If you'll take your Bibles now
and turn to John 18. John chapter 18. I've often said to you concerning
creation, that it's made and was made to
testify of the redemptive work of Christ. He doesn't in a general way specify
God necessarily as God creating the world, although in the beginning
God created the world. I understand that that's what
Genesis 1-1 says. But time and again in the New Testament, it
tells us that the world was created by Christ. Now Christ is the
Redeemer. Christ is salvation. Christ has
to do with the redemptive glory of God. And so just the fact
that the Redeemer, rather than God in the abstract creating
the world, God creating the world through
the Redeemer tells me that everything in this creation has to do with
that redemption. Does that make sense? David wrote concerning creation,
In them, he said, hath he set a tabernacle, a church, a place
of worship, a place to go and to see and to learn and to know. We all know what a tabernacle
is. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the son, and the son as a
bridegroom cometh out of the chamber as a strong man ready
to run its race. And the reason I bring this out
is because here in John 18 there's so much of this that we read
over when we go through. And this morning I don't have
a message for you. This morning we're just going
to go verse by verse and kind of look at things and let me
comment on things as I come to them. But one of the things I
saw here that was in that garden and when they come to get him
and they took him down and delivered him to Caiaphas, over and over
in all these accounts it said it was cold. It was cold. That was a cold night. They built
a fire. Peter warmed himself by the fire.
The soldiers gathered around the fire to warm themselves.
But that coldness has to do just like with everything else in
creation. It has to do with that redemption.
It wasn't just as a coincidence. These men built a fire, gathered
around the fire, And if you look in the scriptures, you find out
that coldness is a term he used often to describe the hearts
of those who despised him and opposed him. Cold. In Matthew
24, he speaks of the many who shall come in Christ's name,
these pretenders and false prophets, to deceive many. And he says, and because iniquity
shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. And so I begin to get a picture
in this judgment hall as he's delivered into the hands of sinners. And God begins to pull his restraint
back and let his wrath begin, those sufferings begin to come
upon our substitute. find out that even creation,
even on that day, there was a coldness in the weather that testifies
of the coldness of men's hearts. And Peter, as well as the soldiers,
was cold. He was cold inwardly and he was
cold outwardly. without a great deal of discussion. Let me just say this, that this
day of betrayal marked the last day of winter. I found that very
striking when I looked in to see the Jewish calendar and how
the Jewish calendar talked about this time of crucifixion and
this day of judgment and that day. in which he entered that
hall and they questioned him was the last day of winter. The
last day. And then the second thing I see
here is the earthly priest posing questions to the heavenly priest.
And he's acting out a play that was well rehearsed. Caiaphas
didn't come out there on the spur of the moment and begin
to... These things, they'd been rehearsing these things for three
and a half years. Ever since they decided at first
glance that he was not the Christ, but yet was accepted of the people
and all these things, from that day forward, they began to try
to figure out just exactly what they were going to do with this
man. They knew they were going to get rid of him somehow, some
way. They didn't listen to anything
that he had to say. They rejected everything that
he had to say. They rejected the power of God
who confirmed him through miracles and wonders and signs that no
man, no man could do. They're acting out kind of a
play that was well rehearsed. And Caiaphas rather than charge
him with a crime, he went about to cause him to commit one or
say something, just say something. You know, this is the Jewish
Sanhedrin. the High Council of Israel. And
they're gathered here against Christ. They took him. They had no charges. Had no charges
whatsoever. But they took him and they bound
him. Tied his hands behind him. Brought him in like a common
criminal. Sent a half an army to take him away from unarmed
men. And that's what he told them.
He said, I was ever with you in the synagogue, in the temple. What have I done now? Why did
you come against me with spears and swords? And rather than charge
him, this was the duty of the high priest and the high council
when they brought a man in was to charge him. You charge him
and then you hear what he has to say concerning the charges
and bring forth the witnesses. But they didn't have any witnesses
and they didn't have any charges. And so they put him here and
began to question him. and bind him like a common criminal
and try to get him to admit something or say something that they could
charge him with. And something we must ever keep
in mind as we study the gospel of Christ, and that is that the
old priesthood is not the revealer of Christ, but Christ is the
revealer of the old priesthood. And the old priesthood and tabernacle
were built after the pattern that God showed to Moses in the
mount. And he was sternly warned when he left that mountain. He
said, you see to it that you build this tabernacle exactly
according to the pattern that I showed you in the mountain.
