The Judge of the Earth on Trial | Mark 14:53-65 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

Indeed, we have come to hear from the Word of the living God,

and we will hear from Him in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of

Mark, beginning in verse 53. Please meet me there.

As we consider a glorious passage of Scripture this Lord's

Day, there are about a dozen verses that we will look at.

Let's read it in its entirety so that we can capture the scene in

our minds before we unpack it verse by verse.

Mark 14, beginning in verse 53. And they led Jesus to the high

priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the

scribes came together, and Peter had followed him at a distance

right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting

with the guards and warming himself at the fire.

Now the chief priest and the whole council were seeking

testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found

none. For many bore false witness

against them, but their testimony did not agree.

And some stood up and bore false witness against them, saying, We

heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with

hands, and in three days I will build another not made with

hands. Yet even about this their

testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in

the midst and asked, Jesus, have you no answer to make?

What is it that these men testify against you?

But he remains silent, and made no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ, the Son of

the blessed? And Jesus said, I am, and you

will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and

coming with the clouds of heaven.

And the high priest tore his garments and said, What further

witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy,

what is your decision? And they all condemned him as

deserving death, and some began to spit on him and to cover his

face and to strike him, saying to him, prophecy.

And the guards received him with blows.

Lord, we need your help to understand this passage by your

Spirit. Guide us step by step where we

might be weak. Lord, you promised power.

Give us that power in our minds, in our hearts, even in the

delivery of this message. May your wisdom, Your love, Your

glory be the thing that captivates us today.

We trust that you will do that, and we give you thanks for it in

Jesus name, Amen. What an unsettling scene this

is, and you too might be overcome by an unpleasant

feeling when contemplating it. Because what we have before us

is not only the trial of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

We have the hearing of the eternal sinless Son of God.

This is not just a court case against a local miracle working

rabbi. You have here a lawsuit against

the righteous King of the universe, the one appointed by

God to judge both the living and the dead.

How is it possible then? How is it possible that the

ruler of all things is subjected to investigation and cross

examination? How is it that you have the very

one who held Sodom and Gomorrah, Pharaoh in Egypt, Assyria and

Babylon to account, now standing here before corrupt men and is

interrogated? It's, it's so strange when you

actually think about it, but at the same time so sublime because

what we are beholding here together is the Lord Jesus

Christ now fulfilling His mandate as the Lamb of God who

takes away the sins of the world.

Even the language that Mark uses here is meant to allude to the

ancient prophecies that predicted the dawning of

redemption as we see it here. Let me give you an example.

Look again here at verse 53. And they led Jesus to the high

priest. Let me remind you something that

there are hundreds of references to the Old Testament in the New

Testament, and there are thousands of allusions to the

Old Testament. There are phrases and sentences

and collection of words that are meant to bring you to certain

places in the Old Testament that are not directly quoted.

And so the more you familiarize yourself with the Old Testament,

the more you're going to see the connection and the harmony of

the Bible as you read throughout the New.

And I see something even here. They led Jesus to the high

priest. Doesn't that echo what Isaiah

prophesied concerning the Messiah?

And Isaiah 53, seven, we're told there about the Christ, that he

was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a

land that is led to the slaughter.

Indeed, it is a connection. Here's Christ being led to the

high priest. And this is just one thread

among many that weaves into a profound tapestry.

And there are many other threads that I want to consider with you

today. So what are we going to do?

Let's meditate on a few things. Join me in thinking about in

this passage, the sinking faith of Peter.

And after that, let's consider the suffering of slander.

Beyond that, let's look into the silence of the Lamb of God.

And fascinatingly, let us conclude with this glorious

thought, the shift of a priesthood.

So now we come to verse 53 and 54.

They led Jesus of the high priests and all the chief

priests and the elders and the scribes came together and Peter

had followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the

high priest. Mark is being very detailed and

mentioning how Peter followed Jesus.

