Matthew 26. We were just here for our Bible
study. And I want to continue looking
at these verses. We are now going to see and hear
a sovereign declaration from a sovereign God. Sovereign means all power. When we hear that, if you want
to know what that word means, it means all control, all power,
the only authority. That's what the word Lord means. Sovereign, all power, all control,
all authority. authority, a sovereign, a true
sovereign does what he wants with whom he wants and none can
stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? That's a sovereign. And we are right now going to
see and hear a sovereign declaration from a sovereign God. Verse 57, Matthew 26, verse 57,
it says, And they that had laid hold on
Jesus led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes
and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed him afar off
unto the high priest's palace and went in and sat with the
servants to see the end. Now the chief priests and elders
and all the council sought false witness against Jesus to put
him to death, but found none. Yea, though many false witnesses
came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses
and said, this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of
God and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose
and said unto him, answerest thou nothing? What is it which
these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. Don't you love that line? And the high priest answered
and said unto him, I adjure thee. That means I demand of you. I adjure thee by the living God
that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. I demand of you that you tell
us. Oh, the irony of this moment.
The irony of this moment. the office or the position of
high priest okay this is the high priest saying this to him
and the high priest in the old testament was given that office
was ordained to be a picture of christ who is our high priest,
great high priest, the one who went into the holy place with
blood to make reconciliation for the sins of his people. That's Christ, the high priest. The scripture says it was not
possible for the blood of bulls and goats to put away one sin. They never put away one, without
the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. So they
shed blood, animals, bulls, goats, doves, whatever. And they shed
blood, and they shed blood, and they shed blood, and it never
put away one sin. Those priests, after all of those
sacrifices, Those priests never put away one sin. Not one priest
in the history of priests since time has begun has ever put away
one sin. They only pictured the one who
did. That's it. They only pictured
Jesus Christ, the office, the title of high priest that was
given to this man Caiaphas, he was a picture of the very one
who was standing in front of him. The chief priest, it's talking
about the high priest and then it talks about the chief priest.
That's a picture of Christ. The elders right here, they are
the religious leaders. They're supposed to be a picture
of Christ. Our elder, you talk about blind, you talk
about blind. The very one that their offices
were given to represent is standing right in front of them and they
have no sight of him. All they can see is themselves.
Clearly, listen to them. All they can see is themselves,
thinking themselves to be something, thinking themselves to be wise.
They became fools and they said to the very one who truly holds
the office that they pictured, they said, I demand of you, you
answer me. You are going to answer me. I don't know how old these men
were, and I don't know how long they lived on the earth, but not very long after this
moment that's recorded right here, the roles were reversed. Their souls were called back
to the God who gave them. They left this world. They died,
physically speaking, on this earth like all men and women
do. And in that very moment, the roles were reversed. And
can you imagine? Can you imagine? Can you imagine
their shock when they got to the judgment throne of God and
saw who was sitting on it? And heard him say to them, now
you're gonna answer me. Romans 14 verse 10 says, we shall
all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. That's an amazing thing to realize. Jesus Christ is the judge of
heaven and earth, the judge of the quick and the dead. Our Lord
just said in Matthew 25, if you look back at Matthew 25 verse
31, He said, when the Son of Man
shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him
shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one
from another as a shepherd divided his sheep from 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. Verse 41, then shall
he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me ye
cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his
angels. Oh, the irony of this moment.
Back in chapter 26, verse 62, the high priest arose and said
unto him, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness
against thee? But Jesus held his peace, and
the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee
by the living God. I demand of you by the living
God. The living God was the one standing
right in front of him. He didn't even know the living
God. Think about this. Think about this. He was false
religions high priest and he didn't even know the living God. That is a common problem for
all of false religion. This man Caiaphas represents
all men and women on this earth. Mankind naturally, as he is born
into this world, has no idea who the living God is. Here's who the living God is.