And then in Hebrews 9, 1 through 12, he tells us about that tabernacle. And I tell you this, God must
laugh at the wise men of this world who would challenge wisdom
incarnate. That's kind of what he says in
the Psalms, isn't it? Why do these kings and they gather
themselves together against my king? He said, I've set my king
on my holy hill in Zion and you've gathered yourself against him.
He said, the Lord will laugh. He must laugh at men as they
gather together in their, what they call wisdom. And then begin
to question him who was wisdom incarnate. How often, at 12 years
old, the greatest doctors of the law that they had questioned
him, asked him questions, and he answered them. Pop, pop, pop,
pop, pop. And then he asked them questions,
and they couldn't answer them at 12 years old. And now he's
33 years, 32 years old. This is wisdom incarnate, and
He stands before them. And here they are, they're trying
to trick Him up with arguments and things. If you look, just kind of follow me along
here in these verses, verses 17 on down here in John chapter
18, or verse 14, I'm sorry, beginning there. You can kind of read through
those verses as I talk. But they ask him concerning his
disciples. Concerning his disciples. Now
John Gill says that these questions were not about who they were.
They well knew who they were. And I don't believe they were
asking about where they were. Because Peter was right down
there sitting beside the fire and everybody that came up and
saw him knew who he was. He just kept denying it. the
young maidens or servant girls. And I don't believe they were
asking how many there were. I believe they knew exactly how
many there were. But here's what the question
was all about. It was for what purpose that
these men had been called. Why do you gather disciples? That's what they were asking.
Why do you gather disciples? To what purpose have they been
chosen? And the reason they asked him
that was to convict him of sedition. That's what their charges will
be when they take him before the pilot and before Herod. They're going to charge him with
sedition. They're going to charge him. He said he's a king. He's
going to establish a new kingdom and try to take away your rule. They wanted to convict him of
sedition because this has always been the way of Antichrist. Christ
never throughout his ministry attempted to shame or speak derogatory
about the reigning powers. I challenge you to find anywhere
in there. You won't find it. The Jews came to him and they
said, what do you think about this thing of tribute? Do you
think we ought to pay tribute? And he said, let me see that
coin. They hand him the coin. He said,
whose picture is on this coin? They said, Caesar's. render unto
Caesar what Caesar's. Belongs to him. Belongs to him. Belongs to him. And he tells
us, as New Testament believers, he tells us to pay tribute to
whom tribute's due. Why? Because all those powers
are of God. He didn't spend his ministry
saying derogatory things about the rule of Rome. I know that
Rome was an evil empire. So did he. He knew that they
didn't teach or make lawful any type of biblical
morality. They didn't do it. They didn't
do it. But he said nothing about that
because they were in there for a different reason. But they
were of God. They wanted to convict him of
sedition. And they couldn't because all his life he didn't do anything.
He told them to go down there at the sea and there'd be a fish
down there. Open that fish's mouth and there'd
be a coin in there and you'd go pay your taxes. He did in
no way, though he knew what these men were, try to tear down what
was built and designed of God until he had fulfilled all his
righteous goals. While he warned of the leaven
of the doctrine, he did not speak evil of the priesthood. Here
he stands before the priest. He knew what that priest was.
He knew what he was about. He knew what that Sanhedrin was
about. But he said nothing derogatory to him. Did not. Stood right there. Answered the
question. Politely, calmly, and not with
a loud voice. which must have been a shock
to him. He didn't speak evil of it. He didn't disrespect the
synagogue of worship, and he didn't disrespect this hall of
judgment. I want you to think about this.
