Southern
Christian University
Matthew, Mark,
Luke & John
Class Session
11
James A.
Turner
We begin tonight with the parable of the talents as
recorded in Matthew chapter twenty‑five.
I believe we said we would begin with verse fourteen. According to this parable, there was a man that was going into another country,
and he called his servants, and delivered unto them his goods according to
their ability to use. To one he gave
five talents; to another two talents, and to another one talent; according to
their ability to use them. And the five‑talent
man took his talents and used them and so did the two‑talent man, but the
one‑talent man took his talent and digged in the earth and hid his Lord's
money. Verse nineteen, "After
a long time the Lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with
them. And he that received the five
talents came and brought the other five talents, saying, Lord, thou delivereth
unto me five talents: Lo, I have gained the other five
talents. His Lord said unto him, Well
done, good and faithful servant: Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I
will set thee over many things: Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. And he also that received the two talents
came and said, Lord, thou delivereth unto me two talents: Lo, I have gained other two talents. And his Lord said unto him, Well done, good
and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set
thee over many things:
Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. And
he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew that thou
art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou
hast not shadowed: I was afraid, and went away and hid
thy talent in the earth: And lo, thou hast thine own. But his Lord answered and said unto him, Thou
wicked and slothful servant,
thou knewest that thou reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not
scatter:
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and then at my
coming I should have received back mine own with interest. Take ye away therefore the talent from him,
and give it unto him that hath the ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have an
abundance: But from him that hath not even that which he
hath shall be taken away. And cast ye
out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: There shall be the
weeping and the
gnashing of teeth."
Note that the one‑talent man is not condemned
because he had only one talent. The Lord
had given to him, according to his ability to use, going back to verse fifteen,
he is not called a wicked servant because he had only one talent. If he had
used that one talent like the five‑talent man used his and like the two
used his the Lord would have been well pleased. He just expected him to be able
to gain only one talent with the one talent, and he would have been just as
pleasing to his master as the others were.
First this fellow did not have a good attitude. He reasoned that the Lord is a hard master.
There are people today that do not have the right attitude toward God, and if a
man does not have a good attitude toward God,
he is surely not going to serve him well. Remember how in Hebrews 11:6, the writer says, For
without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him. A person has got to have a good attitude
toward God, that God is a kind and benevolent God and that everything that he
has instructed us to do is for our benefit.
And whether we understand it or not, we should recognize that God knows,
and we ought to go ahead and do as we have been instructed. Do you remember that that was what Paul was
talking to the Philippian brethren about when he told them to “work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling” as given in Philippians two, and I think that
is around verse twelve. "And
to do all things without murmuring and complaining:
That ye may be as harmless children of God, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse generation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." And so Christians are in the world, in a
wicked world. Every generation looks
like it has been a wicked generation, but Christians can give light in those
crooked generations for those who are ready to turn from the way of darkness
and get in the way of right and light and follow the Lord. But this man has got a bad attitude. He said, I knew that thou art a
hard man. And that is the way that many look on God
today, that he is a hard God. But
remember Jesus said in that great invitation, Come unto me all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you,
for I am meek and lowly in heart. And ye
shall rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Those people who think that God is a hard master,
the longer they live with that stubborn and
rebellious attitude toward him, the more that they will become a slave
of all of those wrong things that they are doing. The way with them is stated in one passage, the
way of the transgressor is hard. So those who go down the broad
way, thinking they are going the easy way, well, it does not take much effort
to go that way. But it is surely not
going to be the easy way in the long‑term of things, but that way is
going to be the hard way. "Secondly
this man was afraid." And sometimes
you find members of the church that are afraid.
They are afraid to say that they will give so much to this cause or the
other cause. They are afraid they cannot
come through. Well, they could at least
state a condition, if I am blessed as well as I am being blessed now, I will
give so much. Sometimes there are those
who just say we are a small church and we are poor people, and we
cannot do this and we cannot do the other, and that is not a very
good attitude. "I
was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: Lo, thou hast thine own. But the Lord answered and said unto him, Thou
wicked and slothful servant."
So any person who does not use the talents that the
Lord has given him in a good and right way, that servant is a wicked
servant. And whether that pertains to
the five‑talent man or the two‑talent man or a one‑talent
man, if he does not use the ability that the Lord has given him and serve the
Lord well with that ability, and just digs and hides his talent, then that man
is going to become a slothful and wicked servant before the Lord. "But his Lord answered
and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap
where I sowed not and gathered where I did not scatter: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money
to the bankers and then at my coming I should have received back mine own with
interest. Take ye away therefore the
talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents." Now, note the principle. "For every one
that hath shall be given, and he shall have an abundance. But from him that hath not, even that which
he hath shall be taken away." According to
verse twenty‑nine, if a person
uses properly the abilities the Lord has given him, his abilities will
be increased. Those who do not use those
natural abilities in the process of time will gradually lose them. I think some of us have witnessed that, and
it is not always those high IQ persons that succeed in doing a lot of good
things. Sometimes it is just those
ordinary fellows who put fort a lot of effort to use their abilities that come
through in a better way than some of those who we thought were geniuses. What made the difference? One put forth real consistent effort and the
other did not. Christian people are to
put forth good effort to use their talents in respect to the affairs of this
life in making a living and surely in respect to serving the Lord at the same
time. But that principle as stated there
in verse twenty‑nine holds. It is God given, and it is not going to be
changed, and all of us will do well to keep it in mind. The more that we put forth effort to learn to do, then the more we can
do, and we need to be busy putting forth that effort from day unto day. As stated in regard to students, sometimes it
is that ordinary fellow that stays in there and does his work consistently, and
that accounts for the success of a lot of the preachers that we know. They are men who consistently study and put
forth real effort to be able to present the word of God with a straight
course. Those men end up doing a fine
job in their teaching and preaching. And
notice verse thirty that that one‑talent man who buried his talent is not
only called a lazy and wicked servant, but look at verse thirty. "And cast ye out the
unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: And there shall be the weeping and the
gnashing of teeth." We have read that statement
a number of times already in studying the gospel accounts which means that
eternal place of outer darkness and that eternal hell as described in the
scriptures. Why do you suppose the Lord
let it turn on the one‑talent man?
It may be because those with little ability may have the tendency to say
I cannot do like others, so I will sit down and not try to do and if they sit
down and do not try to do, then their abilities become less all the time. But that one‑talent man that gets out
and uses that one talent, his talents will be multiplied. The parable teaches that a man's abilities
can be increased. The computer for all
of us is a little bigger than we sometimes think.
Beginning with verse thirty‑one, we have a
reference where Jesus tells what is going to happen when he comes in the second
advent. And we will be reading in the
next chapter about when Jesus was before the Sanhedrin he told them that they
would see him “sitting on the right hand of God and coming in
the clouds of heaven.” And so we can join that with
this reference here, “But when the Son of man shall come in his
glory.” Well, remember he did not come in his glory
when he came the first time, when he was born in Bethlehem. They had gone there to enroll for taxation,
and Mary gave birth to Jesus, and evidently they were not even in a room
because it says, “they wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid
him in a manger,”
a feeding trough for animals. But when
he comes in his second advent, he is coming in his glory and all of his angels
are coming with him. Are mortal men
going to be among those angels who are going to come with the Lord when he
comes in his second advent? I believe
that question answers itself. "But
when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all the
nations: And he shall separate them one from another, as
the shepherd separateth sheep from the goats: And he will set the sheep on his right hand,
but the goats on the left."
So there will be a great separation when the Lord
comes. How long do you think it will
take for him to make that separation?
Well, remember judgment day is spoken of as a day. And do you remember our reading from the
sixth chapter of John a few weeks ago and how in that sixth chapter Jesus
talked about raising up the righteous in the last day. So all are going to be judged in a short
period of time when they stand before the Lord in judgment. Verse thirty‑one surely agrees with the
reference in II Thessalonians 1:6 where Paul affirms, “ that
it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict
you.” Then he
says, “and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at
the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels in
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the
gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his
power when he comes to be marveled at in his saints.” The Bible absolutely does not teach that
there will be two different bodily resurrections. All are going to be raised at the same time,
as we have already talked about from John 5:28‑29. The hour cometh
when all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth. They that have done good to the resurrection
of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation. All are going to be judged at the same time,
the righteous and the unrighteous. There
is a great day coming as we sing in one song.
