It Matter. The Trial Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• We are quickly closing in on Easter, and as we prepare for Resurrection Sunday, we have been examining why the events leading up to the resurrection of Jesus matter.

• The fact that Jesus was born of a virgin, that He was in Bethlehem, that He is was from the line of David, these details are vital in our quest for following the Messiah.

• Last week, Jerry took you through a journey through the Old Testament to as we examined the important details of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus.

• Today we will dive back into the book of Isaiah as we examine why the trial of Jesus mattered.

• When the Jewish leaders were unhappy with Jesus, why didn’t they just hire someone to kill Him, that way they could claim they had no part in His death.

• One cannot really say it was because they were against murder, on several occasions they sought a way to do just that. Those leaders had no conscience when it came to protecting their turf, and Jesus was cutting into their territory.

• I love the book of Isaiah because of the time frame of the writing of the book, it was over 700 years from the time Isaiah wrote the book until the events of Jesus’ life unfolded.

• We will not have to do a lot of page turning today, we will mainly be in the book of Isaiah as we examine why the Trial of Jesus matters.

• Let’s turn to Isaiah 53, we will begin in verse 3!

• SLIDE #2

• Isaiah 53:3 (HCSB) — He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

The trial matters because…

I. The trial represented our rejection of Jesus.

• When we think of what happened to Jesus, it is easy to think about how horrible it was for those loser Jews to do what they did to Him.

• One cannot become indignant when they think about the injustice that was heaped upon Jesus.

• I think a great number of people would think that in no way did Jesus deserve what He received from His own people.

• I mean, for the most part, the Romans did not want to have anything to do with crucifying Jesus.

• When Jesus was brought before the Roman authorities, they were not eager to do anything with Him.

• SLIDE #4

• Luke 23:4 (HCSB) Pilate then told the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no grounds for charging this man.”

• Pilate did not want to get involved in what he perceived as a religious matter.

• So Pilate find a way out; he found out that Jesus was a Galilean.

• SLIDE #5

• Luke 23:6–8 (HCSB) — 6 When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 Finding that He was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days. 8 Herod was very glad to see Jesus; for a long time he had wanted to see Him because he had heard about Him and was hoping to see some miracle performed by Him.

• Herod was glad to see Jesus, not so he could crucify Him, but rather, he wanted to see Jesus perform a miracle.

• After mistreating Jesus, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.

• People progressed from failure to desire Jesus to despising Him and rejecting Him, refusing to even look at Him.

• Jesus was the object of rejection by the Jewish leaders, those who listened to them as well as the Roman officials who finally put Him to death.

• The trials before Jewish authorities, the religious trials, showed the degree to which the Jewish leaders hated Him because they carelessly disregarded many of their own laws.

• There were several illegalities involved in these trials from the perspective of Jewish law: (1) No trial was to be held during feast time.

• (2) Each member of the court was to vote individually to convict or acquit, but Jesus was convicted by acclamation.

• (3) If the death penalty was given, a night must pass before the sentence was carried out; however, only a few hours passed before Jesus was placed on the Cross.

• (4) The Jews had no authority to execute anyone.

• (5) No trial was to be held at night, but this trial was held before dawn.

• (6) The accused was to be given counsel or representation, but Jesus had none.

• (7) The accused was not to be asked self-incriminating questions, but Jesus was asked if He was the Christ.