So remember, we learned that they all scattered from Christ

upon his arrest. But seems like Peter was able to

muster up a little bit of courage to be able to follow

Jesus. But we're told specifically that

he followed the Lord at a distance.

The Holy Spirit doesn't waste any words.

In fact, this seems to be an emphasis that he wants to make

because we find the same detail in Matthew and in Luke that

Peter followed the Lord at a distance.

Why? Well, remember how we learned

about the young man, the anonymous young man who followed

the Lord in verse 51? Look at it with me again.

And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth

about his body, and they seized him.

So this young man who pursued the Lord after his arrest

evidently was close enough for these guards to turn around and

grab him and snatch his clothing off him for a runaway naked.

And we talked about the significance of that, if you

remember. So we know that if you follow

too close to the Lord at this point, it was dangerous for you.

And Peter understood that. So in order to be safe, you

follow at a distance. It was safer for Peter.

Can I tell you today that there are people who are following

Jesus like Peter did here as I speak?

They're convinced that they're following the Lord, but they're

following him in a way in which onlookers might wonder about

their association with them. They're following the Lord in a

way that is less risky, less inviting of trouble.

They're following the Lord in a way that incurs no cost and that

really satisfies the flesh. It's possible to follow the

Lord, but at a distance. You know, the psalmist in Psalm

7328 says something profound, he said.

But for me, it is good to be near God.

It's good to be near God. Peter could not make that

statement. He could not Amen that psalmist.

At this point in his life, he was not near God.

He was following at a distance. But that wasn't always the case

for Peter. For many years Peter was by

Christ's side, not just in times of roaring success, but even in

moments of great danger. And yet at this point, we see

him distancing himself from Christ, showing you and I that

it's even possible for the most devout to succumb to this kind

of level of devotion that is not praiseworthy or the will of God.

And I want to remind you today that following Jesus at a

distance is not something that happens overnight.

It happens gradually. So you went from reading your

Bible every day to reading it only some days.

You went from bringing your petitions, your problems, your

thanksgivings to God regularly in prayer, to only in

emergencies. You went from the House of God

being a priority for you in your week to your attendance to the

House of God being spontaneous. And you don't even realize that

you're following Jesus at a distance.

Yes, he's before you. You can still see him out there

in the horizon, but you're not near him where you should be.

Why was Peter following Jesus at a distance a problem?

It was a problem because he promised Jesus I will be devoted

to you, even if it means my death.

And he's not fulfilling that promise.

But as I mentioned earlier, the devotion of the believer

crystallizing in this way, becoming colder and colder, is

not something that just visits you suddenly.

You don't just wake up one day thinking to yourself, I think

I'm going to pull back a little bit.

It is a progression, one that we often do not even recognize as

it is happening. But there isn't.

There is a clue in this passage that shows us at least one way

you know that you're following Jesus at a distance.

Look again at verse 54. And Peter followed him at a

distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest,

and he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at

the fire. Why was he sitting with the

guards? Because he wanted to know what

would happen to Christ. We're told in another gospel

that he didn't want to see the end of the matter, but he also

didn't want to be identified with Christ.

And so he sought to blend in. That's exactly what he's doing.

He's trying to camouflage himself.

And if you want to know one evidence, piece of evidence that

you are following the Lord at a distance, it is this.

You find yourself comfortably fellowshipping with those who

oppose Christ. I'm sure you've seen it.

I've seen it. Those who have once held their

Bible so tightly and had great delight being in the House of

God with the people of God gradually disappearing.

And then you go on social media and you find them holding what?

Sitting with who? Unashamedly posting that they're

there. And there are many reasons why

this heartbreaking change happens, but it usually occurs

at the same pace, little by little.

Do you want to see how amazingly accurate the Bible is?

How specific it is? Do you want to be encouraged

further of why we need to read our Bible slowly and

comparatively? Go to John 1818 and here's

John's account of Peter at the exact same time of what we are

studying in Mark. How often do Christians find

themselves in places they shouldn't be, relating to people

they shouldn't collaborate with and engage in things unbefitting

of followers of Jesus? But it doesn't happen right

away. John 1818 tells us now the

servants and officers had made a charcoal fire.

