I want you to be turning, if
you will, to Matthew 26, verses 57 through 68 for our text. Matthew 26, verses 57 through
68. We'll read the text as we go
along through the message tonight. Now, the title of my message
is The Son of God Excommunicated and Condemned. That's exactly
what takes place in the passage before us. Here we see the Lord
of Glory dragged before the ecclesiastical court of the Jews, before Caiaphas,
the high priest, the chief priest, the scribes, and the elders.
Everybody who was anybody in the Jewish religious world is
represented in this assembly of madness. Everybody. Everybody. This assembly is made up of the
whole religious world of the day insofar as their leaders
are concerned. All who claimed to reverence
the word of God, all who claimed to honor the law of God, all
who claimed to worship the Lord God, all who came to the temple
and worshiped God and made their sacrifices to God, everybody
who was anybody in the church was represented in this assembly
here. These folks claimed to be the
servants of God, the people of God, and sticklers for the law
of God, and yet they were a bloodthirsty mob of religious madmen. Just
a bloodthirsty mob of religious madmen. In this bloodthirsty
mob, I want you to understand that these folks were not kooks
and crackpots of the day. Not at all. These folks represented
the leaders of mainstream religion in their day. That is to say,
all who were considered religious people of high esteem, whether
conservative or liberal, whether orthodox or unorthodox, all of
them were represented here. They had the chief priest of
Israel, you had the high priest and the elders, and you had the
scribes, all of them gathered together in this assembly. And
this is the first time they'd come together. This is called
the Jewish Sanhedrin. These are the people who made
up the ecclesiastical court among the Jews. These folks had come
together three times in one week. Three times in one week. The
first time they came together was back in John chapter 11.
You can read it at your leisure. We'll look at it again in a little
bit. But in John chapter 11, they had gathered at Caiaphas'
house and they were plotting to overthrow the Lord Jesus Christ
and have him put to death. And Caiaphas interferes with
them because they were afraid that the people might be upset.
They were afraid of what the consequences would be. And Caiaphas
said, don't you know it better to kill one man than the people
being all destroyed? So let's kill it. Let's get rid
of it. And so Caiaphas, speaking that way, encourages these people
in their continual plots. Here in Matthew 26, in verse
2, I believe it is, just a couple of days ahead of time, You know
that two days is the Feast of the Passover, and the Son of
Man is betrayed to be crucified. Then in verse three, assembled
together, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of
the people, under the palace of the high priest who was called
Caiaphas. And now, over here in our text
this evening, they've come together for the third time. They've come
together to figure out a way to do away with the Son of God.
They wanted to put an end to the preaching and the teaching
of this man, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who is and was the
Son of God. They wanted to put him into the
gospel of his free grace. They wanted to be done with those
men who were preaching the message of Jesus Christ and his apostles.
They wanted to be utterly done with the influence of Christ,
and so they plotted together to put him to death. They fought
by doing so in this manner. by excommunicating him from the
Church, by a universal testimony of the religious leaders of the
Church of the day, they could put him out of the Church, then
everybody would cease to pay any attention to him. And at
last, they would deliver him over to the hands of the Romans,
and they'd crucify him. He'd die like a common thief. He'd die under the condemnation
of both the secular world and the religious world, and we'll
be done with him. Now, I hope you haven't missed
my point. What I'm saying is this. What I want you to see
is as evident throughout the pages of Scripture as the noonday
sun, and it ought to be evident to anyone who today reads the
Word of God and just drives by and reads billboards in front
of churches and the bulletins and newspaper announcements with
regard to churches and religious organizations in our day. The
religious world, the whole religious world, The mainstream body of
religion in all its branches, in all its denominations, now
be sure you hear me, in all its branches, in all its denominations,
the religious world is now and always has been opposed to Jesus
Christ and his gospel. Some folks talk about those wonderful
days gone by. Those wonderful days gone by
weren't any better than this day as far as the religious world's
concerned. I would hate to burst your bubble, but the Puritans
were no more popular in their day than their writings are today.
