We were out and about yesterday with all of Fort Wayne. Apparently, everyone left their
house yesterday and were all in the exact same place that we were so. It's people with
their windows down, like 38 degrees outside, it's like I don't even know what's going on
with that but I'm excited that it's not two degrees. Are you excited about that too? Alright.
That's good. If you see Curtis Smith around. He's probably still in Haiti. He's down there
in Haiti but if you see him in the coming week, you can thank him for the weather
warming up. He takes personal credit for the weather being good and deflects blame if
it's not so good. So I'll have to give him a hard time about that.
I'm glad you all are here today. I'm so grateful that you're here joining us for the
dedication of these kids and I want to reiterate what Kathy said just a minute ago. I can
remember when our kids were dedicated many years ago - too many years ago. Baby
dedication here, for the church at Blackhawk, is coming alongside the family and us
making a covenant, making a promise, that we're going to come alongside you and
dedicate ourselves to being a blessing to you. Raising kids is hard. Raising kids in the
21st century is harder still. So that's our promise and that's the dedication that we made
when we prayed those prayers a minute ago, was that we're going to come alongside
you and be a ministry and be a blessing to you. So thank you for coming.
If you're visiting with us today, thank you for being here. We hope that you're
encouraged by what you hear. We are in a series leading up to Easter Sunday called
Four Days. We began on the day before the day of the crucifixion at the Last Supper,
which is Thursday evening of the week, and we're working our way through Thursday,
Friday, Saturday and Sunday - four days. What a four days it was, to be sure.
This morning we're jumping in into Luke 22, starting in about verse 63, so you can open
your bibles. There are some notes in the bulletin if you want to take a look at those as
well. While you're turning this morning, you've no doubt, at this point, either heard of the
movie or the book "American Sniper". Anybody heard of the book or the movie
"American Sniper"? A lot of you have heard of it. $474 million dollars it has grossed to
this point. It's the highest grossing war movie in American history. We make a lot of war
movies in America. We have a lot of things to be proud of in the way that our soldiers
conduct themselves.
American Sniper is the most decorated sniper in American history. We've had a few of
those. He is, by far, the most decorated. When he came back home, like many of our
soldiers in recent days, post-traumatic stress is now a part of his life and he dedicated
himself to serving other people, to helping other soldiers who faced post-traumatic
stress to make it through, to find some light in what is increasingly a difficult thing to live
with. Living in the light of what they experienced is a very difficult thing.
Part of that responsibility he took upon himself was to reach out to a young man that
was, like him, experiencing post-traumatic stress and he went with him to a shooting
range and was murdered by this young man. The young man who murdered him has
recently been found guilty in a trial and now they're moving down the line.
We have a remarkable, emotional response to the story. This man who dedicated his life
to serving other people; first in the military and then after his military career, serving
others who were in harms way, and $474 million dollars has been grossed because of
this movie. It's been a remarkable response to the book and then the movie that
followed after it. This man suffered and was killed as an innocent man and we have this
remarkable outpouring, this remarkable, emotional response. The story is a difficult one
even to wrap our heads around and we connect with this innocent sufferer and the
family he has left behind, tragically.
Friends, I want to offer you this, this morning: This is in your bulletins as our guiding sort
of statement for the series that we're in. Jesus comes as the sovereign, suffering
Servant do to for us what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus comes as the sovereign,
suffering Servant to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. That's the guiding
principle throughout these four days, these weeks leading up to Easter.
If you connected emotionally with the story of an American serviceman serving other
people, I invite you to connect emotionally also with this Man, this Man from Nazareth,
who came not to be served but to serve, to give His life as a ransom for many. That's
the story, friends, that we've entered into; that's the mindset we invite you to take as we
approach Resurrection Sunday. This is a remarkable story and I invite you in this
morning to it with us, Luke 22 starting in verse 63. Let me read this story and then we'll
talk about it for a minute. We're going to read all the way down to Chapter 23:5.
Before I start reading, I'll give you some context, a little rewind of the last several weeks
in case you're just joining us: The night before He is crucified, before He's killed, before
He's murdered, Jesus has dinner with His disciples. At that dinner He invites them to reimagine virtually everything in light of Himself: What's going to happen the next day.
