
LUKE WAS DRIVING HOME TO YOU ONE MAIN POINT.

Jesus Christ was innocent.
• He did not suffer because He sinned.
• He was not crucified because He offended God.

AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE
If He was a sinner then He could only pay for His own sins, not ours.

But He was innocent.
He was sinless.
He was suffering because He was identifying with us.

He had been “NUMBERED WITH THE TRANSGRESSORS”

Isaiah 53:3-8 “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. 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 oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?”

• When He was condemned it wasn’t for His sin, it was for ours.
• When He was mocked it wasn’t for His sin, it was for ours.
• When He was crucified, it wasn’t for His sin, it was for ours.
• He was paying the penalty that you and I deserve.

We certainly seek to honor and glorify Him for that.

And this morning, I simply want to extend again
The invitation to any in this place
Who now stand face to face with Christ
And have not confessed Him.

Is there any doubt in your mind that Jesus is sinless?
Is there any doubt that He is innocent?
Is there any doubt that He is the Savior?

There should not be.
Even tyrant kings knew it.

The question then remains why you have not confessed Him?
The question then remains why you have not believed in Him?

See the Bible is clear on this.
• When you believe something in your heart,
• Then you confess it with your mouth.

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.”

Paul would even go on to say that
• The reason people don’t confess is because they don’t believe.
• And the reason they don’t believe is because they haven’t heard.

But you have heard.
You do know.

And this morning, you stand in the shoes of Pilate
Who was face to face with Jesus and knew what Jesus wanted,
And had to decide what to do with Him.

What about you?
What will you do with Jesus?

Will you confess Him and take up His reproach and shame or will you deny Him and hand Him over too?

Well, Luke has been clear.
• Is Jesus God? Yes, Jesus clearly declared it.
• Is Jesus the King? Yes, He told Pilate that too.
• Is Jesus sinless? Yes, everyone knows it.

What will you do with Him?

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The Trial of the Sanhedrin
Luke 22:63-71
December 27, 2020

This morning we continue on with our narrative of suffering of Christ.

And we come to what I am calling “The Trial of the Sanhedrin”,
But I hope you don’t misunderstand the title.

As we said last time when we looked at the Trial of Peter.
• Throughout these final chapters we see multiple individuals who take their opportunity to question Jesus or to put Him on trial.
• BUT DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND.
• Though Jesus is standing before these various men or groups, Jesus is never the one who is actually on trial.

I would call your attention to Psalms 11
Psalms 11 “In the LORD I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain; For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”

I’ve always loved Psalms 11 because it is such an encouragement for us
When we face moments of injustice and helplessness.

• You have David there who is undoubtedly facing some sort of injustice and danger.
• You have David’s friends who have obviously told David to “flee as a bird”
• Because the danger is real and the system is corrupt.
• In fact they ask the question, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

That would be a good vantage point to talk about these trials that Jesus is a part of.
• They are all corrupt.
• They are all bogus.
• And Jesus can’t seem to get a fair trial.

But INSTEAD OF LOSING HOPE David reminded his friends
That there is a higher court and there is a final judge.

“The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”

David reminded his friends that there is indeed a trial going on,
But it’s not the one you think.

David is standing before corrupt judges on earth,
But what those corrupt judges don’t realize is that
They are at the same time standing before the God of the universe.

And so the question is:
WHO IS REALLY ON TRIAL HERE?

That is what we talk about here in regard to all these “trials” of Jesus.

• Yes, Jesus is standing before men…
• Yes, these men are asking all the questions…
• Yes, these men will render verdicts…
• Yes, these men will carry out their punishments…

But who is really on trial?

They will kill Jesus and in 3 days He’ll be alive again.
BUT THEIR DECISIONS WILL BRING UPON THEM
A JUDGMENT THAT WILL LAST FOR ETERNITY.

When I call this the trial of the Sanhedrin, I don’t mean to say that it is the Sanhedrin’s trial of Jesus, but rather Jesus’ trial of the Sanhedrin.

The decision they make will have eternal consequences.

IT IS A BIG DEAL.
Incidentally, every man is at one point or another on trial like this.

• Every time the gospel confronts you
• And bids you to repent of your sin
• And to trust in Christ, you are on trial.
• Every time you reject Christ, the God of the universe is watching.

THIS IS SERIOUS.

This Morning We Come TO THE TRIAL OF THE SANHEDRIN.
(Incidentally, this is the only trial by them that Luke includes.)

As we talked about last week, there were actually 3 trials that took place by the Jews before Jesus was sent to Pilate.

• After Jesus was arrested, He was taken to Caiaphas’ house for trial.
• But in the courtyard Jesus was first confronted by Annas – that was trial 1
• Jesus was then taken into Caiaphas’ house for trial 2

This is the 3rd time they will put Jesus on trial.
But it’s the ONLY ONE of the 3 that Luke references.
And as always, THERE’S A REASON.

We begin by asking: What is Luke’s main point in including on this trial?

Certainly we see again that truth of JESUS IDENTIFYING WITH US.
That is still obvious.

• We saw Him in the garden suffering grief as a sinner…
• We saw Him approached by Judas and mocked as a fraud…
• We saw Peter draw the sword and defend Him as a rebel…
• We saw Him ultimately arrested as a thief…

We still see Him identifying with us.
• Here we see Him punished as a false prophet…
• We see Him tried as a liar…
• We see condemned as a blasphemer…

Jesus was none of those things,
But again the point is made that He is identifying with us.

• He has taken upon Himself our sinfulness
• He is suffering at the hands of men because of it.
• He will soon suffer at the hands of God because of it.

Jesus, as Luke already mentioned and as Isaiah prophesied, has been “NUMBERED WITH THE TRANSGRESSORS.”

We never want to overlook that because that is a major point for Luke.

In fact only Luke is going to reveal that statement from the thief on the cross who basically points out that Jesus is not being treated as He deserves.

Luke 23:41 “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

Only Luke includes that because it makes this continual point that
Jesus is being treated as a sinner when He was not a sinner at all.

It is His identification with us.
And you see that still here.

BUT WHAT JUMPS OFF THE PAGE IN THIS TEXT
(and what is most certainly the main point)

Is the claim that caused Jesus to be condemned.
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD.

You can’t miss it.
It’s the massive story in the text.

Earlier we have Jesus claiming that Isaiah 53 was about Him.
Now we have Jesus claiming that He is in fact God.

• Luke doesn’t include that trial of Annas where Jesus claimed to be innocent…
• Luke doesn’t include that trial of Caiaphas where Jesus faced false witnesses who testified that He was going to tear down the temple…

Luke includes only 1 piece of evidence
That ultimately led to the condemnation of Jesus,
And that was that Jesus was condemned of blasphemy
Because He claimed to be God.

And that is what jumps out throughout this entire trial.

So let’s break this text down into 3 points.
#1 A CONTEMPTIBLE CLAIM
Luke 22:63-65

What we mean here is that Jesus’ claim to be God
Was one that immediately brought contempt upon Him.

Now, without the other gospel accounts you might not immediately understand the cause of what is happening here.

We have here “men who were holding Jesus in custody”
And they “were mocking Him and beating Him”

And if all you have is Luke’s gospel you might be tempted to ask, “WHY?”

But Matthew’s gospel answer the question.
Matthew 26:63-68 “But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

What you understand then is that the treatment Luke references
That Jesus is receiving from these men
Is in direct response to Jesus claim to be the Son of God.

This was at trial #2 in Caiaphas’ house
• Where they illegally forced Jesus to testify against Himself.
• But when Jesus acknowledged being the Messiah, the Son of God
• They immediately cried “He has blasphemed!” and passed judgment on Him.

Verses 63-65 demonstrate the response of the officers
And that is they held Jesus in contempt for His claim.

(63-65) “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.”

It’s just flat out contempt.
• They hate Him for what He claimed to be.
• They are mocking Him for what He claimed to be.
• They sought to humiliate Him for this claim.

They would blindfold Him, and take turns punching Him in the face
And ask Him to “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?”

And the irony of it all is that He knew every time who it was.

Psalms 139:1-4 “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.”

