Jesus and His Judgment

Pilate said to them,

Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.

The Jews said to him,

It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.

This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken

They are men that had hated Jesus for a number of years

and here they finally had seen this opportunity

around the time of the Passover

to take him into capture

and to bring him before the Sanhedrin to be judged.

That judgment had taken place in an illegal fashion

and the accusations brought against him entirely trumped up

and they had failed miserably

for most of the part of that evening

in bringing any kind of accusation that would stick.

You'll remember if you go back in the synoptic gospels

that you'll find one after another came

and brought false accusation

and it completely discredited

and even the Jewish leaders with their hatred

couldn't really find anything

that they could wrap their thinking around

and bring just cause for murdering Jesus.

Now realize that earlier on

they had wanted to kill Jesus

and there had been various attempts.

Remember?

In one particular instance

they had tried to take him to the height of a place

and throw him off

and he just kind of walked through the crowd

and disappeared.

And they had often desired

some way or another

to put Jesus to death

because he was an irritation

he was embarrassing

I mean can you imagine

these Bible scholars that they were

when Jesus would put them on the spot

by...

Here's his favorite one

Have you never read?

Have you never read?

I mean these were guys

that knew the Old Testament law

by each word

and they could recite it

they knew exactly what the Old Testament law

and he would just nail them.

Have you never read?

And he seemed to specialize

in embarrassing them publicly

I mean it's not like he drew them aside

and said by the way

you may want to bone up

on your Deuteronomy here

you know it's like

put them out on the spot

and they hated him

they wanted to kill him

they couldn't find a moment to do it

and they were afraid of the crowd.

Finally they had been able to bring

and don't think that Pilate

didn't have a part to play in this

there's nothing that took place

in Jerusalem

that Pilate didn't know about.

I shouldn't say nothing

that's an overstatement

but he pretty well knew

what was happening politically

and particularly during the time

of the Passover

which was a time that

the Jews had a tendency

of getting pretty riled up

here was Pilate

with his Roman soldiers

in the midst of Jerusalem

and he knew what was going on

soldiers came

a cohort

you remember when Pastor

was preaching on that

I didn't know that a cohort

was 600 some men

now there may have been

a few less that showed up

but they didn't happen

to kind of troop across town

to take Jesus

without Pilate knowing

and so here we have

these religious hypocrites

who are trying to bring

charges against Jesus

and they finally ended up

having the opportunity

of saying he's blasphemed

now how did that happen?

you remember that

the high priest had said

art thou the Messiah

the son of the living God

and Jesus said

yep you're right

thou hast said

and oh that was it

opportunity to accuse him

of claiming to be God

and deserving of death

there was a problem

they didn't have

the legal authority

of executing him publicly

and doing so in such a fashion

that would have been

a complete embarrassment

to Jesus and to his disciples

and so they were required

by Roman law

to bring this person

who they had an accusation against

to Pilate

and so here we find

in verse 28

they end up at

at Pilate's headquarters

early in the morning

I love what it reads next

they themselves did not

enter the governor's headquarters

so that they would not be defiled

but could eat the Passover

you put your finger

on this passage

and you recognize

the Jewish hypocrisy

is stunning

what had they been doing earlier?

what?

they had been involved

in a false judgment

of an entirely holy

and innocent man

and they brought false charges

one after another

that they'd all been party to

none having succeeded

until finally

are you the Messiah?