And, again, call attention to Acts 17:30‑31 where Paul is
speaking to those idolatrous people at Athens, he said, Those
days of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commanded all men everywhere to
repent in that he hath appointed a day. Not a
month, or a week, but a day. He hath appointed a day in which he shall
judge the world by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he has given
assurance unto all men in that he has raised him from the dead. So the resurrection of Christ from the dead is
the crowning miracle of all miracles. By
that resurrection we have the assurance that all are going to be raised. And going back to the days of the prophet
Daniel, the Holy Spirit said through him, “they that sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and
some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2) Daniel 12:2 teaches essentially the
same thing as Jesus taught there in John 5:28‑29.
I am somewhat amazed about verse thirty‑two,
that the Lord is going to separate them one from another. “as the shepherd
separateth the sheep from the goats.” Have you
considered how much alike sheep and goats are? Does it not look like that they
would interbreed? But you see how it
still holds that sheep are sheep and goats are goats. And sheep are represented here as the
righteous and the devil's servants as the goats. "And he shall set the
sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world:
For I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? Or thirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we a stranger, and took thee in,
or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw
we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye did it unto one of the least of these brethren, ye did it unto me." So, again, Christian people are to be a
compassionate people. They are to be
ready to assist and help those who are in need, and when they do they are doing
it unto the Lord. The righteous wanted to know when the Lord was in those
situations and they did those things to him.
But notice the response that Jesus gave.
"Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these my
brethren, ye did it unto me."
Verse forty-one.
" Then he shall say unto them on the left hand." To the devil goats. "Depart from me, ye
cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and
his angels." So the Lord has already
prepared for the righteous and the unrighteous, he has prepared a place for the
devil and his angels. And do you
remember that both Jude and Peter in II Peter chapter two, that both of them speak about the angels that sinned? I am going to try to find from II Peter
first. II Peter 2:4, "For
if God spared not the angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and
committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." So there were angels that sinned and were
cast down, and committed to pits of darkness to be reserved unto that judgment
day that we are reading about in Matthew twenty‑five.
Let us turn next to Jude. Jude makes a similar statement, if I remember
correctly. Maybe I am not remembering correctly. It is here.
Verse six, "And the angels that kept not their own
principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting
bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Do you remember from the sixth chapter of I
Corinthians what Paul told the Corinthian brethren? Some of them were having
lawsuits against each other, and that before unbelievers, and he shamed them
for it. And he said, know ye not that
you should judge the world and judge the angels. Are you not able to judge the smallest
matters in the church? That puts judging
angels along with judging the world.
Well, why? The angels are free
moral agents. God made them free moral
agents, as taught by these verses very plainly.
Here they did not keep their proper
habitation. Evidently, Satan
tried to exalt himself against God as set forth in the Revelation and was cast
down. And the angels that “kept
not their own principality” ‑‑ and I think this ties into the qualification of
elders, as given in I Timothy 3:6, “not
a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into the condemnation of the devil” And so it looks like Satan
was filled with pride and tried to exalt himself against God, and he was cast
down and those like angels with him were
cast down and reserved unto judgment of the great day.
Back to 25:41, "Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and ye did not give me to
eat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger; and ye took me not in: Naked, and ye clothed me not: Sick, and in prison, and ye visited me
not. Then shall they answer, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or
sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I
say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of these least, ye did it not
unto me. And these shall go away into
eternal punishment: But the righteous into eternal life." There are some in our society today that want
to say no to there being such a thing as eternal punishment. They would reason that God is so good and so
kind and so loving that there is just no way that he could condemn men to a
devil's hell. Well, if that be the case,
then eternal life is not eternal for the righteous, for the same verse that
says that for the wicked, it will be eternal punishment, says for the righteous
eternal life. I do not have mind
enough to really contemplate eternity, but all of us can understand well enough
that we ought not want to go to that terrible place of eternal punishment. And all of us should want and strive to go to
that place of eternal life, that dwelling place not made with hands that the
patriarchs wanted to go to. As stated in
the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, “God is not ashamed to
be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city.” If hell was just a matter of punishment for
a short period of time, then that would not be so bad, but it is spoken of as “eternal
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (II
Thessalonians 1:7-9). And here it is spoken of as eternal
punishment.
Chapter
Twenty-six
We are ready now to study about Jesus keeping the
Passover with the apostles, and instituting the Lord's Supper. I hope you were able to receive the outlines
that my wife sent you by e-mail. I am
not sure whether she ever sent the last one or not, but the first one I know
she sent it, The Sayings Of Jesus From The Cross. And the other one was The Six Trials Of
Jesus. I think maybe she sent it, but I
am not sure on that one. If she has not,
maybe I will get around to thinking to remind her to send it to you. I would like to know whether or not you
received the outlines. For sometime our
computer was not receiving Email. We did
receive Emails today. And my wife does
not know why she was not able to receive Emails a day or two ago. Some were returned.
I guess the first thing we ought to do is to call attention,
to the fact that Jesus kept that last Passover supper with his apostles before
the actual time to keep that supper. I
think from just reading from Matthew, Mark, and Luke we would think that he
kept the supper at the regular time that they were to keep the Passover. It is the gospel of John that shows that they kept it before the
regular time. John wrote a long time after the other three writers, and it
looks like one of the things especially that he did was to make clear some
things that are not made so clear, or are not recorded by the other three
writers. John 18:28 reads, "Then
led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium of judgment: And it was early; and they themselves entered
not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled; but might eat the
Passover." Jesus had already kept the
supper with his apostles, and it had taken a little time for the Sanhedrin
Court to go through a form of making out like they had tried him and found him
guilty of blasphemy by his saying that he was the Son of God. Then they carried
him early in the morning to Pilate, but
they did not go into the Praetorian. I
reckon they counted it would be sinful if they even entered into that place
where there would be a Gentile governor and Gentiles in it. They themselves entered not into the
Praetorian that they might not be defiled, but might eat the
Passover.
Remember also that they had taken counsel
together, the chief priests and the elders had been planning to kill him
for a long time, but they had decided that they would not do it during the
Passover, lest it cause an uprising of the people. But when the hour came for Jesus to die, he
died. And that time was the time
when they were ready to start killing
the Passover lambs, according to the instruction given in Exodus chapter
twelve, when God instituted that first Passover supper. According to Exodus 12:6 they were to kill the
lambs at even and the footnote in my American Standard Version says that
the word even in the Hebrew means “between the two evenings”! Jesus died
at 3 p.m. which was probably the beginning of the time that the congregation
was to start killing the lambs for the Passover Supper.
Matthew 26:1, "And
it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, he said unto his
disciples. Ye know that after two
days the Passover cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be
crucified." Jesus had already told them on the way to
Jerusalem, he took them aside and told them that in Jerusalem he would be tried
of the chief priests and the elders and they would condemn and they would
deliver him to the Gentiles and they would scourge him and crucify him. So Jesus knew exactly what was going to
happen and told the disciples on several occasions about the things that would
happen to him. So verse two again,
"Ye know that after two days the Passover cometh,
and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified. Then were gathered together the chief
priests, and the elders of the people, unto the court of the high priest, who
was called Caiaphas." The Sanhedrin, the
highest court of the Jews, comes together to take counsel as to what they are
going to do with him. They are under
Roman authority, and Annas, the high priest that we will be reading about in
John, had put to death a person that the Roman government thought should not
have been put to death, and they took the power of the death penalty away from
the Jewish people. They did not have the
right of the death penalty according to the Roman law. " And they took counsel
together that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him." Now, notice verse five. "But they said, Not
during the feast, lest a tumult arise among the people." You remember how Jesus continued to talk
about his time had not come, speaking of the time for him to die. But when that time came, he died, and God had
planned that so that the time would be at the time they would be killing the
Passover lambs to keep the Passover supper.