They go out to a place they would often go to pray, to the Mount of Olives, and once
He's there, one of His disciples having decided to betray Him to the authorities, brings a
mob. They arrest Him and are now carrying Him away, having already been arrested.
That's where we find ourselves in Luke 22:63. Maybe your heading in your bibles says
"Jesus is mocked." That's what mine says, so we are jumping into a rather frightful
scene this morning.
Luke 22:63 "Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him as
they beat Him. (64) They also blindfolded Him and kept asking Him, 'Prophesy! Who is it
that struck You?' (65) And they said many other things against Him, blaspheming Him.
(66) When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both
chief priests and scribes. And they led Him away to their council and they said, (67) 'If
You are the Messiah, if You are the Christ, tell us.' But He said to them, 'If I tell you, you
will not believe, (68) and if I ask you, you will not answer. (69) But from now on the Son
of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.' (70) So they all said, 'Are
You the Son of God, then?' And He said to them, 'You say that I am.' (71) Then they
said, 'What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from His own
lips.'"
Luke 23:1 "Then the whole company of them arose and brought Him before Pilate. (2)
And they began to accuse Him, saying 'We found this Man misleading our nation and
forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is [Messiah] Christ, a
king.' (3) And Pilate asked Him, 'Are You the King of the Jews?' And He answered him,
'You have said so.' (4) Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds. (I invite you
to underline this in your bibles if you're so inclined.) 'I find no guilt in this Man.' (5) But
they were urgent, saying, 'He stirs up the people, teaching throughout Judea, from
Galilee even to this place.'" (ESV)
Jesus comes as the sovereign, suffering Servant to do for us what we couldn't do for
ourselves. He's endured this suffering, friends. None of His suffering is meaningless and
because He suffers, because the innocence Jesus suffers on behalf of the guilty - you
and I - none of your suffering is meaningless. It seems that way doesn't it? Why is this
happening? How could this be? And I invite you to frame your suffering through the lens
of Jesus' suffering. The most powerful demonstration of the love of God is the suffering
and death of Jesus Christ on your behalf. That is exactly why He has come and that's
good news, friends. I know that in this world we need good news. Spring is coming.
That's good news, but it won't be Spring forever. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today, and forever.
Verse 63 says the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him as they
beat Him. They mocked Him; they made fun of Him. That's what that word means. They
"ridiculed" Him, they "mocked" Him. Look at all these verbs: They were "holding" Him;
they were "mocking" Him as they "beat" Him. They "blindfolded" Him and they kept
asking Him prophesy, because a prophet, of course, would know those things. So He
didn't pass their test. What are your expectations of Jesus? He didn't meet their
expectations. So I'm going to blindfold You, I'll hit You in the face. "Tell me who hit You?"
He didn't do that. "You're no prophet."
I wonder if our expectations of Him meet those that are different than that? Are you
frustrated that He hasn't done what you want Him to do? They were. "You're no
prophet." He passed their fake test. He'll be accused here (verse 65) of blasphemy later
on. Here, He is the object of blasphemy. To blaspheme is to slander, to disrespect, to
speak disrespectfully of. That's what they were doing to Him.
A couple of passages here from Luke 7. I don't know if they'll be on the screen before
you or not. I'm starting in Luke 7:11 if you want to turn back there with me - just a few
pages to the left in your bibles. "Prophesy" they say.
This is a story from Luke 7:11. It says "Soon afterward He went to a town called Nain,
and His disciples and a great crowd went with Him. (12) As He drew near to the gate of
the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother,
and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. (13) And
when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep.'"
I'll pause for a moment. None of your suffering is meaningless and all of it matters to
Jesus. It mattered to Him here, it matters today.
(14) "Then He came up and touched the bier (the thing he was lying on), and the
bearers stood still. And He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise.' (15) And the dead man
sat up" - amazing - "and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother." Gave him
to his mother. (16) "Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying 'A great prophet
has arisen among us!' and God has visited His people." That's who He really is.
The soldiers hit Him in the face, having blindfolded Him, saying "You're no prophet." The
people, though, know better, and a dead man sits up and begins talking and they say,
"This is who He really is!"
