When Darkness Reigns

It's the moment that we both love and hate in our favorite stories

when the good guy is captured and brought into the villain's lair

and he is powerless against pure evil.

I think of Frodo stung by the giant spider Shalob in The Lord of the Rings.

And we think all is lost.

Or Wesley trapped in the pit of despair.

I won't try to do the imitation of the actor who portrayed the albino.

The pit of despair in the 80s classic Princess Bride.

Or more recently, Batman broken by his evil nemesis Bane.

And we think he is to never fly again.

And without fail, at this point in the movie, the music is in a minor key.

The lighting is dark.

The shots are lingering.

And we're meant to feel the depth of loss and sorrow as the story turns dark and hopeless.

And we hope that soon the good guy will find a way out of his evil plight and turn the tide.

But for now, all seems like it is lost.

The story we're going to step in today in Matthew 26 is really gloomy.

That's where we're at, Matthew 26.

Human evil, human failure, and human despair are thick in the atmosphere of this passage.

And Jesus is proceeding down into the yawning, dark path that God has laid out for him to walk.

It is not positive or encouraging.

It is the evil hour when darkness reigns.

When evil comes out to play.

Today's passage is a series of dark scenes that are tied together with some common threads.

And they're woven together by Matthew, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit,

to show us something about the bad guys, about the good guy, and about the God that is over all of it.

And I think it's going to speak something to us.

So I'd like to read it in full together.

We're going to start in Matthew 26, verse 57.

Matthew 26:57

Matthew 26, verse 57.

Matthew 26:57

And we'll read through Matthew 27, verse 10.

Matthew 27:10

And as I read, would you just be listening for a few things?

Would you listen to how much space Matthew gives to human failure and human evil?

And would you also be listening for a little bright display of Jesus?

And would you also be on the lookout for a few little hints and glimpses of how all of this is according to plan?

So let's read together.

Starting at chapter 26 of Matthew, verse 57.

This is God's word.

Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered.

And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest.

And going inside, he sat with the guards to see the end.

Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus 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, I put you under oath 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, I tell you all.

From now on, you all 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?

And they answered,

He deserves death.

And 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 the Galilean.

But he denied it before them all, saying,

I don't 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.

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 two 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.

But then when Judas, his betrayer,

Saw that Jesus was condemned,

He changed his mind

And brought back the thirty pieces of silver

To the chief priests and the elders,

Saying,

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.

They said,

What is that to us?

See to it yourself.

And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple,

He departed and went and hanged himself.

But the chief priests,

Taking the pieces of silver,

Said,

It is not lawful to put them into the treasury,

Since it is blood money.

So they took counsel and bought with them

The potter's field as a burial place for strangers.

Therefore that field has been called

The field of blood to this day.

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah,

Saying,

And they took the thirty pieces of silver,

The price of him on whom a price had been set

By some of the sons of Israel,

And they gave them for the potter's field,

As the Lord directed me.

This is God's word.

What God wants us to see today,

In this passage,

Is this.

Human nature,

And our Savior Jesus,

Both showed their true colors,

On this darkest of all nights.

All to fulfill God's written will.

Human nature,

And our Savior Jesus,

Both showed their true colors,

On this darkest of all nights.

All to fulfill God's written will.

So as we go,

What I want to do,

Is I want to unpack all three of those parts.

I want us to see,

The true colors of human nature,

On display in this passage.

And Matthew gives the most amount of real estate,

To this in his passage,

And I'll be giving the most amount of time,

Here,

To point that out.

However,

I want to circle back around,

After we go through all three scenes,

And point out,

The true colors of Jesus.

And then at the end,

I want to see how it's all,

According to God's written will.

And then we'll be applying it as we go.

So first,

Let's look,

At human nature's true colors,

In this passage.

The first true color of human nature,

That we see here,

Is the malicious injustice,

Aimed at Jesus,

By the religious leaders.

The malicious injustice,

Aimed at Jesus,

By the religious leaders.

We've been introduced to Caiaphas,

Way back in the beginning of this chapter,

In verse three.

He's the high priest,

The leading religious leader,

Of the Jews at the time.

He was one of the most respected,

And most powerful men,

In Jerusalem.

And he was surrounded,

By respected and powerful men,

Chief priests,

Scribes,

And elders of the people.