And that Passover lamb, as you have seen from the outline, prefigured
Christ, the Lamb of God dying upon the cross, and so he died at the very time
the congregation would begin the killing of the lambs. "But they said not
during the feast, lest a tumult arise among the people. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house
of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of
exceeding precious ointment, and she poured it upon his head, as he sat at
meat. And when the disciples saw it,
they had indignation, saying, To what purpose was this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for
much, and given to the poor. But Jesus
perceiving it, said unto them. Why
trouble ye the woman? For she
hath wrought a good work upon me.
For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not
always. For in that she poured this
ointment upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever the gospel
shall be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman hath done, shall
be spoken of a memorial for her." Now, we have
the parallels about this. And John's
parallel reads a little differently from the other gospel writers. Please turn to John the twelfth chapter, and
we will read John's account. It will
help us to have a better understanding of these others. "Jesus therefore
six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus
raised from the dead." And that is recorded in
chapter eleven of John. And John is the
only one that records about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. "So they made him a supper
there; and Martha served: But Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat
with him. Mary therefore took a pound of
ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped
his feet with her hair: And the house was filled with the odor of the
ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his
disciples that should betray him, saith, Why was not this ointment sold for
three hundred shillings, and given to the poor.
This he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a
thief, and having the bag, took away what was put therein. Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it
against the day of my burying. For the poor ye have always with you; but me ye
have not always.." We will turn back and read from Matthew when
our next period begins. (A brief was
recess taken.)
Reading from Matthew twenty‑six beginning with
verse six, "Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house
of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of
exceeding precious ointment, and she poured it on his head, as he sat at
meat. When the disciples saw it, they
had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?" Now from John's account, we learned that
Judas Iscariot was the first one that brought that complaint. He was not concerned about the poor, but he
was a thief and he carried the bag and he took whatever was put in the
bag. Do you think we can learn a lesson
from this? I believe that we
should. Quite frequently today, there
will be somebody suggesting or doing a good work and some fellow who is really
not excited about doing what they need to be doing will bring some
criticism. And do you know that in
nearly every case there will be others that will join in the criticism! Do you remember how that Barnabas and the
others were carried away with the dissimulation of Peter when he would no
longer keep company with the Gentiles, as given in the second chapter of the
book of Galatians? We need to be on guard
against wrong peer pressure. There are some brethren who bring criticism
because they do not want the good work to take place. There are some in the church who do not want
to see good works performed, and especially if they think that they are going
to be called on to have a part in it or if they will be looked on in an
unfavorable way if they do not have a part in it. A good lesson that we need to learn from
this, Jesus came to her defense, and if we see that a person is bringing
an unfounded criticism against a person who is doing that which is right and
good, we need to defend that person.
"Jesus said, Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon
me. For ye have the poor always with
you; but me ye have not always."
Do you remember the great society of President
Johnson's Administration, how that according to some of the statements made by
that administration they were going to see to it and wipe it out and that there
would be no poor family in the land.
Well, they forgot about the statement made here by Jesus, for you “have
the poor always with you, but me you have not always.” Does not that still hold true? If you should take everything in the world
and divide it up equally per person, I bet before the day was over some person
would be poor. Others would have
increased their wealth in a great measure, but others would have squandered it
before the day was over. "She
poured the ointment upon my body. She
did it to prepare it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Where soever this
gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also, which this woman hath
done, shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Now, this anointing of Jesus is by Mary the
sister of Martha and brother of Lazarus, and please do not confuse it with the
woman that anointed Jesus at a Pharisee’s house as given in Luke 7:36-50. It is an entirely different occasion, so do
not try to confuse this Mary with her.
Matthew 26:14, "Then
one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
and said, What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him unto
you?" See, Jesus defended what Mary had done. And then Judas goes to the chief priests and
asks them what they will give him if he will deliver him to them. "And they weighed unto
him thirty pieces of silver.." He evidently wanted
cash. "They
weighed it unto him thirty pieces of silver.
And from that time he sought opportunity to deliver him unto them. Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the
disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt thou that we make ready for thee to
eat the Passover? And he said, Go into a
city to such a man, and say unto him." I believe
Mark and Luke both may say that you will see a man bearing a pitcher of water,
but we will turn and read after awhile.
"And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and
say unto him, The teacher saith, My time is at hand; I shall keep the
passover at thy house with my disciples.
And the disciples did as Jesus appointed them; and they made ready for
the passover. Now when even was come, he
was sitting at meat."
Now, do you remember from Exodus chapter twelve that
the Passover feast that God instituted was instituted before the event that it
was to commemorate? They were to kill
the lamb and apply the blood of the lamb to the lentils and the doorposts of
their houses, Exodus 12:7, and then verse thirteen God says, When
I see the blood, speaking
of the blood of the lamb, applied to the lentils and to the doorposts of their
houses, I will pass over you. Do you remember that God smote the firstborn
of man and beast and all the houses of the Egyptians at midnight. And there
came the cry for them to immediately leave the land of Egypt, and they
left in haste (Exodus 12:29-34).
Matthew 26:22, "And
as they were eating, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall
betray me. And they were exceeding
sorrowful, and began to say, unto him, everyone, is it I, Lord? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his
hand with me in the dish." So Jesus identifies the
one. "The
same shall betray me. The Son of man
goeth even as it is written of him: But woe unto that man through whom the Son of
man is betrayed! Good were it for that
man if he had not been born. And Judas,
who betrayed him, answered and said, is it I, Rabbi? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and
blessed, and brake it, and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this
is my body. And he took the cup, and
gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, drink ye all of it; for this is my
blood of the covenant." Do you remember from Hebrews 9:16-26 how that the writer
talks about the first covenant was dedicated with animal blood, and it was
necessary for the New Testament covenant to be dedicated with better
things. It was dedicated by the blood of
Christ.
"For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many
unto remission of sins." The King
James says for remission of sins. I think I have already emphasized this
already, but be sure that you have good understanding of Matthew twenty‑six
and twenty‑eight.
If for remission of sins means because of
as some preachers tell their audiences then Jesus died, because their sins had already been forgiven.
Young’s Analytic Concordance gives Eis as the Greek word for for in Acts
2:38, Matthew 26:28 and Mark 1:4 and Luke 3:1 and that the meaning is
“with a view to”, and of course the meaning in each reference is with a view to
receiving remission of sins. It was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross for
his law to go into effect, and remember that reference in Hebrews 9:16-26. Matthew 26:29, "But
I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until
that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." So the Lord's Supper was to
be in the Lord's kingdom. And the
kingdom was fully established on that first Pentecost, after the ascension of
Christ, which always came on the first
day of the week (Leviticus 23:15-22; Deuteronomy 16:12). Christ arose from the
dead on the first day of the week (Mark 16:9), and he met with the
apostles on the evening of that first day (John 20:19-23). The Holy Spirit was
outpoured on the apostles on Pentecost which was the first day of the week
(Acts 2:1-17) and Peter preached the first gospel sermon on that first day of
the week (Acts 2:22-42),
and about three thousand souls were added on that day (Acts 2:22-41). Jesus met with his apostles on the evening of that first day of the week
when he was raised from the dead, and again when Thomas was not present on the
evening of that second first day of the week.
It is the day that Christ has made for us by his death and resurrection
(Psalm 118:22-23) It is the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10) the day that he has
commanded Christians to assemble to worship (I Corinthians 16: 1-2; 11:33; Acts20 :7; Hebrews 10:23-31). Let us be very
faithful in doing so, and do according to the words of Psalms 118:23, “Let
us rejoice and be glad in it.”
But coming back to Matthew 26:28, “This
is the blood of the Covenant which is poured out for many for remission
of sins.” The
Greek word is E‑I‑S, the same as used in Acts 2:38. and the other reference,
but please keep in mind that there are
thousands of people that from childhood on up, they have been taught that the
Greek word for means because of, and they think that they absolutely are
right in saying that people are to be baptized because they have already
been saved. Well, it is the same
Greek word as used here. If that be the
case, then Christ died in vain. The
Greek language is a very complicated language. Young's Analytical Concordance,
gives more than forty Greek words that we use the English word for for.
I do not have enough intelligence to become an authority on the Greek language
even if my salvation depended on it. Some who have had only a few courses in
Greek over a period of just a few years are ready to make decisions contrary to
the better versions of the Bible. Such is dangerous! I immediately get skeptical, and I believe
that you ought to too.
