SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Jesus & the Council (Chapter 22 verses 63-71)
(2). Jesus & Pilate (#1) (chapter 23 verses 1-7)
(3). Jesus & Herod (chapter 23 verses 8-12)
(4). Jesus & Pilate (#2) (chapter 23 verses 13-25)
SERMON BODY:
• We all know and have probably used the expression,
• "Ask a stupid question and you'll get a stupid answer."
• The phrase is often used when the answer is obvious, but unhelpful,
• Or when the question is clearly impossible to answer.
• Here are some gems, true remarks that were actually spoken in a court of law.
• They were taken from the book, "Disorder in the Court."
(1).
• Q: What is your date of birth?
• A: July fifteenth.
• Q: What year?
• A: Every year
(2).
• Q: What gear were you in at moment of the impact?
• A: A Gucci sweater and Reebok trainers.
(3).
• Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?
• A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which!
• Q: How long has he lived with you?
• A: Forty-five years.
(4).
• Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
• A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
• Q: And why did that upset you?
• A: My name is Susan.
(5).
• Q: All your responses must be oral, OK?
• A: OK.
• Q: What school did you go to?
• A: Oral.
• TRANSITION: From the ridiculous to the significant!
• We are looking this morning at the trial & crucifixion of Jesus.
• You will have noted in your last study,
• That Jesus was arrested about midnight in the Garden of Gethsemane,
• In the next twelve hours he will be tried six times – you heard right – six times,
• Before being crucified the following noon.
• It’s worth noting that,
• None of the four gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John),
• Give to us all six trials of Jesus in chronological order.
• You will need to do a bit of detective work to get this information.
• So, let me bring them together know so that we have a full picture,
• Of the events about to take place.
Note:
• Jesus would have six trials and those trials divide into two groupings.
• Three are religious (Jewish) trials, and three are civil (Roman) trials.
• All these six trials were carried out on Good Friday,
• It would last eight long hours, from 2 AM to 10 AM,
(A). At the three Jewish religious trials – Jesus was condemned:
• The First Religious Trial (Jewish): before Annas,
• (John chapter 18 verses 12-14 & 19-24).
• There were two High Priests mentioned during the time of Jesus' ministry.
• Annas wielded the power of high priest during this period.
• Caiaphas merely held the title and served as chairman of the Sanhedrin.
• That is why the soldiers bound Jesus and brought him first before Annas & not Caiaphas.
• Decision by Annas: Guilty, the signal is given to execute Jesus.
• The Second Religious Trial (Jewish): before Caiaphas,
• (Matthew chapter 26 verses 57-68).
• Decision: Guilty, charge of blasphemy,
• Because Jesus proclaimed himself as the Messiah, as God the Son.
• The Third Religious Trial (Jewish): Sanhedrin,
• (Matthew chapter 27 verses 1-2, Luke chapter 22 verses 63-71).
• Decision: Guilty and the outcome will be he must die!
(B). Three Roman Civic trials where Jesus was declared innocent.
• The First Civil Trial (Roman): before the Governor of the province of Judaea, Pilate,
• (John chapter 18 verses 28-38).
• Decision: Not guilty.
• The Second Civil Trial (Roman): Herod,
• (Herod was appointed tetrarch of Galilee by the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar).
• Luke chapter 23 verses 6-12.
• Decision: Not guilty.
• Third Civil Trial (Roman): Pilate again.
• John chapter 18 verses 39-19:6.
• Decision: Not guilty, but he still granted the religious leaders request to kill Jesus.
• (Matthew chapter 27 verse 26).
NOW IN OUR PASSAGE THIS MORNING (VS 53-65):
• We are looking at the Third Jewish Religious Trial.
• Where Jesus is on trial before the Jewish religious leaders.
(1). Jesus & the Sanhedrin.
Question: Who were the Sanhedrin?
Answer: The Sanhedrin was the supreme council, or court, in ancient Israel.
• (a). The Sanhedrin was comprised of 70 men,
• Plus, the high priest, who served as its president, making it 71 men.
• (b). The membership was made up from the chief priests, scribes and elders,
• But there is no actual record on how they were chosen.
• (c). They were a court that had legislative, executive, judicial, civil, criminal,
• And ecclesiastical powers over the Jewish people,
• They were the religious & political heavyweights of Jesus’ day.
