Luke 22:63-71 "God on Trial, Part 1"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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If you have Bibles with you, in one form or the other,

if you can open them or turn them on or scroll to Luke 22.

This morning we're going to be looking at verses 63 through 71.

We continue in this study of this high and holy time in these last hours of Jesus' life.

And this morning we're going to look at Jesus on trial.

Let me read. You can follow with me.

As I begin reading at verse 63 in Luke 22.

Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.

They also blindfolded him and kept asking him,

Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?

And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.

When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together,

both chief priests and scribes.

And they led him away to their council and they said,

If you are the Christ, tell us.

But he said to them,

If I tell you, you will not believe.

And if I ask you, you will not answer.

But from now on,

the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

So they all said,

Are you the Son of God then?

He said to them,

You say that I am.

Then they said,

What further testimony do we need?

We have herded ourselves from his own lips.

Let's pray

that the Holy Spirit might come and teach us

from this portion of God's word.

Holy Spirit, we do need you.

We need you to come.

We need you to open our hearts,

open our ears,

open our eyes,

that we might hear

the words of truth,

that our hearts would receive them

in faith,

that we might behold

the glory

of your grace.

Would you pour out your Spirit

on this time?

Help me

in my weakness

and the weakness

of these words.

We know

these words themselves

are not special.

But the way you use them

is.

And so come

and be our teacher.

We pray

in the name of the living word,

our Lord Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, this is the third sermon

in a row

that I've been here

that I'm going to introduce it

with a movie.

But this is probably one

that none of you have seen.

Back in 2008,

I borrowed the title

of this sermon

from a movie

that appeared on

public TV

back in 2008.

And it was entitled

simply

God on Trial.

The movie

was a story

of victims

of the Jewish

concentration camps

who were

awaiting

their deaths,

who were suffering

horribly

and asking questions

of why.

Why are we here?

Why has God

done this?

Where is he?

And thinking

from their perspective

that he had failed

his covenant,

they held a trial

with a prosecutor

and a defender

and they wrestled

with these issues

and in the end

came to the conclusion

that God was guilty.

Guilty

of failing

to keep

his covenant promise.

That same year

out in Nebraska,

a guy named

Ernie

Chambers

filed a lawsuit

against God

for all

of the atrocities

and the harmful

activities

he had supposedly

committed,

but that lawsuit

was thrown out

because the defendant

could not be there

in court

to defend himself.

Sounds kind of silly,

but here we see

what happens

when God

finds himself

in the hands

of men.

Especially

when he's not

the God

we expect.

in Luke

here

we're going

to see

what happens

when God

comes

and men

get their hands

on him.

We're going to see

two trials.

This week

we see the first

being before

the religious

authorities.

Next week

we will look

at him

on trial

at the hands

of the Gentiles.

But this week

what we see

in these trials

and especially

this week

is

something

very stark

about

the character

of men.

Especially

these Jewish

leaders.

leaders.

Maybe we'll

see something

in the same

way

about us.

But it's

not just

them.

We see

something

radical

about the

very character

of God

himself.

So let's

look

at this

story.

We see

here really

the only

description

we could

rightly give

this is

a kangaroo

court.

It's an

interesting

trial but

it's the

way that

Luke presents

it.

It is

full of

irony.

The Jews

who are

highly

legal

highly

particular

about

following

all of

their

rules

of

jurisprudence

they

down to

the

tiniest

detail

they

produce

this

trial

really

as a

pretense.