John 1:48 “Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

John 2:24-25 “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

• Jesus knew every single one of these men.
• And who knew who hit Him every single time.
• He even knew who was going to hit Him before they knew it.

And yet, the PASSIVE OBEDIENCE and MEEKNESS of Jesus
Is on tremendous display.

They mocked Him in contempt, and yet He willingly bore it.
Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”

Peter would later give commentary on this very scene and say:
1 Peter 2:23 “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;”

Did you catch that?

While Jesus was on trial, He knew where the real trial was;
He knew who the real Judge was.

While these men mocked Him in contempt,
Jesus simply kept His mouth shut
And waited for the real Judge to render a verdict.

And in case you missed it.
We have the actual verdict of the real Judge included here.

(65) “And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.”

Luke included it.
These men were guilty of blasphemy.
Jesus wasn’t on trial here.
Jesus didn’t have anything to prove.
Jesus just announced to these men that He was God,
THE REAL TRIAL was how they responded to His claim.

THEY FAILED.
They should have worshiped, instead they blasphemed.

To them Jesus claim was a CONTEMPTIBLE CLAIM
#2 A CONFIRMABLE CLAIM
Luke 22:66-70

Again I remind you of what is going on here in the Jewish scheme.

We read, “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”

As I told you last time there many legalities that were broken in regard to the way they were trying Jesus.
• According to Rabbinical Law you could not hold a trial at night, it had to a
public affair so that any possible witnesses with acquitting evidence might be
readily available.

That meant that before the Sanhedrin could legitimately condemn Jesus They at least had to have some semblance of a public and daytime trial.

That is what you are seeing here.
And if you’ll notice, they really only have one objective.

They just want Jesus to repeat publicly what He already said last night.
They just want to get Him to say again that He is the Son of God.
That’s the goal.

Now understand that Jesus has already been really abused
For making this claim earlier in the evening.

A man seeking to avoid any more abuse would stay away from that claim.
Certainly a man who wasn’t God would never say that again.

But here we are, and the council gets right to the point.

(67) “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe;”

And certainly you understand the Lord’s answer.
• Just a few hours ago He had told these same people that very thing.
• And when He told them who He was, they did not believe Him.
• Instead they cried, “Blasphemy!” and started beating Him.

HE KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE UP TO.
They are just trying to get Him to say it again so that everyone can hear and they don’t have to explain how He already admitted it in their secret and illegal trial.

And Jesus continues:
(68) “and if I ask a question, you will not answer.”

What is Jesus referring to there?
He’s referring to trial #1 when Annas interrogated Him.

John 18:19-24 “The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. “Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.” When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”

Jesus asked 3 questions there:
• “Why do you question Me?”
• “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong”
• “Why do you strike Me?”

But of course you notice that they never gave Jesus an answer.

So Jesus knows what is up here at trial #3.
• He knows what they are after.
• He knows that nothing He says will cause them to believe
• He knows that no defense He offers will cause them to answer.
• He is wise to their act.

Which is what makes His next statement so amazing.

A man seeking to save His own life would then say,
• “I know what you want, but you’ll get nothing from Me.
• You illegally arrested Me, tried Me, and beat Me.
• Why don’t you explain to all these people how I ended up here.”

BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT JESUS DOES.
Instead, He willingly gives them everything they wanted.

He repeats the very phrase that got Him condemned earlier
(69) “But from now on THE SON OF MAN WILL BE SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND of the power OF GOD.”

It is actually a mixture type reference
To two different Old Testament passages.

One is:
Daniel 7:13-14 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”

• Daniel received these night visions that terrified him regarding the coming kingdoms of the world.
• In particular it was the kingdom of the Anti-Christ that really terrified him.
• But Daniel also saw the final kingdom as that of Christ coming to rule the world.

The notable thing there is that the coming Savior is referred to as the “Son of Man”. Jesus assumed this title for Himself.

The other passage referenced here is:
Psalms 110:1 “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

Jesus sort of put both of those passages together
To identify Himself first at the Messiah
And secondly as the Son of God seated at God’s right hand.

Now, up in Caiaphas’ house
They immediately understood what Jesus was saying.

But now they are in the middle of the public trial,
And that statement is a little too cryptic for the average onlooker.

They don’t just want Jesus to give that statement again,
They want Him to admit what He meant by it.

They want to make sure everyone understands what He just said, so they push Him further.
(70) “And they all said, “Are You the Son of God then?”

In a courtroom scene it would be like the prosecuting attorney saying, “Here now under oath, so that the jury can understand exactly what you just said…are you saying that you are the Son of God?”

And notice the confident and absolutely confirmable answer:
“He said to them, “Yes, I am.”

Jesus unequivocally claimed to be the Son of God.
(incidentally: Son of God means God)

There was no denying it.
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD.

And that leads us to the 3rd point.

Contemptible Claim; Confirmable Claim
#3 A CONDEMNABLE CLAIM
Luke 22:71

Caiaphas now had the evidence he wanted.
Jesus had now said it publicly, in the daytime, before everyone.

“What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

And with that, they will lead Him to Pilate and ask for death.

They heard Jesus claim to be God and they condemned Him for it.

And this is all the evidence Luke includes.
• No sin mentioned…
• No witnesses shown…
• No evidence submitted…

From Luke’s perspective Jesus was condemned for one thing
And that was that He claimed to be God.

But they would have all done well to ask themselves one question:
IS HE?

Here we have a man who was just beaten for claiming to be God
And now, knowing that He faced death if He stuck to it, He states it again.

Jesus claimed to be God
At a moment when it was not beneficial to Him to do so.

They should have wondered why.
They should have asked, whether or not He really was.

INCIDENTALLY, YOU KNOW THAT HE IS.

We remember in the upper room when Philip told Jesus to show them the Father.
John 14:9-11 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”

And that is such a simple test to run.

Do you know anyone else who can:
• Raise the dead? (Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus)
• Give sight to the blind?
• Cleans lepers?
• Restore a withered arm?
• Cast out demons?
• Command the sea?
• Multiple a meal to feed 5,000?
• Command all the fish in the sea to gather on one side of a boat?

His works prove who He is.

• Or consider that He told the disciples that they would pray to Him.
• Or that the disciples worshiped Him and He did not rebuke them.
• Or that Thomas called Him “My Lord and my God” and Jesus said nothing.

But perhaps the greatest statement of Jesus comes in John 5
Where Jesus claimed to be God and they confronted Him.

John 5:18-23 “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

They accuse Jesus of claiming to be God’s equal and He doesn’t flinch.
HE MERELY POINTS OUT
• That He shares the Father’s Passion
• That He sees the Father’s Plan
• That He shows the Father’s Power
• That He shares the Father’s Praise

WHO DOES THAT IF HE IS NOT GOD?
JESUS IS GOD.

And incidentally, that is important for you theologically.

Jesus is about to go to the cross to bear the sin of all the elect for all time.
Only God can bear eternal wrath.
Only God can bear that much suffering.

He has to be God or there is no way He can atone for our sin.

That is why the N.T. writers were adamant about the deity of Jesus.

PAUL:
Philippians 2:6 “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,”

Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

Titus 2:13 “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,”

WRITER OF HEBREWS
Hebrews 1:1-3 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

PETER
2 Peter 1:16-18 “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased” — and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”

JESUS IS GOD AND IT MATTERS.

But what we see here is
Jesus was condemned by the Jews for declaring it.

I know, at first glance, it looks like Jesus is on trial, but He isn’t.
These men were and they just condemned themselves.

These men were just put on trial and they didn’t even know it.
• Standing before God they were simply asked to acknowledge that He is who He says He is.
• They were simply asked to acknowledge Jesus as God.
• They said, “No” and rejected Him.

They were a living fulfillment of passages

Like the one we just studied on Christmas day.
Isaiah 50:2a “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver?”

Or like we read in Psalms 2
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!”

God stood in their midst and they rejected Him.
They scorned Him
They mocked Him
They sought to kill Him

They would have done good to remember that
Both Isaiah 50 and Psalms 2 had warnings in them too.

Isaiah 50:10-11 “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.”

Psalms 2:10-12 “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!”