Matthew 26:30, "And
when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." Please let me state to you plainly, but
kindly that every reference in the New Testament that speaks about the kind of
music that we are to have in, Christian worship it is singing Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25; I Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13; Revelation 5:8-9, 15:2-3). How can finite and
mortal man know how to worship, an all wise and eternal God, who created the
heavens and the earth and all things in, except by his instruction? God has never
left man to grope in darkness about how he is to worship (Genesis 4:3-8; I John 3:12; Hebrews 11:4; Romans 10:17). God’s wrath is kindled
when his people do something in worship that he has not commanded them to do
(Leviticus 10:1-7; II Chronicles 26:14-21; II John 8-9).
Please check in a good encyclopedia and find out
when instruments of music were first used in “so called” Christian
worship. It was centuries after they were used during the days of that Pope in
about the eighth century before they were used in the denominational churches
of today, and a number of their outstanding leaders spoke out against the use
of them in worship. As late as eighteen hundreds, Adam Clark, a great scholar
and leader in the Methodist Church, spoke out against them in his comments on
Amos 6:5. Actually he thought that the use of them was wrong. But the use of
the instrument finally became very popular, and think of all the instruments
that are used today. My uncle Chelcie Fikes, who was a Baptist preacher, would
have spoken out against the guitars, drums, and all of those instruments that
are being used today, but one departure from the Lord’s instructions nearly
always, if not always leads to more. Brethren, we have some very dangerous
things taking place in some of the churches of Christ.. There is no authority whatever with using a
mechanical instrument of music today in worship. God has not authorized a mechanical
instrument to be used in New Testament worship.
Now, they did use mechanical instruments of music in the Old Testament
religion, but they also had animal sacrifices under the Old Testament
religion. Would it be right to kill a
bull and pour out its blood around an altar and then burn it as a sacrifice on
that altar instead of the Lord’s Supper on the Lord's Day? To ask the question
is but to answer it! Verse thirty‑one,
"Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye. (the apostles) shall be offended in me
this night: For it is written, I will smite the shepherd,
and the sheep of the shall be scattered." And
that reference is from Zechariah 13:7. So there are just so many things that had
been prophesied about Christ that had been prophesied by the Old Testament
prophets. And do you see how Paul in his
preaching in the synagogues of the Jews could take the Old Testament scriptures
and show that Christ is the fulfillment of those scriptures, reason with them
from the scriptures. So Zechariah, the
Holy Spirit through him, said that Christ the chief shepherd would be smitten
and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But notice, "After
I am raised up I will go before you into Galilee."
And it must be that meeting that Paul speaks of in I
Corinthians 15:5 is when Christ met with five
hundred brethren at once during that forty day period, and Paul said that the
most of them were still living when he wrote I Corinthians. Matthew 26:33, "But
Peter answered and said unto him, If all shall be offended in thee, I will
never be offended." And when we get to Mark's
account, Mark's account shows that when Jesus told Peter that Peter got mad, that he was moved with
indignation, I believe it says. So Peter
was as sincere as he could be on that occasion.
He did not intend to deny the Lord.
But I think we all know what happened, and he denied the Lord three
times. "Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou
shalt deny me thrice. And Peter saith
unto him, Even if I must die with thee, yet I will not deny thee." Now, we remember about
Peter, but notice that the other apostles said the same thin, "Likewise said all of
the disciples." And they all, when they came to take Jesus,
turned and fled. "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place
called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go yonder
and pray. And he took with him Peter and
the two sons of Zebedee." Of course, they were
James and John.
Remember why these disciples are frequently spoken
of as the inner circle disciples, they were with him when Jesus raised Jairus'
daughter from the dead. They were with
him when he was transfigured, and they are with him here in the garden when he
goes further into the garden to pray. He
prays three times that if it was the Father's will that the cup might pass,
that he might not have to suffer that terrible death upon the cross of
Calvary. "Then saith
he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: Abide ye here, and watch with me." And we have a good song based on that. It is a good song to sing at the time of the
Lord's Supper, but I do not remember the
title of it. "And
he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
wilt. And he cometh unto the
disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, What, could not ye
watch with me one hour?" Now, why Peter? Peter had gotten mad when he told him that he
would deny him. "What,
could ye not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: The spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak." And that is a statement that all
of us need to remember. We need to keep
before us that we are in a body of clay and we all are weak. Would it not be right to say that we are
somewhat prone to sin, but let us remember that the Lord has made a way of
escape for us (I Corinthians 10:13). But even with that, the flesh is still very
weak. Remember how in the sixth chapter
of Galatians, Paul told that, “if any man be overtaken in a fault, ye who
are spiritual restore such a one, and the spirit of gentleness, considering
thyself lest thou also be tempted.
Bearing ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Matthew 26:42, "Again
a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass
away, except I drink it, thy will be done.
And he came again and found them sleeping:
For their eyes were heavy. And he left
them again, and went away, and prayed a third time, saying again the same
words. Then cometh he to his disciples,
and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: Behold, the hour is at hand, and the
Son of man is betrayed into the hand of sinners. Arise and let us be going: Behold, he is at hand that betrayeth me. While he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the
twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the
chief priests and the elders of the people." Now,
remember they coveted together, and Judas is going to point Jesus out to them.
They have a great multitude coming after them, and they are from the chief
priests and the elders. "And
with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and
elders of the people. Now he that
betrayed him gave them a kiss, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he,
take him." Do you remember that reference when you read
from one of the epistles of Paul where he said, “salute one
another with a whole kiss?” Remember that a kiss can be
everything but holy. We have the Old
Testament case about Joab, the captain of David’s army how he was pretending to
be Amasa’s friend and was in the process of kissing him when he thrust his
sword through in cold blood murder( II Samuel 20:8-10; I King 2:5-7). "And
straightway he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Rabbi; and kissed him. Friend,
do that which thou art come? Then they
came, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
And, behold, one of them that were with Jesus stretched out his hand,
and drew his sword." And that one was Peter. He had said that he was ready to die with
him, but the Lord told him to put up his sword, that he that taketh the sword
shall perish with the sword. "And
behold, one of them that were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his
sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear." His name was Malchus, according to John's
account. "Then
saith Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: For all they that take the sword shall perish
with the sword. Are thinkest thou that I
cannot beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve
legions of angels? How then should
the scripture be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" I believe I have read that a legion is three
thousand, right? And twelve times three
thousand is thirty‑six thousand
angels. That would surely be enough
angels. Note the question that Jesus asked, “How then should the
scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" A number of Old Testament references that
said that Christ was going to die as a sin offering. And the primary one that I usually think of
is Isaiah fifty‑three, because it details so many things about the death
of Christ. A number of the Psalms talk
about Christ and his death. And so Jesus recognized that the scriptures must
be fulfilled. He had to die on the cross
to fulfill all those Old Testament scriptures.
Remember how he had said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew five, I
believe verses seventeen and eighteen, think not that I come
to destroy the law of the prophets, I am
come not to destroy but to fulfill. Jesus kept
every provision of the Old Testament law perfectly, and when he died on the cross, he took it
out of the way, as stated in Colossians 2:14, nailing it to his
cross.
Matthew 26:55, "In
that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a robber
with swords and staves who seize me? I
sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not. But all this has come to pass, that the
scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him, and fled. And they that had taken Jesus led him away to
the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were
gathered together." Notice that Matthew does not say anything
about him being carried to Annas first, but John gives us that
instruction. "But
Peter followed him afar off unto the court of the high priest." And John tells about how that he was known to
the high priest and went on in, but Peter stayed outside in the court and
warmed himself at the enemies fire.