The teachings of the Reformers were no more popular in their
day than the teachings of the Reformers are in our day. I'm
telling you that mainstream religion has always rejected the gospel
of Christ. It has always rejected the message
of Christianity as revealed in Scripture. These folks here wanted
to retain their religion. They wanted to retain their temple.
They wanted to retain their outward observance of the traditions
and ceremonies of religion. They kept close by the law, and
they kept close by their daily walk so as to not greatly offend
in any matters concerning outward religion. All they wanted to
do was get rid of the influence of Jesus Christ. That's all they
wanted. Just wanted no more, no more
to be bothered with the name and doctrine of the Son of God.
We won't hear Him. They wanted their religions.
They wanted their moralities. They wanted their creeds. They
wanted their ceremonies. They wanted their temples. They
wanted their sacrifices. They just would not bow to the
Son of God. And so they excommunicated Him
and had Him crucified. What I'm saying is this. We live
in a day just exactly like this day, so that in every way religion
is promoting that which is contrary to the Scriptures, and man, by
his perverse imagination, has set up his ideas concerning what
truth is, and what God is, and what salvation is, and anything
that comes along declaring the message of free grace, redemption
by the blood of Jesus Christ, salvation by grace alone, will
be despised and discarded and destroyed by this world, if it
possibly can be. Now, I want this evening for
us to look at these verses before us, beginning at verse And I
want to divide the message that I believe the Spirit of God is
here revealed to us into these four parts. We're going to look
at four groups of people, four groups of people that are here
described. We'll begin with Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin in verse 57. And they that had laid hold on
Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes
and elders were assembled. Now, in a way, it is only fitting
that our Savior should be brought before this high priest, this
high priest of the Jews at this time. After all, now the great
day of atonement was at hand. The wondrous heights of the Old
Testament paschal lamb, of the mercy seat, and of the scapegoat
were about to be fulfilled. It could not be more fitting
then by the arrangement of divine providence that the true Lamb
of God should now be brought before this man who is the high
priest in Israel, and have sin pronounced upon the head of the
innocent victim before he is to be sacrificed. And so by divine
arrangement Though he is an unwilling participant, though he is altogether
opposed to what's going on, he doesn't even know what's going
on. But he's opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ and the message
of redemption by him. He is made to be subservient
to the will of God, so that in type of representation, he pronounces
the Lamb of God to be guilty of sin and worthy of death. Just
exactly as the high priest on the Day of Atonement would lay
his hands upon the head of the lamb to be sacrificed, and by
imputation impute the sins of all the children of Israel unto
that lamb whose blood must be shed, so the Lord Jesus would
have our sins imputed to him who would die for us, and also
be the scapegoat who would carry our sins away into the land of
forgetfulness. But this man Caiaphas represents
the very worst of lost, unregenerate religious leaders. His name is
interesting. I don't have any idea how he
got his name, but Teothos means one that vomits at the mouth.
That's a pretty good name for it. That's a pretty good name
for the religious leaders of our day. And I don't care what
name you put by them, that's exactly what the Arminian freewill
works religion of our day is. It is nothing but vomit spewed
from the mouth of wicked men who opposed the Lord God Almighty.
This man Calebus had all the proper outward credentials of
a high priest. He traced his descendancy all
the way back to Aaron, the great high priest. This man, Caiaphas,
had all the outward credentials, but he was not one who obtained
the priest office by the appointment of God and by the order of God,
but rather the situation in the religious world at this day had
been so degenerated that the high priest was appointed by
a Roman governor. The high priest was not set in
his place by God to do the service of God. The high priest obtained
his office either by bribery, or he obtained his office as
a favor from the governor of Rome. And this man, Caiaphas,
was pragmatic. Oh, he was a pragmatic leader
of the people. He knew, at least in theory,
certain aspects of divine truth. There's no question about that.
