The Way: On Trial
John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I. Introduction
Most people spend their entire life without ever stepping into a courtroom. For that matter, most people spend their entire life with a kind of ‘healthy’ fear of going to jail or even being convicted of something which could put them in jail. This, in turn, helps them to stay along a legal path, the so-called ‘safe’ path that keeps them out of trouble, and ultimately out of jail.
There was once some research conducted on two men, who, as children, lived next door to each other. This childhood was over 100 hundred years ago, and, the research that was conducted simply followed their lives, their choices of lifestyles and outcomes, and their children’s choices, and their children’s children’s choices. Again, it was simple research, but the results were very revealing. The one child got saved around ten or twelve years old and the other didn’t. The one child that got saved went to all the Church functions, Sunday Schools, Christmas plays, etc., while the other did not.
Both men made an impact on their descendants. One chose the road to Christ, the other man, ‘a good man,’ chose the way to destruction. Nothing big or dramatic came out of either of the men’s lives other than their attitude toward life and choosing God over this world.
What was different about these two men was their descendants. The man, who got saved as a child, grew up with Christ by His side and the wisdom of the Spirit providing the answers and correct choices that he needed to make. His descendants were Missionaries, Pastors, Councilmen, Doctors, Lawyers, and lots of average people, too.
What about the man without Christ? Well, his line was a little different. His descendants were mostly average people, and mostly non-Christian. Some were on welfare or receiving money from the government in one form or another. Some were small-time burglars, and some were in trouble with the law for various other small crimes, and there were some average people, too.
When we choose to follow the path to Jerusalem…what a difference in life Christ can make!
Jesus took the path to Jerusalem. Everything about His life was geared toward Jerusalem and the work that lay before Him there. Nothing was done that did not implicate the saving grace of God available through the pending work of the cross. But, first, He was going to have to go the way of the cross, first.
The way of the cross is difficult. Jesus said, (Matthew 16:24) "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
But, it is well worth it. What is its worth? It is worth your very soul, (Matthew 16:25) “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
The way of the cross, the way to Jerusalem for Jesus did include His divine birth, His Ministries and His Teachings, but it is concluding with:
His Betrayal
His Arrest
His Persecution
These same things are included for the followers of Christ as well. Each one of these points holds a parallel to our life in Christ today. How? Well, to begin with, you and I put Jesus on the path to Jerusalem. Then, we (that is, our sinful state) crucified Christ. It wasn’t just the Jews, or the Pharisees, or Pilate, or the Centurion that put Jesus on that cross. It was you and me as well. So, you see we, that is mankind, betrayed, arrested, and persecuted Jesus!
Additionally, your life in Christ, your conversion, your Christian infancy, your Christian walk, though different from person to person, is roughly similar to Jesus’ betrayal, arrest and persecution. Somewhere in your Christian walk is a connection to this: The Way: On Trial.
We recently read some scripture that mentioned the fellowship that Christ had with the Father before the beginning of the world.
(John 17:5) And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus knew before the foundations of the world were begun that He would have to step down from heaven and assume a life on this earth. That He would have to travel the path to the cross for the sins of His people, you and me.
I hear so often the phrase, “Why am I guilty of something that Adam and Eve did? Why do I have to pay for their mistake? Well, as Christians we know that we do not have to pay for their so-called fall. We know that Jesus paid it all!
Only God can restore the fellowship that was enjoyed with Him before fall. But, many people turn a deaf ear to this fact. Many will simply refuse to listen. There are many that will say that it’s their right not to listen and if you were to speak to them about it, well…, then you’re breaking the law. This is happening in our civilized countries. We have a right to express our perversions but not our religious freedom. We have a right to belittle or put down our appointed leaders in public, but, we can not lift up our Creator in an open forum, because it’s against the law.
In Isaiah 53, we see a prophecy that was foretold many years before Christ appeared in human form.
(Isaiah 53:1) Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
This passage of scripture and other passages of the Bible are very clear about three points.
Man is born in a sinful state
God is at work reconciling the world to Him
Christ died on the cross to take care of those first two!
In this passage of Isaiah we see the prediction of the coming Savior of the world! But, it’s not like any brochure or advertisement for a movie or big event that we’ve ever seen before. Actually, it’s more of a summary of His entire life, a prediction of His appearance and the total disregard that His people had for Him. We see the anonymity of Christ foretold. We see the disregard of the people for their Savior. We see the pain, the punishment, the persecution, and the sacrifice. We see:
His Betrayal
His Arrest
His Persecution
II. The Message
His Betrayal
As we mentioned before, the points that we are presenting, His Betrayal, His Arrest, and His Persecution, closely parallel our own lives. When we look at our own lives before Christ, they resemble these points. We betrayed Christ by making fun of those that went to church or read their Bibles, or prayed, or when they came through on the subway shouting the way of the Lord. Unless you were saved at a young age, before you knew the ways of the wicked world, you had the chance to betray Christ many times. But, even as Christians we have the opportunity to betray Christ. Yet, we then fall under conviction, and thanks be to God, that we need only confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.