yes

and here they are

outside Pilate's headquarters

and they are unwilling

to go in

now read what it says here

they themselves

did not enter

the governor's headquarters

so that they would not

be defiled

but could eat the Passover

this issue of defiling

if you go back

into the Old Testament

you would know

that there were certain things

you could do

that would defile you

you could touch

a dead body

that would defile you

you could

you could also

touch something

that a dead body

had touched

and you'd be defiled

there were a number

of different things

that could

you could eat something

that would defile you

but there is no passage

in the Old Testament

that I'm aware of

and as I was researching

I didn't come across

any passage

that indicated

that merely

coming into the home

of a Gentile

would defile you

and here they are

filled up

with their own

self-righteousness

completely

satisfied

with their own

character

and completely

unwilling

to go into

the home

of a Gentile

were there things

that happened

in a Gentile home

that could conceivably

defile them

yes there were

as Jews

but it was presumptuous

to think that any

and every Gentile home

would defile a person

and so here they were

unwilling

to go into

the home of Pilate

or into the

courtyard there

of Pilate

and they inquired

and had him

come out to them

so here he is

he comes outside

and he says to them

what accusation

do you bring

against this man

and I want you

to recognize

that here they are

these legalistic people

kind of wrapped up

in their own

self-righteousness

thinking about

what they were

bringing Pilate

to do

or what they

wanted Pilate

to do

and he asked

them a question

and listen

to their answer

you look down

there in verse 30

they said

if this man

were not doing evil

we would not

have delivered

him over to you

now by the way

what evil

had Jesus done

can he think

of anything

that he'd done

later

in Peter's sermon

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

you'll remember

that Peter

as he began

to preach

to the Jewish nation

there

he said

listen

you know

what Jesus did

you know

his miracles

you know

his behavior

he taught

among you

all his acts

were publicly

done before you

Jesus relied

on the same

logic

when he was

before the Sanhedrin

they said

what is it

that you're doing

he says

you've heard me

teach

I've taught

publicly

and I've acted

publicly

nothing secret

and I want

you to recognize

that

here we see

the

the crass

legalism

of these

spiritual leaders

pretty caught up

and self-satisfied

with themselves

and and yet

completely

brain dead

to their own

sin

and the hardness

of their own

heart

makes me stop

and ask myself

the question

are we ever

in our own

heart

caught up

in some

aspect or another

of legalism

where we've got

this certain

set of things

that we're all

good with

and we kind of

look at other

people and get

a pretty critical

attitude towards

them and fail

to recognize

that we're being

involved in

hypocrisy

ourselves

I want you to

think with me

just for a moment

are we ever

as deeply

convicted by our

lack of love

and humility

as we are

by lying

or stealing

or gossip

let me go over

that slowly

are we

ever convicted

as deeply

now what do I

mean by deeply

convicted

how many of

you don't

don't raise

your hand

and let me

know you're

one of them

how many of

you have

ever lied

and had your

conscience

just bug

you to death

you ever

done that

okay

I

yeah

lie

steal

I can still

remember a

pack of gum

I stole

when I was

in seventh

grade

I remember

years later

I remember

driving through

Lafayette

Indiana

because it

had plagued

me and I

thought well I

can stop off

at the store

and I can go

back in and

say hey listen

I'd like to

I'd like to

ask forgiveness

for stealing

this pack of

gum

and when I

drove down

that street

I made a

this was years

later I made

a detour

to go through

that city

and the store

had been

razed to the

ground

it's like

took my

self-righteousness

right out the

window

here's my

point

the Pharisees

the scribes

the high

priests

they were

all about

their little

set of

standards

about their

self-righteousness

and they

were quite

satisfied

with false

accusation

and a

dishonest

judgment

of Christ

and here

they were

planning

and putting

in place

the murder

of an

absolutely

righteous

man

engaged

in the

most wicked

act

of

dishonest

judgment

ever in

all of

history

Pilate

plays along

with them

and I love

his guile

he comes

out

hey

what's

the problem

here

we wouldn't

be bringing

him if it

really wasn't

a bad

bad guy

okay

and so we

read there

Pilate

says

well

hey

take him

verse 31

take him

yourselves

and judge

him by

your own

law

it was

their law

that they

had relied

upon

when he

came before

the Sanhedrin

and it

was their

law

that really

caused

the

high

priests

and the

others

to say

man

he deserves

to be

killed

why

because

he has

blasphemed

and made

it clear

that he

sees himself

as God

Christ

now when

they come

to Pilate