Can I remind you what kind of fire did Jesus create in John 21

when He restored Peter? When you go to it in your own

reading, you realize that he he made a charcoal fire and the

only other connection to a charcoal fire in John is this

one. So you know what that means.

When Jesus restored Peter, ultimately he brought him to a

charcoal fire because He wanted Peter to address this and not

sweep it underneath the rug. Let's talk about where things

went wrong. And he did so, so gently and so

compassionately. But besides the point, the

servants and officers had made a charcoal fire because it was

cold, and they were standing and warming themselves.

Peter also with them, standing and warming himself.

John tells us that when Peter was with the guards, trying to

blend in, being with a crowd that he was not supposed to be

with, he was doing what? Standing, Standing.

The people were standing and warming themselves.

So Peter joined them and was standing and warming himself.

Go back to Mark 1454. What do we read Peter doing?

And Peter had followed him at a distance right into the

courtyard of the high priest, and he was doing, what was he

standing? He was sitting.

Contradiction. No, no, no, no, no progression.

He went from following Jesus at a distance to standing with the

people that he should not stand with, getting comfortable enough

then to sit with them. Is sitting more stationary than

standing? Yeah.

If you're on your feet, you can pick yourself up and walk off.

But when you're sitting, you got cozy.

You got cozy. And that's exactly what happened

to Peter. And that's what happens to some

Christians. They follow Jesus at a distance,

and they curiously explore other things, and so they're still

standing. But it doesn't take much time

for that conviction, that sensitive conscience, to be

tranquilized. And they go from standing to

sitting. Do you know what happens after

you sit? What happened to Peter?

He went from standing to sitting with the wrong crowd to behaving

like them. This is the exact location where

Peter would deny the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's what happens to Christians who follow Jesus at a

distance. They not only join themselves to

people that they shouldn't join themselves with, but over time

they imitate them and even whether verbally or behaviorally

deny their Lord. Do you remember what Psalm 11

says? Blessed is the man who walks not

in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of

sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

There's a progression to backsliding.

Are you following Jesus at a distance this day?

Close enough for you to feel good in your in your conscience,

but far enough so that if anybody looks at you, they can't

really make out if you're following the Lord or not. close

enough where you can say I'm religious.

Far enough that it doesn't cost you anything because you don't

really stand for anything being associated with Christ.

Don't fool yourself. You're not really following the

Lord. And give it a little bit more

time. You'll be standing with the

wrong people, then sitting with them, and then you're going to

start imitating them. And that's where things get

really messy. I beckon you with the authority

of this book, turn to the Lord, run to him.

The will of God is for you to be near him.

So I encourage you with all my heart, run a little faster and

grab the hem of his garment. And like this the song says,

bind my wandering heart to thee, and he'll do it.

He'll keep you, He won't just keep you till you get to heaven.

He'll keep you in fellowship with Him if you desire it.

But don't be settled or satisfied with following the

Lord at a distance. This is the sinking faith of

Peter. But now we come to the suffering

of slander in verse 55. Now the chief priest and the

whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put

Him to death, but they found none.

When we consider the sufferings of Christ, rarely are the

malicious lashes of the tongue against his sinless reputation

is brought up. Which is strange because some of

us in here can testify of the pain of being lied about or

deliberately misrepresented. This is indeed a part of his

suffering. Now, if you've ever been lied

about, if anybody's ever slanted your name, the pain is real,

even though you are aware that you're fully capable of doing

wrong and making mistakes, right?

Then how much more, how much more ugly is it for defamation

to be brought against the one who is perfect?

That is what we have before us. And yet we read here verse 56.

Many, many, many bore false witness against them, but their

testimony did not agree. I love that they're fumbling and

they're stumbling, trying to come up with some good evidence

that crisis in error and some point and they couldn't.