In your outline, friends, here's our first point this morning. I'd just encourage you with
this: Jesus has come as our Prophet. He is our Prophet - knows you fully. He knows us
fully. He is our Prophet who knows us fully. He's not immune to any of it. He speaks on
God's behalf as God in flesh walking around. A great prophet is among us. He knows
us. I love it. It says that "He gave him to his mother." He knows her. They never met
before, maybe.
Later on in Luke 7, there's a story about Him reclining at a table in one of the Pharisee's
house and Luke 7:37 says "A woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned
that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of
ointment (extraordinarily expensive), (38) and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping,
she began to wet His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and
kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment. (39) Now when the Pharisee who
had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, He would have
known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.' (40)
And Jesus answering said to him, 'Simon, I have something to say to you.'" And Simon
should have shut up at that point. "I have something to say to you." He should have
been like, "Whoa." But he's not. He's smug. "And he answered, 'Say it, Teacher.'" "Bring
it" he says.
Be careful. When He has something to say to you, I hope you give Him your full
attention and that you're not smug about it. "You're no prophet. A prophet wouldn't let a
woman do that to Him." Jesus did not pass the Pharisee's fake test. "You don't do what I
want you to do, so You're no prophet."
If there really is a God, these things wouldn't happen. We all hear that often, don't we?
We fill these tests out and God doesn't pass our tests that we construct and that we
devise and say, "There's no God. God doesn't care about me."
I invite you to have His eyes, here. We're now back to Luke 22:66. "When day came"
are the first three words of Luke 22:66. They've been at it all night. That's a bad sign. I
told you guys last week that when the crowd comes with torches in the middle of the
night - a mob? Bad sign. This trial's going on also in the middle of the night. Bad sign.
Bad sign. This is your hour, He says, in the power of darkness.
It's the morning now and Zechariah in Luke 1:78 calls Jesus "the dawn of the morning."
He faces more of the hour of darkness that He spoke about last night. Luke 22:67 says
"If You are the Christ, tell us." They have led Him away to their council. He said to them,
"If I tell you, you won't believe and if I ask you, you won't answer." Those who require
proof or demonstration to believe won't be satisfied no matter what evidence is offered.
"Prove it!" Oh, I was hallucinating. "Prove it!" Oh, I was distracted. Proof. Proof is a
flimsy thing, guys. It's a loose thing. It's hard to prove things.
I was talking with Rick this morning about Easter and about the evidence regarding the
risen Jesus, overwhelming evidence, but I can't prove it to you. I can't prove that He
rose from the dead but I can give you a whole lot of things to demonstrate that He really
actually did. So when your friends say "Prove this" or "Prove that", I'll live my whole life
based on things that I can't PROVE. I can show you I love my wife and she can show
you she loves me. My whole life is set in motion by that but I can't prove it.
I've been in DC many, many times and I've seen lots of memorials in Washington, DC
and so have many of you; a memorial to what happened at Iwo Jima and the Marine
Corp.; unbelievable valor and courage in the worse possible circumstances. They
demonstrate valor and courage and bravery but how do you prove it? You demonstrate
it, you don't prove it. "If You are the Christ, PROVE IT!"
This whole thing is a sham; this whole trial is a sham but as my wife said last night, "His
trial." This would be good for you to write down in your notes. "Jesus' trial is my trial." He
goes in my place. I'm the one guilty. He did it in my place even though He did nothing
wrong. There's all these very specific rules about how the things are supposed to go
and in this setting the judges were the defense attorneys. The witnesses that come
against the accused person - they're the prosecution. So the judges serving, of course,
are the priests - they're the ones in charge - making sure the accused person's rights
aren't being violated. They actually take the position as the judge in this trial, as the
prosecutor. Can you imagine? That would make for quite a Law and Order episode if
the judge becomes the prosecutor. It's outrageous!