"And entered in and sat with the officers. But Peter followed him afar off unto
the court of the high priest, and entered in, and sat with the officers,
to see the end. Now the chief priests,
and the whole counsel, sought witnesses against Jesus, that they might put him
to death; and they found it not: Though many false witnesses came." One of the writers says that they sought
false witnesses, which, of course, is contrary to the rules of the court. "But afterward came two, and said, This man said, I am able
to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days." Jesus did not make any such statement. When they were seeking for a sign, he said
destroy this temple, talking about the temple of his body, and he would raise
it in three days. But he never said
anything about destroying that great temple in Jerusalem of destroying it and
rebuilding it in three days. "And
the high priest stood and said unto him, answerest thou nothing. What is it which these witness against thee,
but Jesus held his peace. And the
high priest said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell
us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said." You said that I am the Son of God. And it looks like to me that he makes that
statement several times, and he means by that statement, yes, I am. And the following part of the verse shows
that to be the case. "Nevertheless
I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right
hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
You remember when Christ ascended, as given in Acts 1:10‑11, that he
ascended in the clouds and angels were standing by in white apparel, and said
to the apostles, why look ye up into the heavens, this same Jesus that has ascended shall so
return in like manner. So Jesus
ascendeth in a cloud, and he is going to return in a cloud. "Man sitting at the
right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his garment,
saying, He hath spoken blasphemy." They
counted it blasphemy, because he said I am the Son of God. "What further need have
we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have
heard the blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is worthy of death." Now, notice what this court did. Boy, that is some court, is it not? "Then did they
spit in his face, and buffeted him; and some smote him with the palms of their
hand, saying, prophecy unto us, thou Christ, Who is it that struck thee? Now Peter was sitting without in the court: And a maid came unto him, saying, Thou also
wast with Jesus the Galilean. But he
denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch,
another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This man also was
with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he
denied with an oath, I know not the man.
And after a little while they that stood by, came and said to Peter, of
a truth thou art one of them: For thy speech maketh thee known. Then began he to curse
and to swear, I know not the man.
And straightway the cock crowed.
And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, Before the cock
crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And
he went out and wept bitterly." Well, do all
of you know enough about chickens to know that the roosters crow before
daylight? A little time before daylight
the roosters start crowing. And Jesus
had told him that before the cock crow, you will deny me thrice.
Let us turn now and read from Mark's account
beginning with chapter fourteen. "Thereafter
two days was the feast of the Passover, and of the unleavened bread: And the chief
priests and the scribes sought how they might take him with subtlety and
kill him. But they said, Not during
the feast, lest there shall be a tumult of the people." So as recorded by Matthew, and Mark, they
didn't plan to kill him during the feast.
"And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon
the leper." And surely this is talking about the same
thing that we read about from the twelfth chapter of John. "And while he was in
Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman
having an alabaster box of ointment of
pure nard, very costly; and she brake the box, and poured it over his
head. There were some that had
indignation." See, there is a little
difference between Mark and Matthew.
From Matthew it looked like all of them joined in, but Mark says that
some had indignation. But it does not
say anything about anybody defending Mary except Jesus himself. "But there were
some that had indignation among themselves, saying, To what purpose hath this
waste of the ointment been made?" And some people can
really talk about wasting the Lord's money.
Usually they are of those kind that are ready to keep the Lord's money
in their own pockets and waste it! "For this ointment might
have been sold for above three hundred shillings, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her. But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye
her? She hath wrought a good work on
me.”
Mark 14:7,
“For ye have the poor always with you." I
believe this may be mentioned by all of them.
Ye have the poor always with you. Mark it down the poor will be with
us! "And whensoever
ye will, ye can do them good: But me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: She hath anointed my body beforehand for the
burial. Verily I say unto you,
Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also
was this woman hath done shall be spoken for a memorial for her. And Judas Iscariot, he that was one of the
twelve, went away unto the chief priests, that he might deliver him unto
them. And when they heard it, they were
glad, and promised to give him money." And
you remember he wanted money. He wanted
the money for that ointment, and he was going to take the money that the
ointment would sell for. "He
sought how he might conveniently deliver him unto them. And on the first day of unleavened bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples, said unto him, Where wilt
thou that we go and make ready that thou mayest eat the Passover? And he sendeth two of his disciples, and
saith unto them, Go unto the city." And here is
one of them where it says you will see a man bearing a pitcher of water. "There shall meet you a
man bearing a pitcher of water: Follow him.
And wheresoever he shall enter, say to the Master of the house." Those directions would not be hard to
follow. When you go into the city, and
you see a man bearing a pitcher of water, just follow him. And when you get to the house where he is
going, say to the Master of the house, the
Teacher saith, Where is my guestchamber,
where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will himself show you a large upper
room furnished and ready: And there make ready for us." And so a room had been prepared evidently by
this person for Jesus to keep that Passover with his disciples. "And the disciples
went forth and came into the city, and found, as had been said unto them, and
they made ready the Passover. And when
it was evening, he cometh with the twelve.
And as they sat and were eating, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One
of you shall betray me. Even he that
eateth with me. And they began to be
sorrowful, and say unto him, one by one, Is it I? And he said unto them, It is one of the
twelve, he that dippeth with me in the dish." So Mark also specifies that Jesus identified
Judas Iscariot as the one that betrayed him.
Mark 14:21, "For
the Son of man goeth, even as it is written of him: But woe unto that man through whom the Son of
man is betrayed! Good were it for that
man if he had not been born. And as they
were eating, he took bread, and when he blessed, he brake it, and gave it to
them, and said, Take ye, this my body.
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them: And they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of
the covenant, which is poured out for many.
Verily I say unto you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine,
until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." So not long again until the kingdom of God
would be established. "And
when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives. And Jesus said unto them, All ye shall be
offended for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be
scattered abroad. Howbeit after I am
raised up, I will go before you into Galilee." Mark's account is very much like Matthew's
account, but he does tell a few things different. He does tell about when you see a man bearing
a pitcher of water, follow him. He does
make some distinction there that not all of the apostles that entered into the
criticism against Mary. But there were
some, verse four, that had indignation.
"When they sung a hymn, they went out into the
mount of Olives." Well, we read that. Verse twenty‑nine, "But
Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I." And remember the statement Jesus made to
Peter, the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. Peter did not know how weak he was. "And Jesus saith unto
him, Verily I say unto thee, That thou today, even this night, before the cock
crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
But he spake exceeding vehemently."
I got the word wrong awhile ago, "Exceeding
vehemently." Boy, he was really stirred up. The Lord made him mad when he told him that
before the cock crows twice you will deny me thrice. Peter was sincere. "If I must die with
thee, I will not deny thee. And in like
manner also said they all." And Matthew stated that
too, and they all fled too. "And
they came to a place which was called Gethsemane:
And he saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and
John, and began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled. And he saith unto them, My soul is exceeding
sorrowful even unto death: abide ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the
ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from
him. And he said, Abba, Father, all
things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: Howbeit, not what I will, but what thou
wilt. And he cometh, and findeth
them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into
temptation. The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak. And
again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping,
(for their eyes were very heavy,) and they knew not what to answer him." I am inclined to sympathize with those
apostles in the sense that a man can get so sleepy that he tries to stay awake,
but it seems to be almost impossible.
And I guess you have had some experience with that. And that is the reason some of us go to sleep
when we are driving, we get so sleepy. "And
he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, take your rest: It is enough, the hour is come; behold the
Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise, let us be going; behold, he that
betrayeth me is at hand. And
straightway, while he had spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him
a multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and
the elders." And that would be the
Sanhedrin court. The court was having
him killed.
"Now he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying,
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And when he was come, straightway he came to
him and saith, Rabbi; and kissed him.
And they laid hands on him, and took him. But a certain one of them that stood by drew
his sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his
ear. And Jesus answered and said unto
them, Are ye come out, as against as a robber, with swords and staves to seize
me? I was daily with you in the temple
teaching, and ye took me not: But this was done that the scripture might be
fulfilled. And they all left him, and
fled. And a certain young man followed
him, having a linen cloth cast about him over his naked body; and they
laid hold on him: But he left the linen cloth, and fled." Now, Mark is the only one that records what
is in verses 51 and 52 there. Who do
you suppose that young man was? "A certain young man
followed with him, having a linen cloth cast about him over his naked body; and
they laid hold on him: But he left the linen cloth, and fled
naked." That does not sound very
complimentary, does it? (A brief was recess taken.)
