Rejected by all

Good morning, everyone. The reading is from Matthew 26, starting at verse 57, reading to 27, verse 2.

!

That they might put him to death.

But they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.

At last, two came forward and said,

This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.

And the high priest stood up and said,

Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?

But Jesus remained silent.

And the high priest said to him,

I adjure you by the living God.

Tell us, if you are the Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus said to him,

You have said so, but 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 blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need?

You have now heard his blasphemy.

What is your judgment?

They answered, He deserves death.

Then they spit in his face and struck him.

And some slapped him, saying,

Prophesy to us, you Christ.

Who is it that struck you?

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.

And a servant girl came up to him and said,

You also were with Jesus, a Galilean.

But he denied it before them all, saying,

I do not know what you mean.

And when he went out to the entrance,

another servant girl saw him,

and she said to the bystanders,

This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.

And again he denied it with an oath,

I do not know the man.

After a little while,

the bystanders came up and said to Peter,

Certainly you too are one of them,

for your accent betrays you.

Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear,

I do not know the man.

And immediately the rooster crowed.

And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus,

Before the rooster crows,

you will deny me three times.

And he went out and wept bitterly.

When morning came,

all the chief priests and the elders of the people

took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

And they bound him and led him away

and delivered him over to Pilate, the governor.

Well, good morning everyone.

Will you pray with me as we come to God's word?

Father, we always need your help

to understand your word and believe and obey

and be full of your son and your grace.

And so I ask that you be with us now in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Just a show of hands.

Who knows what TED Talks are?

How much do I have to explain?

Okay.

TED Talks are just experts in their field

give really short talks,

probably shorter than mine today.

I'm sorry.

15 minutes or so.

They're experts in their field.

Hopefully I pronounced her name right.

Brené Brown.

Her TED Talk is the fourth most watched.

After two decades of her research,

I just want to share a few of her insights.

So let me quote.

Connection is why we're here.

It's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.

Neurobiologically, that's how we're wired.

It's why we're here.

But when you ask people about love,

they tell you about heartbreak.

When you ask people about belonging,

they'll tell you their most excruciating experiences

of being excluded.

When you ask people about connection,

the stories they told me were about disconnection.

I ran into this unnamed thing

that absolutely unraveled connection.

Shame.

Is there something about me

that if other people know it or see it,

that I won't be worthy of connection?

I'm not good enough.

I'm not rich enough, beautiful enough,

smart enough, whatever.

I'm guessing this is hitting a nerve

because a lot of eyes have stopped looking at me here.

Only one variable, I'm still quoting,

that separated the people

who have a strong sense of love and belonging

and the people who really struggle for it,

and that was the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging

believe they're worthy of love and belonging.

That's it.

They believe they're worthy.

End quote.

Now, Genesis 1-3 has said this for millennia,

but it helps.

It helps to have an expert in people confirm it.

Connection.

We're made for it.

But that shame, that fear of being unworthy is in all of us.

It's not some.

It's in all of us.

I think in our passage today,

we're going to see the only reason

you and I can know for certain

we are worthy of connection.

And it is so strong

that we can even move towards people

who treat us as unworthy.

So please,

have your Bibles open

or on your phones, whatever.

We're in Matthew 26.

We're in the courtroom.

Well, I'll describe the setting in a moment,

but first I want to illustrate

the injustice of this scene we're entering.

Okay, illustration.

The elders here at Grace have decided

to excommunicate Andrew Wilkinson.

Now, this is the first he's hearing about it.

Now, we don't have a reason yet

just to quote Hunt for the Wilder People.

He's a real bad egg.

Now, I'm just wondering,

would anyone like to come up to the microphone

and just provide some reasons

that we should excommunicate him?

Anyone want to?

Okay.

We love you, Andrew.

We love you.

Now, I'm also aware that that illustration

is going to be a bit triggering

for some in this room

who have experienced rejection from the church,

but I want us to feel just,

not just,

how unjust

this trial is.

He's standing there as the accused.

They've decided the sentence already

in verse 59.

Now, the chief priests

and the whole council

were seeking false testimony

against Jesus

that they might put him to death,

and there's no charge yet.

They're spending the night

bringing in witness after witness

to find some mud

that's going to stick.

There's so many breaches

of Jewish law in this scene

that later writings of the Mishnah

required.

It was taking place in Caiaphas' home,

not in the temple precinct.

Capital cases required,

you could not do those at night time.

Here we are in the middle of the night,

through the night.

There was supposed to be a minimum of two days

for a trial,

and blasphemy charged.

The accused had to technically

use the name of God

for it to be a legal sense

with Leviticus 24.