They were the elite leaders,

That exercised influence,

Over Israel at this time.

And,

They wanted Jesus dead.

Why did this group,

Of respected,

Pious,

Religious leaders,

Unite around,

Such a murderous,

Common cause?

Because Jesus threatened,

Their authority.

He called them out,

On their fake righteousness,

Of external religion,

Their thirst for human approval,

And their utter lack,

Of true love of God.

And so,

They have succeeded in their plot,

They started in verse three,

They're back in Caiaphas,

His house,

They've brought Jesus,

In captivity,

After grabbing him,

Under the cover of darkness,

And are bringing him in,

For a hearing.

It seems like evil is winning,

And darkness is winning.

And Matthew makes it painfully clear,

That this whole trial,

Is an embarrassment to justice.

According to Jewish tradition,

Capital cases couldn't be tried at night,

It's night.

They normally took place,

On the temple grounds,

They're in Caiaphas' house.

The defendant had the right,

To a defense attorney.

None rose to the occasion.

He was able to,

The defense attorney was able,

To cross examine the witnesses,

That came against the accused,

And this did not happen.

The accused also had the right,

To call witnesses to his defense,

And none of this seems to be,

Brought up for consideration.

They must have had,

Some kind of amnesia,

About these rules,

That they had made.

This was a quick,

Cut and paste trial.

A hoop to jump through.

It was just to bring about,

The desired conviction,

To prop it up with enough,

Outward appearance,

To seem legit.

And what's so ironic,

Is that the evidence,

That they try to piece together,

Which Matthew describes as false,

It won't add up.

Mark tells us,

The accounts of the false witnesses,

That came forward,

Were kept on contradicting each other.

Finally,

We see in verse 60,

Two men stand up,

And they come forward,

With something that might stick,

Against Jesus.

It's an easily misquoted,

And twisted version,

Of something Jesus had said,

A long time before.

But Jesus is silent.

In verse 63,

Caiaphas is obviously frustrated,

By Jesus' lack of response,

So he pulls out his big guns,

He puts Jesus under oath,

Before God.

He demands,

That Jesus declare,

Whether he's the Messiah,

The son of the living God,

Or not.

Well,

Upon hearing Jesus' faithful,

Confession of the truth,

Caiaphas tears his robes,

Proclaims the sentence,

That Jesus has blasphemed God,

And gets full agreement,

From the rest of the group,

That Jesus is worthy of death.

It's a very,

Impartial trial,

Isn't it?

An emotional appeal,

By the judge,

To the jury,

To get his verdict,

That he wants.

It's very impartial.

Extremely fair.

But,

On top of all that,

It's this last part of the scene,

That's very disturbing.

Then the restrained malice,

Behind all of these proceedings,

Comes out,

And it's unleashed.

Some of those who are present,

Either temple guards,

Or servants,

Or the priests,

And elders themselves,

They descend upon Jesus,

With pure hatred.

Spitting,

Hitting,

Mocking.

This was a physical way,

To proclaim the opposite,

Of what Jesus had just claimed.

That he was not the Messiah,

Because what kind of Messiah,

Would allow himself to be hurt,

Spit upon,

Shamed,

Told that he couldn't prophesy,

The future,

Because he couldn't identify,

The one who hit him.

Even the most despised,

Prisoner,

In a courtroom today,

Would never receive,

Such treatment.

Such unrestrained,

Hate-filled abuse.

When we behold this scene,

It's hard not to be disgusted,

With the malice,

And the injustice.

They have passed the verdict,

On Jesus in their hearts,

Before hearing any witnesses,

Or bringing any charges.

This trial was simply needed,

To check the boxes,

Of external formality,

To make their sentence of death,

Official.

We see,

Something to be disgusted at.

Hopefully,

Hopefully,

We,

It also provokes in us,

A little bit of humility.

Our hearts,

Are not unable,

Of going this low.

How often,

Have you treated someone,

With anything less,

Than the respect,

And dignity,

That a human being,

Deserves,

Deserves,

Because he's an image bearer,

Of God,

Simply because,

They rubbed you,

The wrong way.

I know myself,

I can move a person,

From innocent,

To guilty,

To condemned,

In a millisecond,

On the judgment seat,

On the judgment seat,

Of my heart,

If they do something,

To cross me.

I'm sure,

It's the same with you.