We were reading from Mark chapter fourteen verses
fifty‑one and fifty‑two. And
I may have gotten cut off before I completed what I wanted to say there. Mark must be talking about himself, since he
is the only writer that records such a statement. It does not look very
complimentary, but would he not want to let us know that it is on his
mind. He got out of that linen cloth and
ran and fled naked in verse fifty‑two.
Cannot we appreciate him even more, the fact that he would record that,
how that he was so afraid himself.
"And they led Jesus away to the high priest: And there come together with him all the
chief priests and the elders of the scribes.
And Peter had followed him afar off even within into the court of the
high priest. And he was sitting with the
officers, and warming himself in the light of the fire." Do you remember Paul's statement in I
Corinthians15:33, that evil companionship, corrupt good morals. You cannot spend a lot of time in the devil's
camp and do what the Lord wants you to do.
There were times when Jesus associated with publicans and sinners, and
as long as it is in such a situation that we are influencing them for good,
that is fine. But if it is the other way
around, then we are likely to become very weak, and that happened in respect to
Peter. If he had gone on in like John
did, he might not have denied the Lord like he did.
Mark 14:55, "Now
the chief priests and the whole counsel sought witnesses against Jesus." Now, notice that they sought for false
witnesses to testify against him. They
were determined to condemn him to death. That had been their goal for a long time. "Now
the chief priests and the whole counsel sought witnesses against Jesus, put him
to death; and found it not. For many
bear false witnesses against him." I do
not believe this is mentioned by Matthew.
"And their witnesses agreed not together." And, of course, the witnesses, were to
agree. If they did not agree, the person
on trial was not to be judged guilty. "And there stood up
certain, and bear false witness against
him, saying, we heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with
hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands." And as I mentioned reading Matthew, Jesus had
made no such statement. "And
not even so did their witnesses agree together." And so they could not condemn him on the
basis of any of the witnesses. "And
the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou
nothing? What is it which these
witnesses against thee?" Jesus knew they were
going to kill him, and I think in the same way that Stephen knew that that
court later was going to kill him. And
he did not offer a defense, but he convicted that court. "But he held his peace,
and answered nothing. Again the high
priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the
Blessed? And Jesus said, I am." So that is different from Matthew. Matthew said, “thou hast
said,” but Mark
said that Jesus said, “I am”, but both
statements mean the same thing. "And Jesus said, And ye
shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power." And that would be the right hand of God. "And coming with the
clouds of heaven. Then the high priest
rent his clothes, and saith, What further need have we of witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: What think ye? And they all condemned him to be worthy of
death. And some began to spit on
him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophecy: And the servants did receive him with blows
of their hands. And as Peter was beneath
in the court, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: And seeing Peter warming himself, she looked
upon him, and saith, Thou also wast with the Nazarene, even Jesus. But he denied, saying, I neither know, nor
understand what thou sayest. And he went
out into the porch; and the cock crowed."
"And the maid saw him, and began again to say to
them that stood by, This is one of them.
But he again denied it. And after
a little while again, they that stood by said to Peter, Of the truth art one of
them: For thou art a Galilean, but he began to curse
and to swear, I know not this man of whom ye speak. And straightway the second time the cock
crowed. And Peter called to mind the
word how that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crowed twice, thou shalt
deny me thrice. And when he thought
thereon, he wept." And Matthew said, “he
went out and wept bitterly,” but both statements are true.
Matthew’s is better for our understanding. We know that from Matthew’s
that his weeping was truly genuine
repentance. He wept bitterly because he
knew what Jesus had told him had been fulfilled.
The Court came together in the morning, early in the
morning. Now, they had condemned him to
death during the night, but they come together again in the morning. Why?
Chandler in his two books entitled, The Trials Of Jesus gives information about the Sanhedrin, that
it was a rule of the Court that the Court was not to try a death penalty case
at night. The members of that Court had violated the rule. They had met during
the night and condemned him to death on the charge that he had committed blasphemy
when he said he was the son of God.(Mathew 26:63-68; Mark 14:17; 14:61-65). It looks like the
Court met again early in the morning to give what that wicked Court had done
the appearance of legality. Now, let us
turn to Luke's account and read his parallel.
Luke chapter twenty‑two beginning with verse one, "Now
the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover." The Passover came and then they were to not
have any leavened bread in their houses (Exodus 12:14-15; Leviticus 23:4-8) . So it is called the feast of the Passover and
the feast of unleavened bread. Exodus 12:11, 12:29-34 shows that they
carried out their bread that night soon after midnight while it was
unleavened. The cry came for them to
leave immediately, and they went out with their bread unleavened. "And the chief priests
and the scribes sought how they might put him to death; for they feared the
people. And Satan entered into Judas who
was called Iscariot, being of the numbered twelve." And Satan is always ready to enter into any
person who is willing for him to enter.
You remember how Peter says, Be watchful, be
vigilant, for your adversary, the devil, walketh about as a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith (I Peter 5:8). A child of God can resist Satan, and Jesus
did. If we follow him, then we will
resist him, and James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you.” He will turn from us like he
did Jesus. Luke 22:2, "And
he went away, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might
deliver him unto them. And they were
glad, and coveted to give him money. And
he consented, and sought opportunity to deliver him unto them in the absence of
the multitude. Then the day of
unleavened bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and
make ready for us the Passover, that ye may eat." So he sent Peter and John. "And say said unto him,
Where wilt thou that we make ready? And
he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall meet
you a man there, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where
unto he goeth, and ye shall say unto the master of the house, The Teacher saith
unto thee, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my
disciples? And he will show you a large
upper room furnished: There make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto
them: And they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and
the apostles with him. And he said unto
them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer: For I say unto you, I shall not eat it, until
it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Now,
that is a different statement from what we read from the other. "For I shall not
eat it until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
It would be fulfilled, he would die, he would be the
Passover lamb, and so he institutes the Lord's Supper, and it would be in the
kingdom of God. The Passover Supper was
instated before the event that it was to commemorate and Jesus instituted the
Lord’s Supper before the event that it was to commemorate. "And
he received a cup. And when he had given
thanks, he said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I shall not drink from
henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come." And that is like the others. "And
he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them,
saying, This is my body which is given for you: This do in remembrance of me. And the cup in like manner after the supper
saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, even that which is poured out
for you. But, behold, the hand of him
that betrayeth me is with me on the table.
For the Son of man indeed goeth as it hath been determined. But woe unto that man, through whom he is
betrayed! And they began to question
among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. And there arose also a contention
among them which of them was accounted to be the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the
Gentiles have a Lordship over them; and they that have authority over them are
called benefactors." Let us come down to verse thirty‑nine. "And he came out, and
went as his custom was, into the mount of Olives; and the disciples also
followed him. And when he was at the
place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. nd he was parted from them about a stone's
cast, and he kneeled down, and prayed, saying Father, if thou be willing,
remove this cup from me: Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be
done. And there appeared unto him an
angel from heaven, strengthening him."
I believe Luke is the only one that tells that, that
there appeared unto him an angel strengthening him. "And being in agony
he prayed earnestly: and his sweat became as
it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. And Luke is the only one that tells that. And when he rose up
from his prayer, he came unto the disciples, and found them sleeping for
sorrow, and said unto them, Why sleep ye?
Rise and pray, lest ye enter not into temptation." I want to make a comment on verse forty‑four. I remember a statement made by my late
brother‑in‑law, Doris Brooks.
He was in World War II and was in a tank division, and they got the word
that the division that he was in was to move up to the front lines, that the
other tanks had been knocked out. And,
of course, he knew the great danger of that.
And he said that sweat broke out on me in big thick welts. He was to some degree in the situation that
Jesus was in here. Jesus was in great
agony. He was in a fleshly body (John 1:14) and he would have to
suffer on that cross like any other man.