The warning was clear.
• Do not reject God when He reveals Himself.
• Do not turn on Him, for it won’t work out well for you.

That also helps us understand the preaching of the apostles in the book of Acts.

Listen now to what Peter preached at Pentecost.
• He was answering with regard to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• He pointed out how the Jews had crucified Jesus
• And How God had raised Him up.

Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”

• He is sitting at God’s right hand.
• Peter would go on to say you must “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus”

Later when Peter would preach again:
After healing the lame man,
Acts 3:13-19 “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. “And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

And again:
Acts 4:10-12 “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

And again:
Acts 5:29-32 “But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

You hear it over and over in the preaching of Peter.

When Jesus came you put Him on trial.
What you didn’t realize is that
It was actually you who were on trial, and you blew it.

You crucified the Lord of glory!
You crucified the Son of God!
And you had better repent, because there is a higher court.

There’s the message or warning to everyone this morning.

When Jesus is revealed to you, rejection is not an option.
• It may seem to you like at that moment you are being asked to make a judgment regarding Jesus…
• It may feel like Jesus is before you, and you are being asked to make a ruling on whether or not He is God or not…

THAT IS NOT THE CASE
• He is God, you’re ruling won’t change that.
• But at that moment, you are on trial.
• You are being watched by the higher court.
• What you do with Jesus will be documented and remembered by the God of the universe.

IT IS A SERIOUS THING.

YOU MUST SUBMIT TO HIM.
• Instead of blaspheming Him, you must worship Him.
• Instead of condemning Him, you must confess Him.
• Instead of mocking Him, you must trust Him.
• Instead of rejecting Him, you must submit to Him.

He is God, and to Him every knee will eventually bow.

Psalms 2:12 “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!”

Is that you?
• Have you don’t homage to Him?
• Are you taking refuge in Him?
• Or have you pushed Him aside and rejected Him?

Download Here:

The True Light
Isaiah 50
December 25, 2020

Isaiah 50 may be a little foreign to you as a whole,
But I’m confident that most of you probably recognized verse 6.

It is one of those passages typically referred to as
The “Suffering Servant” passages.
• It speaks of the Lord’s back being struck, His beard being plucked out, and His face being spit upon.
• And it certainly brings to the forefront of our minds the great suffering of Christ as He was crucified on our behalf.

But when you zoom out and read all of Isaiah 50
There is a much greater message
Than just the part about the Lord being abused in verse 6.

Isaiah 50 answers the question as to why Israel remains in darkness despite the fact that God’s Light has clearly shown.

It is a chapter that can then make a parallel application as to
Why the world lies in darkness despite the fact that Christ has come.

And the simple answer is because the world has rejected Christmas.

The boys and I went to Lubbock on Monday
• While we were there we went to get an oil change at Midas.
• I go there frequently and have developed a bit of a friendship with Tim the manager.
• He was sharing with me how many people this year have scowled at him, or even corrected him when he says “Merry Christmas” to them. Some frown, others correct him with a more politically correct “Happy Holidays”.

Look, it’s a stupid debate, and it speaks volumes to how petty, ignorant,
And literally stupid our society has become.

But it also explains why society is filled with such darkness and despair.

It is a lesson we should learn from Israel,
Because in Isaiah 50 they are in the same boat.

• In verse 10 we find people who “walk in darkness and has no light”
• In verse 11 we find that they have tried to make their own light source, but it
isn’t working.

They are learning the lesson that when you reject the true light,
Darkness is all you are left with.

And Isaiah 50 sets out to explain that to them.

You are aware that…
Isaiah likes the analogy of Christ as the Light of the World.

We’ve all read that FAMOUS PASSAGE in Isaiah 9.
Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.”

And then continuing:
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

Isaiah had already announced that the light was coming.
It was coming in the form of this child who would be born to us.

• This “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace”
• He would be the world’s great light.
• He would bring about salvation.

And of course you know that
The gospel writers quickly seized upon Isaiah’s announcement.

Matthew explicitly referenced it:
Matthew 4:12-17 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES — “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.” From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew saw Jesus enter that region and he started jumping up and down,
“It’s Isaiah’s Light!!!”

JOHN didn’t quote Isaiah verbatim but it’s clear John was paying attention.
John 1:4-5 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

John 1:9 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

THEY ALL SAW IT.
The Light that Isaiah spoke of was Jesus.

THIS MORNING you see that Isaiah 9 was not the only time
That Isaiah spoke about this great Light.

He is also referenced in Isaiah 50,
But in Isaiah 50 THE TONE is not one of anticipation, but rather regret.

Here we have a chapter,
Not to people in darkness because the light hasn’t come,
But rather it is addressed to people in darkness
Because the light came and they rejected it.

And that, sadly, is a much more RELEVANT message, even to our day.
Our world in so many ways suffers not because light hasn’t come,
But because light has been rejected.

John 3:19-21 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

And yet, though the tone is somber, and the warning is real,
The very fact that the warning is issued reminds us that
The True Light is still shining and will transform your darkness if you’ll stop trying to light your own fire, and simply run to Him.

We can break it into 3 points
#1 THE REJECTION
Isaiah 50:1-3

Now, we don’t have time to lay the whole thing out for you this morning,
But I will tell you this.
• While Isaiah was written over 600 years before Christ arrived…
• And while this passage certainly was relevant to those in Isaiah’s day…
• This passage actually reaches way into the future…

Isaiah 50 clearly looks to the time of Christ.
Actually Isaiah 50 looks beyond the time of Christ.
Isaiah 50 through 66 actually looks to the future salvation of Israel.

You are aware that
• Christ came, Israel rejected Him, and thus was “broken off”.
• We now live in the time of the Gentiles,
• But we eagerly anticipate the day when Israel “looks on Him whom they have pierced” and returns to Christ and is saved.

Isaiah 50-66 points to that day.
• It speaks of why Israel was broken off
• It explains why their Christ was crucified
• It exposes their useless religion and the weight of their rebellion
• It continually calls them to Christ for salvation
• And ultimately we see them saved in Isaiah 64 when they acknowledge that their righteous deeds are filthy rags and they submit themselves to the Potter.

And it all culminates in chapter 66 with the “new heavens and new earth” that is promised upon Israel’s return to Christ.

Isaiah 66:22-24 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “So your offspring and your name will endure. “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the LORD. “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

I just show you that to let you know that Isaiah 50 kicks off a very enlightening and prophetic segment that all points to Christ.

AND IT BEGINS with a confrontation of why Israel has been broken off.
It begins with a confrontation as to why Israel has been hardened.

(1) “Thus says the LORD, “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.”

The separation and the chasm are obvious.
• Israel has been for all intents and purposes “divorced” and “sold” by God.
• Paul refers to it as having been “broken off”.

The question of verse 1 is WHY?

And the answer is: SIN
“you were sold for our iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.”

It is a living picture of what Hosea speaks of.
• You’ve got here a harlot who has been sent away by her husband.
• (Now the good news, which Hosea also saw, was that God will one take her
back again to Himself)

But the point here is to first address why the break happened.
So Israel was sent away because of her sin.

WHAT SIN?
(2a) “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer?”

There is a reference there to a rejection of God.
God came, and Israel rejected Him.

Now certainly there was application for the people in Isaiah’s day, who had rejected God continually, but verses 4-6 show us there is an even bigger rejection in view.

Christ came and they rejected Him.

And this is unbelievable since God has never done anything
To prove He was anything other than a great Savior.

(2b-3) “Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness And make sackcloth their covering.”

God merely questions why Israel would reject Him as a Savior?
Has His salvation ever been inadequate? (No)
• Do they not remember Him parting the Red Sea?
• Do they not remember Him stopping up the Jordan River?
• Do they not remember His plague of darkness in Egypt?

God’s salvation has always been tremendous,
But this time, when He came to save, they rejected Him.

Why?

The Rejection
#2 THE REDEEMER
Isaiah 50:4-9

Do you know what you get in those 6 verses?
You get the gospel.

The Incarnation
(4-5) “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient Nor did I turn back.”

Those verses speak very clearly
To the Christmas reality we celebrate this morning.
Namely that God became flesh and dwelt among us.