But he was a subtle politician. I don't know where are when preachers
began to be politicians, which you find all the way back in
the Old Testament, when preachers began to serve people for gain,
or to serve in the cause of God for gain in the name of God,
and they served as politicians. They did what was proper to do
in order to get people to follow them and stay with them. Caiaphas
was a prime example. This man Caiaphas, when it was
at his advantage to do so, could act very manly. he could stand
up and be a man. When it was to his advantage
to do so, he could act as though he were really concerned for
truth, and for the people, and for the glory of God. In John
chapter 11, I've already referred to it, Caiaphas was gathered
with the chief priests of Israel, and the Pharisees, and the council.
And they said, what do we? What are we going to do? For
this man doeth miracles. If we let him thus alone, all
men will believe on him, and the Romans shall come and take
away both our place in the nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas,
being the high priest that same year, said to them," Now this
is what he said. Now imagine the backbone, imagine
the stamina, imagine the courage with which he appears to speak.
He's standing before the Jewish Sanhedrin. These fellows who've
got power, these fellows who've got clout, He said, you don't
know anything. You know nothing at all. Nor
consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die
for the people and that the whole nation perish not. And those
things he spoke not of himself, but because of the high priest,
God the Holy Spirit spoke by him. But this man Caiaphas at
least appeared to have some courage. And he takes the truth and perverts
it to his own advantage, and speaks even against the religious
leaders of the day. He said, you don't know anything.
Fellas, we've got to do something about this man, because if we
don't, we're going to lose our job, and we're going to lose
the whole body of the people. We're going to lose them all.
He had no interest in God's glory. He had no interest in God's people.
He had no interest in the truth of God. He had no interest in
the souls of men. But he did speak truth. and he
spoke it with boldness. There are multitudes just like
him in pulpits today, in positions of great leadership and influence
literally around the world. And I get more than a little
put out with him. More than a little put out with
him. It is the responsibility of any
man who stands as I stand tonight to speak to men bound for eternity
in the name of God, it's his responsibility to know God's
truth and to speak God's truth and to do it for God's glory.
It's his responsibility. And any man who doesn't is not
fit to be called a man. Any man who doesn't, who abuses
such a position, who abuses such an opportunity, who abuses such
authority, is altogether unfit to be called a man. He behaves
more as a beast, as a wolf in sheep's clothing. of us. Reminds me of these who get issues,
you know. If it wasn't so pathetic, it'd
be funny. You watch these little mandy-pandy, do-nothing, say-nothing,
offend-nobody creatures, they get an issue. And one of them
wants to fight about the inspiration of Scripture. Boy, that's a good
subject. Somebody wants to fight about the emergent birth of Christ,
that's a good section. Somebody wants to fight about
living out your ordained limit to be a preacher, that's a good
section. We get somebody to fight on any cause we want to and appear
to be mean. But when it comes to the glory
of God and the truth of God and the gospel of God's free grace,
they will unite together as one man to oppose the truth of God. And they do what they do only
for personal interest and personal gain. Say, preacher, that's a
terrible charge to lay. It's a terrible charge to lay,
and an even worse charge to be true. And I'm telling you, it's
absolutely true. High office in the church is
no indication that a man is God's servant. Read the Bible with
your eyes open. The chief agents of our Lord's
crucifixion and death were preachers. Did you see that? The primary
instigators, the primary agents of our Lord's crucifixion and
death were preachers and priests and religious scholars and theologians. These are the fellows described
here. The chief instigators were not drunks and pimps and prostitutes
and homeowners. Oh no, they were preachers! And
it's still true to this day. These priests were men of great
position. held in the highest honor, held
in positions of reverence and high esteem. They led the people
in their acts of worship. They lived austere lives of devotion. They lived upon the temple of
God, and they lived in the temple of God. They lived in sanctity. But they were nothing but murderers,
murderers of the Son of God, murderers of the Son of Beware
of holding any man in high esteem because he's reputed as a great
preacher or religious leader. I appreciate more than words
can express the esteem with which you men and women hold your posture. But do not hear this man. Listen to me now. Do not hear
this man except as he speaks of the oracles of God, to the
law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to
this word, it's because there's no light in them. Rex, God commands