It's the one who is standing there in chains. It's the one who humbled himself
to take the place of his people. It's the One who stood in the
bondage of His people, and the judgment of His people, and the
condemnation of His people, and the suffering of His people,
and the death of His people. This Man, Jesus of Nazareth,
He is the Living God. But in ignorance and in foolishness,
which is what all a false religion is, This man Caiaphas said in
verse 63, I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us
whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto
him, thou hast said. You said it, your own words convict
you. You have been told and you believe
not. Like he said in John 10, he said,
Sheep, hear my voice, I know them, they know me, they believe
on me, they follow me. But you're not one of my elect
sheep, therefore you do not believe my word. Verse 64, Jesus saith
unto him, thou hast said, nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter shall
you see the son of man, sitting on the right hand of power and
coming in the clouds of heaven. Caiaphas said, are you the son
of God? And he said, yes, I am. But he
said, I'm also the son of man. And he said, real soon, you are
going to see God coming back to this earth in the form of
a man, this man. And he said, when you do, you
are going to know what power is. Verse 64, he said, hereafter
shall you see the son of man sitting on the right hand of
power. and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Then the high priest rent his clothes saying, he hath spoken
blasphemy. And I'm gonna tell you that is
what all men and women by their sinful nature will say. When men and women hear the truth
concerning Jesus Christ, you know, The natural way of man
is to think that Jesus Christ is lower. He's less. He's God. He's a God. He's part of God.
You know, but He's... I can put it into words. I can't
put it into words. You know what I'm saying. Yeah,
but no. He'd be a good one to know. He
can get you to God. When the truth concerning Jesus
Christ is declared that this is the Eternal Almighty manifest
in the flesh, this is God in human flesh, when that's really
understood, the natural response of sinful flesh is, that's blasphemy. That's blasphemy. That's blasphemy
against the God that I have made up in my mind who is bigger than
him. That's blasphemy against my idol
that I'm worshiping. For a sinner to say anything
other than that, that takes the power of God. And that's what I want us to
look at this morning. Our Lord said, hereafter shall you see
the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power. That's our
subject for the next few minutes here, okay? The right hand of
power. That's who our Lord and our God
is, the right hand of power. And that does not mean that he
is sitting next to power. The right hand means the honor. It means the authority. It means
the place, the seat of power, all power. Let's take just a
minute here to look at the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Go
with me to Psalm 62. Psalm 62 verse 11 says, God hath spoken once, twice have
I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. Power belongs to God. Who is that talking about? Who
is the God that that is speaking of? Verse 12 says, also unto
thee, oh Lord, you see that capital L, lowercase O-R-D? That's God in a body. That's Jesus Christ. David said,
this much I have heard and I believe it. Also unto thee, oh Lord,
belongeth mercy. For thou renderest to every man
according to his work. All power belongs to you, to
the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Psalm 65, verse five. It says, by terrible things in
righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation. Who is our righteousness? Who
is our salvation? Jesus Christ. By terrible things in righteousness
wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation, who art the confidence
of all the ends of the earth and of them that are far off
upon the sea." You're our confidence. You're the object of our faith.
The one who's able to save to the uttermost, that's Jesus Christ. Verse six, which by his strength
set us fast the mountains being girded with power. He's clothed,
he's robed with power. Psalm 66, verse one. Make a joyful noise unto God,
all ye lands. Sing forth the honor of his name. Make his praise glorious. Say unto God, how terrible art
thou in thy works. Through the greatness of thy
power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. Great is
His power. Oh, the greatness of His power.
Verse 7 right here says, He ruleth by His power forever. His power is forever. And again,
to prove exactly who this is talking about, turn with me to
Matthew 28. Matthew 28 verse 18, Jesus came and spake unto them
saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth. All power. All of it is in the hand of Jesus
Christ. Who put it there? Well, the father
put it there. The spirit put it there. The
Son put it there. God put it there. And it's the kindness of Almighty
God when He reveals that to a sinner. Our Lord said in Matthew 22,
you do err not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. All error
comes from not knowing where the power lies. That's where
all error comes from. from not knowing where the power
lies. John 17 says, Our Lord holds
the power over all flesh. And we are right now going to
see that power over all flesh. I want us to see it in four ways. This is how Christ holds power
over all flesh. Four ways. The first way is this.