• In Jewish cultural and religious life, they carried all the power!
• And there was a name for anyone who messed with them, It is, ‘victim.’
Now at this point in time, the Sanhedrin had made for themselves a problem:
• They had decided that Jesus must be killed,
• To them he was an imposter, therefore guilty of blasphemy.
• They like everyone has to answer the question – ‘Who is Jesus?’
• But sadly, they came up with a wrong conclusion.
• Let me throw that question out to you this morning, – ‘Who is Jesus?’
Ill:
• Who is Jesus?
• In chemistry, he turned water to wine.
• In biology, he was born without the normal conception.
• In physics, he disproved the law of gravity when he ascended into heaven.
• In economics, he disproved the law of diminishing return,
• by feeding 5000 men with two fish & five loaves of bread.
• In medicine, he cured the sick and blind without administering a single dose of drugs.
• In history, he is the Beginning and the End.
• In government, he said that he shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Prince of Peace.
• In religion, he said no one comes to the Father except through him.
• Jesus had no servants, yet they called him Master.
• Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher.
• Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer.
• He had no army, yet kings feared him.
• He won no military battles, yet he conquered the world.
• He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
• As we will soon see in our studies,
• He was buried in a tomb, yet Christians believe he lives today!”
• So, the question we all must ask is, ‘Who is Jesus?’
The religious leaders decided that Jesus was an imposter and must be killed:
• Because this man Jesus, did not play by their rules,
• And he showed up the hypocrisy of these religious leaders,
• And was not afraid to condemned them and shame them publicly.
Ill:
• One of my favourite holiday destinations is Turkey.
• In one of our favourite towns called, Kalkan,
• Is a jewellers shop and in the window is a big sign saying, ‘Genuine Fakes.’
• TRANSITION: These religious leaders were ‘Genuine Fakes.’
• And when Jesus publicly called them out,
• Humanly speaking he was signing his own death warrant!
• But because they were occupied and being ruled by the Romans,
• These leaders did not have the authority to carry out such a sentence.
• So, they needed to create a charge that would carry weight in a Roman court,
• And so, these religious leaders would subtly change the charge,
• From blasphemy to rebellion against Rome.
(2). Jesus & unjust treatment (chapter 22 verses 63-71)
• In this final section of chapter 22,
• We see some examples of Jesus experiencing injustice.
FIRST: JESUS IS PHYSICALLY ABUSED – BEATEN (VS 63-65)
“The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him.”
• The guards are brutal; and rough.
• Remember at this moment in time Jesus has not committed any judicial crime.
• There is no reason apart from cruelty to treat him this way.
• Just imagine the outrage that would occur,
• If our authorities were to treat a prisoner like this today!
• As far as these Roman soldiers were concerned,
• Prisoners had no human rights, they are just pieces of Jewish meat,
• They can be treated or mistreated according to how these Roman soldiers feel.
SECOND: JESUS IS MENATALYY ABUSED - MOCKED (VS 63-65)
“The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him.
They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?”
And they said many other insulting things to him.”
• The Roman guards had obviously heard Jesus described as a prophet,
• So, they use that title in derision.
• Later they would mock his claim to be king.
• (John chapter 19 verses 1-3).
• But this mocking by the guards is exactly what Jesus predicted would happen,
• (Luke chapter 18 verses 31-33).
“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.””
THIRD: JESUS IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY ABUSED - INTERREGATED (VS 63-65)
• The Sanhedrin could not vote on capital offences at night,
• So, they have to wait and meet again the next day.
• And they meet as early as they are allowed to.
“At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”
They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You say that I am.”
Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
In these verses Jesus’ makes several startling statements:
• FIRST: He calls himself the “Son of Man”
• This is a Messianic title found in Daniel chapter 7 verse 13-14.
• SECOND: He is claiming to be, The Son of God.
• He does this by reminding them of what their own scriptures teach.
• By alluding to, quoting Psalm 110 verse 1 a Messianic psalm.
• Jesus is claiming that he will fulfil this psalm and he will sit at God’s right hand,
• In doing so he was affirming that he was indeed their Messiah, The Son of God.