Rex Butler, for his sake and the sake of his family, to try
the spirits, to see whether they be of God. That's your responsibility. And when you look at a man who
is who is gifted and called God to preach the gospel, and God
blesses you to hear the gospel, esteem that man, but esteem him
highly for his work's sake. Don't lift him up too high. Don't
do it. He'll be sure to disappoint you,
as the next one will show you. Secondly, the Holy Spirit draws
our attention to Peter and the Lord's enemies. Peter is, in my eyes, one of
the most admirable and one of the most disappointing men you'll
ever read about. He's one of the most admirable
of men. He was a bold man, bold as a lion. I'd like to have the
kind of courage that Peter had when the high priest's servants
came out with the soldiers to arrest the Lord Jesus in the
garden, and Peter pulled out his pocketknife and cut off one
of them's ears. I'd like to have that kind of boldness. And yet,
This man, Peter, trembles before May and denies the message. In verse 58 we read, 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, I don't want to say more
than the Holy Spirit here reveals But these things are written
to prepare us for that which is to be revealed in the next
paragraph, and that is Peter's denial of our Lord. And I see
four things clearly set before us in this verse. First, Peter
followed it. Don't forget that part. He did
follow it. After he forsook the Lord with
all the disciples in the garden, they all forsook him and left,
Peter and John turned and followed him to the palace of the high
priest. John is not mentioned here simply because the character,
the attention being directed to is Peter rather than John.
But Peter and John went to the high priest's palace. And John
apparently knew somebody who could get them both in. And after
John went up and spoke to them, and Peter and John both went
in. But the Lord Jesus was followed to the palace of the high priest
by this man, Peter. And that fact indicates that
he loved him. He did love him. Peter would
later die for his Lord, as he said he would. He did follow
him. He at first was stricken and
feared and turned, and he followed him to the palace of the high
priest. He was reluctant to leave it, reluctant to keep him up.
reluctant with regard to everything that was about to happen to him.
Sadly, though, that's not all the text says. Secondly, it says
Peter followed him afar off. Matthew Henry wrote, some sparks
of love and concern for his master were in his breast, and therefore
he followed him. but fear and concern for his
own safety prevailed, and therefore he followed him afar off. Here,
Peter began denying him, for to follow him afar off is by
a little and by a little to go back from him. There is danger
of drawing back, nay, of looking back. Peter followed the Lord
afar off. God keep me from that, and you." There was a fellow once who was
taking out an advertisement for a chauffeur, and sellers came
to apply for the job, and he said, I want you to take me for
a drive. And they took him for a drive along a very winding,
curvy mountain road with steep, steep drop-offs on the side. This driver came and applied
for the job, and he took him out for a drive, and he drove
just as snug up against the side of that mountain as he could.
He stayed just as far away from that cliff as he possibly could. Drove slow. And another fellow
came and applied for the job, and he took the fellow out, run
him a test drive, and he drove just as close to the edge as
he could get. Drove just as I mean, he wanted
to impress him with just how good a driver he was, just how
well he could maneuver that car, and he took the fellow out just
as close to the edge as he could. And he didn't get the job. The driver wanted somebody who
would behave with safety when his life's at stake. Many, many
people live just like that fellow drove, as close to the edge as
they can get. as far away from Christ and the
influence of the gospel as they think they can get by with and
still be called Christians. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't
do it. So I believe once saved, always
saved, so did Judas. I believe once saved, always
saved, so did Demas. I believe if a man's saved, he'll
be saved no matter what. So do the multitudes who stand
before the Lord in the last day and say, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? I tell you what, if you want
to live well and live peaceably, snuggle up as close to the Son
of God as you can get and stay there. Stay there. Walk close
with him, not far off from him. Anything that would draw your
heart away from him, drop it like you would drop something
that was contaminated with the plague right now. And then thirdly,
we're told that Peter went in and sat with the servants of
the high priest. He went into the high priest
house not to speak up for Christ. That wasn't the reason he went
in. He went into the high priest's house, not to boldly identify
himself with Christ. Oh, no. He went into the high
priest's house, as stands the master, and Peter turned his
way. And the high priest's servants
were sitting over here by fire, and Peter sat down with them
to screen himself. He played the hypocrite. He pretended
not to be one of the Lord's disciples. He would not speak up for him.