There isn't as much,

Difference between us,

And these religious leaders,

That we want to believe.

The same seat of murder,

Lies within us.

We should read this passage,

With humble and sober,

Reflection on the evil,

That lies in every human heart,

Including our own.

Well on that note,

Let's look a little more briefly,

At our second scene,

And see the second true color,

Of human nature,

Come out.

It is this,

Our fear laden,

Faithlessness.

Our fear laden,

Faithlessness.

And we need,

Look no further,

Than our good friend Peter.

Matthew has already told us,

Back up in verse 58,

That Peter is present here,

At Caiaphas' house.

He's in the courtyard,

While the trial is going on inside.

He was following Jesus,

At a distance,

Which is admirable,

Given the rest of the disciples,

Were nowhere near.

But neither is he,

Identifying himself with Jesus.

As one scholar put it,

He is wavering,

Halfway between courage,

And cowardice.

Now before we dive in,

Let's remember,

What Matthew told us,

Back a few verses before,

That what happened,

Only hours before,

That Jesus and his disciples,

Were on the way to Gethsemane,

And Peter,

Reacted very strongly,

Against Jesus' prediction,

That they would all abandon him.

Confidently saying,

If all others fall away,

I will not.

I never will.

And Jesus turns to him,

And he says,

You're going to disown me three times,

This very night, Peter.

And it's here,

Where this tragic scene unfolds,

In the high priest's courtyard.

There's a fire going on,

The servants of the householder,

Gather around to keep warm,

Against the cold night.

He's at the outskirts of this huddle,

And hoping to remain anonymous,

And yet gain information,

About what's going to happen,

To his Lord.

He's scared,

He's confused,

And he's anxious.

I would be too.

And we see that the intensity,

Of the accusations,

And the intensity of his denials,

Increase dramatically,

From beginning to end.

Look at verse 69.

He tries to skate past,

The servant girl's curious question,

With a classic line.

I don't know what you're talking about.

And then he gets himself,

Publicly accused by another servant girl,

Within the earshot of everyone else.

And he says,

I don't know the man.

He disowns Jesus blatantly.

And he puts himself under an oath,

To give some oomph to his denial.

To kind of bolster his credibility.

And the last accusation,

In verse 73,

You got a group of people,

Confronting him,

Saying,

Certainly,

You,

Are one of them,

Your accent betrays you.

If anybody opens their mouth,

If anyone's from,

Georgia or Alabama,

And they open their mouth,

In Wisconsin,

It's a dead giveaway.

We tend to know,

Kind of where they're from.

And the Judeans,

Southern Israelites,

Made fun constantly,

Of their northern Galilean counterparts,

For their accent.

And they say,

You got a Galilean accent.

This guy's Galilean.

You're one of them.

Now it's not proof positive,

But Peter's on the spot.

So he pulls out his ace of spades.

Not only an oath,

But a curse.

He calls down God's wrath on himself,

As proof positive,

That he is telling the truth,

That he doesn't know Jesus.

And apparently it worked for the crowd.

But then the rooster growed.

He remembered Jesus' prediction,

And the fear of the moment,

Faded into bitter tears of guilt.

He found a dark place in Jerusalem,

And wept like a broken man,

Because he was a broken man.

He was a colossal failure.

And not only did he feel deep remorse and grief,

For having disowned Jesus three times,

But he was approaching utter despair,

Of his soul,

As he had just called down God's wrath.

And he knew he was lying.

Can anyone identify with Peter?

All of us have shown our true colors,

Of faithlessness.

We can recall them,

The moments to our minds right now.

Maybe you can recall moments,

This morning,

Or this week,

Of your faithlessness.

We cave due to fear,

Or pride,

Or unchecked desires of the flesh.

We seek to preserve self,

Rather than suffer,

As we pursue obedience.

These are our true colors.

Our faithlessness.

There's good news coming.

I want to wait just a minute.

I want us to look at this last true color,

Of human nature,

In this last scene.

Here it is.

It is human despair,

And destruction,

For undervaluing Jesus.

Human despair,

And destruction,

For undervaluing Jesus.

The first two verses,

Of chapter 27,

Describe the Jewish leaders,

Official sentencing of Jesus.

There was a law,

That kept them from,

Passing an official sentence of death,

At night.

So of course,

They had to keep up appearances,

And make sure they passed,

The official death sentence,

During the day.