But justice can be put aside,

is their thinking.

The hour demands it.

They've got to hurry.

They're afraid of the crowds.

If they don't hurry this night,

there's going to be mob violence

the next day.

He's arrested Thursday night.

Sabbath begins Friday at sunset.

He needs to be dead by then.

Pilate sees cases brought to him

in the morning.

They've got to get it done by dawn

so that he's dead by dusk.

And they need a charge against him

that will satisfy the Jewish crowds.

It is so unjust.

If anyone's wondering,

if you want a picture of all the Gospels

in terms of the flow of events here,

the most likely harmonisation

of the four Gospels

is that first he's examined by Annas,

seems to be a more private examination.

Then, while the Sanhedrin

is getting together,

you only needed 23 of the 70 council

to make a quorum.

So while they'll get together,

we shouldn't see the whole 70.

But then we've got this scene

before the courtroom.

And then you'll notice

in chapter 27, verse 1,

when morning came,

all the chief priests

and the elders turned up

and they confirmed the decision,

probably in the temple court,

and then they take him off to Pilate.

Now, can I quickly pause

and just say,

there's no grounds here

for anti-Semitism.

There's some awful anti-Semitism

going on in Australia.

This is not grounds for it.

Jesus is a Jew.

His first followers were Jewish.

So getting back to the story.

They need a charge against him

that will satisfy Jewish opinion.

So verse 60,

at last, two came forward and said,

this man said,

I am able to destroy the temple of God

and to rebuild it in three days.

Finally, finally,

they've got something

approaching blasphemy here.

The temple is where God put his name.

His reputation is bound up in the temple.

He did drive out the money changers,

as we've heard.

He did rearrange the furniture,

claiming it's his own house.

You can only rearrange furniture

in your own house.

He said,

my father's house

will be called a house of prayer.

Now, is the charge true?

Is it accurate?

When he prophesied the destruction

of the temple in 70 AD,

that was to his disciples in private.

What he said in public

is in John chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

Destroy this temple

and in three days I will raise it up.

And John adds,

he was speaking about the temple of his body.

He didn't actually,

the charge is close,

but it's not accurate.

He didn't say he will destroy the temple.

He said he would be destroyed.

He will be the temple.

He will be that high priest

who connects us to God.

He will be that final sacrifice

that deals with sin.

He will be the meeting place of God.

So the charge isn't true.

And I bet every fibre of his being

wants to defend himself.

How do you go

when someone says something untrue

about what you said or did?

How do you like the thought

that people you care about

have a false view of you?

I remember being hit

by a rubber in class at school

and the teacher saw my reaction

being hit by this projectile

and I got put on detention.

You teenagers at school

know the destructive power

of gossip.

Or at work

and you're treated as a scapegoat

for some error,

the company made.

How do you go?

What many people have found

so unique about Jesus

is

like a lamb

that is led to the slaughter

and like a sheep

for its shearers

is silent

so he opened not

his mouth.

His silence

is

its incredible strength.

His silence

but it frustrates

Caiaphas

almost got him

but he doesn't

incriminate himself

and so he puts him

under oath

before God.

Now

he's trying to force

the situation.

If you remain silent

under oath

you're breaking

the law.

If you

retreat

and say

you're not the Messiah

crisis over

because word will spread

if you affirm it

well

you have to be guilty

and

so he's forcing

the issue.

I adjure you

by the living God

tell us

if you are the Christ

the son

of God.

have you ever

thought about

how unusual

that question is?

Have you ever

been asked that

before?

You are

your words

and your life

there's something

about you

tell me

are you

the Christ?