And after stumbling in each other's attempts, finally,

finally a group came up with something and it's recorded for

us. Out of all the false accusations

and allegations, this one is recorded for us because it's

probably the most convincing. It was probably the best lie

that they can conjure up. And what was it?

Look here again in verse 58, we heard him say I will destroy

this temple that is made with hands and in three days I will

build another not made with hands.

Jesus said something about destroying a temple.

Mark doesn't record that incident.

John does. And when you look at where John

records Jesus saying this, it's early in his ministry.

So this is a statement that they are referring to from three

years ago. Talk about desperate reach.

Three years ago. But then when you look at John

John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 and actually see what Jesus said, you're going to

realize even more just how twisted these people are and

trying to condemn the Lord Jesus Christ.

Compare this with what Christ actually said in John 2 verse

John 2:19

19. Jesus answered them, destroy

this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

The Jews then said it has taken 46 years to build this temple

and will you raise it up in three days?

But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

What did these false accusers say?

They added a lot, didn't they? Not saying about how he's going

to destroy this temple that is built or made with hands and

he's going to raise up another one not made with hands.

So they're adding to him. And the problem is, though, the

worst kind of lies are the ones that contain a degree of truth.

Again, Jesus did speak about destroying a temple, but he was

speaking about the temple of his body.

And instead they they sought to take his words and make it about

the physical temple, the temple of Herod.

And that was an unthinkable act that would have been like an act

of terrorism. And they're accusing the Lord of

entertaining and planning such a thing.

And it's possible that they chose this allegation because

the Lord already on two occasions went into the temple.

And what did he do? He cleaned up the place, flipped

a few tables. So maybe this lie was more

convincing because of those events.

But here's the thing that we have to understand.

The tongue is a powerful weapon, and it has not only been used

against the Savior, but His servants throughout history.

So if you're going to serve the Lord and you want to glorify

Him, don't be surprised if you become the targets of scorn and

slander while serving Him. You know, earlier this week I,

I've been reading the book of Jeremiah and I stumbled upon

something just in my reading. And this is the beauty of never

substituting your personal reading with sermon prep.

I know some people who do that. And I mean, if that's their

conviction, that's fine. But to me, reading the Bible

yourself, besides preparing for a sermon, not only blesses your

soul, feeds your soul, but it supplements your sermons in

surprising ways. I found Jeremiah saying

something in lament and brokenness as I'm studying for

this separately, and I want to read it to you from John 1818.

Excuse me, Jeremiah 1818. Jeremiah says, come about the

people who are persecuting. Then they said, Come, let us

make plots against Jeremiah. For the law shall not perish

from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from

the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the

tongue. Let us strike him with the

tongue. Not with a sword, not with a

club, not with an arrow. The tongue, Yeah, that thing

tucked between your lips. There's some people who've never

committed murder, but in reality they have.

They have slandered people and destroyed reputations throughout

their lives. One preacher said this.

Nobody has tried to take my life, but they're doing

everything they can to on the Internet to take away my

reputation, to silence me, because they're convinced that I

am, like so many others, just another spiritual fraud.

It's one of Satan's favorite weapons to possess the tongues

of people and to target those who serve him.

And Jeremiah is saying it happened to Jeremiah.

If it happened to Jesus, my friend, do you know what you

signed up for? Be prepared.

Serve the Lord faithfully, long enough, effectively.

It's coming your way. So crucify your need and your

urge to defend your reputation. Give it to the Lord.

Let him defend you. Let him defend you.

But that's not the only thing that moved me about Jeremiah.

You read on about how he responds to the onslaughts of

the tongue. Look at what he says in verse 19

down. It's lengthy, but it's worth it.

He says, Hear me O Lord, and listen to the voice of my

adversaries, should good be repaid with evil, yet they have

dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you

to speak. Good for them to turn away your

wrath from them. So far this is wonderful saying,

Lord, remember I did good for these very people that are

hurting me with their words. Remember what I did for them.

Remember what I did on their behalf.

But it doesn't end there. Look at this very important

word. Therefore, how do you think

Jeremiah is going to continue in his prayer?