And Deuteronomy 19:15 says you have to have two or three witnesses before any
charges can be brought. And Luke mentions nothing about any witnesses at all. Other
gospels do but Luke mentions none of them, maybe because their testimony wasn't
consistent; they couldn't agree on anything. They had no witnesses and you couldn't
say things in your own trial against yourself. It was inadmissible. It's not like the Fifth
Amendment, like you can plead the Fifth and not say anything. If you say something
that makes yourself look more guilty, you cannot use that in trial at this point. That's
exactly what they lead Him away for. It's outrageous. "If You are the Christ, tell us. We're
breaking our own rules by making You tell us what the accusation is." And He is, of
course, friends, the Messiah; He is the Christ. And so He is led away to Pilate and
eventually murdered because He is who He says He is. Staggering statement.
He goes into all this. He enters into it for us. (67) "If I tell you, you won't believe. (68) If I
ask you, you will not answer. (69) But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at
the right hand of the power of God." Luke is intensely interested in this whole story on
telling who Jesus is, putting that on display.
Look at Daniel 7. I don't know if it will be on the screen behind me or not but Daniel 7.
He loves to call Himself the Son of Man and this is the reason why Jesus likes to call
Himself Son of Man. Maybe you've always wondered that. Here's one reason why:
Daniel 7:13-14: "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there
came one like a Son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented
before Him. (14) And to Him [the Son of man] was given dominion and glory and a
kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one that shall not
be destroyed."
Listen to how they respond in Luke 22:70 to that statement: "Son of Man - right hand of
the power." They know exactly what He's saying. (70) "So they all said, 'Are You the Son
of God, then?'" They know Daniel 7 and what it says, they know it very well. It's their
responsibility before the people. "So You're saying You're God, then? You have divine
power. Is that what You're saying?" (70) "And He said to them, 'You say that I am.'"
Basically, Jesus is saying "I won't deny it but I mean it differently than you mean it.
You're using it as an accusation. That's just who I am." He is led away to be murdered
because He is who He says He is. (71) "What further testimony do we need? We have
heard it ourselves from His own lips."
I just mentioned to you that's the one thing you can't do and the judges are the
prosecutors. There are no defense attorneys in Jewish law. Those who sit in seats of
power are supposed to make sure everything goes fairly and they've left their judges
seats and gone down to serve as prosecutors. This is outrageous. It's in the middle of
the night - early morning. It's very disturbing.
Hebrews 4:14; I think that will be on the screens behind me. "Since then we have a
great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us
hold fast our confession. (15) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as
we are, yet without sin. (16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of
grace."
There is no one else in power, in religion, or in history, who has a throne of GRACE.
There are lots of thrones of power. "Come and bow down before me and kiss my ring
and do what I say." Jesus has a throne of grace. Aren't you glad for that this morning?
(16) "That we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." None of your
suffering is meaningless and He understands it all. He can sympathize with your
weaknesses. He suffered. You will suffer. Because He suffered, you can face your
suffering. Your suffering is meaningful. It is not meaningless when you frame it in the
light of what Christ has done.
The second point in your outline is that Jesus is our Priest. He is our great High Priest
who intercedes for us. He intercedes. That means He goes in there for us. He does
what you couldn't do. You know that once a year the high priest in ancient Israel would
go into the place on behalf of the people and offer sacrifices to God. That's exactly what
Jesus is. He's the great High Priest. He intercedes for us. He's our Prophet. He knows
everything about you. He's your Priest; He goes in for you. He went in there for this
ridiculous trial even with His eyes wide open. He did it for you. He did it for me because
I couldn't do it myself. Marvelous. It's marvelous.
We're in Luke 23:1 now. "Then the whole company of them arose and brought Him
before Pilate." They bring Him before Pilate because they could not carry out a death
sentence themselves; only the Romans could do that. They were an occupied people.
The Romans were in charge. The Jews authorities couldn't bring an execution to bear.
They had to get the Romans to do that for them. (2) "And they began to accuse Him,
saying 'We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to
Caesar." Maybe yours says "pay taxes". That's what it means. They said that Jesus
forbade them from paying taxes to Caesar, "saying that He Himself is [Messiah] Christ,
a king." To give tribute, again, is to pay taxes.
In Luke 20:19, just three chapters ago, He says to a crowd of people. Let's look at that
passage - this is extraordinary. You know this passage, probably - this story. "The
scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on Him (Jesus) at that very hour." To
"lay hands" on Him: They wanted to get a hold of Him, to get rid of Him - but not yet.