And again, I must remind you that when Isaiah speaks in the first person here, he is not talking about himself.

Remember that story about the salvation of the Ethiopian Eunuch who was reading Isaiah 53?
• Well when Philip approached him and began to discuss the passage, the
eunuch had one main question.

Acts 8:34-35 “The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.”

His question was: WHO IS THIS ABOUT?
Philip said: JESUS

That is true of the entire end of Isaiah.
This is Jesus.

And here we see Him become human,
• Even become a disciple of sorts.
• He walks through pain and hardship to learn how to sustain those who are weary.

That is what Hebrews continually talks about that because He suffered and was tempted He knows how to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

• We see Him obedient to God and we could talk about His ACTIVE OBEDIENCE where He perfectly fulfilled God’s Law.

We see how committed He was
To living a holy and obedient life as a human on earth.

His Suffering
(6) “I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.”

A reference to the cruelty Christ suffered
During His arrest, trial, and ultimately His crucifixion.

But we also see reference to:
His Resurrection
(7-9) “For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me. Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them.”

We could go much deeper into that passage
And even examine the trials that Jesus endured,
But you get the basic point that
While the world was condemning Him, God would vindicate Him.

The ultimate vindication would come in the form of resurrection from the dead.
Psalms 16:10 “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”

But you see here the full gospel account.
THIS IS CHRIST.

And thus we also see
WHY HE WAS REJECTED when He came to save.

It is the same problem Isaiah will outline in 3 chapters.
Isaiah 53:1-3 “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.”

He didn’t fit the mold.
He wasn’t the Savior they were looking for.
• They wanted a warrior to deliver them from Rome.
• He was a Lamb meant to deliver them from God’s wrath.

They didn’t want to be saved from sin and so they had no use for Him.
He came, but they rejected.

And the RESULT of that rejection has been DIVORCE.
The result of rejecting the Light has been darkness.

And while this passage has its direct application to Israel,
There is still application to be made to our world.

Christ is the Light of the World.
He is the Savior of all men, in the sense that He is the only Savior for men.

But if you reject the Light, then darkness is all you get.
• The darkness of sin and immorality…
• The darkness of depression and hopelessness…
• The darkness of ignorance and deception…
• The darkness of death and hell…

Only Christ changes that.
If you reject Him then darkness is all you get.

The Rejection, The Redeemer
#3 THE REQUIREMENT
Isaiah 50:10-11

Here is Isaiah’s solution.
Here is Isaiah’s invitation.

(10) “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

This addresses the person who REALIZES they are in the darkness.
This is like the BLIND MAN in John 9 who knew he was blind.
• He knew he walked in darkness.
• He knew he had no light.

And the command to people in that condition is clear:
“Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

• Do you want to leave the darkness of sin and immorality?
• Do you want to leave the darkness of depression and hopelessness?
• Do you want to leave the darkness of ignorance and deception?
• Do you want to leave the darkness of death and hell?

Then call on Christ and trust in Him as your Savior!

John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 12:35 “So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.”

So this morning if you are in the darkness and you want to escape it.
• If you want your sin forgiven…
• If you want your hopelessness turned to joy…
• If you want ignorance turned to understanding…
• If you want death turned to life…

Then follow Christ; believe in Christ; call on Christ; trust in Christ.
That’s the instruction to those who know they are in darkness.

To those who are in darkness and DON’T KNOW IT,
There is a different invitation.
(11) “Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.”

• This is a man in darkness who doesn’t know it.
• This is like the Pharisees who attacked Jesus for restoring the blind man’s sight.

John 9:39-41 “And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

These people in are in darkness, but they fail to see it.

WHY?
Because they have lit for themselves a false light.

That is to say they are trusting in something else to deliver them from the darkness.
• They trust in their good works…
• They trust in their religious deeds…
• They trust in their Jewish pedigree…

It is false light.
Which by the way Jesus is called “the true light”

These men have a false light.
They “kindle a fire”
And so the Lord tells them to “walk in the light of your fire”
That is to say, “good luck with that”

But the end result?
“This you will have from My hand; you will lie down in torment.”

It won’t work.

There has only ever been one way to escape the darkness.
And that is with the true light of Christ.

And that is what I want to encourage you with on this Christmas morning.

We live in a world that is bent on spiraling into darkness.
It can be a hopeless scene.

BUT THE DARKNESS IS NOT INEVITABLE.

2,000 years ago Christ took on human flesh.

• He was given “the tongue of disciples”
• And He knows how “to sustain the weary one with a word.”
• He “was not disobedient”,
• Nor did He “turn back”.
• Instead, He gave His “back to those who strike”.
• He gave His “cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;”
• He did not cover his “face from humiliation and spitting.”

In short, He came to save, and He did it perfectly.
He came to save you from sin.

Christmas is all about that Light coming into the world.
And if you will trust in Him, you too can escape the darkness and have the light of life.

John 1:9-13 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Merry Christmas.

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The Trial of Peter
Luke 22:54-62
December 20, 2020

This morning we come to the famous text of Peter’s 3-fold denial of Jesus.
Even the unredeemed world knows about this one.

It is one of those stories that has the unique privilege
Of being included in all four gospel accounts.
(Even the raising of Lazarus or the transfiguration of Jesus didn’t hold that position)

I don’t know if that is interesting to you, but it is to me.
It is interesting that each of these writers,
While carrying us through the most important moment of the life of Christ,
Felt it necessary to take a moment and reveal this scene.

WHY?

By now you should know that the goal certainly WASN’T to embarrass Peter.
Luke has gone out of his way to spare the disciples any unnecessary shame.
• Luke didn’t talk about how John wanted to sit on Jesus’ right and left.
• Luke didn’t talk about how Jesus said they would all run from Him.
• Luke alone mentioned that Jesus commended the 11 for sticking with Him in
His trials.
• Luke didn’t mention the 3 times Jesus found them sleeping (only once)
• Luke didn’t mention that they all ran away in the garden
• Luke didn’t name Peter as the infamous sword swinger

Luke has been very CAREFUL NOT TO cast the disciples
In an overly negative light, and yet here it is.

EVEN LUKE INCLUDES THE DENIAL OF PETER.

I refer to it as “The Trial of Peter”

If you’ve read the gospel accounts of the suffering of Christ
Then you know that JESUS IS NOT THE ONLY ONE ON TRIAL HERE.

Oh sure, He stands before Annas and Caiaphas and the elders and Pilate and Herod and Pilate again and the mob, but Jesus is not the only one on trial.

Read John’s gospel
• Pilate is clearly the one who is on trial.
• He tries to do everything he can to get rid of Jesus without having to make a ruling on Him, but even Jesus won’t help him out.
• Pilate is forced to decide what to do with Jesus, and he chooses wrongly.

The same is true for the chief priests, Herod, and the crowd.

AND IT IS ALSO TRUE FOR PETER.
This morning, Peter is on trial.

And in that sense, Peter serves as a contrast to Christ.

You’ve already seen Luke use the disciples in this way once.
• Earlier in the upper room the disciples were arguing about who was the
greatest, but Jesus emerges as a contrast.

Remember?
Luke 22:24-27 “And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

Remember how Luke showed us the greatness of Jesus by contrasting Him to the disciples.
• In that room, only Jesus was humbling Himself
• In that room, only Jesus was laying aside His glory for others
• In that room, only Jesus was serving at His own cost

Jesus is the great one.

Well Luke does a similar thing here
When he includes this failure of Peter.

Where Peter is failing, Jesus is succeeding.

Both men are being simultaneously interrogated.
• Jesus is being interrogated at the hands of the Jewish elders and High Priests
• Peter is being interrogated by a couple of servant girls

• Jesus remains resolute and does not waiver.
• Peter falls to pieces.

The scene is the living embodiment of what Paul wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

So we are seeing yet again that Jesus is doing for the disciples
What they could not and would not do for themselves.

Well, let’s work our way through the text, and hopefully by the end of it, you will have an even greater understanding as to why you need Christ.