Put a seat belt on. Therefore deliver up their

children to famine. Give them over to the power of

the sword. Let their wives become childless

and widowed. May their men meet death by

pestilence. Their youths be struck down by

the sword in battle. May a cry be heard from their

houses when you bring the plunderers suddenly upon them,

For they have dug a pit to take me and laid snares for my feet.

Talk about a reading for your devotion time in the morning.

It's not where it ends though. Verse 23 Yet you, O Lord, know

all they're plotting to kill me. Forgive not their iniquity, nor

blot out their sin from your sight.

Let them be overthrown before you deal with them in time and

the time of your anger. It hurts.

It hurts when people malign and damage your name.

It hurts, especially when you serve people.

But here's the thought that I had there.

I am looking at these words and knowing what I'm studying for

this Sunday sermon, and I could not help but compare Jeremiah's

response to the slander to the Lord Jesus, who in the apex of

his suffering, as he hung there on the cross, he did not say

forgive. Not their iniquity, but what?

Forgive them. Forgive them.

We have an amazing savior. Amazing.

Can I tell you something? You you might be a serial killer

in terms of slander. You, you might.

I know some who have even damage and destroy the reputation of

ministers and even churches altogether.

You might have that kind of a resume, but can I tell you

something? As mind blowing as it is, Jesus

is willing to forgive you. You might be the notorious

gossiper of the town of the nation.

Slander, a false witness, even. I want to tell you something.

The grace of God is so immense, so strong, that he's willing to

even forgive you, restore you, receive you.

And more than that, He'll take that troublesome tongue of yours

and replace it with a tongue of grace and love.

And the power that you use that tongue for to destroy cannot be

used to heal, to forgive and to reflect the character of Jesus

Christ. What a savior we have.

He endured even this kind of suffering.

And though Christ would eventually respond to the pain

by those that he came to save with inconceivable grace.

His immediate reaction was something quite different when

the high priest look here, verse 60, the high priest stood up in

the midst and asked, Jesus, have you no answer to make?

What is it that these men testify against you?

So he's now pressing the Lord. He's not taking advantage of

this accusation being brought up and is now confronting the Lord

with a direct question and notice how he reacts verse 61,

but he remains silent and made no answer.

This is this is majestic. The stillness, it's so elegant.

The calmness is convicting. Can you imagine standing there

surrounded by people who at their word, if they are

believed, you're dead? OK, how many of us would squirm?

How many of us would speak up? Defending our cause, defending

our reputation, defending our character?

And yet the Lord stays quiet. He doesn't offer a peep.

Do you know why? Because He's fulfilling

prophecy. And I alluded to in the

beginning of this message, but let me read it to you in its

entirety from Isaiah 53 verse seven.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not his

mouth like a land that has led to the slaughter and like a

sheep that is before its sheer is silent.

So He opened not his mouth. So the prophet is again

portraying this Messiah who would come and die, and before

his death we see him gloriously quiet, tranquil still.

Do you know why it's important to see Jesus Christ still and

silent in this way? Do you know why that's such an

important feature of who the Messiah is as the sin bearer of

the world? I'll tell you why.

His stillness speaks volumes and it communicates that he was not

resisting the fate that he was going to experience even with

his words. He did not protest.

He did not seek to delay. He didn't seek to.

He didn't seek to do anything even with his words, out of the

abundance of his heart. What He is showing here as he

stands there majestically mute, it's the showcase of the world

that He did not shrink from wanting to go to the cross so

that he can purchase your soul from hell and from sin.

So this snippet of the Savior is supposed to move you, my friend.

It's supposed to stir your heart that He willingly accepted

without defending a moment himself from it.

He accepted it. He received it and it's seen

throughout the trial. Come down at verse 65 just to

get an idea. And some began to spit on him

and to cover his face and strike him, saying to him, prophecy.

And the guards received them with blows.

I don't know how much of this was intentional in terms of it

being mocking of prophecy, because there's a prophecy in

Isaiah 11, verse three that the Messiah would not judge with his

eyes, that he would not need to look for evidence.