He brought himself into temptation's way, and he brought himself into
great danger by engaging himself in the company of the ungodly
when there was no cause for him to do so. He did not go there
to help them. He did not go there to minister
to them. He did not go there in order to speak up for Christ.
He went there to be accepted among them. And so he put himself
in harm's way. See, Spurgeon said, when a servant
of Christ, by his own choice, sits with the servants of the
wicked, sin and sorrow speedily follow. And Mr. Spurgeon's right. Children of God, listen to me.
Oh, God help you to listen to me. Choose for your companions. Choose
for those with whom you engage in social activity. Choose for
those with whom you walk. Choose for those who you bring
into your home to influence your family. Choose for your companions
the people of God, not the ungodly. Not the ungodly. I promise you,
I promise you, as you walk with the wicked, the wicked will influence
you to evil, you will not influence them to good. Won't happen. Won't
happen. It won't happen. And fourthly,
the reason why Peter followed and went in was to gratify his
curiosity about the most sacred of all things, the death of Christ. Scripture says here, he went
in to see the to see the end. The Holy Spirit tells us that
Peter went in to indulge his curiosity about the sacrifice
of the Son of God. Now, Vinci, it's wise to seek
to know all that God has revealed, for our benefit is glory. But
curiosity will destroy man. as quickly as anything I know.
I find so many times young men who at first are so overwhelmed
with the love of God revealed in Christ, overwhelmed with the
sacrifice of Christ, overwhelmed with the shed blood of Christ,
imputed righteousness and full redemption, just overwhelmed
with it. And then they get under the influence
of some cold-hearted intellect who guides them to seek to study
out the mysteries, and they want to see everything that God has
hidden from their eyes. And soon their hearts are hardened
against the wonders of grace, the wonders of redemption. I,
so many times I'll have folks, they don't say it to me, Folks
don't say too many things. They say to other folks around
me, they say, well, it's so simple. You know, we've heard that before.
We've heard that before. Oh, don't let curiosity destroy
your soul. Peter went in to see the end
and was nearly destroyed because of what he went to see. It'd
be wise for us to prepare for the end rather than curiously
inquiring about what it's going to be. prepare for it by worshiping
the Redeemer and meditating constantly upon His goodness and grace in
redeeming our souls. Now look at verses 59 through
62. Our attention is here turned
to the chief priest and their false witnesses. Now the chief
priest and elders and all the council sought false witnesses
against Jesus to put him to death, but found none. though many false
witnesses came, yet found they none. At last came two false
witnesses, and said this fellow said," now they're quoting the
Lord's words, in a sense. They're saying what they want
to about what he said. This man said, I am able to destroy
the temple of God and to build it in three days. Now, he is
not saying that at all. He simply declared to them, I'm
able to destroy this temple and to build it again in three days,
talking about his body. He was not at all pointing to
that physical temple, though that would have been no trouble.
He was simply declaring his resurrection from the dead. But these perverse
fellows said, I'm able to destroy the temple of God and build it
in three days. You read the other accounts?
They said, build it again without hands. And the high priest arose
and said unto him, anxious thou nothing. What is it they witnessed
against them? Now, even though these fellows
were plotting subtly, connivingly, plotting the murder of the Son
of God, these men were meticulous in their religious duty. That's a sermon in itself. They
knew what the law required. The law would not allow them
to condemn a man on a capital offense unless they had two eyewitnesses,
and they couldn't get them. They couldn't find him anywhere.