There was a leper who came and fell down at his feet and said,
Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. He said, I will be
thou clean. What did he tell him next? He said, go to the priest. Give
him the gift that's commanded you of Moses, and he'll pronounce
you clean to fulfill all righteousness. He never spoke derogatory of
this man or his office. Never did. He attended their
synagogues of worship and taught in the temple. He attended the
feast and kept the holy day. He was never guilty of sedition,
but rather those who judged him. And those who judged him sought
to bring down from Zion the king that God declared to sit on it. And God laughed at him and made
a fool out of him in the presence of his son. Here's sedition. They despised the heathen rule
of the Romans. They despised the idea that tribute
must be paid to this evil king. And they despised the very idea
that a man unknown to them who did not come from their ranks
or graduate from their school or had their sanctions should
give them direction and rebuke. They couldn't stand that. Couldn't
stand it. Sedition is the voice of opposition
to overturn God's authority. And it's that way when a woman
opposes her husband in public, dresses him down in public, looks
him in the face and says something derogatory to him in the face
of a crowd, same thing. Same thing. That's despising
the authority of God. When an employee, an employer
comes and tells him to go do that, he said, I'll do it when
I feel like it. That's just not a man despising
another man. That's a man despising the authority
of God. Children, their parents tell
them to do something, and they walk away and say, well, I ain't
going to do it that way. I'll do it my way. Or I'm not
going to do it right now. I'll wait 10 minutes and do it.
That way, I won't be doing exactly what he told me. That's despising
the authority of God. You talk about sedition in the
Old Testament. Do you know what disobedient
children, do you know what their punishment was? Death. They were to be taken out and
stoned. That's sedition. And those who judged him sought
to bring down from Zion God's king. They despised the very
idea. that this man should stand before
them whom they judged to be an imposter and rebuke them about
what they did. Could stand it. It's the voice
of opposition to overturn God's authority. It's that way in so
many areas of our life. The Lord sent out His disciples whom
He appointed as apostles and preachers. And this is what He
said, You come into a city or town, inquire to see who's worthy. Who's worthy to stay with. Who
believes like you believe. That's the only way a man can
be worthy, is to believe. And when you enter into that
house, salute it. Give it honor. That's what a
salute is. In the military, you honor an
officer, a high-ranking officer, by saluting. You walk into this
man's house, you give it honor. You salute. You salute. Give
it respect. Recognize it. And recognize those
who are in it highly favored of God. But if this house prove
unworthy, let your peace. If it's worthy, let your peace
come to it. If it's not, take your peace back. Take your peace
back. Whosoever shall not receive you
nor hear your words when you depart out of that house or out
of that city, he said, shake the dust off your feet. Because
he that despiseth you despiseth me. Why? Why is that? Huh? If Christ were to walk through
that door this morning and say what I said to you, you'd receive
it with a whole lot more weight than if I told you, wouldn't
you? You know why that is? Because you really don't believe
I stand in his stead. That's why. And here's what he
told them. He that despiseth you despiseth
me. That's serious charge, isn't
it? Serious charge. I had an old fella been a deacon
in the church for 40 years, walked out and never came back. And
when they went to talk to him and asked him why he went, he
said, that man said he was the same as God. And what I told
him was exactly what I just told you. But that same thing's true
of a man and a woman, of parents and children. of employers and
employees, that same thing. Same thing. It's all the authority
of God. Now, you either bow to Him or
you don't. One or the other. You don't just
bow to Him in a certain area. You bow to Him all the way or
you don't bow at all. And the fact is, every one of
us are rebels by nature. We don't want to bow. Now, that's
the truth. Here's what it was. Sedition
is best seen in the light of Christ, who did no sin, but was
charged with sedition. They challenged the fact that
he appointed 12 men and gave them alone the authority to be
over the establishing and restructuring of the whole New Testament church.