First

you have

to notice

if you

look at

all of

the

gospel

accounts

combined

you'll

notice

that Jesus

was arrested

at night

in the

garden

and at

night

in the

cover of

darkness

he was

first put

on trial

before the

high priest

and there

they did

it at

night

because

there's

a very

good

reason

if they

did it

in the

daytime

they would

have to

deal with

the people

who up

until that

point

they all

loved

Jesus

and so

they may

have an

uprising

on their

hands

so they

do it

in the

cover

of

darkness

they call

witnesses

they try

to produce

these

false

witnesses

but none

of their

stories

collaborate

well enough

so that

they can

convict

Jesus

but here

we see

Luke

in verse

66

saying

when day

came

so now

they've had

this trial

at night

they have

already

determined

what the

outcome

is going

to be

but

to kind

of cover

their bases

when it

got daylight

they have

another

trial

and so

in this

trial

they are

not

worrying

about

witnesses

they go

to Jesus

himself

and the

issue

here

the whole

issue

for them

is nothing

that Jesus

has done

but it's

who he's

professing

to be

that's

the issue

and so

notes

and as we

go through

Luke

here

there's a

progression

the Pharisees

the Jewish

leaders

leaders

begin the

questioning

and ask

him

are you

the Messiah

tell us

if you're

the Christ

just let

us know

and for

Jesus to

have said

yes to

this question

would not

have condemned

him

because there

have been

many others

who have

come claiming

to be the

Messiah

Messiah

but this

is where

they start

but Jesus

his response

is

well

interesting

he won't

answer them

first

and there's

two reasons

first he says

if I tell you

I am the

Messiah

you're not

going to

believe me

and if I

ask you

questions

you won't

answer me

so why

would I

answer you

and it's

like he's

saying

you have

enough

here

you don't

need me

to tell

you

anything

you have

seen

all that

I've done

and you

still don't

believe

why

would you

think

that if I

answered your

question now

would make

any difference

but here

at this

point

Jesus

needed a

good attorney

because a

good lawyer

would have

told him

don't

say

more

than you

have to

say as

little as

possible

to protect

you from

incriminating

yourself

but Jesus

didn't stop

he didn't

stop by

saying I'm

not going to

answer you

then he

goes on

to say

but

from now

on

the son

of man

shall be

seated at

the right

hand of

the power

of God

Jesus

has just

ratcheted

everything

up

to a

very

critical

level

again

the term

he uses

the term

son of

man

and this

term

is his

basically

his

favorite

the one

he uses

most often

to refer

to himself

and it's

possible

that that

term could

refer to

simply

another man

but for

anybody who

knows the

Old Testament

would hear

him referring

to the

seventh chapter

of Daniel

where there

we see

this vision

of the

ancient of

days

giving

divine

power

and authority

to one

like a

son of

man

and

Jesus

is

saying

I am

that

son of

man

and that's

what the

authorities

heard

because

they are

on the

verge of

going

ballistic

here

and so

to avoid

any

ambiguity

to be

perfectly

clear

they come

back to

him

with

a question

that

will clear

everything up

he says

are you

then the

son

of

God

and again

Jesus

responds

in kind

of a

funny

way

he says

there

that's

what you

have said

well

it's

it's

what you

say

but a

better

translation

of this

would be

well

I probably

wouldn't have

put it

that way

but since

you did

yes

and that's

all it

took

the

Jewish

leaders

go

nuclear

they

start

tearing

their

clothes

he said

what

more

do we

need

we've

heard

it

from

his

own

lips

he

has

blasphemed

he

deserves

to

die

bringing

the

trial

to a

close

so

don't

miss

the

irony

here

the

Jews

were

very

hot

and they

would

tell you

this

they

were

very

hot

to

protect

the

glory

to

protect

the

name

of

God

because

supposedly

they

thought

so

highly

of

him

and

thus

they

convicted

Jesus

of

blasphemy

but

in

so

doing

they

became

the

blasphemers

and

condemned

God

himself

to

death

because

they

did

not

recognize

that

they

had

thought

so

highly

of

themselves

not

God

and

so

when

God

stood

there

actually

stood

there

right

in