And they went off,

To Pilate,

With Jesus in tow,

With a guilty verdict,

And with a ready argument,

To make sure they get,

Pilate's signature,

On his execution.

But Matthew doesn't,

Immediately move his narrative,

To Jesus' trial,

Before Pilate,

Just yet.

He wants to make,

One more comment,

On the true color,

Of human nature,

Before that.

He tells us,

That Judas hears about,

This death sentence,

And he feels,

Deep remorse,

About his decision,

To betray,

Jesus.

We see that,

In verse 3,

That he changed his mind.

This is not true,

Repentance of coming,

Back to God,

This is,

Simply guilty,

Remorse.

So,

He tells us,

That Judas hears about,

The death sentence,

He feels the remorse,

And we see,

Why he feels this remorse,

In verse 4.

He comes into the temple,

In despair,

And he tried,

To return the 30 silver pieces,

To the chief priests.

And he says,

I've sinned,

I've sinned,

By betraying,

Innocent blood.

Judas recognizes,

The evil that he's done,

He knows that he is,

Responsible for the violent death,

Of an innocent man,

And it leads him,

To guilt ridden,

Despair.

He is desperately,

Seeking some relief,

From his sense,

Of shame.

He goes to the,

Spiritual leaders of Israel,

At the time,

To seek that comfort,

And is,

Sorely disappointed.

They tell him,

What is that to us?

See to it yourself.

It's not our problem.

You take care of your own,

Seared conscience.

Well,

Judas does.

After a desperate,

Attempt to put the money back,

Where it came from,

To try to clumsily,

Make up for his sin,

He takes care of his,

Despair problem,

By ending his life.

He hangs himself.

The leaders,

Then decide,

That it is,

Since it's unlawful,

To return blood money,

To the temple treasury,

They do what their law,

Permitted them to do,

With blood money,

Which is to meet,

A public need.

There was a public need,

For a burial place,

For foreigners,

Outside the city limits,

And so they used it for that.

But before we move on,

Do you see how twisted,

Their thinking is?

It's unlawful,

To return blood money,

To the temple treasury.

It's not unlawful,

To draw that money out,

In the first place,

To betray an innocent man,

And lead him to death.

The irony is just thick.

Both Judas,

And these leaders,

Valued Jesus,

At 30 pieces of silver.

And although Judas felt remorse,

And the leaders did not,

Both of them are on their way,

To destruction.

They both valued Jesus,

Cheaply.

He was the price,

Of a common slave,

Or in the leader's eyes,

Just enough to buy,

Some cheap property,

Outside the city limits,

To dump polluted bodies,

For burial.

So the result for Judas,

Is a guilt ridden soul,

With no hope of redemption.

And the prophecy,

At the end of this scene,

Which we'll look at in a little bit,

More in depth,

Is echoing a passage in Jeremiah,

Where God promised destruction,

For those who valued him,

And his word,

Cheaply.

Friends,

What value do you put on Jesus?

What worth does he hold,

In your heart?

What do you prize him at?

Really?

To know him,

Is to treasure him,

Above all else.

To have him,

Is to cling tightly to him,

And it will be seen,

In the end,

How greatly you value him.

The God man,

This absolutely unique person,

Is your master,

Your rescuer,

Is your only hope in life,

In death.

Do you value him?

Do you value him cheaply?

To do so,

Is to invite despair,

And destruction,

From a wasted life.

Are you trading him in,

For the pursuit of pleasure,

Or comfort,

Or fame,

Or the accomplishment of,

Your will,

Not the father's will?

If you're doing that,

Repent.

Turn to the one,

Who is precious,

Beyond all riches,

And we're going to see,

How precious he is,

In just a moment.

Matthew spends,

Considerable time,

And space,

In this chapter,

Painting a picture,

Of the human nature,

True colors,

And we ought to feel,

The ugly weight,

Of it on our souls.

We ought to see,

The dark colors of it,

Reflecting out of our own hearts.

We are meant to feel,

Disgust,

At this.

Malice,

And injustice,

Towards others,

Who offend our pride,

Or the heavy sense,

Of our own,

Faithlessness,

Or the way,

That we value Jesus,

Cheaply.

If we ended here,

It would be depressing sermon.

But there's another,

Who is showing,

His true colors,

In this passage,

And I want to look,

At that right now.