We’ll break the text down into 3 points.
#1 PETER’S SELF-CONFIDENCE
Luke 22:54-55

The outline here refers to Peter throughout, but do not make the mistake of thinking the story is primarily about Peter, it is not.

Peter’s denial is merely used to further the greater story about Jesus.
LUKE ISN’T talking all about Jesus and just all of a sudden
Had some weird decision to take a break in the narrative
And talk about dangers of self-confidence or principles of humility.

No, Luke is continuing the story of Jesus.
And this story is included as a fitting backdrop
And contrast to the coming trial of Jesus.

And it begins with Peter’s self-confidence.

(54-55) “Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them.”

Now this would not be significant if it weren’t for the fact that
Jesus has spoken extensively to Peter about what is going on.

Jesus had warned Peter that he was about to be sifted (22:31)
How did Peter respond? HE ARGUED
Luke 22:33 “But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”

Jesus had warned the disciples about the coming dangers. Remember the sell your coat and get a sword warning? (22:36)
But the disciples clearly MISUNDERSTOOD
Luke 22:51 “But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.”

Jesus had told the disciples to pray that they might not enter temptation (22:40)
But the disciples IGNORED IT and were sleeping.
Luke 22:45-46 “When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

All of that is self-confidence and arrogance.

Peter especially has adamantly proclaimed
That he is stronger than the Lord said he is.

That’s pretty self-confident.
• When you reach the point where you can tell the Lord that you are stronger than He thinks you are…
• When you reach the point where you think the Lord needs your deliverance…
• When you reach the point where you don’t think you need to pray…

And when you reach the point where you are willing to go into a situation
That the Lord has already told you that you can’t handle…

YOU ARE OVER THE TOP IN YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE.
That was Peter.

Here he was, following Jesus right into the lion’s den.

“Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest;”

I don’t want to deviate from Luke too much,
But I do think there is value in laying out the full scene.

If you read Matthew’s gospel,
You are continually confronted with what might be considered the injustice of Jesus’ trial.

There were laws, Jewish laws that meticulously spelled out how a Jewish trial must be handled (go listen to the Matthew sermons)

Things like:
• Couldn’t hold a trial in the middle of a feast
• Couldn’t trial a criminal at night
• False witnesses must suffer the fate of the one they seek to condemn
• Cannot force the accused to testify
• Must wait 3 days to pass sentence
• Any acquitting evidence immediately nullifies the trial
• And there’s a lot more.

Matthew just wants you to see that even by Jewish standards
The conviction of Jesus was a corrupt farce.

I simply want to remind you that by arresting Jesus
And taking Him at night to the house of the high priest,
They are breaking many of their own laws.

This is a setup.
They are stacking the deck against Him.

But let me show you how it all played out.

So Luke says “they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest;”

That would be the house of Caiaphas, he was high priest that year.

Now, as they reached the house, you remember
• That John was known to the priest and he was able to enter, but John had to speak on Peter’s behalf to get him in the gate.

John 18:12-16 “So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people. Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.”

It appears that there is a bit of a discrepancy because in John’s gospel
We find out that they “led Him to Annas first”

REMEMBER Annas had been high priest, and then each of his sons had been high priest and now Caiaphas his son-in-law was high priest.

I like to call Annas the Jewish godfather.
He ran the Jewish mafia so to speak.

Caiaphas was currently the priest, but Annas was in charge.

And so when they take Jesus to the house of Caiaphas,
Annas intercepts the transport in the courtyard
And he is the first to take a shot at Jesus.

And you read that account in John 18
John 18:19-24 “The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. “Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.” When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”

So after that impromptu trial Jesus is taken into the house
Where Caiaphas and many elders are there to try Jesus again.

That is the trial you read about in Matthew and Mark.
Matthew 26:59-66 “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, and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.'” The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!”

So Jesus has already been tried twice.

From there however, they have to make the trial appear legal because all of this has been done under the cloak of darkness.
• So early Friday morning, they take Jesus out of Caiaphas’ house,
• Back through the courtyard,
• And they take Jesus to what Luke calls the “council chamber”
• This was a bogus and sham trial, meant only for the optics where they again ran Jesus through the ringer just to try and make a sham trial appear legal.

That is the trial you read about in:
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.”

And following that, they lead Jesus on to Pilate to try and have Him killed.

So it is quite a night for Jesus.
3 times He is confronted and 3 times He holds His ground.
(You are already picking up on the contrast)

WELL, HERE IS PETER.
He has followed where he ought not to have gone
Since the Lord already told him that he was prime for sifting
And that he could not handle the coming temptation.

But Peter has followed anyway.
And by the time we get to verse 55

Peter is in the courtyard while Jesus is on trial.

(55) “After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them.”

He obviously thinks he is able to handle
What Jesus had told him he could not.

It is self-confidence and you already know that pride comes before a fall.

The warning of Paul rings in our ears:
1 Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

Well, there is Peter’s self-confidence
#2 PETER’S DOCUMENTED COLLAPSE
Luke 22:56-60

“And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”

THERE IS STRIKE ONE.

Let me give you more context.
John 18:16-17 “but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

This denial happened right off the bat.

At the point of this denial, Jesus was also in the courtyard
Being addressed by Annas that Jewish mafia leader.

Remember that was the one where Annas didn’t like Jesus’ tone so he ordered one of the officers to punch Jesus in the mouth?

So see the scene?
• Jesus is before Annas; Peter is before a servant girl
• Jesus is being punched in the mouth; Peter is being looked at intently.
• Jesus remains faithful, Peter fails.

And then at this point, as I told you,
They haul Jesus up into Caiaphas’ house where Peter is not allowed.

So Peter just stays out by the fire in the courtyard keeping warm.

(58) “A little later, another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man I am not!”

Incidentally, Mark reveals that the “another” here is another servant girl.

Mark 14:69-70 “The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!”

It is obvious that her announcement triggered the attention of the men sitting around which explains why Peter said, “Man I am not!”

But again the point.
• Jesus is up in Caiaphas’ house being accused and tried by the Sanhedrin; Peter is again being accused by a servant girl.
• Jesus is facing a jury of Jewish elders; Peter is facing a jury of common men.
• Jesus is facing false witnesses raised up against Him; Peter is facing one true witness.

And again Jesus stands his ground and Peter caves.

THAT WAS STRIKE TWO.

And then we come to the third.

(59-60) “After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.”

“After about an hour had passed” gives us indication as to how long Jesus was in Caiaphas’ house getting falsely accused.

• But now that trial is over and it is nearly morning (hence the rooster)
• Since it is almost daylight they’re taking Jesus back through the courtyard
• To His 3rd trial, which is that phony one meant to look legitimate.

And as Jesus is passing through we get Peter’s 3rd chance.
“Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.” But Peter said, “man, I do not know what you are talking about.”

John’s gospel says that this 3rd accuser was actually a relative of the man whose ear Peter had just cut off.

John 18:26 “One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”

That means that this could very well be one of the arresting officers,
Now leading Jesus to the next trial is identifying Peter.

The sun is coming up, things are clearing up, and one of the officers actually says “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”

This is a bit more serious than the previous two confrontations.
Two slave girls is one thing, but now we have a guy with some clout.

But Peter isn’t taking any chances and says “man, I do not know what you are talking about.”

Now, again Luke is gracious to Peter.

Matthew reveals:
Matthew 26:73-74 “A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.” Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!”

“curse and swear” doesn’t mean Peter started cussing.
It means Peter started saying things like, “May God strike me dead if I’m lying” or “I swear on my own health”, etc.

He was calling down curses on himself in order to prove he was telling the truth.

THAT IS STRIKE THREE

While Jesus is being hauled for one more trial, Peter has his 3rd.
And again, where Jesus stands strong, Peter fails.

His great confidence has collapsed.
Peter wasn’t nearly as strong as he thought he was.

And we read those famous words:
“Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.”

• Peter is giving it everything he has to prove he is innocent
• And defend his lie that he doesn’t know Jesus
• And the only one competing with him to be heard was that pesky rooster in the background.

And the words of Jesus are fulfilled.

Incidentally, many have said that since that day
That the rooster has become a symbol in the church of repentance.

Since this rooster would signify Peter’s failure, lead to his bitter weeping, repentance, and restoration by the Lord.