• He is the one David and Daniel prophesied about in Old Testament writings,
• (Psalm 110 verse 1 & Daniel chapter 7 verse 13
• See also Acts chapter 2 verse 34 & chapter 5 verse 31)
(3). Jesus & Pilate (#1) (chapter 23 verses 1-7).
Ill:
• A lady took her four-year-old granddaughter to church for the first time.
• The little girl sat quietly taking in the scenery of her unusual surroundings.
• And trying to take in every aspect of the service.
• During the Ministers prayer her ears pricked up,
• The pastor had prayer, “We thank You, Lord, for Your presence.”
• The little girls full of excitement whispered to her grandmother,
• “Granny, we’re gonna get presents!”
• TRANSITION:
• How sad that these religious leaders had no idea who was present in their midst!
• This should have been the highlight of their lives, instead they are clueless!
The religious leaders take Jesus to Pontius Pilate and ask him to execute Jesus:
• Pilate knew that the charge was blasphemy.
• That was a Jewish religious issue, that did not interest him,
• He was a Roman and only interested in judicial charges.
• So, wanting to appease these leaders and hopefully get rid of them,
• Pilate thinks he has found an escape route,
• Detecting that Jesus was a northerner (from Galilee),
• Pilate decides to send him to that region of the country,
• Pilate is shrewd, his logic is simple, let someone else deal with this problem!
(4). Jesus & Herod (chapter 23 verses 8-12).
“When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.”
Notice: That before Herod in Galilee Jesus said and did nothing.
• In verse 8 Herod was hoping to see a miracle,
• But Jesus was not a performer who did miracles for entertainment!
• The miracles of Jesus were performed to help people,
• He saw a need, he met a need,
• He was interested in helping people not entertaining them!
• The miracles of Jesus were also done as signs to the nation to prove who he was.
• Jesus would say, “even though you do not believe me, believe the works,”
• (John chapter 10 verses 37-38)
• Jesus was not a performer who did miracles for entertainment!
• His miracles were never to amuse or to entertain people!
• And because Jesus did not tick the boxes that Herod wanted,
• He sent him back to Pilate (vs 12-25).
(5). Jesus & Pilate (#2) (chapter 23 verses 13-25).
Ill:
• A man at work was moaning at the problem before him,
• He stopped moaning after his boss sent him this email.
"Be thankful for problems, for if we didn't have them, you wouldn't be here and if they were less difficult someone with less ability would have your job."
• TRANSITION: Pilates job was to solve problems,
• To keep the peace and make sure his region was running smoothly.
• In these verses we see Pilates plan of action.
FIRST: He tries to appease the religious leaders and the crowd.
• He offers to punish, to beat Jesus and release him.
• But the religious leaders want more than a severe beating.
• They want this man’s death!
SECOND: (vs 24) he gives in to the shouts of the stirred-up crowd.
• And agrees to kill Jesus.
• Even though three times in these verses he declares Jesus as innocent!
• (verse 4 verse 15, verse 22)
• He bows to the peer pressure of the crowd.
• Pilate was either a weak man, swayed by public opinion and going for the easy option.
• Or an uncaring man who sees all these vents as an interruption to his busy day.
Ill:
• The story is told of a centurion,
• That when he reached his 100th birthday he was asked,
• "Sir, what is the greatest thing about being 100 years old?”
• With a smile and a gleam in his eye, Ed said “No peer pressure!”
• TRANSITION: Sadly, Pilate was a weak leader,
• He gave into peer pressure and let others make up his mind for him.
Application:
• Question: How do we handle peer pressure?
• It will affect each one of us at some time.
• Peer pressure can be the reason many a person does not follow Christ.
• Peer pressure can be the reason many a Christian does not stand up for Christ.
Ill:
• Proverbs chapter 29 verse 25:
• “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”
• An animal with its foot snared is a sad and pathetic sight,
• Going around in circles trying to escape,
• Yet the more it tries to escape the more pain it causes for itself.
• TRANSITION: That is what peer pressure does,
• It traps us and it pains us.
• But trust, faith in God sets us free,
• He who fears the Lord need not fear people!
In conclusion:
Question: who is Jesus? And how do we respond to his claims?
• The Sanhedrin rejected him.
• Herod rejected him. chapter 23 verses 8-12)
• Pilate rejected him twice!
• What about you?