"For they perceived that He had told this parable against them, but they feared the
people. (20) So they watched Him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere." This is
really disturbing. "That they might catch Him in something He said, so as to deliver Him
up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. (21) So they asked Him, 'Teacher'"
This is the Man they want to kill, by the way, the Person I'm about to describe. "Teacher,
we know that You speak and teach rightly." Got to kill Him. "Show no partiality." He's got
to go. "But truly teach the way of God." This is their greeting. No partiality? "Teach the
way of God in truth." We got to kill Him. This is so outrageous.
Luke 20:22: "Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not? (23) But He perceived
their craftiness and said to them, (24) 'Show Me a denarius (show Me a coin.)" It was a
day's wage (a denarius). "Whose likeness and inscription does it have?'" They said
'Caesar's.' (25) He said to them, 'Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and
to God the things that are God's'" Did He forbid from paying taxes, friends? Can we all
answer together? Of course He didn't. (26) "And they were not able in the presence of
the people to catch Him in what He said, but marveling at His answer they became
silent." It's outrageous.
I'm a liar. I put myself before people as what I'm not. I misrepresent myself. Probably
only one in the room. Those accusations made against me, "You're a fraud!" You're
right. He goes in. He goes in on my behalf to do what I couldn't do. I couldn't stand the
scrutiny but He could.
Luke 23:3 "And Pilate asked Him, 'Are You the King of the Jews?' And He answered
him, 'You have said so.' (4) Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, 'I find
no guilt in this Man.''
This is the recurring theme again of the whole Luke account of this story - the innocence
of Jesus. This is the first, by the way, friends, of three times Pilate will say "I find no guilt
in this Man." Three times he says it. "No guilt." "No guilt." "No guilt." He was crucified for
being who He is.
It says in verse 5, "They were urgent, saying, 'He stirs up the people, teaching
throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.'" The language Luke uses here
shows that they pressed their case with continual pleading. Pilate needs to understand
that law and order is at stake and this Guy's a rabble-rouser. Pilate does what many
politicians do here: He passes the buck and lets someone else make the tough call.
When Pilate discovers that Jesus is Galilean, he goes "Herod. That’s where we’re
headed next. All these forces are swirling around Pilate and despite His innocence, the
trial proceeds.
Sin has a way of ignoring Jesus' claims or deferring them, passing them on. Nothing
that happens, by the way, changes Pilate's mind. He willingly condemns an innocent
Man. This is why he will wash his hands later on. It's really scary stuff. What the chief
priests and crowds are saying is true. They just don't like it.
In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis said, "You must be asking which door is the true one;
not which pleases you best." You must be asking which door is the true one; not which
pleases you best. And is it any surprise, dear friends, that Jesus comes in John's
Gospel and says "I Am the Door of the sheep."
John 10:10: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may
have life and have it abundantly."
The third point in your outline is that Jesus is our King who reigns over us in love. As the
band comes up on the stage, again we're going to worship now in light of all that Christ
has said and done. We're going to worship God with song; we're going to worship God
by giving Him offerings. It seems appropriate.
Revelation 1:4 says "John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and
peace from Him who is and who was and is to come, and from the seven spirits who are
before His throne, (5) and from Jesus Christ the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the
dead, and the Ruler of the kings on earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from
our sins by His blood (6) and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him
be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (7) Behold, He is coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes on the
earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen. (8) I am the Alpha and the Omega,"
says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Jesus is our Prophet who knows us fully. Jesus is our Priest who intercedes for us, and
Jesus is our King who reigns over us in love. One thing to read to you before we sing: I
hope this hovers over us as we sing:
“This then, is our hope and our comfort-Jesus Christ is the final prophet, the great high
priest, and the conquering king. There is a miraculous cure for the disease of ignorance,
guilt, and pollution after all. It is what is known by some Reformed theologians as “the
triple cure.” As Calvin said, in Christ “God has fulfilled what he has promised: that the
truth of his promises would be realized in the person of the Son. Believers have found to
be true Paul’s saying that ‘all the promises of God find their yea and amen in Christ’”
Jesus comes. He has come as our sovereign, suffering Servant to do for us what we
couldn't do for ourselves.