They despised that idea, disregarded their offices altogether. disregarded
their schools altogether, disregarded their teachings altogether. He'd give them equal authority
to the Old Testament prophets and include them as a foundation
of faith and practice. And he himself would be the chief
cornerstone. Here's how they talk about it
in Scripture. He said this old priesthood, he said it was like
a garment, wax and old. And they took it and they folded
it up and they set it aside. That's what he did with the Old
Testament. Just took all that Old Testament economy of the
priesthood and the ceremonies and the sacrifices. He took all
those things like an old garment that had served its purpose and
he folded it up and he set it away. It says that twice in Hebrews. Hebrews 8 and Hebrews 10. Or Hebrews 1 and Hebrews 8. They
ask him of his disciples, and they ask him about his doctrine.
Now, when men take advantage of a situation and question what's
clearly been declared, it's best just not to give them an answer
at all. These men, they said, if thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. What did he tell them? He said, I told you. He didn't
tell them again. He said, I told you. I've been
telling you for three and a half years. My father's been telling
you who did those wonderful works through me, who called Lazarus
out of a tomb and cleansed that leper and brought many back from
the dead. He declared who I was. I declared
who I was. My works declare who I am. What
I'm doing here declares what I am. God's messenger from the
Old Testament declares who I am. I told you, he said, and I ain't
telling you again. And he didn't. That time forward,
he didn't say anything to them at all about who he was. But
he said, you believe not. Now that's the problem, isn't
it? That's where these priests were. They'd been told. They'd
been warned time and time again. They'd been told. Think of the
wonderful words that these men heard. and the works that they
saw and the evidences of God that they saw being done in this
man. Time and again, time and again,
time and again. And so it tells us in the New
Testament the same thing. He's preaching to men. He said
a heretic after the first and second admonition, what's it
say to do? Leave him alone. Quit telling
him. You've told him. Quit telling him. He said, tell us. I told you.
I told you. What's the problem? You don't
believe. Now ain't that it? You don't
believe. If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. He said, I told you. I told you. Abraham told you. Moses told
you. John was a burning and a shining light. John told you. You didn't
believe him either. And my father told you. He bore
witness of me, and the Scriptures are they which testify of me,
and you wouldn't have them either. How can you believe, he said,
which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh
from God? I told you, and he said, and
you believe not. They knew what he preached. They said, you remember that
parable, those three parables I gave you the other day in the
message? It says they perceived that what he said was to them.
They knew exactly who he was talking about and exactly what
he was saying. They knew. They despised his
authority, his offices, his ways, but especially they despised
his doctrine. Now listen to how he answers
their question about his doctrine. John 18 verse 20. Jesus answered him, I speak openly
to the world. Openly. We didn't gather in a
hut somewhere, have a guard outside, nobody knew what we were doing.
I speak openly to the world. I ever taught in the synagogue
and in the temple whether the Jews always resort, and in secret
have I said nothing. These men had ears and eyes in
the crowd for three and a half years. Oh, and when it said,
and the Jews were there, that's who they're talking about, this
Sanhedrin. They're not just talking about
somebody who was a Jew. They're talking about this council.
They had eyes and ears in the crowd. Every step he took, every
message he preached, everywhere he went, they had somebody there
listening, taking notes, writing it down. Three and a half years,
they attended every message he preached, And they knew exactly
what he said. And he knew how they knew. And
that's what he told them. That's what he told them. I didn't
hide anything. Now watch this, verse 21. Why
askest thou me? You got witnesses right here.
Why don't you ask them? Why don't you ask them? Won't you ask them what I said
to them? Behold, they know what I said. They know what I said. They did know what he said. They
despised what he said. They disagreed with what he said.
But they wanted to be thought well of by the people, and so
they treated him like any other man that was questioned about
his doctrine, and they wouldn't speak up about what he said.