“And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly and
his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. And when he rose up
from his prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,
and said unto them, Why sleep ye? Rise
and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." I believe that is a statement that is
different from either of the others, found them sleeping for sorrow. Is that one of the ways that the human body
helps us to meet great tragedies? I
think so. He had told them about what
was going to happen to him. Their sorrow
may have caused them to be so sleepy. "While he yet
spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve,
went before them, and he drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. And Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest
thou the Son of God with a case?" I do not
believe either one made that statement, betrayest thou the Son of God with a
kiss. "And
when they that were about him saw what would follow, they said Lord, shall we
smite with the sword? And a certain one
of them smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his right
ear." And so Luke says it was his right ear. You remember that he is a physician
(Colossians 4:14), and he gets ever thing
about the body straight. "And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye
them thus far. And he touched his ear,
and healed him. And Jesus said unto the
chief priests and the captains of the temple, and the elders that were come
against him, Are ye come out, as against a robber, with swords and staves? When I was with you in the temple, ye
stretched not forth your hands against me; but this is your hour, and the
power of darkness."
Do you remember John twelve and verse thirty‑one
‑‑ Well, we will read it. I
cannot call it to mind right now. But,
anyway, the devil's hour was when they put our Lord to death but he came forth
from the tomb, with healing in his wings (Malachi 4:2) for he abolished death
and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (II Timothy 1:10) "This is your hour, and
the power of darkness. And they seized
him, and led him away, and brought him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst
of the court, and had sat down together, Peter sat in the midst of them." So he is in the midst of the enemies'
camp. "And
a certain maid seeing him as he sat in the light of the fire, looking
steadfastly upon him, said, This man also was with him. But he denied saying, Woman, I know him
not. And after a little while another
saw him, and said, Thou also art one of them.
But Peter said, Man, I am not.
And after the space of about one hour, another confidently affirmed,
saying, Of a truth this man also was with him: but
Peter saith, Man, I know not what thou sayest.
And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crowed." Is Luke the only one that records this? "And the Lord turned and
looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered
the word of the Lord and how he said unto him, Before the cock crowe, this day
thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went
out and wept bitterly." So those tears were real
tears of repentance. The Lord looked at
him. "And
the men that held Jesus mocked him and beat him, and they blindfolded him, and
asked him saying, Prophecy, who is it that struck thee? And many other things spake they against him
reviling him, and as soon as it was
day, the assembly of the elders of the people were gathered together, both
chief priests and scribes, and they led him away from their counsel,
saying, If thou art the Christ? Tell
us. And he said unto them, If I tell you
ye will not believe: And if I ask you, ye will not answer. But from henceforth shall the Son of man be
seated at the right hand of the power of God.
And they said, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am and
they said, What further need have we of witnesses? For we ourselves have heard from his own
mouth." And they carried him then to Pilate.
Now let us try to find some of the parallels now in
John. We read about the first few verses
of John chapter twelve. Let us pick up
with verse nine. "The
common people therefore of the Jews learned that he was there." At the house where they prepared the feast for
him, which is described by Matthew and Mark as Simon the leper's house. Do you guess that Jesus had healed the
leprosy of Simon? The common people
therefore of the Jews learned that he
was there: And
they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, also, whom
he had raised from the dead." When Jesus said to that
stinking, decaying Lazarus, come forth, he came forth. "But the chief priests
took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death; because by
reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus." So they are so determined that the way of Jesus is not
going to be established,
and they were ready to even kill Lazarus. "On the morrow a great
multitude that had come to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to
Jerusalem, took branches and palm trees." Let us
come down to verse nineteen. "The
Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Behold how we prevail nothing? Lo, the world has gone after him. And there were certain Greeks among those
that went up to worship at the feast: These therefore came to Philip, who was of
Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew. Andrew cometh and Philip and they tell Jesus. And Jesus answered hem, saying, The hour
is come, that the Son of man shall be glorified." And remember that the Lord had promised to
glorify him again (John 12:28).
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of
wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone: But if it die, it beareth much fruit. He that loveth his life loseth it: And he that hateth his life in this world
shall keep it unto life eternal. If any
man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant
be." That surely is a good statement. My servants who are going to be with me. Sometimes in some of our smaller churches of
only a few members, and some of them are missing for no proper reason, it tends
to be discouraging, but we remember the words of Jesus, “Where
two or three are gathered together in my name there I am in the mist of them” and we need to remember this
statement, “ where I am there shall also my servant be.” The first day of the week is
the Lord’s day (Revelation 1:10). Jesus by his death and resurrection made
this day (Psalms 118:22-23) as a day of worship for all Christians
(Hebrews 10:18-36; I Corinthians 16:1-2, 11:33; Acts 20:7). All Christians are to
assemble for worship on this day, and if they willfully do not assemble with
the saints, they are trodding “under foot the son of God, and counting
the blood of the covenant an unholy thing and doing despite to the Spirit of
grace (Hebrews
10:28-29).”
Please consider
what a fearful thing it is for members not to assemble
for worship on
the Lord ’s Day. Not only should we assemble on every first day,
but we “should
rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:23) be glad that Jesus died to make atonement
for us and to make this day a day of worship for us. "If
any man serve him will the Father honor.
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall thy say?" And this is different from the others. "Father, save me
from this hour: But for this cause came I unto this
hour." Jesus came to die that cruel death on the
cross as an atoning sacrifice for sin, just like the Holy Spirit had said
through Isaiah the prophet he would.
"Father, glorify thy name there came therefore a
voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified it." Do you remember when he was baptized of John
the Baptist, the voice came from heaven then, and again when he was
transfigured, he had glorified it twice.
"And will glorify it again. The multitude therefore that stood by and
heard it said that it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to
him. Jesus answered and said, This voice
has not come for my sake, but for your sakes.
Now is the judgment of this world: Now shall the prince of the world be cast out." That is what I was trying to think of awhile
ago. Now is the judgment of this
world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out, meaning that by his death he would bring to nought as stated
in Hebrews 2:14 the power of the devil.
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth." And this makes the third time that John
records that Jesus talked about being lifted up on the cross. Remember the first one was John 3:14, “as
Moses lifted up the serpent unto the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9),
even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” And then
John the eighth chapter, “when ye have lifted up the Son of man,
then ye shall be that I am he.” And now this one. "Now is the judgment of
this world: Now shall the prince of this world be cast
out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto myself." And we know by verse thirty‑three then, all
three of those, he is talking about his death upon Calvary. "But this he said,
signifying by what manner of death he would die. And the multitude therefore answered him, We
have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: And how sayest thou, The Son of man must be
lifted up? Who is this Son of man? And Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while
is the light among you. Walk while ye
have the light, let darkness overtake you not." Going back to the eighth chapter of
John. Jesus says, I
am the light of the world. And he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life,” and Jesus says, “walk while ye have the
light." And it is talking about while I am here with
you. "Believe
on the light, that ye may be sons of light. These things
spake Jesus, and he departed, and hid himself from them but though he had done
so many signs before them, yet they believed not on him: That the word of Isaiah the prophet might be
fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been
revealed? For this cause they could not believe, for that Isaiah saith again,
he hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; lest
they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should turn, and I
should heal them." For many centuries the Jews had closed their
eyes and ears from God’s instruction, and the time came when God was ready for
them to be hardened. "These
things saith Isaiah, because he saw his glory, and he spake of him. Nevertheless even of the rulers. And that would be those that were upper class
leaders among them, and that included nearly all the members of the Sanhedrin,
with but a few exceptions like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. "Nevertheless even
of the rulers many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees they did not
confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the
glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God."
That is surely a good reference that you need to
think of when you are talking to a person that has the idea that all it takes
for an alien sinner is for him to believe on Christ or recognize that he is the
Christ on the basis of the facts which
show that he is the Christ. Many, as stated here in John, believed on
him, but they did not confess him. Is
the Lord going to save any person that will not confess him? The Bible teaches that he will not. Why did
the rulers refuse to confess him? They
did not want to be put out of the synagogue. They loved the praise of men
more than the praise of God. The Pharisees would have put them out of
the synagogue. And they loved the praise
and glory that is of men more than the praise and glory that is of God. "And Jesus cried and
said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent
me. And he that beholdeth me beholdeth
him that sent me." Jesus was God in the flesh. Remember John begins his gospel book, In
the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the word was
God, And so he that beholdeth me
beholdeth him that sent me. In the beginning of the first
chapter of Hebrews, the writer says that Christ is effulgence of his glory and
the very image of his person. Jesus was
a divine person in a fleshly body. And
remember how that even in the book of Matthew that Jesus refers to himself
thirty times as the Son of man.