They were hiring fellows to come bribe them, to come testify against
the Lord, and they couldn't find any two that would agree. And
finally they did get two, and as Mark relates to account, they
didn't even agree. They couldn't get their tails
together. One of them said one thing, the other said another
thing. They couldn't get it together, but they accepted the witness
of these two fellows, who perverted the Lord's words into an accusation
of blasphemy. And though these two false witnesses
were themselves evidently lying, evidently were themselves not
able to concoct a story that would in any way hold up in court.
It sufficed to give these religious leaders, these religious infidels,
a conscience soothing grounds. They can constantly accuse him
of being an evil man and of doing wicked deeds. Throughout his
ministry, this was nothing new for him. He was accused of being
a grutton and a wine-dibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.
That is, he was just like them. And we must not be surprised
to find men and women who oppose the gospel of the grace of God
falsely accusing God's saints today, accusing them of every
manner of wickedness and evil. Don't believe evil reports from
reprobate men concerning God's saints. Just don't do it. Just
don't do it. If you wasn't around, you wouldn't
hear it, would you? I heard it! Don't pay any attention to it.
Don't pay any attention to it. Pay no attention to the ungodly
who speak evil against the godly. Just don't do it. That's utterly
abhorrent. It's as abhorrent to hear it
and hear it as it is for them to speak it. Pay no attention
to it. Particularly with reference to gospel preachers. You hear
all kinds of stuff. You hear this and hear that.
When you know a man, when you know a man to be a faithful preacher
of the gospel, don't receive an evil report against him unless
you see it for yourself or have credible evidence that it's so.
Don't dare do it. Don't. That's utter nonsense.
I say this because over the years I've heard so much. Heard so
much. And people, you know that, man,
people love gospel. Just a little tidbit. Give me
a little something we can run wild with. Every gospel preacher
I know, presently or in history, every gospel preacher I know
who has been used of God, is being used of God for the furtherance
of the gospel, will eventually have someone speak some evil
accusation against him. Let me give you some illustrations.
In his day, Athanasius, when in that day men despised the
idea of the Trinity, And the doctrine of the Trinity was commonly
universally objected to. When men came against Athanasius,
they said, well, Athanasius, if you teach this doctrine, that
God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one God, if you teach this
doctrine, then you will be against the whole world, and the whole
world against you. He said, then it is I, Athanasius,
against the world. That man, Athanasius, was accused
by his enemies of adultery. Kramer, that martyr, That man
who served the interest of God in England and who served the
cause of Christ nobly, who gave his life in the cause of Christ,
was accused of treason against the nation. Philpott the martyr
was accused of murdering his own father, the man who gave
his life for the gospel. John Bunyan, Shelby was reading
the life of his blind daughter Mary just a few weeks ago, One
night he was going off to service, it may have been during the day,
I don't remember, but there was a young lady whose father despised
the gospel. She was a believer, and she barely
got out of the house. He would lock her up, keep her
from going to church. She barely got out of the house in time
to go, and as Bunyan passed by on his horse, she begged him
to let her ride to church with him. The next day, her father
fell dead with a heart attack. Because her father fell dead
with a heart attack, babbling idiot, saw Bunyan riding this
girl off to the meeting, he said, well, he's got an affair going.