He would not need to see anything.

But in this perfect omniscience, he'd be able to dictate

innocence and guilt. So again, I'm not sure how much

of this is connected to that, but imagine if it was.

Imagine if these religious leaders knew that much of

prophecy where they had Jesus eyes blindfolded and one by one

they would strike him on the face and say which one did it?

You're the Messiah judge without your eyes.

This is this is horrific. And it's meant to be horrific

because he stood in our place. We marvel at this and you should

marvel at this, But there was somebody who was not impressed

by it and it was the high priest.

So there stands the the silent Lamb of God.

And we read here in verse 61 again, the high priest asked

them, are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed?

And surprisingly, at this specific juncture, Jesus speaks

up. Why?

At this point you could say because he's pressing him and

he's pressured. Matthew adds a detail that helps

us make sense of why Jesus chose to speak at this point.

You don't have to turn there, but listen.

There's an added phrase in Matthew 2663.

But Jesus remains 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. So do you know what the high

priest is doing? He's placing Jesus underoath.

He's placing Jesus underoath. And there is a law in the Old

Testament that shows us how Jesus, though fulfilling his

role as the silent lamb led to the slaughter, also perfectly

obeyed the law. This is why you can't skip books

like Leviticus. You can't listen to what the law

says in Leviticus 51. If anyone sins in that he hears

a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness,

whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not

speak, he shall bear his iniquity.

You see what the law says, if you are a witness to something,

an event or truth on occasion, and you refuse to speak up to

either confirm or deny it, you're guilty of sin.

That says a lot about us, even in terms of principle, that if

we know something and refuse to share for whatever selfish

reason, that's wrong in the eyes of God.

You understand. But here's a legal code.

If you know something and you do not speak up and confirm it,

this is iniquity. So the high priest places Jesus

Underoath, he invokes the name of God and he asks them, are

you? Are you the Christ, the Son of

the blessed? And Christ understanding his

duty at this time again fulfilling our righteousness,

not one law that he overlooked. He chooses to bear witness to

this and confirm it. And how does he confirm it?

By quoting both Psalm 110 verse one and Daniel 713.

I am and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of

power and coming with the clouds of heaven.

Wow. So this is about Jesus dying.

And you know what he's saying? He's saying many things.

One of the things that he's saying is when I'm God, I'm

seated at the right hand of God and I share the prerogatives

that God alone carries. I'm God to to be seated at the

right hand of God means listen, no matter what you do to me, I'm

going to be ascended. And not only that, he's letting

them know these earthly judges that yes, I will sit at the

right hand, but I'm also coming with the clouds of heaven.

In other words, you're going to judge me now, but understand

that there's one day where I'm going to judge you so boldly.

He references these truths and does not deny his deity.

He does not deny that he is the anointed 1.

He does not deny that He is the Christ coming to rule and reign,

but first save and redeem. How do you think the high priest

took it? Look at verse 63.

And the high priest tore his garments and said, what further

witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy.

What is your decision? And they all condemned them as

deserving death. He tore his garments, right as a

demonstration of grief, of sorrow, of he just recoils.

He's disgusted by this. And he wants to show the

Sanhedrin. Did you hear it?

And again, we look at that and we say, yeah, he seems pretty

outraged by it. No, no, no, no, no, no.

Again, this. This is where we miss out on

things when we don't know the Old Testament, as we should.

So again, guess where I'm going to ask you to go?

Leviticus. Go to Leviticus 21 verse 10.

Leviticus 21:10

I was sharing with some people in California who were asking

how to read their Bibles and I said don't you dare skip the Old

Testament. You will never know the glories

of the new if you don't build the foundation on the old.

Leviticus 2110. Look at another law concerning

the priest who is chief among his brothers.

Leviticus 2110 The priest who is chief among his brothers, on

whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been

consecrated to wear the garments, Pause.