front

of

their

face

they

did

not

recognize

him

and

the

person

that

was

before

them

they

hated

because

he's

not

like

what

they

expected

they

had

a

world

designed

where

they

could

determine

everything

where

they

were

in

control

and

this

God

this

person

in

front

of

them

would

not

play

that

game

with

them

and

so

they

had

to

get

rid

of

him

so

why

the

rejection

why

so

passionately

did

they

reject

Jesus

claim

after

all

that

they

had

seen

after

all

that

they

had

heard

all

that

they

had

witnessed

why

well

the

reasons

if we

begin

to

understand

what's

going

on

with

them

we

may

understand

a

little

bit

more

of

what

goes

on

with

us

because

our

responses

can be

very

similar

to

theirs

because

remember

these

Jewish

leaders

are the

religious

conservatives

of their

day

these

are the

evangelicals

these

are the

church

people

and

they're

far more

like us

than we

wish

they

were

they

should

have

known

better

just

like

us

so

what

was

going

on

well

there

were

three

things

that

they

could

not

understand

that

Jesus

redefined

for

them

the

first

was

that

Jesus

redefines

the

kingdom

according

to the

Jews

the

kingdom

they

wanted

was

where

personal

value

personal

significance

was

obtained

at the

head

of the

table

they

had

at the

seat

of

honor

that's

what

gave

them

value

that's

what

made

them

important

their

kingdom

was

one

of

wealth

and

prestige

they

loved

the

greetings

of

people

on

the

street

they

loved

the

respect

that

they

got

but

that

was

not

what

Jesus

taught

Jesus

came

and

taught

that

the

favored

place

in the

kingdom

was

not

at the

head

of the

table

but

it

was

the

place

of

the

servant

Jesus

taught

that

the

place

of

honor

was

not

for

the

wealthy

but

the

humble

poor

and

that

kind

of

teaching

smacked

these

Jewish

leaders

right

in the

face

because

everything

that they

trusted

and

pursued

Jesus

was

saying

was

wrong

there

was

another

way

in

that

way

that

Jesus

promoted

they

hated

they

had

no

box

for

a

kingdom

like

Jesus

was

teaching

and

they

didn't

want

such

a

kingdom

either

their

whole

value

system

was

built

on

a

completely

different

foundation

they

had

worked

hard

to

get

where

they

were

and

they

were

not

about

to

give

it

up

and

is

our

world

any

different

you

know

I

think

the

theme

of

life

in

our

culture

today

can

be

defined

in

the

term

the

phrase

human

flourishing

this

is

what

life

is

all

about

that

we

flourish

I

need

to

flourish

in

my

work

I

need

to

be

involved

in

work

that

has

meaning

and

is

aligned

with

my

passions

I

need

to

have

a

job

that

is

fulfilling

I

should

flourish

in

my

family

giving

my

kids

every

opportunity

that

they

can

be

special

I

should

flourish

in

my

marriage

and if

I

don't

let's

go find

somebody

that

will

help

me

flourish

I

need

to

flourish

in

my

health

avoiding

anything

and

everything

that

might

shorten

life

or

decrease

its

quality

I

need

to

flourish

emotionally

which

means

anybody

that

brings

bad

vibes

into

my

emotional

space

need

to

be

kept

at

a

distance

life

is

about

flourishing

the

question

is

who

defines

what

flourishing

is

you

know

when

Jesus

says

the

least

is

the

greatest

that

is

better

to

serve

than

be

served

that

I

must

turn

the

other

cheek

when

insulted

or

abused

or

that

I

should

expect

tribulation

in life

and that

tribulation

is actually

a good

thing

what

do

we

do

with

that

what

kind

of a

kingdom

is

that

is

that

what

I

want

I

have

a

right

to

flourish

and that

doesn't

sound

like

flourishing

to

me

you

know

I

thought

my

life

at

this

age

would

be

different

than

it

is

today

I

thought

by

this

time

I

could

get

all

my

kids

out

of

the

house

and

I

would

have

just

my

wife

and

we

would

enjoy

time

together

we

would

enjoy

going

out

to

dinner

with

friends

we

would

enjoy

getting

on our

bikes

and riding

down

the

greenway

we

would

enjoy

hopping

in the

car

and going

visit

all the

grandkids

and all

those

places

whenever

we

wanted

it's

not

the way

life

turned

out

we

are

now