They parted together to kill him. They put him to death. And
that kind of nonsense, I could give you illustration after illustration
after illustration of it, is utterly contrary to anything
spiritual, anything godly, anything upright. It's the work of Satan. Don't be surprised then, if you
attempt to serve God. where you work and you bear witness
to the things of God, you attempt to declare the truth of God in
the teeth of men in their religious idolatry, don't be surprised
if you're accused of every manner of evil imaginable. And don't
be surprised when faithful gospel preachers are as well. Those
who decide but cannot repudiate our doctrine, try desperately
to repudiate our And best thing to do is leave it alone. Best
thing to do is ignore it. Now, fourthly, in verses 63 through
68, we see the Son of God and a bloodthirsty mob of religious
people. The high priest said, answerest
thou nothing? But Jesus held his knees. Oh,
I like that. You won't disturb me. Your accusations,
your words, your doings have no effect on me." And the high
priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living
God. Ever notice how some people speak
the name of God with such levity, and call God to witness everything
they do? This man acts as an infidel rather
than a religious man, and indeed an infidel he was, though a religious
man. I adjure thee by the living God. Tell us whether thou be the Christ,
the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast
said. Calmly, easily, thou hast said. Nevertheless, I say unto
you, hereafter you're going to see it. You shall see the Son
of Man sitting on the right hand of power. That is, you will see
me after I am dead and gone, you will see me so as to understand
that I am indeed the Son of the living God, sitting on the right
hand of divine power, sitting there as one accepted of God,
sitting there having finished my work, sitting there having
satisfied all the demands of God. And then you'll see me coming
in the clouds of heaven. Is it true that I am? But you're
going to see it, and you're going to see me come in." And then
the high priest rent his clothes. Oh, now he gets in danger. Now
he's, boy, he's sure enough disturbed. He's showing his devotion, his
zeal. But he did that which is contrary
to the law. For the law forbade the high
priest to rent his garments. But this high priest ripped apart
his garments, and this is what he says, What further need have we of
witnesses? Behold now, you have heard his blasphemy." What was
it? Well, he made himself to be the
Son of God. And I'm going to tell you something. Either he is the Son of God,
or he is guilty of blasphemy, and he is worthy of being put
to death. It's exactly right. According to law, if he had blasphemed
God, a man claimed to be God, that man's worthy to be put to
death, stoned to death. And these Jews understood exactly
what he was saying. I wrote in John chapter 10, it
said, what evil have I done that you should stone me? They said,
we're killing you because you're a man and make yourself God.
You make yourself God. They understood his doctrine.
If theologians would just read these infidels, they'd find out
the Son of God is Jesus Christ, our Lord. He is God incarnate. They said, what, think ye? They
answered and said, he's guilty of death. Then they'd spit in
his face, and buffeted him, and others smote him with the palms
of their hands, or with rods in their hands, saying, prophesy
unto us, thou Christ. Who is he that smoked me?" All of this our Lord endured
willingly for us. John Trapp had a way of saying
things. He said, Christ was content to
be spit upon to cleanse our faces from the filth of sin, to be
buffeted with fists and beaten with rods to free us from the
mighty hand of God. and from those scourges and scorpions
of infernal fiends. See how patient Jesus stands,
insulted in his lowest case, sinners bound his almighty hands,
and spit in their Creator's face. What a horrible thing. I can imagine nothing more horrible. walk by the incarnate Son of
God, clear their throats, spit in His face, and like Him, walk
in cheer. But don't be too quick to jump against them. That's
what your unbelief is. exactly what it is. Same thing.
Same thing. Oh, I'd never do that. Unbelief
is to call him a liar and spit in his face. All this was done freely and
voluntarily for us, according to the will of God, so that the
scriptures are fulfilled. It was led as a lamb to the slaughter.
as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so open that he not
is bound. When they had fulfilled all that was written in the scriptures,
then they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.
Everything that was done was done according to the plan and
purpose of God Almighty, by the will of God himself, voluntarily,
by the Son of God, who was made to bestand for us, that we might
be made the righteousness of God. Now listen to this one more time. They pass by and smote him, some
with their fists and some with palms and rods in their hands,
and they plucked out his beard and spit in his face, and then
they strike him and said, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ! Who is he that smote thee? And he'll answer, For I saw a great white and him
that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away. And there was found no place
for them. The day will come, he'll answer,
you see you did, you did, you did, you did. And it was done
for these my sheep, that they might live forever. Amen.