He's talking about the high priest here who wore special,

unique garments. We're told here the one who wear

the garments shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, nor

do what? Tear his clothes.

That was sin, that was illegitimate, that was wrong

saying. Why?

Because those garments, every detail of those articles were

instructed and designed by God himself.

It was incredibly consecrated, incredibly holy, incredibly

significant and symbolic. Ultimately, those garments

points to the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And what the law says is that an under no circumstance can those

garments be torn. And if you want further proof of

that, go to Leviticus 10, verse 6.

Leviticus 10:6

After two priests, native and Abayu, we're slain for giving

strange fire to God. And we're told here in Leviticus

Leviticus 10:6

10, verse 6. And Moses said to Aaron and to

Eliezer, And if them are his sons, do not let the hair of

your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes.

Do not tear your clothes, lest you die.

And wrath come upon all the congregation, but let your

brothers, the whole House of Israel be wailed.

The burning of the Lord has kindled again.

You have no right under any circumstance, even if you're a

broken hearted, even if you're appalled, even if your grief to

tear those garments. Despite these laws, the high

priest desire to dramatically demonstrate his displeasure

before the court and he rent his garments.

A sign of outrage, sure, but more importantly, he was

invalidating himself from being High Priest.

You understand this. And unknowingly, this is so

glorious. Caiaphas symbolically marked the

end of the Levitical priesthood as he stood before the one who

would soon take the role of the great High Priest, The High

Priest of a better covenant. And Speaking of robes, the

symbolism of Caiaphas defiled robe becomes even more profound

when you compare it to another robe, the robe of the Lord Jesus

Christ, who is being prepared to leave this world at this time so

that he can assume his function as high priest through the

offering of his own blood. That's what the whole book of

Hebrews is about, how Christ is the better priest, the better

mediator, the better one with the better sacrifice.

And here's Caiaphas who wrenched his garment.

And you think that's profound. It gets even more profound when

you consider John 19 and verse 23.

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments

and divide them into four parts, one part for each soldier.

Also his tunic, a tunic was was a long garb that went to the

knees, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece

from top to bottom. So they said to one another, let

us not tear it, let us not tear it, but cast slots for it, to

see who it shall be. This was the fulfilled

scripture, the scripture which says they divided my garments

among them, and for my clothing they cast slots.

So the soldiers did these things.

If Caiaphas robe signifies the end of the old priesthood, may I

suggest to you that the unblemished robe of the Lord

Jesus Christ represents a permanent and accepted

priesthood that will last forever.

And that is why Hebrews tells us in Chapter 7, verse 24.

But he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues

forever. Indeed he does.

Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for the wonders

of Your word. And we ask, Oh God, as we come

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High priest,

that you would stir our hearts again to realize that we are

indeed in a better covenant and that of Moses.

That we are under a priesthood far greater than that of Aaron.

In that we have a priest who lives forever and who does not

have to offer repeated sacrifice.

But the priest who bears our names on his heart also presents

himself as a sacrifice. What a thought.

What wisdom is this that whenever we do stumble and fall,

we can petition that sacrifice. We do not have to find a fresh

lamb or a healthy bowl. We go to what happened on

Calvary 2000 years ago. And that blood still has power

to forgive. Lord, we're overwhelmed and

we're not ashamed of the blood, and we rejoice for that blood.

And we pray that even now as we sing your praises, that those

who have not been washed in that blood would seek for that

cleansing and realize that it is applied by faith and that they

can know real transformation through it.

Lord, we give you thanks that because you stood on trial, we

stand innocent forever, that we do not have to fear judgement,

we don't have to fear hell. We don't have to fear You

changing your mind. So great was that sacrifice that

it pleases You forever. Therefore, we enjoy your

pleasure forever. And for this, O Lord, despite

all the things that we are losing in this life, we have the

greatest treasure in the universe, and we will give you

appropriate praise because of it.

In these things and for these things do we say thanks in Jesus

name, Amen, Amen and Amen. Let's stand and worship the

great High Priest. He lives and he hears us today.