Go to Luke 12. Luke 12 verse 4. And I say unto you, my friends,
be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have
no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom
you shall fear. Fear him, which after he hath
killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear
him." Who is he talking about? Is he talking about the adversary?
No, he's talking about himself. Jesus Christ has the power to
destroy. He has the power to cast into
hell, not only to bring physical death, but to bring spiritual,
eternal death. He said, I kill. I kill. Thank God, he said, I
make a life. I wound, I heal. Jesus Christ has the power to
destroy. We just read that he's the one
seated on the throne who will say to every soul that is not
redeemed by his blood, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. The wisest man on
this earth, Solomon, He said, hear the conclusion of the whole
matter. This is it. This is the wisest man on earth.
He said, hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God. That's interesting, isn't it?
That's interesting. That's just not something people
hear a lot of anymore. Here's the conclusion of the
whole thing. Fear God. Why? Because He has the power
to destroy. He has the power to destroy sinners
against Him. Every soul that is not found
in the covering mercy of His blood, He has the power to destroy. But thank God, that's not the
only power that He has. He also has the power to save.
Go with me to Matthew 9. Matthew 9 verse 1 says, And he
entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him
a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their
faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer,
thy sins be forgiven thee. And behold, certain of the scribes
said within themselves, this man blasphemeth. And Jesus, knowing
their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
For whether it is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or
to say, Arise and walk. Which would be easier, for me
to forgive sins or to make him stand up and walk? but that you
may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive
sins. Then saith he to the sick of
the palsy, arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
And he arose and departed to his house. He has the power to
forgive sins. He has the power to damn and
destroy, and he has the power to forgive and save. It's sovereign power. He has mercy on whom he will
have mercy and whom he will he hardens. It's sovereign power. He has the power to do that because
he's God. He has the power to destroy.
He has the power to keep from destruction. He's God. How did he keep his sinful people
from destruction? How did he keep his people from
destruction? Here's how he did it. By destroying
himself. In John 10, he said, therefore
doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I may
take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down. And I have the power to take
it again. This commandment have I received of my father. He has
the power to destroy. He has the power to forgive. Number three, go back to the
Psalms, Psalm 110. Psalm 110 verse 1, the Lord said
unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. He has the power to call his
people. This is something, when I wrote
that, I was so relieved to write that. And when I went back over
it, I was so relieved to go back over it. I just said that to
you, and I am so relieved to say that to you. He has the power
to call his people. That's not up to me. That's not
up to man. It's not up to anybody's ability but God alone. He has
the power to draw his people to himself. He has the power
to make them willing to come no matter how sinful, no matter
how prideful, no matter how far gone and how far lost, no matter
how religious, He has the power to make His
people willing to come to Him. Those that truly heard our Lord
while He walked this earth said, never man spake like this man. I've never heard anything like
that. It says, they were astonished
with his doctrine for his word was with power. When he speaks
to one of his own, it is with power. When he says, come, His people
come, and they come gladly. They come willingly. Those who
say that He's standing at your heart's door, knocking and begging
and pleading, clearly they do err, not knowing the power of
God. When He walks up to the heart
door of a sinner, He knocks the door down. He does not stand
there and knock and beg and ask, Lord, ask and say, would you
please open the door to me? I am willing to save you if you
are willing to let me save you. No, when it's time, when it pleases
God at His appointed time, He walks straight up to the heart
door of one of His own and He knocks it down. And He says,
come here. And every soul says, yes, sir,
gladly. John 5 verse 25 says, The hour
is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of
the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Think about
that power. The dead. Spiritually dead. When He says live, they live. This man has the power to destroy. This man has the power to forgive. This man has the power to call.
And number four, he has the power to keep. He has the power to
keep. Don't turn. Romans 16 says he
has the power to establish us. Hebrews 1 says, He upholds all
things by the Word of His power. 1 Peter 1 says, We are being
kept by His power. Therefore, we will end this message
with these words. Turn with me to Jude chapter
1, just before Revelation. Jude verse 24 says, Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise
God, our Savior. be glory and majesty, dominion
and power, both now and ever. Amen. I pray God will reveal
the right hand of power to us today.