Betrayal is treachery, duplicity, infidelity or unfaithfulness. Have you lacked faith at times? Then, simply put, you were unfaithful, and you betrayed Christ. But, again, that is why He died and is now there at the right hand of the Father. As we lift up our confessions of sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to make intercession on behalf of us before the Father.
In Zechariah 11:4~14, we have in eleven Scripture verses the sad state that the Jewish religious system had transformed into:
Zechariah 11:4 This is what the LORD my God says: "Pasture the flock marked for slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ’Praise the LORD, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land," declares the LORD. "I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will oppress the land, and I will not rescue them from their hands." 7 So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, "I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh." 10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the LORD. 12 I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Keep Zechariah 11 and Isaiah 53 in mind as we see in His Betrayal three sub-points,
-Predicted in Scripture
-Fulfilled in Scripture
-Predicted in You and Me
-Predicted in Scripture
In Zechariah 11, we see the state of the religious system in the nation of Israel reviewed and predicted. We see the history of the nation of Israel in its turning way from God and doing what they thought was right and we see the prediction of the coming tragedy.
The nation of Israel was worshipping in a manner that they thought would bring benefits and material growth at the price of subjugating and oppressing the people. Kind of sounds like the present-day world a little doesn’t it?
The prophet Zechariah reveals the Word of the LORD to the people. And, he assumes the role of a type of Christ, as the prophet Isaiah was sometimes made out to be. The extent of these verses is to predict and to show that for judgment Christ came into this world (John 9:39).
(John 9:39) Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
The prophet Zechariah is pointing out the desperate case of the Jewish church and people under the oppression of their own people! His attempt to point out the desperate case of the Jewish church and people resembles Christ’s time on this earth when the chief priests and the elders were the possessors of the flock and they, the chief priests and elders thought that Christ’s life and work were worth only thirty pieces of silver.
The Betrayal of Jesus was predicted, and the cost of that betrayal, the very soul of Judas, is found in scripture.
Prior to our coming to Christ as our Lord and Savior, we betrayed Him. The very act of not coming to Him when we were first presented with the Gospel was an act of betrayal. We betrayed Him when we continue to follow the ways of the world. We betrayed His Word and Sacrifice by reaping the wages of sin rather than accepting the offer of the gift of eternal life. We betrayed Him daily in our thoughts, our words and our actions, and, because of our sin nature that desires to take hold of us. But, again, thanks be to God, for He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Not only was the betrayal of Jesus predicted, but like every one of God’s predictions before, it is Fulfilled in Scripture.
-Fulfilled in Scripture
Every minute of every day of Christ’s ministry was a divine appointment. We are given a glimpse of this time schedule in John 2:4, where Jesus says,
"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."
Elsewhere in Scripture, we see His keeping a ‘Scripture Fulfilling time schedule’ as well:
(John 7:30) At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.
(John 8:20) He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.
The betrayal of Jesus was fulfilled through the son of perdition know as Judas Iscariot. Judas means, “Praise Yahweh.” However, this was not the case.
-Predicted and Fulfilled in Me
How about you? How do you fit into this? Are you able to see how any of the prediction and fulfilling has taken place in your life? Can you relate your life before Christ as one of betraying Christ? Or, how about now? For you that have put your faith in Jesus, have you, like Christ, been betrayed by family, relatives, old friends, or co-workers?
Is there any Prediction or Fulfillment of Betrayal in your life today, either against you, or, coming from you?
Take heart! That is why Jesus went to the cross, to put to death the old nature. We are reminded by this by Jeremiah:
(Jeremiah 29:12~14) Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
During this time of the year, Jesus’ Betrayal should be one of the things in our minds as a warning that it is easy and simply to fall into sin.
His Arrest
As we look into the world, we can readily see those that have been given over to their sin. Paul tells us in Romans, chapter 1, of this giving over to sin, whatever form of sin it happens to be. In that chapter, Paul tells us three times, and dealing with three separate areas of our lives, that God gives them over to their sin. He tells us that God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts, the sinful desires of their minds, and the sinful desires of their bodies. Every person that is given over to their sins by God will suffer a Judas death.
Saul was given over to his sin and suffered a Judas death. Hitler was given over to his sin, and suffered a Judas death. Can you think of anyone in your life that has become so wrapped up in their sins that God has given them over to their sins and suffering a ‘living’ Judas death? If God hasn’t taken them out of this world yet, continue to pray.