Let's look at,

Jesus' true colors,

It comes out,

Particularly,

In the first scene.

Pastor Mike,

Preached last week,

On Jesus' true colors,

That came out,

In the garden of Gethsemane.

He fought,

The battle,

In prayer,

Of submission,

And obedience,

To the father's will,

At the utmost cost,

To himself.

And then he rose,

To meet his betrayer,

With courage,

And with confidence,

Having resigned himself,

Completely,

To do his father's will,

Every step,

Of the way.

And that's how,

We see him in this passage,

Actively,

Resolved,

To do the father's will,

Every step of the way.

Even though,

Verse 56 tells us,

That he's completely alone.

It's him,

And his obedience,

To God,

And that's it.

We also see,

That he's utterly silent,

In the face of his accusers.

It would be easy,

For him to shoot down,

These lies,

That are aimed at him.

But the only words,

He speaks in this passage,

Are the very words,

Of truth and faithfulness,

That bring,

His,

Condemnation.

He incriminates himself,

By speaking the truth.

And he does it,

Steadfastly,

Resolved,

To follow through,

With the father's will.

Caiaphas puts him under oath,

To answer whether he's the Messiah,

Or not.

Jesus makes his good confession,

As Paul calls it,

In 1 Timothy 6,

He answers Caiaphas,

Calmly,

And truthfully,

A stark contrast,

To the hasty falsehoods,

That are zipping about,

That night.

He says,

Yes to Caiaphas,

I am the Messiah,

It's a very hesitant,

Yes though.

Not hesitant,

In that he's not the Messiah,

But,

For Caiaphas,

And the rest,

The Messiah was an obvious,

Vanquisher of his enemies,

They liked power,

So it makes sense,

That their Messiah,

Would be obviously powerful,

Not this weakling,

Standing before them,

So powerless,

He hadn't put up a fight,

Jesus wanted to make sure that he answered Caiaphas

and said, yeah, I'm the Messiah

but I'm not your kind of Messiah

and then he clarifies the kind of Messiah that he is

with two potent Old Testament passages

Psalm 110 and Daniel 7

Psalm 110 is the most oft-quoted Old Testament passage

in the New Testament, period

it's really, really powerful

in the way that it portrays the Messiah

both of these passages show that the Messiah

would have a unique relationship with God

in fact, he would share God's power and authority

so, yeah, I am that kind of Messiah, Caiaphas

I am going to be the vanquisher of my enemies

but not in the way you think

Psalm 110 and Daniel 7

has the Messiah seated at the right hand of God's throne

and in Daniel 7

coming with the clouds of heaven

bringing God's kingdom to earth

as God's appointed king

sharing God's power and authority

in an absolutely unique way

Caiaphas wouldn't argue with this depiction

of power and authority

but notice the slight shift of phrase

that Jesus uses

he changes Caiaphas' phrase of

the Christ, the Son of God

to the Son of Man

and if we've been reading carefully

through the book of Matthew

we find that the Son of Man

is Jesus' favorite way of referring himself

to, yes, the Messiah

but the Messiah

and he certainly triumphs

but he triumphs through suffering

back in verse 2

is one of the many examples

where Jesus tells his disciples

right on the eve of his destruction

of his crucifixion

that the Son of Man

is going to be betrayed

into the hands of his enemies

and crucified

that's how Jesus wins

that's how he vanquishes his enemies

not by blasting them

but by dying for them

this kind of self-sacrifice

was incomprehensible

to these religious leaders

they were only interested

in self-preservation

keeping a hold of their own power

yes, I am that kind of Messiah

speaking the truth, Caiaphas

but I'm the Messiah who dies

and that's how I win

and hear the very real warning

in this powerful confession of Jesus

notice that he says

you will see the Son of Man

it's a y'all you

it's a plural you

y'all will see the Son of Man

see you at the right hand of God

and coming on the clouds of heaven

these leaders

motivated by pure hatred and envy

are standing over God's anointed one

in judgment

and they're ready to condemn him to death

and Jesus is saying

be careful

the tables are about to be turned

you are the judges now

sitting on your corrupt judgment seat

but very soon

you will be standing before me

as I sit at God's mighty right hand

and that judgment seat

knows nothing but pure justice

man, doesn't this put awe in your heart?