the accusation

that they

were going

to bring

to Pilate

was not

that Jesus

readily

recognized

himself

as the

son of

God

and equal

to God

what was

it that

they were

going to

accuse

Jesus

of

before

Pilate

being a

king

the Messiah

the anointed

one that

was going

to come

and in

Jewish

thinking

at least

deliver

the nation

of Israel

from the

heel

and the

oppression

of Rome

and so

here is

Pilate

playing along

with them

a little

bit

and he

says

hey

what's

the

problem

well

he's

a guilty

man

well

go judge

him

now we

come down

to verse

31

and

they say

this

the Jews

said to him

latter part

it is not

lawful for us

to put anyone

to death

how do you

think that

sat with

them

it was

like a

very subtle

slap

do you

know why

it was a

reminder to

the Jewish

spiritual

leaders

that they

were under

authority

under the

authority of

Rome

they did

not have

the right

of execution

that they

would have

had the

right if

they had

not fallen

under

Roman's

authority

and it was

Rome alone

that had

the authority

to execute

an individual

and I

want you

to know

that Rome

had been

brutal

in dealing

with individuals

who had

overstepped

the boundaries

and exercised

Jewish

authority

apart from

Rome

incidentally

one of the

reasons that

Pilate

a little bit

of sidebar

history here

one of the

reasons that

Pilate was

so sensitive

to responding

to the Jewish

leaders

was because

previously

at one

point he

had been

very brutal

in suppressing

Jewish

rebellion

and he

slaughtered

a bunch

of them

earlier

and he

had actually

been

rebuked

by the

Caesar

so he

was not

quite as

inclined

to be

heavy handed

in dealing

this

instance

another

instance

is recorded

where

he brought

in the

what were

they

the

the

banners

he brought

them into

Jerusalem

and had

them posted

in very

significant

places

the banners

of the

legions

and the

Jews

had said

you need

to take

those

out

of here

because

they're

offending

us

and he

said

well I'm

going to

leave them

here

and if

you

complain

anymore

I'm

going to

slaughter

you

and so

the

Jewish

leaders

pulled

open

their

coats

and said

do it

now

well in

the back

of his

mind

he was

remembering

that he

had already

been rebuked

by Caesar

for previous

harshness

and he

backed

away

and so

here they

are

they're

pressing

in on

Pilate

to execute

!

Jesus!

I want

you to

recognize

that what

was taking

place

in this

moment

was not

just a

matter

of

religious

leaders

and

political

leaders

kind of

acting

independently

they were

following

the plan

of God

look at

verse 32

this was

to fulfill

the word

that Jesus

had spoken

to show

by what

kind of

death

he was

going

to

die

do you

know how

Jewish

executions

as a

general rule

took place

does anybody

know how

Achan

died

he was

stoned

and I

can tell

you that

the Jews

would have

probably

loved to

have

stoned

Jesus

how did

Stephen

die

stoned

it was

their

hey

let's

pick up

these

heavy

chunks

of

rock

and

put

this

person

to

death

no

they

had

to

rely

upon

a

pagan

foreign

government

to

do

their

dirty

work

and

so

here

they

are

making

this

appeal

I want

you to

look

secondly

at

the

political

hypocrisy

we see

displayed

here

we get

into

verse

33

so

Pilate

entered

into

his

headquarters

again

and called

Jesus

and said

to him

are you

the king

of the

Jews

evidently

the issue

of

are you

the son

of God

had back

put over

to the

side

and

they

had brought

this

accusation

listen

this guy

that we're

bringing

to you

we're

really

what's he

asking

is this

an observation

you are

making

yourself

as a

result

of

information

you have

gathered

or is

this

an

accusation

that

these

Pharisees

and scribes

and religious

leaders

have brought

against

me

where

is this

information

coming

from

Pilate

quite full

of himself

and confident

in his

position

of authority

what's he

say

am I

a Jew

your own

nation

and the

chief

priests

have

delivered

you

over

to

me

what

have

you

done

36

Jesus

answered

my

kingdom

is not

of this

world

if my

kingdom

were of

this

world

my

servants

would

have

been

fighting

that I

might

not

be

delivered

over

to

the

Jews

I

want

you

to

turn

back

just

for

a

moment

to

what

you

find

in

Matthew

Matthew 26:63–65

chapter

26

verse

63

through

65

so you

understand

clearly

the contrast

between

what he

had been

accused

of

and

actually

what

Jesus

had to

say

here

Matthew

Matthew 26:63–65

chapter

26

verse

63

through

65

Jesus

had

remained

silent

in front

of the

high

priest

and

the

high

priest

said

I

adjure

you

by

the

living

God

tell

us

if

you

are

the

Christ

the

son

of

God

Jesus

said

you

have

said

so

I

tell

you

from

now

on

you

will

see

the

son

of

man

seated

at

the

right

hand

of

power

and

coming

on

the

clouds

of

heaven

then

the

high

priest

tore

his

robes

and

said

he

has

uttered

blasphemies

these

two

contrasting

accusations

!