Now, let’s switch to the world we know, to the world that surrounds us.. What about those in the Christian world? What about those that make professions of faith, but later fall away or ensnare the congregation to fill their own pockets with money? This Pharisaical attitude arrests Jesus all over again. This puts Jesus back on trial before the world. All the world is given the opportunity to once again see the “Christians” taking advantage of the meek, the weak, and the poor in mind and spirit.
Judas put a black mark on Christianity from the world’s point of view. But, from the Christians’ point of view, we must view it as something that had to be done.
The same holds true in the Christian world today. God allows these wolves in sheep’s clothing into our own congregations either as leaders or members to build us up in the faith and to keep us strong spiritually. They are usually easy to recognize, as long as our relationship with God remains active. Additionally, we must discern their intentions, rebuke and correct, and then thank God for the lesson and the growth and go on in His will.
Of course for Jesus it was easy to recognize Judas for who he was. But, the other disciples had trouble, why? Because the Spirit was not yet IN them, and, after they received the Spirit, they were able to discern why Judas did what he did [see Acts 1]
We have the Spirit. And, as long our relationship with God remains active, those that are only in the church for either social or monetary benefit are easily recognized by the Spirit that dwells within each one us. Though the Spirit attempts to convict them of their wrong path, they choose rather to disobey and continue along the road to destruction. They choose to walk the wrong path.
The death of Ananias and Sapphira
(Acts 5:1~5) Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
The death of Ananias and Sapphira happened for exactly the reason it says in verse 5, “When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.” God used the selfishness and pride of two individuals to teach the entire church a lesson.
Further, how did Peter know that Ananias and Sapphira had lied to the Holy Spirit? The Spirit dwelling within him revealed the walk of Ananias and Sapphira to him.
-The Walk of the Deceiver
Every person on this earth has a walk set forth by their actions and choices that were made during the course of their lives. Every person that that is set upon by the Spirit to interact with Christians, such as Judas was, has a walk defined for them by God. Yes, there are some that will be set upon or prompted by the Spirit to interact with Christians and never become Christians. But, like Judas, we will be able to discern, we will be able to recognize their hidden agenda, their hidden reason for coming to church. If it be God’s will that they come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then AMEN. However, if it be God’s will that person be placed among the brothers and sisters as a wolf in sheep’s clothing to encourage growth, or to point out a weakness in the pastor or deacons, and never become a Christian, then AMEN.
The walk of the Christian should be the walk of Jesus. We should attempt, in Him, to walk the way of Jerusalem like Jesus, and not the walk of Judas. The walk of Judas led to the arrest of Jesus.
Now, let me ask you this question “Does your walk lead to the arrest of Jesus?” Arrest has several similar meanings, let’s look at two of those:
=Capture – One meaning for arrest is to capture or to take into custody. This is what happened to Jesus. He was taken into custody by the temple guards.
=Halt – Another meaning for arrest is to halt, or to stop, or impede. This is what happens to the cause of Jesus when someone attempts to come into the way for their own social or monetary benefit. Judas had been riding the coattails of Jesus and the way for the last two or three years. He had been selected as the treasurer, or, simply the man that held the money purse for the group of believers. It also tells us in scripture that Judas had been secretly stealing money from the purse for some time. His actions were impeding or slowing the work of Jesus and when Judas arranged with the chief priests to betray Jesus, Jesus quoted this verse from Zechariah:
(Zechariah 13:7) "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
Jesus quoted this verse in Matthew 26, prior to His arrest by the temple guards. When the flock or the shepherd is struck, that person that strikes the shepherd, like Judas, will receive the same reward as Judas. He ended up in a field bought for foreigners, called the potter’s field.
A wolf walking among the sheep will know and use all the church words. They’ll be familiar with all the so-called Spiritual culture that Christians use and speak, and may even be able to quote a lot scripture.
His Persecution
Jesus’ persecution began as soon as He was brought before the chief priests. And, it didn’t end until He gave up the Spirit on the cross.
Whips, cords, fists, kicks, and slaps were all used in an attempt to exact upon Him the rage that the Pharisees had. They felt threatened by Jesus. They knew that if He were allowed to continue, the people would be swayed, and they would not have any control over the people any longer. Yes, they were quick to admit that He did many miracles, but, they were also quick to admonish Him for His questioning their motives and traditions. They became blinded by pride and power.
We are no different today. When we wrongfully question the Lord’s will and way for our lives, we are, again, persecuting Jesus. God’s plan for me may include me, but that doesn’t give me the right to refuse or to turn down His wisdom and guidance.
Summary:
The Path to Jerusalem for Jesus contained His Betrayal, His Arrest and His Persecution. Our lives as Christians will also, in some form or another, contain similar Betrayals, possible confinement and most assuredly persecution. Are you up to it?
(Hebrews 12:2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
