THE HIGH PRIEST AND PONTIUS PILATE
What is the main idea of the message? We must learn to listen to, walk in and practice THE TRUTH.
Jesus washed his disciple’s feet in love and compassion. Pilate washed his hands in disdain and rejection.
Truth. noun, 'trüth, plural truths\ 'trüt?hz , 'trüths \
Definition of truth
1a(1): the body of real things, events, and facts : ACTUALITY
(2): the state of being the case: FACT
(3) often capitalized: a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality
b: a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true. truths of thermodynamics
c: the body of true statements and propositions
2a: the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality
chiefly British: TRUE SENSE 2
c: fidelity to an original or to a standard
3a: sincerity in action, character, and utterance
archaic: FIDELITY, CONSTANCY
: in accordance with fact: ACTUALLY
Truth | Definition of Truth by Merriam-Webster (Merriam-webster.com)
“Confidence in our institutions is lower than ever. The home, The Church, Our Government. The Bible tells the truth about man, God, and the devil.” Billy Graham, 1983
Here’s a simple definition is drawn from what the Bible teaches: Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God.
https://www.gty.org/library/Articles/A379/What-Is-Truth
People turn to worship bugs, animals, and other human beings because they have no moral requirements.
https://www.gty.org/library/Articles/A379/What-Is-Truth
Following his defeat at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Mark Antony heard a rumor that Cleopatra had committed suicide and, in consequence, stabbed himself in the abdomen—only to discover that Cleopatra herself had been responsible for spreading the rumor. He later died in her arms. ‘Fake news is nothing new, but in our internet age it has spread like a disease . . . What Is Truth? | Psychology Today
READ . . .
FIRST INTERROGATION, The High Priest.
19 Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them.
20 Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. 21 Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”
22 Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.
23 Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”
24 Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.
Jesus is the Truth; He needs no defense!
Jesus is the Truth; He calls for witnesses
SECOND INTERROGATION, Pilate the Governor
28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate Passover.
29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”
30 “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31 “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.
THE AGENDA - CRUCIFY HIM!
“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32 (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.)
33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.
34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
JESUS DECLARED HIS KINGDOM
36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”
Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
WHAT IS TRUTH?
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”
40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
Chapter 19. Jesus Sentenced to Death
Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2 The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. 3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.
4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” 5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”
6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”
7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law, he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever.
9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?”
But Jesus gave no answer.
10 “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”
11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”
13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!”
15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!”
“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.
16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.
How will I organize my exposition of the passage?
The Interrogations
The High Priest
Pilate, The Governor
John MacArthur declares, “We now live in a ‘post-truth era.’”
1. LISTEN! The TRUTH must be heard! She calls out in the streets, “Listen to me!”
Faith comes through hearing the word of God.
The test is when you speak the truth in the face of a lie.
An observation or interpretation is not THE TRUTH.
“MY TRUTH” is an individual’s personal interpretation of the situation in which they find themselves.
IL: The laws of gravity, believe it or not, operate.
2. WALK! The TRUTH must be walked in.
TRUTH belongs to God
“Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Rom. 3:4).
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:5
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Truth is objective, not up for public opinion.
Spiritual law. “I can do whatever I want and nothing will happen.”
Moral law.
Natural law has immediate consequences. We all must submit to it, it cannot be changed.
Truth never changes
3. PRACTICE! The TRUTH must be practiced.
What do I do when TRUTH goes against my interests and desires?
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18
honesty speaking If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 1 John 1:6
What stories or object lessons will I use to emphasize the message?
~ No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. ~ Abraham Lincoln
~ I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell. ~ Harry S. Truman
~ Always telling the truth is no doubt better than always lying, although equally pathological. ~ Robert Brault
~ Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most times he will pick himself up and carry on. ~ Winston Churchill
~ It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place. ~ H. L. Mencken
~ Truth gets well if she is run over by a locomotive, while error dies of lockjaw if she scratches her finger. ~ William Cullen Bryant
~ Truth is not exciting enough to those who depend on the characters and lives of their neighbors for all their amusement. ~ George Bancroft
~ It is perfectly monstrous the way people go about nowadays saying things against one, behind one's back, that are absolutely and entirely true. ~ Oscar Wilde
Funny Truth Quotes - Carlton's Quote Corner (weebly.com)
Facts are not necessarily THE TRUTH.
What will I ask my congregation to change as a result of this message?
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ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS
ENCOUNTER THREE
THE HIGH PRIEST AND PONTIUS PILATE
What follow up, open-ended questions do I want small groups to discuss?
• Describe a time someone lied and was caught in it. What was the outcome?
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• What are some of the sources of “truth” the secular world uses?
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• Why do you believe they seek and use these sources?
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• Jesus calls forth witnesses to what He had taught publicly. Why is this so important?
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• Describe the tone and result of Pilate’s encounter with Jesus.
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• Why do you think Pilate was so frightened after his encounter with Jesus? (what other passages support this?)
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• What does John MacArthur mean when he says we “live in a post-truth” era? What are the cultural implications of this?
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• Have you heard someone refer to “my truth?” What do you believe they mean by that?
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• What will you do this week to LISTEN TO, WALK IN, and PRACTICE the truth?
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