One

Jesus

assuming

or

stating

that he

was

the

Messiah

king

of

the

Jews

and

the

other

equal

with

God

now

in front

of

Pilate

what

are

they

bringing

they

are

bringing

the

accusation

that

Jesus

proclaimed

himself

to be

king

and

would

have

been

a

political

threat

to

Roman

authority

and

so

going

back

if you

will

there

to

John

John 18 · chapter mention

chapter

18

we

pick

up

on

Pilate's

concern

was

hey

listen

who

really

are

you

and

Jesus

made

it

clear

this

issue

of

my

kingship

is

not

about

this

present

kingdom

and

you

have

no

reason

to

be

concerned

following

that

you

find

there

in

verse

37

Pilate

says

to

him

so

my

kingdom

is

not

of

this

world

so

you

are

a

king

verse

37

Jesus

answered

you

say

that

I'm

a

king

for

this

purpose

I

was

born

and

for

this

purpose

I've

come

into

the

world

to

bear

witness

to

the

truth

everyone

who

is

of

the

truth

listens

to

my

voice

I

want

you

to

recognize

this

morning

as

we

look

at

this

passage

that

we

find

here

this

conflict

between

Pilate's

concern

for

the

Roman

kingdom

in

contrast

with

Christ

making

it

clear

which

kingdom

he

was

talking

about

and

here

is

Jesus

saying

listen

my

kingdom

is

not

of

this

world

not

of

this

world

and

if

it

were

of

this

world

my

people

would

be

actively

engaged

in

martial

activity

in

battle

for

my

kingdom

sake

and

those

who

are

Christ's

are

not

engaged

in

physical

combat

for

his

great

name

I

want

to

make

that

point

clear

over

and

over

again

throughout

church

history

the

characteristic

of

the

church

of

the

living

God

has

not

been

one

that

is

actively

engaged

in

military

activity

for

the

sake

of

the

cross

it's

radically

different

how

many

of

you

know

what

is

on

the

flag

of

Saudi

Arabia

does

anybody

know

how

many

of

you

recognize

that

all

over

this

world

there

are

people

who

claim

to

be

Muslims

that

are

in

active

battle

for

the

sake

of

their

religion

in

fact

here's

the

fact

if

you

die

in

battle

you

get

a

free

path

straight

to

heaven

it's

woven

into

their

theology

getting

to

heaven

apart

from

martyrdom

is a

very

very

difficult

and

uncertain

journey

for a

Muslim

did you

know

that

it's

a

long

path

lots

of

suffering

but

if

you

die

as

a

martyr

whatever

happened

prior to

that

is all

erased

and

you

go

straight

to

heaven

do

not

you

know

how

it

is

there

it

is

Jesus

in

sharp

contrast

said

hey

my

people

my

servants

are

not

engaged

for that

for the

sake

of my

kingdom

I

do

like

the

fact

that

Jesus

in

verse

37

did

not

deny

his

regal

authority

in

office

and

then

he

spoke

very

positively

of

his

kingdom

and

his

reign

for

this

purpose

I

was born

and for

this

purpose

I

have

come

into

the

world

to

bear

witness

to

the

truth

what I

want us

to see

in the

remainder

of our

time

is

Jesus

not a

revolutionary

but one

engaged

in

revealing

the truth

of God

to man

and here

he says

I

I

am

here

to

bear

witness

to

the

truth

everyone

who

is

of

the

truth

listens

to

my

voice

do

you

notice

what

happens

next

Pilate

lets

it be

known

very

clearly

that

he

doesn't

get

it

how

do

I

know

that

he

says

what

is

truth

so

let

me

ask

you

this

question

fundamentally

what

is

the

truth

that

Jesus

came

to

make

clear

to

us

today

that

we

need

to

know

and

have

our

hearts

focused

on

for

one

it

is

this

that

God

reigns

supreme

and

he

will

judge

all

men

God

reigns

supreme

and

he

will

judge

all

men

I

think

about

the

message

over

in

Acts

Acts 17 · chapter mention

chapter

17

where

Paul

is

preaching

to

a

large

group

in

Athens

in

the

Agora

and

what

does

he

say

the

day

is

coming

when

God

is

going

to

judge

men

by

his

son

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

here

is

something

that

I

want

to

make

undeniably

clear

to

every

one

of

you

the

fact

of

the

matter

is

this

there

is

a

God

in

heaven

and

all

of

us

will

someday

stand

before

God

to

give

an

account

we

will

answer

for

our

lives

and

he

will

judge

us

and

apart

from

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

salvation

that

is

in

his

name

all

of

us

stand

justly

condemned

for

our

sins

I

think

it's

important

for us

to get

our

hands

around

that

because

at

the

heart

of

the

gospel

is

the

fact

that

there

is

a

God

in

heaven

who

is

the

judge

of

the

whole

earth

and

his

judgment

will

be

just

and

his

judgment

apart

from

Christ

will

be

condemnation

and

eternal

suffering

for

our

sins

when

Jesus

said

I've

come

into

the

world

and

my

purpose

is

to

bring

the

truth

the

truth

that

he

was