So the next time you lay in bed and hear a rooster crow
Just consider it a message from God that you need to repent.
(Or at least roll ever and remind your wife that she needs to)

But you see that Peter has blown it.
Jesus is succeeding, Peter is failing.

Peter’s Self-Confidence; Peter’s Documented Collapse
#3 PETER’S CRUSHING COMPREHENSION
Luke 22:61-62

No words are here spoken, but I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest
That this was the loudest sermon Peter ever heard.

“The Lord turned and looked at Peter.”

The timing of Peter’s third denial was divinely orchestrated
While Peter is speaking, the rooster is crowing.
While the rooster is crowing, Jesus and Peter make eye contact

I don’t what the look was.
• Was it the look your dad gave you when you messed up big?
• Was it the look your wife gives you when she “told you so”?
• Was it the look your grandma gave you when you were hurt?

I tend to think there was probably a look of compassion there.
A “Yes you blew it, but I still love you” look.

I don’t know.
But I do know what that look brought to Peter’s mind.

“And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”

As soon as Peter made eye-contact with Jesus
He immediately remembered that arrogant argument
He had the night before.

Luke 22:33-34 “But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

I’ll go to prison with You Jesus!
I’ll die with You Jesus!

Well here was Jesus, in the hands of His arrestors, on His way to death
And Peter was given the opportunity by one of the officers
To join the team and Peter ran from it with everything he had.

(62) “And he went out and wept bitterly.”

Why did he weep?
• Certainly in part because of what was happening to Jesus.
• Luke told us how in the garden that they were “sleeping from sorrow”.

The greater portion of Peter’s weeping had to do with the fact that Peter had just been slammed against his own weakness.

Peter just got an honest look at Peter.

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

Peter had just been laid open by the sword of God’s word.

James says that God’s word is like a mirror which a man looks into.
Peter had just been given a good look.

More than the coming death of Jesus,
Peter is weeping about the crushing death of Peter.

PETER WAS JUST PUT ON TRIAL before Christ and before God
And it was revealed to him that HE WAS NOT ENOUGH.

Humility is often a painful lesson to learn.
Pride is a hard enemy to kill and it typically takes a crushing blow to take it down.

And I’m NOT SUGGESTING that Peter was lost
And just reach a point of awareness of that fact.
• Peter was already aware that he needed Christ.
• Peter had already confessed Jesus as the Son of God.
• As Luke pointed out, Peter had been standing with Jesus in His trials.

But even the redeemed need their pride crushed.
Even the redeemed need to learn meekness.
Even the saved sometimes learn humility the hard way.

Peter was just reacquainted with the total inadequacy of Peter.
AND IT BROKE HIM.

It is painful when you lose that one thing
You thought made you better than the rest.

Peter had always been able to count on his boldness and strength.

Who was it that jumped out of the boat to walk on the water? Peter
Who was it that wielded the sword to take on the army arresting Jesus? Peter

When Peter told Jesus that even if all the rest fall away, he never would, PETER REALLY BELIEVED THAT.

EXPERIENCE had taught him that when the adrenaline hit
He had way more fight than flight in him.

EXPERIENCE had taught him that when others ran, he stood his ground.
• He was tough
• He was strong
• He was resilient
• He was unafraid

And sadly Peter had begun to rely upon that.

And the fact is that Peter could not save himself by his own strength.
It was a hard but necessary lesson.

Now let’s look at this in perhaps a different light than you are accustomed.

If we go back to those two great realities of Jesus:
His ACTIVE and PASSIVE Obedience.
• That active obedience being the righteousness He earned for us through His actively obeying the Law.
• That passive obedience being the wrath He bore for us through His enduring the cross.

Now, we are well-aware that we need the righteousness of Jesus.
We have often quoted Isaiah:

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

And I would tell you that Peter knew that.
Peter knew he wasn’t righteous enough to stand before God.

In fact, the first time Peter was confronted with the deity of Jesus, what did he say?
Luke 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Peter knew he needed Jesus for righteousness.

We know that.
We know about our inability to be righteous before God and that we need Christ.

But do you also know this:
Do you also know about your inability endure judgment?

Apparently Peter didn’t.
• Peter thought he could stand anything.
• Peter thought he could take it no matter how bad it was.

And what did he learn?
HE COULDN’T.

Peter already knew he wasn’t good enough.
Today he learned he wasn’t strong enough.

WHO WAS? Christ.

Only Christ was righteous and Only Christ could withstand the judgment.

Do you see why you need Him?
Only He can do what is required.
• Only He was righteous enough to satisfy the requirement of a holy God.
• Only He was strong enough to endure the judgment of a just God.

You are not.
I am not.
Peter was not.
WE NEED CHRIST

And it goes far beyond even goodness or strength.
There are other things people trust in about themselves that they shouldn’t.
• Are you smart enough to get to heaven without Jesus?
• Are you successful enough..?
• Are you a good enough negotiator..?
• Are you faithful enough..?
• Are you pious enough..?
• Are you rich enough..?

Whatever it is, the answer is: NO

Look, Peter wasn’t the only one to ever learn that lesson.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;”

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul came to the end of himself as well.

And the truth is simple.
Until you come to the end of yourself
You will never trust or glorify Christ as He deserves.

Here Luke (as did the other gospel writers)
Laid Jesus beside the strongest disciple in the bunch,
And it wasn’t even close.

1. Jesus is the greatest…
2. Jesus is the strongest…

And you need Him because you cannot endure what He endured.

• Have you ever humbled yourself and run to Jesus?
• Have you ever come face to face with your own filth or weakness?
• Have you run to Jesus for what He alone can do on your behalf?

You must if you are to be saved.

But even as those who are redeemed.
• Do you see your continual need for Christ?
• As the hymnist said, “I need Thee every hour…”

Peter would learn that wouldn’t he?
And the good news, the Lord forgave Peter.
The Lord restored Peter.

Remember the rest of that statement from Jesus that was made to Peter?

Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Kind of ironic that the message of Jesus to Peter was
“strengthen your brothers”

Well after this night, whose strength do you think Peter talked about?
It wasn’t his own was it?

HIS HUMILITY LED HIM TO THE GLORY OF CHRIST.

I just want you church to see how badly you need Christ.
• Nothing you possess is of any quality compared to Him.
• Nothing you can do is of any worth compared to Him.
• Nothing you know…
• No ability you possess…
• No trade you have mastered…

It’s all worthless compared to Him.
It’s all a filthy garment.

You need Him in every facet of your life.
And so do I!

He is a great and strong Savior!

Download Here:

The Soldier’s Psalm
Psalms 91
December 13, 2020

As you note by the title, Psalms 91 has often been referred to as
“The Soldier’s Psalm”

There is a disputed story that has floated around that in the WWII the 91st brigade adopted this Psalm and every one of them survived the war.
As I said, that story is disputed, but of course in our day, what story isn’t?

The Psalm has been adopted by military men throughout the years
As a very fitting prayer for men about to face battle.

The author is not mentioned, Jewish tradition typically holds that if a Psalm has no author listed then it is attributed to the previous Psalm.

Many, therefore, think the author of this Psalm is Moses.
Apparently there is even some sentence structure and grammatical evidence to back that up when you compare Psalms 90 & 91 together.

Now, obviously, no one can be dogmatic,
But if that is the case then what we have here is a Psalm
Wherein Moses is preparing Joshua for the conquest.

That would make it literally THE SOLDIER’S PSALM

That is even more fitting if you remember what the scouting intel revealed
When the children of Israel scouted this land 40 years ago.

Numbers 13:32-33 “So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Many years later, Joshua would now lead this young army into the Promised Land to face the enemy that terrified their parents.
No doubt they would all need a little encouragement.

This Psalm also presents itself as timely encouragement for us
Who live in an ever changing world with ever growing hostilities.

NO ONE KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS.
This Psalm encourages you however that the dangers of tomorrow
Are irrelevant if you trust in God.

Honestly, this Psalm preaches itself.
It drips with encouragement from top to bottom.

I will, just give you a few indicators to pick up on as we read it together
To perhaps help you catch the feel and the flow of the writer.