John 12:46, "I
am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me may not abide in
the darkness. And if any man hear my
sayings, and keep them, I judge him not: For I came not to judge the world, but to
save the world. He that rejecteth me,
and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: The word that I have spoken, the same
shall judge him in the last day." Do you remember from Revelation 20:12 that the books were
open? And surely men of the Old
Testament period will be judged by the word of the Old Testament, and those
under the New Testament law by the word of the New Testament "For
I spake not from myself, but the Father that sent me, he hath given me a
commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal
life: And the things therefore which I speak, even
as the Father said unto me, so I speak." And
we have already read from the first part of chapter thirteen, which is parallel
to the others about the feast in Simon's house.
Let us pick up with verse thirty‑one of chapter thirteen. "When therefore, he was
gone out, Jesus saith , Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified
in him. And God shall glorify him in
himself, and straightway shall he glorify him.
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: And as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye
cannot come; so now I say unto you.”
John 13:34,
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; even as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one
another." John
has been described as the apostle of love, and he surely emphasizes the
importance of love, and here he records that the Lord said a
new commandment, give I unto you that ye love one another, even as I loved you.
Jesus is the only one that hath loved in that
way. And he said, by
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another. And a church that shows great love toward all
the members of the church, that church will grow in strength. Such love is the true badge of discipleship.
Verse thirty‑five holds true, "By this shall all
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Do you remember that John is the only one that
records that long discourse that Jesus gave the twelve apostles before he was
betrayed by Judas Iscariot, John chapters thirteen through sixteen, and then
chapter seventeen is that prayer that Jesus prayed in which he asked God to glorify him again
and asked that his disciples be united as he and the father were one that the
world might believe.
Chapter Eighteen
Now, we pick up with John chapter eighteen. "When Jesus had spoken
these things, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where was
a garden, into which he entered himself." And
John is the only one that mentions about the brook of Kidron. "And
Judas, also, who betrayed him, knew the place:
For Jesus oft times resorted thither with his disciples." I believe that is peculiar to John. "Judas then having
received the band of soldiers, and officers from the chief priests and the
Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons." Now, I do not believe any of the other ones
mention lanterns, did they? "Jesus
therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon him, went forth, and
saith unto them, Whom seek ye?" And John is
the only one that records that. I think
I am thinking correctly. "They
answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus
said unto them, I am he. And Judas also,
who betrayed him was standing with them.
When therefore he said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and
fell to the ground." Do you remember when
they had sent officers of the temple to take Jesus? And they came back and did not take him, and
the officers said,” never a man so spake (John 7:44-45).” Strange things happen when people came into
the presence of Jesus. And here his
enemies are coming into his presence to take him, but when he said unto them, “I
am he.” They went backward and fell to the ground. "Again therefore he
asked them, whom seek ye? And they said,
Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I
told you I am he: If therefore ye seek me, let these go their
way. (the apostles)
that the word might be fulfilled, which he spake,
Of those who thou hast given me I lost not one.
Simon Peter." John is the only one that tells us that it
was Simon Peter that drew the sword and cut off the high priest's ear, Machus'
ear.
John 18:10, "Simon
Peter therefore having a sword drew it, and struck the high priest's servant,
and cut off his right ear. Now the
servant's name was Malchus. Jesus
therefore said unto Peter, Put up the sword into the sheath. The cup which the Father hath given me,
shall I not drink it? So the band
and the chief captain and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus, and bound
him. And led him to Annas first;
if he was
father in law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year." Now, neither one of the other three mention
their carrying Jesus to Annas first. But
the fact that John records it, he could not be an inspired writer without
telling the truth. But neither one of
those three said that they carried him first to Caiaphas. They just said they carried him to
Caiaphas. And John said they carried him
to Annas first. Annas was the father in
law to Caiaphas. "For
he was father in law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year." According to the Old Testament law, it looks
like that a high priest was to serve and as long as he was able to officially
as a high priest. But the Roman
government had put Annas out of office and had made, according to one account
that I read, several of his sons to serve then as high priest. And now the son in law, Caiaphas, is serving
as high priest, by the will of the the Roman government. But this indicates that the Jewish people
still accounted Annas as the rightful high priest? And so they carried him to Annas first. "Now Caiaphas was
he that gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man
should die for the people. (Christ). and
Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple." Who is that other disciple? The apostle John. John speaks of himself in the second person,
but John 21:20-24 show that John was talking about himself. "Now that disciple
was known unto the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the
high priest. But Peter was standing at
the door without. So the other
disciple, who was known unto the high priest, went out and spake unto her
that kept the door, and brought in Peter.
The maid therefore that kept the door saith unto Peter, Art thou also
one of this man's disciples? He saith
unto him, I am not now the servants and the officers were standing there,
having made a fire of coals; and it was cold: And they were warming themselves. And Peter also was with them, standing and
warming himself. The high priest
therefore asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his teaching. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the
world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the
Jews always resort; and in secret, spake I nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them that have heard me, what I spake
unto them: Behold, these know the things which I
saith. And when he hath said this, one
of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Answereth
thou, of the high priest. Jesus
answered him, if I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: But if well, why smitest thou me?"
Now, when Jesus said turn the other cheek, compare
that with this. Jesus said, if I have
spoken evil, you testify against me.
Bear witness of the evil. But if
well, why do you do such a thing? "Why
smitest thou me? Annas therefore sent
him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest."
What
would Annas sending Jesus bound to Caiaphas signify to Caiaphas and the rest of
the court? Would not that mean that I
think this man ought to be put to death.
"Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the
high priest. And Simon Peter was
standing and warming him. They said
therefore unto him, Art now also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest,
being a kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut off, Did not I see thee in the
garden with him? Peter therefore
denied again: Straightway the cock crowed. They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas
into the judgment hall: And it was early: And they themselves entered not into
the judgment hall, that they might not be defiled; but might eat the
Passover." Please highlight or underscore the latter
part of verse twenty‑eight and make you a note sufficient to remind you
that Jesus kept that Passover with his disciples before the regular time for
the Passover. They had met ‑‑
He kept the Passover supper with his disciples and instituted the Lord's Supper
on that occasion, and then he went into the garden and prayed three times. And then he was arrested by Judas leading
that multitude sent by the chief priests and elders who seize him, and he is
carried him to Annas during the night and then to Caiaphas, and the court
condemns him to death. Then they meet again the next morning. And we will talk about that when we go over
the outline. "They
led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the judgment hall: And it was early; and they themselves entered
not into the judgment hall, that they might not be defiled; but might eat the
Passover." If that is not evidence that the regular
Passover had taken place, I do not know what it would take to make it
evident. "Pilate
therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this
man? They answered and said unto him, If
this man were not an evil doer, we should not have delivered him unto
thee. Pilate therefore said to them,
take him yourselves and judge him according to your law. The Jews said unto him, It is not lawful for
us to put any man to death. And that the
word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying by what manner of
death he should die." That means by
crucifixion, the Jews usually stoned a criminal to death. Sometimes they hanged them, but the primary
way that they put a person to death was by stoning. But the Romans crucified criminals, or at
least that is one of the ways that they put criminals to death. And the other way, of course, was by the
sword. "Pilate
therefore entered again into the judgment hall, and called Jesus and said unto
him, Art thou the king of the Jews?
Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell it
thee concerning me? Pilate answered, Am
I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief
priests delivered thee unto me: What hast thou done? Jesus answered." And you surely need to remember this passage. You will do well to learn it by memory if you
have not already. "My
kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world, then would my
servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: But now is my kingdom not from hence." Do you think that Peter was somewhat undone
when he had bravely drawn his sword and was ready to defend Jesus, and Jesus
restored Malchus' ear and told Peter to put up his sword, and he that taketh
the sword shall perish with the sword.
We have just got twenty‑three seconds. So I guess we better count John 18:37 as our beginning
place. And I think we will take time in
this next class to go over those two outlines and discuss them. And I hope you will profit by studying from
those outlines about The Sayings Of Jesus On The Cross and about The Six
Trials, or The Six Arrangements Of Jesus.
Thank you.