This is such

a strange

question

in history

it's remarkable

that

this learned

high priest

even asked

this question

but then

knowing the

hatred and

rejection

Jesus would

receive

his response

is

more remarkable

it's out of this

world

he doesn't

shrink back

but he tells

the truth

so verse 64

is key here

Matthew

often picks

a saying

of Jesus

that interprets

the whole

story

and here we

have it

verse 64

is the key

to this

story

let me read

it again

Jesus said

to him

you have

said so

but 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

so there's

two parts

of this

you have

said so

it seems

to be

a reluctant

yes

we should

probably hear

it as

well

in a sense

yes

but not

what you

think

not this

political

idea

of Messiah

who would

vanquish

the Romans

and

establish

the Jewish

authorities

and

not in

that sense

in a sense

you're right

in calling

me Christ

son of

God

but I'm

going to

pick a

different

phrase

so that

you understand

me

son of

man

and

bows

open

the

morning

for us

already

to understand

he's

upping

the ante

here

the prophet

Daniel

he's a

Jewish

man

he could

not

imagine

anyone

being seen

as divine

except

Yahweh

but then

he's given

the vision

behold

with

clouds

of

heaven

there

came

one

like

a

son

of

man

a

human

being

and

he

came

to

the

ancient

of

days

and

he

was

presented

before

him

and

to

him

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

some

people

ask

what's

the

difference

between

Christianity

and

other

religions

all

religions

are

making

truth

claims

the

difference

is

look

at

this

prisoner

here's

this

prisoner

standing

before

the

judges

saying

you're

not

going

to

see

me

like

this

again

how

I

am

today

but

you

will

see

me

when

God

gives

me

dominion

over

all

the

world

when

I'm

seated

on

that

glorious

throne

and

all

the

nations

including

you

Caiaphas

including

you

in

this

room

and

me

all

will

stand

before

me

and

I

hold

the

destiny

of

everyone

in

my

hands

you

see

me

as

a

blasphemer

that

God's

angry

at

me

no

the

father

delights

in

me

honouring

me

as

the

object

of

the

world's

worship

you

sentence

me

to

death

I'm

going

to

rise

and

I'm

going

to

come

on

the

clouds

of

heaven

who

is

this

guy

saying

this

to

quote

to

quote

C.

S.

Lewis

because

he can

say it

better

than

me

man

then

comes

to

man

to

God

says

he

was

a

man

who

goes

about

talking

as

if

he

was

God

claims

to

forgive

sins

says

he

always

existed

says

he's

coming

to

judge

the

world

at

the

end

of

time

now

let's

get

this

clear

among

pantheists

anyone

might

say

that he

was

a

part

of

God

or

one

with

God

there's

nothing

very

odd

about

that

but

this

man

since

he

was

a

Jew

could

not

mean

that

kind

of

God

God

in

Jewish

language

meant

a

being

outside

the

world

who'd

made

it

and was

infinitely

different

from

anything

else

when

you

grasp

that

you'll

see

that

what

this

man

said

was

quite

simply

the

most

shocking

thing

that

has

ever

been

uttered

by

human

lips

so

what

is

he

worthy

of

what

do

you

think

he's

worthy

of

Caiaphas

asked

that

question

to

the

room

and

they

say

he's

worthy

of

death

the

high

priest

tears

his

robes

in

anger

in

grief

that

this

man

has

claimed

the

place

of

God

and

maybe

to

quieten

their

own

conscience

for

condemning

an

innocent

man

I'm

not

sure

why

they

do

that

they

spit

in

his

face

struck

him

slapped

him

mock

him

prophesy

to

us

Christ

who

is

it

that

struck

you

the

one

who

alone

is

worthy

of

all

our

connection

all

our

love

is

put to

shame

he's

hated

he's

rejected

he's

condemned

and

amazingly

again

he

who

called

down

twelve

legions

of

angels

remained

silent

rejected

by

all

and

he

remained

silent

and

then we

come to

Peter

verse

58

Peter

follows

at a

distance

he

seems

to be

halfway

between

courage

and

cowardice

he's

faced

with the

fear

of

experiencing

the same

injustice

and

hatred

that

when

the

servant

girl

implies

the

accusation

you

also

were

with

him

publicly

whoever

was

listening

before

them

all

he

lies

I

don't

know

what

you

mean

he

seems

to

retreat

further

away

probably

into

the

darkness

and

another

servant

girl

accuses

him

and

he

intensifies

his

lie

with

an

oath

before

God

I

do

not

know

the

man

having

lied

twice

the

third

accusation

he

calls

God's

curse

down

on

him

I

do

not

know

the

man

us

westerners

probably

see him

weeping

outside

when the

rooster

crows

we

probably

see that

as guilt

he's

done

the

wrong

thing

now

that

I'm

sure

there

is

guilt

I

think

it

goes

deeper

Peter's

identity

is

shattered

at this

point

who

is he

is he

the

Peter

of

verse

35

or

is he

the

Peter

of

verse

74

which

Peter

am I

even

if I

must

die

with

you

I

will

never

deny

you

or

am

I

the

Peter

who

calls

down

God's

curse

and

three

times

I

do

not

know

the

man

he

shattered

who

am

I

he's

weeping

bitterly

in

shame

I

think

any

sense

of

self

worth

of

God's

connection

and

Jesus

connection

is

shattered

he

feels

so

ashamed

rejecting

rejecting

his

friend

rejecting

his

Lord

something

a question

that came

to my

mind

is

Peter's

denials

didn't

actually

affect

the

outcome

of

Jesus

going

to the

cross

or not

it

didn't

affect

the

court

why

do

all

four

gospels

emphasise

Peter's

denials

in

any

religion

any

belief

system

any

friendship

group

any

family

any

political

party

any

club

do

!