When you read the Psalm it becomes quickly obvious that the Psalm changes POINTS OF VIEW a couple of times.

• Verses 1-2 are written in the 1ST PERSON as the Psalmist talks about himself
and his own personal commitment and confession.

• Verses 3-13 move to the 2ND PERSON where the Psalmist talks to “you”
(perhaps it is Moses talking to Joshua)

• Verses 14-16 move to the 3RD PERSON where we have God now talking
about “him” (perhaps God’s answer to Moses encouragement)

Seeing those points of view helps us understand the mood of the Psalm.

THE WRITER IS NOT THE ONE IN DANGER,
Or at least not the one who is shaken by it.

The Psalmist is writing from experience.
• The encouragement he is giving here is tested and true.
• While it is certainly theological, more than that, it is testimonial.

It brings to my mind the book of 2 Timothy
• Where Paul, the faithful servant, is now passing the mantel to Timothy
• And promising him that God is faithful to care for him in this difficult and
dangerous ministry.

2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

2 Timothy 3:10-11 “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”

2 Timothy 4:16-18 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Paul isn’t encouraging himself in that letter.
He’s writing to Timothy to let him know that God is faithful,
And can be trusted, and should be trusted.

That is the feel of this Psalm.
We have a man who has proven God writing to a man who is about to.

Let’s work our way through it together.
3 points.
#1 THE CERTAINTY OF GOD’S PROTECTION
Psalms 91:1-8

We begin here with the 1st PERSON account.
It is the testimony of the writer.

It is THEOLOGICAL.
(1) “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

• It’s not theoretical
• It’s not wishful thinking
• It is theological fact

If you choose to rest yourself under the Mighty Hand of God,
Then you will find yourself resting under
The shade of God’s powerful protection.

There is a New Testament equivalent to this statement.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

I always like the “Bicycle Built For Two” analogy.
• Christ will do all the peddling, but He gets to sit in front, and He gets to steer.
• But the effect for you is rest.
• You get the easy yoke, He takes the hard one.
• You get the light burden, He takes the heavy one.

That is the same thing the Psalmist says here.
If you will in effect surrender yourself to the authority of God and come under His shelter, you will find yourself resting in His shade.

Incidentally, I love the analogy of shade.
Anyone who has lived in very many Texas summers understands the analogy of shade.

We have various forms of shade in Texas, and while they are all favorable to direct heat, they aren’t all the same.
• We have manufactured shade, like hats or carports or canopies.
• We have grown shade, like trees that we can get under.
• But the best shade by far has always been a cloud.
• Nothing will cool you off faster than when a cloud comes over.

And if Moses was indeed writing this Psalm what an image he just projected to Joshua as Israel was living under God’s glory cloud by day.

There is shade and shelter for those who dwell under God’s roof.
Implied there is certainly submission as we even make statements like,
“If you’re gonna live under my roof, then you’re gonna obey my rules.”

We also like the word “abide”
• Especially from the New Testament as it brings to our mind the call of Jesus to
“abide in Me” as in His vine and the branches analogy.

Jesus there used a word that meant “remain”.
“Stick with Me.”

The word here means to “lodge”
Come under the protection of God’s roof
Where you are safe from the elements and safe from dangers,
Put your mind at ease and rest.

The idea is of resting here forever.

And because it is worth it the author of the Psalm says
This is a decision that he himself has made.

(2) “I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust!”

I almost wonder here if the idea isn’t MORE OF ADVICE THAN TESTIMONY
As if the Psalmist is saying, “I would say if I were you” or even “I have said”.

But I’m not skilled enough in Hebrew grammar to make that distinction
So we’ll stick with the translation here and see that the Psalmist
Is giving his own personal affirmation to the theology.

I personally am submitting to God and abiding in Him.

And then the Psalmist goes into full blown encouragement.
• He moves to the 2nd PERSON
• Where he is now encouraging his brother to do the same,
• And he lays out the benefits.

(3-4) “For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”

Verse 3 speaks of 2 dangers.
• “the snare of the trapper” – we might view that as temptation.
• “the deadly pestilence” – we might view that as the effect of temptation.

Satan is a tempter referred to as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
Satan is also a liar and murderer who seeks only to steal, kill, and destroy.

POINT being here that there is an enemy.
And if you abide in the house of God, you are safe from him.

“He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”

And we of course remember Jesus:
Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”

I have read numerous stories of this type of protection.
The most recent told a story of a grass fire that had burned hundreds of acres.
After the fire went through someone found a chicken roasted to a crisp from the fire.
But when they moved the hen, they found still alive under her wings, her chicks.

That is certainly the imagery.
There is protection from PHYSICAL DANGER.
There is protection from SPIRITUAL DANGER.

But listen, there is even protection from ETERNAL DANGER here.
When Jesus offered to gather Israel under His wings,
He wasn’t just offering to protect them from Satan,
But also from the wrath of God.

Consider this passage:
1 Peter 3:18-21 “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, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”

• Peter there speaks of how Christ died and descended into Hades and made
proclamation to spirits now in prison.
• But Peter jumps from there into the days of Noah and how Noah and his
family were brought safely through the flood waters.

And then Peter makes this statement.
“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you – not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Here we find that Christ descended into Hades,
But that He also emerged up from the grave.

And all those who are in Him
(that is baptized into Him, not by water, but by repentance and faith
or an appeal to God for a good conscience)
Are therefore in Him carried through the judgement as well.

Peter compares Jesus to Noah’s ark.
• If we are in Him, then in Him we are crucified, buried, and raised.
• Christ is the ark that carries us through the judgment.

In Him we survive the danger.

Do you see that same analogy when Jesus was offering to gather Israel under His wings?
• He was offering to safely carry them through the danger.

The Psalmist here says that God does that for those who abide in Him.

Psalms 36:7 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”

There is real protection here.
• Protection from Temptation
• Protection from Death
• Protection from Judgment

Because of this protection, there is a BLESSED REALITY for you to enjoy.

(5-8) “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.”

The first and most immediate effect of such protection
IS THE TOTAL ABSENCE OF FEAR.

“You will not be afraid…”

It speaks of a person who is well secured in their house.
• They are sleeping in a bunker.
• Nothing and no one can get to them.
• Not “the terror by night”
• Not “the arrow that flies by day”
• Not “the pestilence that stalks in darkness”
• Not “the destruction that lays waste at noon”

We don’t know much of night terror here in America,
Where you go to bed and wonder if someone will invade your home
And attack in your sleep.

We know it’s a possibility,
But people typically trust their dead bolt or their security system.

BUT IMAGINE A SOLDIER.
I’ve told you of those WWII documentaries, and the men who had it (in my estimation) the hardest where the men in the Pacific.

• They would invade an island and move inland and then nightfall would come.
• One younger marine who was paired with an experienced one shared the story how the experienced marine told him to be very quiet, and if jumped by a Japanese soldier in the night, not to use his gun, but only his knife.
• They couldn’t afford to give the Japanese their position with a gun shot.

• And they would tell stories how the Japanese would try to incite the marines into making noise by yelling things like, “Babe Ruth is dead” or “We destroyed the Statue of Liberty” or “Bob Hope is a liar”

The point being, those men shook in fear all night long
That a Japanese soldier might drop into their fox hole at any moment.

• That is what you call “terror by night”

Then of course you wake up the next morning
• And face the actual gun fire and mortar blasts of the Japanese army
• That is “the arrow that flies by day”

Of course also on your mind is the fact that death can come at any moment out of nowhere.
• All of a sudden it is upon you,
• That is “the pestilence that stalks in darkness”

Ultimately you realize that death is a real possibility,
• That is “the destruction that lays waste at noon.”

All of those things are legitimately terrifying things
And yet if you abide in the shadow of the Almighty
“You will not be afraid”

Because if you abide in God, you are sleeping in
The most well-fortified bunker the world could ever imagine.

He goes on to say, (7) “A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.”

We are speaking of one who is absolutely untouchable by the enemy.

Now, certainly we are aware that if taken too literally
And applied to every circumstance than we have a problem.

After all:
Romans 8:35-36 “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

Luke 21:12-13 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.”