the steady resolve

of the Son of Man

to obey His Father's will

with the utmost perfect execution

and gritty determination

man, who is like this guy?

it should put awe in your hearts

it's this resolve, Christian

that won your freedom

it's His active determination

in every moment

when He could have called down

twelve leaders of angels

at any point of the whole proceeding

it's this resolve

that won your freedom

it's this resolve

to be beaten and shamed

and accused by hateful evil men

that purchased the forgiveness

of your hateful evil heart

it's His resolve

to do His Father's will

so faithfully

that He purchased your restoration

from fear-filled faithlessness

to do what is right

it's His resolve

to treasure His Father's glory

and His Father's will

above all else

the ransomed people

like you and me

who value God's glory

and His will cheaply

aren't you in awe

of this absolutely

unique person

who at any moment

could have stopped

the whole thing?

our response

should be quiet worship

who is like this man

and do you know why

we're reading Peter's story

two thousand years later?

this is the most encouraging

part of the whole sermon

hopefully

because Peter told it

he freely confessed

his massive failure

when he realized

what Jesus endured

so He could be healed

and restored

and put back together again

he told his story freely

he's like

oh yeah you think

your sin's bad?

I disowned Jesus

three times

the very night

He died for me

Peter was so familiar

with his failure

and he confessed it freely

do you know what God

is saying to us

in this passage?

because of Jesus'

true colors

of faithfulness

we could be totally

honest

about our faithlessness

stop hiding

stop hiding

your mess

stop pretending

you're fine

when you're not

confess that you're

just a massive failure

like Peter

you've got nothing

that you won't

do better

that you can't

do better

apart from Jesus

that's the whole point

of the gospel

that you're more

messed up

than you think you are

and you are more loved

than you could ever

dream

do you see how much

Jesus loves

colossal failures

and how much

he resolved

to do

for colossal

failures

like us

one author

from a previous

generation

said this

about Peter's

failure

isn't it kind

of God

that he would

see to it

that the most

prominent leader

in the church

would fail

so spectacularly

that

everyone

would fear

that none

may presume

that they can

stand

in the face

of temptation

and that all

may have hope

of restoration

if there's hope

for Peter

there's hope

for us

because of

Jesus'

true colors

lastly

we want to see

how this

human evil

and this

beautiful

resolve

of the

son of God

work together

in this passage

to fulfill

God's

written

will

all this

human junk

and all this

sparkling

obedience

of Jesus

was foreknown

and foretold

by God

in his word

it's a fulfillment

of his

gracious promise

to rescue

and redeem

people like us

if you look

back at

verse 54

and verse 56

of chapter 26

Jesus has this

on his mind

he's telling

Peter

calm down

man

how then

should the

scriptures

be fulfilled

that it

might be

so

verse 54

verse 56

all this

has taken

place

that the

scriptures

of the

prophets

might be

fulfilled

this is

all

according

to plan

nothing

is off

this passage

is just

heavy

with irony

the ones

who thought

they were

in control

who held

the power

were actually

playing perfectly

into God's

hands

Caiaphas

and his

crew

they knew

about the

triumphant

messiah

of Daniel

7

and Psalm

110

for sure

they knew

he would

come on

the clouds

and that he

would be

sitting at

God's right

hand

but they

had no

clue

that that

messiah

is the

same as

the

suffering

servant

in Isaiah

53

listen to

Isaiah

53

7

and think

about

Jesus

standing

on trial

he was

oppressed

and he

was afflicted

yet he

opened

not his

mouth

like a

lamb

that is

led

to the

slaughter

and like

a sheep

that before

its shearers

is silent

so he

opened

not

his mouth

he doesn't

resist

or defend

himself

he has

actively

submitted

himself

to the

will

of the

father

that was

ordained

hundreds

of years

before

listen to

verse 10

of Isaiah

53

it was

the

will

of the

lord

to crush

him

he has

put him

to grief

it was

not the

will of

the

council

only

the

will

of the

council

fulfilled

the

will

of the

father

to crush

his

son

on the

most

momentous

day

in history

to perform

the greatest

loss

which was

the greatest

victory

and not

only was

the father's

word

fulfilled

uttering

demonstrating

his utter

control

of the

situation

but so

was Jesus

word

at the

very moment

that his

adversaries

are slapping

him and

mocking him

that he

can't

prophesy

which one

of them

hit them

because they

have blindfolded

him

Luke tells

us

but one

of Jesus'