in

the

service

of

a

dear

little

92

year

old

woman

who's

lost

her

mind

and

she's

helpless

and

it

requires

some

very

undignified

care

flourishing

if it

was

according

to my

definition

would

mean

I'm

not

flourishing

and

something's

gone

wrong

but

when

these

things

come

to our

lives

what do

we do

with

those

things

well

if you're

like me

what happens

often is

is that I

think that

something has

gone wrong

and I

get angry

and I

put God

on trial

and

pronounce

him

guilty

because

he

did not

produce

what I

expected

so

where do

you find

yourself

what

has God

brought

into

your

life

is it

a place

you did

not plan

for

is it

a place

you didn't

desire

to be

see

his

kingdom

cuts

directly

across

the

bow

of

our

definition

of

human

flourishing

and he

paints a

different

picture

of a

kingdom

that he

comes

to bring

are you

okay

with

humility

are you

okay

with being

at the

bottom

are you

okay

with

serving

in a

way

where

nobody

sees

and nobody

cares

where

there's

no

significance

is that

the kind

of kingdom

you want

is that

the kind

of king

you want

Jesus

not only

redefines

the kingdom

he

redefines

for us

what

righteousness

is

you know

because of

their view

of the

kingdom

the

Jewish

leaders

their

concept

of what

righteousness

is was

also

highly

distorted

they

thought

that

they

would

be

good

if

they

kept

their

religious

practices

if

they

did

all the

right

things

if

they

did

their

sacrifices

if

they

washed

their

hands

at the

proper

times

if

they

did

not

work

on

Sundays

if

they

kept

away

from

the

goyim

or

the

Gentiles

they

were

good

because

they

do

all

of

this

outward

stuff

that

unfortunately

had no

power

or ability

to

cleanse

them

on the

inside

instead

what that

outward

goodness

did

was

it

deadened

their

senses

and it

deadened

their

hearts

to the

deeply

rooted

problems

that were

inside

you know

in Matthew

23

27

Jesus

refers to

the

Pharisees

and the

scribes

as

whitewashed

tombs

beautiful

on the

outside

but

inside

full

of

dead

man's

bones

so

how do

you

dress

up

and

clean

up

a

corpse

what

can

you

do

well

we

can

put

clothes

on

it

we

can

put

clean

clothes

on

it

do

its

hair

maybe

a little

makeup

and

a lot

of

perfume

I mean

I still

every time

I think

about this

I think

about

John

when Jesus

raised

Lazarus

and before

when he

told him

to open

the tomb

the people

came and

said

and I love

the King

James

version

he stinketh

you can

always tell

dead

because it

smells

dead

and no

amount of

perfume

no amount

of clean

clothes

no amount

of deodorant

can make

dead

smell anything

other

than dead

that corpse

regardless

of what

we do

to it

is still

dead

you know

my life

is basically

clean

it's moral

I mean

it has to be

I'm a pastor

right

I don't

do drugs

well

I don't

do illegal

drugs

at my age

I have to do

drugs more

and more

just to stay

alive and

keep moving

but I'm

faithful to

my wife

I give

money to

the church

hey

I've even

been a

foreign

missionary

can you

top that

I'm a

good person

according to

most

outward

standards

if that's

all I

have

that's

all there

is to

go on

at best

I'm

spraying

perfume

on dead

how does

Jesus define

righteousness

it's not

on the

outside

it's

something

else

you know

what does

he command

he commands

us to

love

that's a

disposition

of the

heart

and it's

hard to

love

even those

that we

find friends

but he

pushes the

bar up

farther

and says

you gotta

love your

enemies

and to

love enemies

doesn't just

mean that we

tolerate them

that we

might smile

and greet

them when we

see them

it means

that we

find our

joy

in their

joy

it means

that we

work for

their

flourishing

we

love

them

so as you

sit here

and worship

who do you

despise

who have you

not forgiven

who do you

avoid

when you

see them

coming down

the hall

but Jesus

doesn't just

say that

he says

go sell

all

for the

sake of

the kingdom

you know

how much

of my

time and

energy

am I

spending

just to

gain

more

so that

I'm

going to

feel

more

secure

that I'm

going to

experience

more of

this

human

flourishing

so how

do you

smell

right now

see it

all depends

on which

bar

we're

using