Not even his closest followers are loyal as he deserves.

Every single person is unworthy of connection with God.

Enemies and friends rejected him.

I think Peter illustrates the primary cause for Jesus being killed.

See if you can agree with Don Carson when he says this.

Every Christian is as guilty of putting Jesus on the cross as Caiaphas.

But thoughtful believers will surely admit that their own guilt is what drove Jesus to the cross.

I think Peter's here so that we go, I put Jesus on the cross.

Which is the true Dave Bott, the one who preaches on a Sunday, hopefully sometimes confidently and passionately,

or the one who in conversation in private has an opportunity to say he loves Jesus and keeps his mouth shut in fear and shame.

Which is the true Dave Bott?

Now I could pick heaps of other inconsistencies.

Caiaphas wasn't the primary cause.

What drove Jesus to the cross was his desire to do the Father's will in moving in love towards our unworthiness,

in our rejection of him, to unite us to him forever.

He moves in love towards our faithlessness.

I think Peter is like the Apostle Paul.

Do you remember where Apostle Paul, he counts himself as the chief of sinners

so that the rest of us might know God's amazing patience and mercy?

I think Peter is like that.

When we look at Peter, you and I can be assured,

as we see Jesus' commitment to Peter,

he tells Peter ahead of time,

you will fail me.

Within hours, you will fail me.

And Luke's Gospel says,

at this moment he looked Jesus in the eyes.

What piercing shame,

but I think also connection.

I think in Peter,

we see the only way you and I can know for certain we're worthy of connection.

It's not the Peter who believed in himself.

Even if I must die with you,

I will not deny you.

Here's how you can be worthy of connection.

Be broken.

Weeping.

Ashamed.

Spiritually bankrupt.

Unworthy.

And then seeing your God move toward you

in love and commitment,

taking your shame to the cross.

I think saying, in effect,

I am committed to you.

Even to death,

knowing full well you won't treat me

with the worth I deserve.

I am committed to you.

To quote Tim Keller again,

you are absolutely

and totally adopted,

accepted,

loved,

treasured,

and delighted in

by the only person in the whole universe

whose opinion counts

and whose opinion will last.

will last.

Well, speaking to someone this week,

they've experienced unjust gossip

in the workplace and mocked and excluded.

It sounded like a kind of personal death to their identity.

It made them not want to go to work, of course,

if maybe you've experienced something like it.

But their testimony was that in that agony,

in that helplessness of the injustice of the situation,

that they found a friend.

They had a friend in Jesus that sticks closer than a brother.

They found a deeper place of personal worth.

In what they already believed,

they just now know it in a deeper, personal way.

And it turned that situation into an opportunity

to share in the sufferings of Christ,

the injustice,

and to enter that darkness

and show this world the grace of God

who moves towards our rejection in loving commitment.

I was really encouraged by it.

So can I finish just by asking,

brothers and sisters,

what opportunities has God given you at the moment

to find your worthiness of connection

in your one true heavenly friend?

friend.

Whatever sense of unworthiness

you're hearing in your own mind,

stop listening to yourself

and preach this passage to yourself.

It may be in your marriage.

You can't even reach out

and take their hand at the moment.

It may be with school friends.

It may be with your parents or with your kids.

Maybe all of the above.

But what opportunities has God given you

that you can go deeper in knowing

that your Lord is committed to you.

That you are absolutely and totally adopted

and accepted and loved and treasured

and delighted in

by the only person in the whole universe

whose opinion counts

and whose opinion will last.

and then

to willingly enter that situation

sharing in Jesus' death,

in the injustice of it,

but sharing in his resurrection life

and showing

showing those people the love of God.

Our God who moved towards us

when we rejected him.

that they too might know connection with Christ.

But what opportunities

has he given us at the moment?

Will you pray with me?

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

we have only scratched the surface

in terms of

how worthy you are

of

of all our heart,

soul,

mind and strength

and

seeing the awfulness

of

when we're not faithful to you.

We've only scratched the surface

but

I pray you might fill each one of us

with

how deep your commitment to us is.

Your grace

knowing full well

we can't

treat you as you deserve.

but you took the shame

we deserve.

Lord,

fill our hearts

so that we might have peace

and joy

and hope

in you

and so that we might honour you

in whatever situation

you have us in at the moment.

That we might trust

that the situation

you've got us in

is an opportunity

to display

this Christ.

Pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.