recent

most recent

prophecies

was being

fulfilled

at that

very moment

outside

in the

courtyard

with Peter

disowning

him

human

failure

woven

together

with the

son's

obedience

to fulfill

God's

perfect

word

Jesus

is in

perfect

control

of this

situation

and the

third

scene

Matthew

sees a

fulfillment

of God's

word

by making

a brief

reference

to a

prophetic

theme

that's found

in a

mashup

of passages

from Jeremiah

19 and

Zechariah

11

that's in

verse

9 and

10 of

chapter 27

he cites

Jeremiah

because Jeremiah

is the most

important

prophet

Matthew

if you

compare some

Old Testament

passages

prophecies

to the

fulfillment

in the

New

Testament

it's like

whoa

exact

matchup

sometimes

it's like

I'm not

really sure

if I

see it

this is

one of

those

I'm not

really sure

if I

see it

it's

because

there's

more than

one way

for prophecy

to be

fulfilled

one could

be just

a one

to one

oh

this

is

that

but

sometimes

it can

be a

fulfillment

of a

prophetic

theme

or a

pattern

and the

prophetic

theme

and pattern

in Jeremiah

19

and Zechariah

11

is that

they share

in common

that Israel

has rejected

God

as their

true leader

and their

shepherd

and therefore

judgment's

on the

way

in Zechariah

11

the flock

of God

rejects

the true

shepherd

and replaces

him with

false

shepherds

who value

the price

of the

true

shepherd

at 30

pieces

of silver

Matthew

isn't being

shy

with his

Jewish

audience

here

he's

saying

if you

despise

your true

shepherd

if you

don't value

him

you are

flirting

with judgment

and it

is written

it is

written

it is

written

friends

that's the

reason we

gather around

this book

every Sunday

it's not a

textbook on

moral living

or on

dead doctrine

this book

is breathing

it's living

God's word

has an authority

that cuts

through our

excuses

and our

pretenses

and God's

will

will

be

done

he

has

spoken

the question

is

are we

listening

do you

hear

the

authority

of God's

word

cutting to

the heart

of the

matter

of our

ugly

true

colors

do you

hear

the good

news

coming

forth

with

clarity

of Jesus

displaying

his

true

colors

do you

hear him

drawing you

with this

word of

authority

it's

greater

than you

does it

draw you

to worship

does it

draw you

to surrender

your life

to the

crucified

and risen

Christ

does it

draw you

with comfort

and encouragement

as you

fight the

fight of

faith to

believe that

he is

good and

he richly

rewards those

who earnestly

seek him

does this

word draw

you to

imitate

Jesus'

full

obedience

because we're

identified with

him

and we will

suffer

for the

sake of

the name

does it

draw you

to want to

imitate his

boldness

his resolve

to obey the

father no matter

what it costs

consider him

who endured

such hostility

from evil

men

the author

of Hebrews

tells us

you haven't

shed blood

yet in your

fight against

sin

imitate him

does God's

word have

such authority

to draw you

and enable you

by his spirit

to do that

yes it does

let me close

with these words

again from

Hebrews

therefore let us

lay aside

every weight

and the sin

which clings

so closely

and let us

run with

endurance

the race

that is set

before us

looking to

Jesus

the founder

and perfecter

of our faith

who for the

joy

for the joy

of redeeming

a people

for himself

set before him

endured the cross

despising the shame

and now

is seated

at the right hand

of the throne

of God

and one day

our eyes

will see him

every eye

will see him

exalted

vindicated

do not

despise him

but treasure him

press forward

in faith

not in fear

if you are here

today

and you are

aware

of your guilt

before God

and you are

seeking relief

from your despair

come to him

come to Jesus

the elders

will be down

here at the front

available for prayer

don't let the

authority of God's

word be deflected

off your heart

but respond

in obedience

and faith

let's pray

our one defense

our righteousness

oh God

how we need you

we are a bunch

of messy

people

we know

our own hearts

father you are

able

even at this

moment

by the work

of your spirit

in each heart

to draw forth

faith

worship

obedience

and joy

in the one

whose true colors

really shine

pray that you do it

now for the glory

of your name

for our great joy

for eternity

in Jesus name

amen

amen

been