He said, I speak openly to the world. didn't hide his light
under a bushel. And he spoke with plainness of
speech, boldness of speech. He spoke without apology. And
he spoke to anybody that listened, he spoke. He spoke on mountainsides,
he spoke out of ships, he spoke in the wilderness, he spoke at
weddings, he spoke at family gatherings. He spoke openly to
the world, without prejudice, without respect of person. to
lepers the same as he spoke to doctors. Boy, I looked at that
a long time. I'm telling you, I don't know
if a leper come in here this morning. Could I preach to him
the same as I do you? Christ did. He did. He spoke to those ignorant fishermen
the same as he spoke to Nicodemus the rabbi. He said, I ever taught in the
synagogue. That's where people were commanded to worship and
hear the gospel. That's where he spoke. He said,
I spoke in the temple at Jerusalem. Whenever he was there, and especially
at these feast days, all these holy days, and he spoke with
the Jews' resort. Now all the Jews didn't live
in Jerusalem, but during the three main feasts, they were
all commanded to go there and participate. And when they went
there to participate, when they were all gathered there, he said,
I spoke to all of them. All of them. And in secret, he said, I said
nothing. Now, I looked at this for a little
while. He did say some things in secret.
But they weren't things that he said in secret that were contrary
to what he said in public. That's what he said. Often he
gathered his disciples together, alone, apart from the world,
and taught them more clearly those things that were taught.
But he didn't tell them anything differently then than he told
them in public. That's what he said. I met a fellow when I first come
here. He stopped by my house. I didn't really know who he was.
He stopped by, knocked on the door, and introduced himself.
told me his relationship to the church over here. And I said,
well, I've been here for a little while. I've never seen you. He
said, well, I've been meaning to come over. And I said, well,
where do you live? He said, I live on that little
cutoff road that goes to Bussey. I said, you mean tell me you
live in a quarter mile of this church and you've never been
over to it? Oh, I've been there. I said, well, not since I've
been here you haven't. Well, he said, I just come by to let
you know what I believe. And he sat down and he told me
all that I tell you every day about what a believer needs to
be. And then he left my house and
went back to an Armenian church and worshiped there until he
died. Something wrong with that, isn't
there? Something wrong with that. Verse 21, Why askest thou me? You branded me a traitor, a phony,
a demon-possessed man, cast out devils by the spirit of Beelzebub. You branded me a blasphemer.
Why do you pretend that you believe in me? He said, Ask them that heard
me. They'll tell you what I preached. They'll tell you what I preached.
And when he'd spoken, one of the officers that was standing
by listening, jumped over there and smacked him on the face.
I said, do you answer the high priest so? Now, who was the high priest? Who was the high priest? These men had gathered together
and taken him captive as though he were an enemy of the crown,
an evil man like Barabbas. And he stood before them bound
and under heavy guard, it said, as though he posed some kind of a physical
threat to the crown or a physical threat to the person. And then
when he exposed their mockery of justice, they slapped his
face as though he disrespected his judge. And all he said to them was,
I know. These men know what I said. And without even raising his
blood pressure, he calmly exposed this kangaroo court for exactly
what it was. Johnny's pulse didn't get up.
I'll tell you what, my pulse would have been up, wouldn't
yours? By the time he drew that hand back, I'd be up in his face.
But not Christ. His blood pressure didn't even
get up. His pulse didn't quicken. And he exposed that whole outfit
for what it was. They slapped his face so they
could keep theirs. That's what was going on in this
chamber. So the just of what Christ says to the high priest
and those who made up the grand council was this. You've charged
me with no crime, yet I stand here bound as a criminal. I've
not made light of your office. I've not made light of this council.
Yet I've been reprimanded in such a barbarous way. Think about
it. If I've spoken an untruth, let's
have it. But if I spoke the truth, why'd
you slap me? Why'd you slap me? Why is false
religion so hateful and angry when their judgments are questioned
and their motives exposed? I'll tell you why. Because they're
without excuse. That's why. They're without excuse. Religion treated him as though
he was a threat to their existence. But I tell you this, the existence
of the church is preserved and maintained of God. And Christ
demonstrated that before this council. He didn't lift one finger
to his own defense. He stood there and let God do
what God knew was right. That's what he did. And I tell
you, if you want to know what to do in these situations, and
I'm way out of time, all we need to do is study him. Study him. See what he does, see how he
says. How do I minister? Same way he did. Same way he
did. What do I need to say? Same thing
he said. How do I need to act? Same way
he acted. Same exact way. Father, use the
lesson this morning. Teach us. Teach us how to act
honoring to your name in this world. And then let us give you
all the honor and glory for Christ's sake. Amen.