Certainly God’s people have died.
Certainly God’s people have been persecuted.

It is better to understand this more accurately as the reality that
No one can touch you without the Lord’s divine permission.

But in that case we are guarded with the promise that
Whatever the Lord allows must end in our good.

But you understand the protection here.
This is the hedge God had placed around Job
So that Satan could not get him.

Remember that?
I wonder if you notice.

Job 1:8-10 “The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”

God asked Satan if he had considered Job.
Did you catch Satan’s answer?

• “Have You not made a hedge about him…
• …and his house…
• …and all that he has…
• …on every side..?”

Had Satan considered Job?
YES, EXTENSIVELY.

Satan had looked at every possible option for getting at Job,
But Job had been protected.

And so are those who abide in God.
• Nothing and no one can touch them apart from God’s sovereign will.
• They are safe.

They need not fear evil, all they need do is ANTICIPATE VICTORY.
(8) “You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.”

• You will not lose
• You will not be destroyed
• You will win
• You are protected.

1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

So you hear the Psalmist’s encouragement to
Dwell “in the shelter of the Most High”

Because of the Certainty of God’s Protection.
#2 THE COMPETENCE OF GOD’S PLATOON
Psalms 91:9-13

The Psalmist begins this segment with a promise.
“For” there can also be rendered “Because” and I find that more fitting.

“[Because] you have made the LORD, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.”

I would share here a story from Spurgeon’s commentary.
• I have read many of Spurgeon’s notes on many of his Psalms and this is the first time I have ever heard him give such a story.

He writes:
“Before expounding these verses I cannot refrain from recording a person incident illustrating their power to soothe the heart, when they are applied by the Holy Spirit. In the year 1854, when I had scarcely been in London twelve months the neighbourhood in which I labored was visited by Asiatic cholera, and my congregation suffered from its inroads. Family after family summoned me to the bedside of the smitten, and almost every day I was called to visit the grave. I gave myself up with youthful ardour to the visitation of the sick, and was sent for from all corners of the district by persons of all ranks and religions. I became weary in body and sick at heart. My friends seemed falling one by one, and I felt or fancied that I was sickening like those around me. A little more work and weeping would have laid me low among the rest; I felt that my burden was heavier than I could bear, and I was ready to sink under it. As God would have it, I was returning mournfully home from a funeral, when my curiosity led me to read a paper which was wafered up in a shoemakers’ window in the Dover Road. I did not look like a trade announcement, nor was it, for it bore in a good bold hand-writing these words: – “Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” The effect upon my heart was immediate. Faith appropriated the passage as her own. I felt secure, refreshed, girt with immortality. I went on with my visitation of the dying in a calm and peaceful spirit; I felt no fear of evil, and I suffered no harm. The providence which moved the tradesman to place those verses in his window I gratefully acknowledge, and in the remembrance of its marvelous power I adore the Lord my God.”
(Spurgeon, C.H. [The Treasure Of David; Volume Two; Hendrickson Publishers; Peabody, MA] pg. 92)

Spurgeon speaks of the release from fear
And the absolute invisible security he found on that day
Through these words.

Well, more than just speak those words,
The Psalmist actually gives the reasoning for trusting them.

We certainly already learned of the certainty of God’s protection,
But the Psalmist wants you to see more of it.

He unlocks for you the doorway of heaven
• And allows you to momentarily take a look into the spiritual realm
• Where you are invited to gaze upon the forces that work tirelessly to protect
you.

(11-13) “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.”

The Psalmist calls attention to
What is most certainly with you this very moment,
But which you cannot see.

They are part of that “hedge” that surrounded Job.
IT IS THE ANGELIC HOST; THE ARMIES OF GOD.

Let me ask you,
• If you were in danger and someone sent the Navy Seals to your home for protection, would you feel safe?
• What if they dispatched to you the secret service, would that do it?

Well you’ve got something better than them,
YOU HAVE THE ANGELS OF GOD.

And God has sent them on behalf of the elect.
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”

They are sent to work on behalf of those whom God has chosen to save.

Psalms 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.”

We remember the prayer of Elisha who had a fearful servant:
2 Kings 6:17 “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

We remember the warning of Jesus to those who would cause a little one to stumble into sin.
Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”

And we remember how angels ministered to our Lord both during His temptation in the wilderness and during His temptation in the garden.

They are present.
And they war on your behalf.

The Psalmist promised his brother that:
“He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.”

They are there to protect.
Even to keep you from stumping your toe if it so pleases the LORD.
(12) “They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.”

Ultimately they work to help you secure your victory.
(13) “You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.”

I don’t think it’s coincidental that
Satan is compared to both a lion and a serpent.

The point is, your protection that you enjoy may be invisible,
But that does not mean it is incompetent.

They are there, warring on your behalf, protecting and ensuring victory.

Now, certainly, again that DOES NOT MEAN that
No believer will ever be injured or die.

We understand that God does allow it, but the greater promise is that
There is no permanent danger or destruction for the child of God.

Spurgeon would go on to write:
“It is impossible that any ill should happen to the man who is beloved of the Lord; the most crushing calamities can only shorten his journey and hasten him to his reward. Ill to him is no ill, but only good in a mysterious form. Losses enrich him, sickness is his medicine, reproach is his honour, death is his gain. No evil in the strict sense of the word can happen to him, for everything is overruled for good. Happy is he who is in such a case. He is secure where others are in peril, he lives where others die.”
(ibid. pg. 93)

You also recognize this passage as the one which Satan quoted to Jesus when trying to tempt Him to throw Himself off the temple.

Jesus responded:
Matthew 4:7 “Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'”

And the one sentence commentary by Jesus
Helps us greatly in our application.

These promises are not given so that you will go running into gunfire as though bullets will bounce off of you.

We are not to test God in such a way.
That is a Satanic application of this passage.

But these verses DO REMIND that
If God where to put you in a place where bullets are whizzing by everywhere that none can hit you unless God so allows it.

Because God’s protection is certain and God’s platoon is competent.

There is no reason to fear.

#3 THE COMFORT OF GOD’S PROMISE
Psalms 91:14-16

Now the writer moves to the 3RD PERSON and reveals to us
The evidence that seals the deal and destroys our fears.

Not only is God capable of protecting us,
But God has promised to do so.

These 3 verses are the Romans 8 of the Old Testament.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

Romans 8:37-39 “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That is the sentiment here.
• God promises deliverance “therefore I will deliver him;”
• God promises security “I will set him securely on high”
• God promises help “I will answer him”
• God promises presence “I will be with him in trouble”
• God promises honor “I will rescue him and honor him”
• God promises satisfaction “With a long life I will satisfy him”
• God promises salvation “And let him see My salvation”

Those are awesome promises and they are absolutely non-negotiable.
God cannot lie
They are certain.

They are however conditional.
• Conditional first upon you abiding in the shelter of the Most High.
• And conditional here upon you loving God, knowing His name and calling upon Him.

Did you catch those?
(14) “Because He has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.”

• These are NOT promises that the unregenerate enjoy.
• These are NOT promises that the world may claim.
• These are the promises reserved for the redeemed.

• These are for those who love God.
• These are for those who have called upon the name of the Lord.

And for those, these promises are forged in iron.

Psalms 33:18-22 “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You.”

Psalms 37:7-11 “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”

Psalms 27:1-3 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.”

Psalms 27:13-14 “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”

You get the idea.

SO WHAT’S THE POINT OF THIS PSALM?
It’s easy – TRUST GOD

TRUST HIM ACTIVELY
That is to say, confess Him, abide in Him, enter His house, take His yoke.

That is for the lost who have never confessed Him.
Do that.

But it is also a call to the redeemed.
TRUST HIM PASSIVELY
That is to say, stop worrying, stop fearing, rest in Him.

I know the enemy rages and roars.
I know the enemy threatens and howls.

Trust God.
• Trust the certainty of His protection.
• Trust the competence of His platoon.
• Trust the comfort of His promises.
• And go forward like a faithful soldier.

Nothing will touch you outside of the will of God,
And everything God allows is commanded to work for your good.
DO NOT BE AFRAID.